Stepping into the corporate world of SEO is not a simple task. SEO is no regular desk job. As a businessperson who wants to make it big in SEO, you’re going to be meeting people from different industries, not only for the purpose of introducing and selling your service. In SEO, you meet people to find someone you can possibly work with. In this business, every prospect, buyer, and consumer is your future business partner.A business partner is someone who is willing to work with you every step of the campaign. Choosing a future partner requires serious scrutiny. Picking the right person for your team is another way of building your business’ future.
Many SEO service providers consider buyer examination as a prerequisite to accepting their clients and campaigns. They think of profit and campaign load over their company’s future, leading them to internal and external company conflicts. If you want to succeed as an SEO business owner, compromising your company’s future is not a wise move.
Why do you have to screen buyers? SEO is a very competitive industry. Many companies out there lack a sense of innovation, thinking that sending out dummy buyers is their only option in coming up with new strategies for their company. They’re just around to pump for information.
Buyer Examination
When somebody asks you for a business meeting, would you take time to analyze the buyer before considering him or her as a client? You’ll probably say yes if you’ve been in the business for years. However, newbies to SEO tend to get excited at the thought of having their first clients and sign up for a deal without scrutinizing the client himself. Some SEO service providers may think, “What for? I am a service provider and they need my services. I don’t need to do background check because they’ll be hiring me and I’ll be the one to work for them.” Thinking that they’ll just be working for clients is a common mistake among beginner SEO providers. SEO involves partnership; once you sign a contract with a client, both of you start working as a team. It’s not like selling a car, where the deal is sealed after a few test drives and parts checks. Selling SEO is like providing water to a certain home; you need to maintain contact with the client every step of the way to assure them of the water safety’s or to let them know about any changes in the water supply schedule. In other words, you are selling a service and not a product.
The Interview Portion
Of course, when you offer a product or someone asks you about your service, you set up a meeting to address the person’s concerns. Asking questions is the most basic way of scrutinizing your prospects, but you have to do it in a way that doesn’t make the prospect think that he or she is being scrutinized. Buyers know when they are being examined. Meet-ups and business proposals are not new to them, especially to companies that are used to talking with different service providers, sub-contractors, and outsourcing firms.
Their industry/niche. Being clueless about a client’s business means that you’re not prepared to meet the client. You should at least have basic knowledge of the client’s business. After learning about the basics, slowly delve into the details of the client’s background. Knowing your client is the first step to making your partnership successful. Getting to know your client is like determining the perfect keywords and coming up with possible website redesign concepts.
Their recent and ongoing problems and their reason for hiring an SEO provider. There is always a reason why companies tie up with SEO firms. Aside from improving ROI and establishing an online presence, companies have many other reasons for considering your services.
Their needs and their goals. You definitely don’t want to partner with a client who has no definite goal. Aside from achieving high rankings, high PR, and strong domain authority, companies have goals that they want to achieve through SEO. You should also be attentive to their needs when it comes to resolving their problems. There are some needs that clients cannot explain in terms of SEO concepts. Their demands and expectations. It’s best if you know what the client wants from you, the SEO provider. Learning about the client’s expectations also helps you come up with more effective SEO campaigns.
The Sudden Switch
Clients are often clever representatives of companies. They won’t waste their time asking you questions. They meet with you to find out what you can do for their companies and what makes you different from other SEO providers. Prepare to be bombarded with tricky questions. By confidently providing correct answers to these questions, you can show clients that you’re the right SEO provider for their company. Don’t just talk about high search engine ranking optimization, be ready for more!
Being prepared doesn’t mean being able to answer all the client’s questions with confidence. You have to be prepared by providing them realistic and unique solutions for their problems. By learning how your clients think, you’ll somehow get some hints of your future business relationship. Without a strong professional partnership between the provider and web owner, success is impossible to achieve.
A few basic SEO selling reminders:
- Do not beg clients to sign a deal with you.
- Listen to your prospect. Listening is the most effective way of learning about your client’s needs and expectations.·
- Be honest with your prospective clients.· Provide them with effective solutions to their problems, but don’t tell them about all of your techniques.
- Don’t let them walk away without knowing what’s special about you and your edge over other SEO providers.· Do not act like an expert when showing clients your proposal.
- Be casual, because they are looking for someone who they can work with in the future.· Do not forget to give them an overview of real SEO.
- Tell them that they need to see the company’s credibility. Explain to them the truth about White Label SEO, and how it differs from the services of fraudulent SEO providers on the Web.
