This post was written by request from a reader. If you feel there’s a particular topic on selling services online that you’d like me to talk about, let me know in the comments.
Convincing offline businesses to start using online marketing methods seems like one of the hardest things to do.
Think it isn’t?
Try convincing a drug addict to stop taking drugs. He’ll look at you like you were sent from hell.
However, this post is specifically for freelancers who are looking to attract offline businesses as clients.
But I must warn you, you need to know what you’re doing before actually trying to get offline businesses to adopt online marketing methods.
Why is this so?
As humans, once we’re wired to think in a particular way, it’s often hard to change that mode of thinking. The only way to make that change is to see a new belief that is better than what you previously believed.
So as a professional who sells blogging services to businesses, the first thing you need to do is make them believe that what you have for them is better than what they previously thought (which is that blogging is unimportant).
In this post, I’ll take you through four steps on how to do this.
Why It Could Be Tough Converting Offline Clients
Even though the internet has existed for a really long time, it’ll interest you to know that most businesses are not internet savvy. In a heart-breaking research by Yodle (really, I was heartbroken), they stated that 52% of SMB owners don’t have a website, 56% don’t measure the results of their marketing programs, 34% don’t use technology for customer relationship management. And even 51% don’t use technology for accounting operations.
Seriously!
What does this mean?
A lot of offline businesses still solely depend on paper for basic operations. And if they’re using computers, they aren’t using cloud technology. For marketing, a lot would still rely on fliers, boards and also word of mouth.
Your job is to convince them that what you have can bring them more results. How?
Here are four steps to attracting offline clients.
1. Empower Yourself With Simplified Knowledge
How do you explain sex to a 6 year old? You definitely won’t start with, “When two people of the opposite sex are sexually attractive to each other…” That’s gibberish to the poor kid. Instead, you’ll say “When two people really like each other…”
The key here is to use very basic language. Using terms like Search Engine Optimization and Click-through rate for these clients would only make them endure you.
You don’t want to use language that would prompt them to keep asking, “Please what does that mean?” Steer clear of technical jargon.
But here’s what you could do instead: look at what you know about your field and break it down.
Sometime in 2014, one of my clients who had an IT training business wanted to know how he could use digital campaigns and content to attract students.
For about 30 minutes, I was simply explaining a strategy I had previously laid out. I remember I mentioned click through rate about 6 times before he said, “Hold on Lanre, what do you mean by click through rate?”
I couldn’t believe my ears. I completely assumed he understood me.
Entrepreneurs are smart, but for those who are only used to offline methods, internet marketing is a whole new field entirely. You need to explain it to them like they’re 6 year-olds.
2. Tell Them How Blogging Helps Meet Their Goals
A blog is simply a form of marketing that businesses use to find customers online. In this point, you don’t start to show them the different ways to use blogging in their businesses. They need to know if it’ll help them meet their goals.
Now you may think this stage requires a ton of words, but talking is the last thing you should do here.
The best way to enter into this stage is to show that you’ve done your homework. There’s no point going to convince a client to start a blog if you’re not sure about the viability. If they start a blog, would it help them get more customers? Make more sales?
Before you even approach that client, study his market? Who are his customers? If he were to start a blog, is his target audience online? Where? How can you reach them with the blog? What content marketing strategy would be fit for the business?
How much are they making now and how much would they make, assuming they had a blog? How would the running of the business change? Who are their online competitors? How many of their offline competitors already have a blog?
It’s your research findings that you explain here.
Except you’re a very good talker and know how to create images in their minds, talking sometimes bores people.
According to Wishpond, 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual. Visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text.
This yells videos and infographics!
So what should you do with your research? Give them something beautiful to look at.
If creating infographics and videos aren’t your strong points, outsource them or get some from SlideShare. But please, don’t go with just words.
Paraphrasing what Megamind said, “Your presentation is what makes you a better villain”.
Well guess what? You’re a villain here because you’re invading what these offline businesses know as ‘normal’.
3. Show Them An Even Bigger Picture
By this stage, you’ve successfully simplified blogging to them. And you’ve shown them where their business is and the profitable benefits of your service.
What you now need are case studies. Case studies of offline businesses that have achieved great feats through blogging. What you shouldn’t do is to show them how online businesses use blogs because that’s completely irrelevant.
It would even be better to show them how other offline businesses in their industry used blogging as a marketing method to rapidly grow. Show them the figures, show them the resultant lifestyles of the business owners.
At this stage, it should just be about the end results. To make this easier for you, direct your conversation towards the four results that every human on the face of this earth wants. I explained more about these results in this post: The Only 4 Results Your Service Must Deliver To Clients.
4. Make It Easy For Them To Get Started
Talk is cheap. The hardest part is always taking action. This is because getting started on something would require your concentration, your time and also your money. This is when most businesses would come with the, “We’ll get back to you” statement.
So as a freelance blogger, how can you cross this final hurdle?
When web design companies want to close a website redesign deal with a potential client, one thing they do is to create a demo of the new one and show it to the potential client.
Since your potential client doesn’t even have a blog designed in the first place, you’ll need to get that done for them.
The key here is to remove every obstacle that would stop them from hiring you. One of such obstacles is going online in the first place.
If they have no blog, then you’re of no use. So create a demo for them. If social media was part of the overall content marketing strategy you pitched and you feel not having social media pages would prevent them from hiring you, then create them.
However, don’t do all this work before meeting the client first. Instead, in your discussion at the final stage, you simply layout what you’re going to do for the client to make it easy for them to get started.
Sure this will be covered in the budget once you get paid, but you have to make them think less of what is involved in the process. Help them think.
This is very necessary. Let’s assume you’ve successfully convinced the client. The next question would be, “So, how do we get a blog designed?” You need to provide a good answer to that.
In order to convince such offline clients, you need to move beyond being just a blogger. This is because moving from offline to online methods requires research, design and a bunch of other skill-sets. It’s a whole project.
If you don’t have these skill-sets, find people who do because the last thing you want that potential client to do is worry. That’s your job.
So, the next time you’re faced with converting an offline client, leave the technical jargon for later. Present them with simplified knowledge instead. Find out their goals and tell them the role blogging would play in achieving those goals.
Show them the bigger picture and connect their emotions with the four ultimate results every human wants. And then, when all is said and done, make taking action easy.
How else can you convince offline businesses to adopt online marketing methods? Share in the comments.
Magic! I wasn’t expecting spot-on detail on this topic. But then, you’ve nailed it again.
Having worked as an in-house blogger for two different blogs, I resonate with point two: understanding clearly how blogging can help your prospects meet their goals.
I missed this part and soiled the opportunities.
Freelancers ought to note the importance of researching the prospect’s market, how blogging would be relevant to it and how the prospect would benefit immensely on the long run, without having to regret (or curse the blogger) for ever funding a business blog.
Thanks a lot for this, bro!
Great post, bro!
And thanks a lot for responding to my request. That’s another point added to your belt: integrity.