How many SEO's make sales calls

[SpringerWebsiteDesign]

I was just thinking about another thread on the forum regarding a certain company getting them to the top of google and it made me think.

How many of the SEO freelancers/companies on here actually make sales calls?

Even before setting up on my own the company i used to work for never made a single sales call, all work came from word of mouth from good work or people finding the company on google, certainly I don't plan to be calling people, I think if you are doing your job properly this isn't needed.

I think it would be interesting to hear other peoples views on sales calls for SEO.

 

[Annoying Donkey]

The majority of our initial clients came from cold calls. The clients we targeted usually are clueless about internet marketing and wouldn't be looking for it as they don't know they need it.

We've had a few enquiries via web, but none have gone anywhere.

Our biggest client was by word of mouth.

 

[SEO Lady]

I have not made a single sales call to date, like WeblinkPlus I have had enquiries via my site but networking and word of mouth works much better.

 

[harryboon]

Agree - to many low level quick start up SEO companies now hound companies trying to sell their services - word of month/networking is of course much better

I have not made a single sales call to date, like WeblinkPlus I have had enquiries via my site but networking and word of mouth works much better.

 

[Ali-v-8]

I was talking about this to someone yesterday.
Sales calls are a must in business.
Someone said a while ago that cold calling is bad. I dont think that is true. I believe that if someone takes the time to address and issue that is plaguing you then good on them. If they get business from it brilliant.

The problem is that most sales calls for SEO are from people who have no idea.
Standard pit involves

1) you the website owner
2) do you want to be on first page of google
3) who does your SEO
usually these calls are from companies who say £99 a month 12month contract and you wont see results in the 1st 3 months.

They end up thinking Bargain some on just told me it would cost me £2,500+vat just to set everything up and i can get it off this guy for a fraction of the cost.

The uneducated-to-online-business will fall for this everytime.

 

[terryuk]

I was talking about this to someone yesterday.
Sales calls are a must in business.
Someone said a while ago that cold calling is bad. I dont think that is true. I believe that if someone takes the time to address and issue that is plaguing you then good on them. If they get business from it brilliant.

The problem is that most sales calls for SEO are from people who have no idea.
Standard pit involves

1) you the website owner
2) do you want to be on first page of google
3) who does your SEO
usually these calls are from companies who say £99 a month 12month contract and you wont see results in the 1st 3 months.

They end up thinking Bargain some on just told me it would cost me £2,500+vat just to set everything up and i can get it off this guy for a fraction of the cost.

The uneducated-to-online-business will fall for this everytime.

I agree for what you get for £99 a month with these types of packages are incomparable to the real thing. It's no wonder why people fall for it though, but I am sure 12 months down the line they are no better off and then realise... probably a bit too late.

But then again, for small business SEO it may suffice if they do good.

 

[SpringerWebsiteDesign]

I was talking about this to someone yesterday.
Sales calls are a must in business.
Someone said a while ago that cold calling is bad. I dont think that is true. I believe that if someone takes the time to address and issue that is plaguing you then good on them. If they get business from it brilliant.

The problem is that most sales calls for SEO are from people who have no idea.
Standard pit involves

1) you the website owner
2) do you want to be on first page of google
3) who does your SEO
usually these calls are from companies who say £99 a month 12month contract and you wont see results in the 1st 3 months.

They end up thinking Bargain some on just told me it would cost me £2,500+vat just to set everything up and i can get it off this guy for a fraction of the cost.

The uneducated-to-online-business will fall for this everytime.

But when making an SEO call does the person not think if you were any good I would have found you on Google??? Or do you think there are more people out there that don't know about SEO, and just think that they are stuck with were Google has put them? In which case I can see why a sales call would have it's place.

 

[Ali-v-8]

Like I said if you know what SEO is you will find an SEO.
If you are unaware and you think that the only way to appear on google is via adwords a call from an SEO sales guy is a god send.

I have made calls after I have seen a website and found it wanting. Am I wrong for doing it. I dont think so.
Do good work and they will then refer you to others. Then you no longer need to Cold Call.. The calls become warm or in some cases red hot.

As Terryuk said depends on the call being from a good company.

 

[SpringerWebsiteDesign]

Don't get me wrong I don't think sales calls are bad and you are certainly not wrong doing it, I guess my original post was to find out how many "good" SEO's are making calls or if this is just something the "£99" guys were doing, not to make a judgement on the right and wrong of sales calls.

Mike.

 

[david64]

If you are unaware and you think that the only way to appear on google is via adwords a call from an SEO sales guy is a god send.

Not if it happens to be Cold Outside that day

I never made a sales call, would not stoop to that level. Ali made a fair point that if the site was in a mess, you might do it. I have been tempted to email sites in the past to tell them their site is terrible from a search visibility POV; just from general internet browsing. However, its not a good approach. Such calls are unpopular and they may think you are just going through the phone book.

SEO seems to be the number one cold call at the moment. People are fed up to their eyeballs with SEO companies. If you start doing it you are just going to be another doink that will get hung up on and told to 'go away'.

 

[Annoying Donkey]

SEO seems to be the number one cold call at the moment. People are fed up to their eyeballs with SEO companies. If you start doing it you are just going to be another doink that will get hung up on and told to 'go away'.

IMHO Credit checking companies are the number one source of annoyance...

I don't think I've ever had anyone hang up on me, nor be rude. But then I don't mention SEO in my calls

 

[Business1Solutions]

We have no need to cold call as we have enough clients, any extra come through word of mouth.

Most of our clients come through Google and a company which works with us to sell SEO under their name as an extra service.

Also so many SEO companies cold call these days, and I feel that if we did cold call we would just get a bad public image and be categorised as a scam as most do now.

 

[Codefixer]

When I started out I relied almost entirely on Google and other online advertising opportunities. I never made a cold call but was able to build a business based on search engines etc.
Alot of the inquiries were from time wasters and price shoppers, nevertheless it's possible to weed these out and pick up good clients.
Now I am fortunate to get stronger referrals and inquiries based on the work that I have done for others. I wouldn't discount cold calls, it's just not a route I went down.

We've had a few enquiries via web, but none have gone anywhere.

Our biggest client was by word of mouth.

That's interesting what WeblinkPlus says, if the inquiries you get from Search Engines never convert or are very weak, then how do you convince your potential clients of the return from search engines?

 

[Annoying Donkey]

That's interesting what WeblinkPlus says, if the inquiries you get from Search Engines never convert or are very weak, then how do you convince your potential clients of the return from search engines?

Most local business searches do convert. I believe most SEO search terms are other SEOs checking out the competition. I suspect some of the enquiries we've had are from other SEO's given the vague information they supply while expecting a quote...

As for convincing clients, I'd only have to show them the return from just one of our ecommerce sites If I didn't think the client would get a return, I'd refuse the work.

 

[GMH1982]

I was talking about this to someone yesterday.
Sales calls are a must in business.
Someone said a while ago that cold calling is bad. I dont think that is true. I believe that if someone takes the time to address and issue that is plaguing you then good on them. If they get business from it brilliant.

The problem is that most sales calls for SEO are from people who have no idea.
Standard pit involves

1) you the website owner
2) do you want to be on first page of google
3) who does your SEO
usually these calls are from companies who say £99 a month 12month contract and you wont see results in the 1st 3 months.

They end up thinking Bargain some on just told me it would cost me £2,500+vat just to set everything up and i can get it off this guy for a fraction of the cost.

The uneducated-to-online-business will fall for this everytime.

I couldn't agree more if I had wrote this myself - I had just commented on another thread regarding the same issue you wrote towards the bottom of your comment re: £99 pcm 12 month contract see you next year!

The only issue now is when a credible sales person rings they are instantly suspicious and due to this, irrelevant of the solutions and returns you give them, they dont listen!

We as a business operate monthly terms - therefore it is up to a client as to whther they stay with us or not - we live and die by our sword and so far the living is good!!

 

[Surbhee]

I worked with one of the Top Most SEO Companies of India (has a sister-concern) in the UK, and they used to make sales calls, and it worked pretty well for them infact. I agree that word of mouth publicity is best trusted and best converted but what's the harm in trying other methods side by side ?

 

[Esk247]

I'm amazed that ANY cold calls work at all, for anything. It really is a shot in the dark is it not?

I've never ever ever ever bought anything, ever, EVER i might add..from a sales call. I don't actually know anybody who has either.

 

[Ali-v-8]

I think to clear it up is there are those in the know and there are those in the dark. the ones in the dark require help to understand the needs.
The understanding either comes from a desire to progress in business or and need to improve the business.
Problem is who full fills the needs of the business when there is no previous knowledge of the requirement.

 

[Annoying Donkey]

I've never ever ever ever bought anything, ever, EVER i might add..from a sales call. I don't actually know anybody who has either.

So if someone came to you and offered to double your sales and half your costs you'd turn them down?

 

[Esk247]

So if someone came to you and offered to double your sales and half your costs you'd turn them down?

Yes. Over the phone I would.

I'm not going to sign up to some random sales person over the phone. Who the hell are you, where did you get my number, are you buying anything? no? go away then.

I'm quite blunt as you can tell.

 

[Matt1959]

So if someone came to you and offered to double your sales and half your costs you'd turn them down?

yes I would. Its also presumptious for a stranger to come on my phone and make that statement about my business....

 

[MASSEY]

So if someone came to you and offered to double your sales and half your costs you'd turn them down?

Thats the sort of crap 99% of cold callers come out with, And i would be suprised if you had many takers with that spiel. You can not guarantee any of that. Which is why most people will turn you down.

Most cold calls any business owner recieves are just a waste of the business owners time.

I would imagine it is especially hard for an seo to cold call seen as hardly anyone knows what seo is LOL.

There is also the added fact that people have wised up to the scammy world we live in and less and less people are willing to hand over bank details over the phone.

 

[MASSEY]

I'm amazed that ANY cold calls work at all, for anything. It really is a shot in the dark is it not?

This is why you need to be a certain type of person to cold call successfully. The "HARD SELL" works. There are lots of people who really struggle to say no. When certain types of people are being pressured by a sales rep they give in , even though what they will be buying will be over priced and probably useless to them.

 

[Ali-v-8]

there is the answer in what Massey said. Listen but don't sign up there and then on the spot.
Seo takes time to implement and plan and then deliver. a few days will not make any difference either way.

 

[NellyUK]

So called seo companies are ripping the **removed** out of cold calling and in the process creating a bad reputation for good companies out there - it makes my blood boil.

These money grabbing companies rely on the person ( prospective clients) on the other phone not having a clue about seo, rankings etc etc, so its easy to present them with the silver bullet.

My advice - NEVER sign up to 12 month contract - if you are going to sign up, do it in 3 month chunks and at the end of each 3 month period look at stats- has traffic increased, has sales increased, where am I ranking - if you do not see big improvements - walk away and cut your losses

In less competitive markets these companies will do very little, very slowly, so as NOT to get you where you want to be - keeps them in a job ...here is a true example..

A friend of mine was paying a company £300 a month for seo, I looked at his site gave him a few pointers in one month he was, after taking action himself, having never done any seo or call it what you wish, ranks #1 for half a dozen Kw's - he had been paying this company for the past 6 months - lesson learned 6 x 300 = £1800, yes he's not in a competitive niche but a very lucrative one , by the way my advice was free - help others and they will help you.

Educate your self so that at a very basic level you know what you are talking about- asking intelligent questions will have most of these companies hang up on you.

For those of you that have been stung - you've learned the BEST lesson in internet marketing - use it as a learning experience and move on!

 

[Annoying Donkey]

What a cynical bunch we have on here...

Yes. Over the phone I would.

I'm not going to sign up to some random sales person over the phone. Who the hell are you, where did you get my number, are you buying anything? no? go away then.

I'm quite blunt as you can tell.

I'd be inclined to agree. I would have little sympathy for someone who hands a cheque over to a stranger on the basis of a first contact phone call.

yes I would. Its also presumptious for a stranger to come on my phone and make that statement about my business....

Can you be sure though? Often an outsider can give you a different perspective...

Thats the sort of crap 99% of cold callers come out with, And i would be suprised if you had many takers with that spiel. You can not guarantee any of that. Which is why most people will turn you down.

Obvious that isn't quite what we say. As for refusals, I have had very high closes/conversions on my cold calls. I'm not prepared to disclose why

I would imagine it is especially hard for an seo to cold call seen as hardly anyone knows what seo is LOL.

We don't 'sell' SEO...

There is also the added fact that people have wised up to the scammy world we live in and less and less people are willing to hand over bank details over the phone.

Cynical, but again I'd agree, people should not hand over money to a stranger. That's just plain silly.

This is why you need to be a certain type of person to cold call successfully. The "HARD SELL" works. There are lots of people who really struggle to say no. When certain types of people are being pressured by a sales rep they give in , even though what they will be buying will be over priced and probably useless to them.

Again cynical and wrong. Hard sell only creates resentment and complaints. We do not use hard sell and IMHO anyone who does is only in it for the short term.

So called seo companies are ripping the sh*t out of cold calling and in the process creating a bad reputation for good companies out there - it makes my blood boil.

Again plain ol' ignorance and prejudice. Not all SEO companies are scammers and cold calling is a necessary evil. No new company can startup without some means of getting their message out there. Cold calling is the simplest method.

My advice - NEVER sign up to 12 month contract - if you are going to sign up, do it in 3 month chunks and at the end of each 3 month period look at stats- has traffic increased, has sales increased, where am I ranking - if you do not see big improvements - walk away and cut your losses

Why sign up to a term contract at all. Any decent SEO company should make it clear that SEO takes time, but it's certainly not necessary to tie someone in. If you're doing a decent job, it'll show quickly enough and if it does, then the business owner would have to be stupid to then quit. Our terms are monthly. If the client doesn't like what's happening, then they can quit, with no further obligation.

Educate your self so that at a very basic level you know what you are talking about- asking intelligent questions will have most of these companies hang up on you.

All you need is a realistic specification. If an SEO company claims to rank you for 'mortgages' in 3 months, then get them to sign a contract. Then when they fail, sue their asses

For those of you that have been stung - you've learned the BEST lesson in internet marketing - use it as a learning experience and move on!

And stop blaming everyone else...! For most businesses that are not already ranking, SEO is beneficial.

 

[dagaul101]

A few years ago it was a craze for some people to just phone up random restaurants in their town, and offer them first page placement on Google for SEO advice, some people made some money off of it, but now with virtually every mum and pop business already Internet savvy, it's a little harder to pull off

 

[NellyUK]

Originally Posted by NellyUK
So called seo companies are ripping the xxxx out of cold calling and in the process creating a bad reputation for good companies out there - it makes my blood boil.

Again plain ol' ignorance and prejudice. Not all SEO companies are scammers and cold calling is a necessary evil. No new company can startup without some means of getting their message out there. Cold calling is the simplest method.

With respect I was defending the good companies out there, never once said that cold calling was bad - just the methods used by bad companies who use that approach.

As for signing long contracts I agree you shouldn't have too, but aggressive companies "force" these on the unsuspecting.

Most of us are talking as experienced marketers - put yourself right at the beginning, you know the time when you knew less than you do now - on hindsight do you see how vulnerable you were?

 

[captaincloser]

I'm amazed that ANY cold calls work at all, for anything. It really is a shot in the dark is it not?

I've never ever ever ever bought anything, ever, EVER i might add..from a sales call. I don't actually know anybody who has either.

Don't you just love 'em? There are some classics of the genre 'I never made a cold call in my life / never bought anything from a sales call and I now rule the universe' in this thread - one of the poorest selections of tub thumping justifcation to be read on here from so called entrepreneurs.

For those UKBF members not too smug to take advice.... Using the telephone to get new business is proven for most SME business sectors to be THE most effective tool. The problem, always, is the scardey-cat SME business owner timidly sitting in front of his phone willing it to ring and being too scared to pick it up and market himself.

 

[Matt1959]

Can you be sure though? Often an outsider can give you a different perspective...

re. offering to double your sales and halve your costs - given thats the line you quoted as using, its not a different perspective, its glib, guesswork and just crass - I cannot believe anyone falls for that.....

Re. the telesales argument, its all in the quality of the caller. I've had a few ring me that were really good.....and I'm not sold easily to.