Your Time Is Valuable - So Charge For It

[Travis Van Slooten]

Wow...I would love to charge like you guys for consulting but unfortunately I'm struggling even to make $30/hour. Every business owner I talk to is broke - or at least doesn't want to spend money with me. I used to do free SEO analyses but Phil said I was crazy and had to start charging for them...so I did. The result? No more analyses...lol. Business owners don't even want to spend the "measly" $250 on an analyses that I'll spend 2-3 hours on. I'm in this vicious circle right now where I have been trying to raise my prices but on the last handful of deals, I have lost because they can't afford it. I lower my prices and then I get business but I lose money. The whole thing just sucks right now and it's giving me serious consideration to get out of the local SEO game all together.

As to the original point of the thread, I've never had an issue with clients bugging me so the topic is so foreign to me - and I even have ongoing SEO clients who I work with on a monthly basis. I literally never hear from them and it frustrates the heck out of me. I send them weekly updates and beg them to call me to let me know if they are happy but they never reply. I just assume they're happy because they keep paying their bills. This is another reason why I'm contemplating getting out of the business. It's getting frustrating working with business owners who are either too busy or just don't care. I know I should be happy because they're paying their bills but it's just so difficult to work "in the dark" hoping and assuming you're doing a good job, but I digress.

As to Eric's question about age...I actually think being young can be an advantage. Most business owners I talk to assume Internet Marketing is a young person's game. All things being equal, if some 22 year old "kid" is professional and sounds like they know what they're doing, I'd bet on that person over an older person any day of the week in terms of being able to land a deal. Look at Zuckerberg...need I say more?

I must also tell you that of all the clients I've worked with, I have only met one in person and not one has ever asked me my age. In fact, not one of my clients has any idea how old I am. I can't imagine age ever being an issue unless you're going to be doing a lot of face-to-face selling...and even then, like I said, if you're professional and sound like you know what you're doing, you'll do just fine!

Travis Van Slooten

 

[Nick.SEOSpark]

Wow...I would love to charge like you guys for consulting but unfortunately I'm struggling even to make $30/hour. Every business owner I talk to is broke - or at least doesn't want to spend money with me. I used to do free SEO analyses but Phil said I was crazy and had to start charging for them...so I did. The result? No more analyses...lol. Business owners don't even want to spend the "measly" $250 on an analyses that I'll spend 2-3 hours on. I'm in this vicious circle right now where I have been trying to raise my prices but on the last handful of deals, I have lost because they can't afford it. I lower my prices and then I get business but I lose money. The whole thing just sucks right now and it's giving me serious consideration to get out of the local SEO game all together.

Hey Travis, - It sounds like you're struggling with pricing in particular and I believe this is common for working within "Local". I'd like to try and help if I can.

First of all, my business mentor used to say to me "there's nothing worse than selling to someone who doesen't have any money" - and...boy, was he correct! From the way it sounds, you have had no problem in dropping your prices just to make yourself affordable to some of these businesses - they should be so lucky! I'm not saying that we can never drop our prices, but I don't think it should become common practice. The way I see it is that maybe the "prospect/s" in question are not in a position to use your services.
One response I learned from Linda was to say (along these lines)- "well, it sounds like you're not in the best spot right now, and I don't want to work with you until you're ready" - What a great positive response! I don't nessecarily think dropping your price is positive at all (for you).

Second of all, on the point of "selling to someone who doesen't have any money", I would consider (if this is bugging you), looking at industries/businesses that DO have money. At the moment, it looks like Dentists and Legal businesses are good for this - I would also add Property/Real Estate as well. If anyone has any more, PLEASE can you add them as that would help us all out (including me) - for my marketing strategy!
-------Note- If you are going down this road, you need a specific marketing strategy to win them. Perhaps even some "direct marketing" - See this link for one possible method I've shared recently:

http://localsearchforum.catalystema...9-if-you-want-prospecting-system-just-do.html


Next, I was going to speak about getting a "pricing table" setup but I see that you already have one, and that is great to see. I've heard a lot of people (in the SEO Industry) criticising pricing tables but I really don't agree with that. There is a right and wrong way to do them - So, not making them long and confusing but summing up nicely what services you are providing..I think the link below shows an example of a good pricing table:

SEO Prices | digital marketing packages - PPC, SEM & CRO | High on SEO | High on SEO

So, I think pricing tables can be great if done correctly.
I see that you have pricing tables for the one-off services you provide, but have you thought about having some options for your "monthly" as well.

Finally, see this excellent article from SEOBook on pricing strategies - very in-depth!

Pricing Your Services: Pricing Strategies

 

[Travis Van Slooten]

Nick:

Thanks for the detailed and helpful response. Ya, I've always gone back and forth on pricing tables myself. I never had them but then I added them a while back. I figure they will give business owners an idea of what I charge.

And just for clarification, I rarely budge on price. In fact, I don't think I've ever budged on my pricing because I already price my stuff too low in most cases...lol. What I meant is that sometimes I'll get frustrated that I can't sell any of my "X packages" so I'll drop the price and quote that price for businesses moving forward. I never magically drop my prices when talking to a potential client.

Speaking of dropping prices, I'm surprised that more business owners don't negotiate (not that i would anyway). I have talked to many business owners the past year and not one has negotiated with me. They either accept my price and hire me or they don't...but I've never had a business owner say, "I'd like to work with you but can you give me a better deal?" When I got into this business, I thought there would be a lot of negotiating but that hasn't been the case. I find that interesting.

Travis Van Slooten

 

[Phil Rozek]

@Travis

You're in a better position than you were in before: You're not wasting time doing local SEO audits for tire-kickers. If you weren't getting paid for them before and you're not getting paid now, the only difference is how much of your time is being wasted - and in this case it sounds like much less is being wasted now. That gives you more time to work on your copy on the "audit" page. Also, as we've discussed and as you've already found, taking the time that otherwise would have gone down the tubes and putting it into working on your autoresponders is huge.

Just my two pennies.

 

[Travis Van Slooten]

Right you are

Travis Van Slooten

@Travis

You're in a better position than you were in before: You're not wasting time doing local SEO audits for tire-kickers. If you weren't getting paid for them before and you're not getting paid now, the only difference is how much of your time is being wasted - and in this case it sounds like much less is being wasted now. That gives you more time to work on your copy on the "audit" page. Also, as we've discussed and as you've already found, taking the time that otherwise would have gone down the tubes and putting it into working on your autoresponders is huge.

Just my two pennies.

 

[Nick.SEOSpark]

@Travis

You're in a better position than you were in before: You're not wasting time doing local SEO audits for tire-kickers. If you weren't getting paid for them before and you're not getting paid now, the only difference is how much of your time is being wasted - and in this case it sounds like much less is being wasted now. That gives you more time to work on your copy on the "audit" page. Also, as we've discussed and as you've already found, taking the time that otherwise would have gone down the tubes and putting it into working on your autoresponders is huge.

Just my two pennies.

On this topic, I am signed up to your mailing list Travis, and I think the messages that are sent are fantastic! Very useful for business owners with great "call to action/s".

Like I've often said to Phil (about his regular emails), everytime, I receive one, I read it because it's "plain text" format and all about valuable information. - No need for fancy email templates as the focus is on useful information.

Also Travis, I have really liked your Blog topics recently - Very useful and actionable for the SMB...Love the tips on using twitter.

 

[Travis Van Slooten]

Hey thanks Nick! I appreciate your kind words. I'll be sure to pass along your compliments to my staff writer. Her and I both work on the blog and those recent posts were written by her.

Travis Van Slooten

 

[Nick.SEOSpark]

Hey thanks Nick! I appreciate your kind words. I'll be sure to pass along your compliments to my staff writer. Her and I both work on the blog and those recent posts were written by her.

Travis Van Slooten

Yeah, pass on my compliments.

The Blog posts have been crystal clear in the information provided and have used very good examples!