A few of the posts in the Black Hat Experimental section deal with working with off line clients.  It’s one of the hardest things I ever do.

Give me a keyword or phrase and tell me to rank it – I’m good to go.

Tell me to build a network – I’m good to go.

Have me investigate what needs to be done to get sites to rank – I’m good to go.

Ask me to meet with someone in person – I’m NOT good to go.

If I was to be honest with myself I would have to say that I dread meeting with clients, talking over the phone, etc…  On most days my “big” adventure is going to walmart, the store, or taking my kids to whatever activity.  It’s a whole different ballpark when I’ve got to shave, get dressed in something nice, and actually go “sell” something.

The selling part isn’t what I find hard.  I don’t do hard sells – it’s not in my personality.  I was however a plumber for about 10 years.  During that time I got comfortable telling folks that something was shot and it was going to cost thousands of dollars.  In some cases (imagine the cost for digging up your entire back yard, putting in pumps, a drain field, etc..) the cost was in the 30k range and we were going to tear up your pretty landscaping too.

It’s really not difficult.  You just act like it’s a no different than selling them a soda for $1.65.  How you perceive the value of the service your offering is what is going to carry over.  If your like me and don’t have the ability to try and turn shit into shinola – it’s even easier.  If I tried to over inflate my off line services I wouldn’t be able to carry it off.

The best part is that my prices are way more than fair – but equate to a tremendous dollar per hour value.  Why?  I run a small shop, with little overhead on the seo side of things.  I meet with a client and tell them it’s going to be 5k to design their site, fill it up with the content THEY provide, do a little seo on it, and then work on rankings for one month.  I’m still cheaper than every single website development firm they have talked to locally.

I’m confident my prices are fair, that carries across to confidence in my abilities (which I have), which usually results in a sale.  Usually for everything I ask for – why? I’m the expert not them.

There is another way to project that expert status – and it’s expensive but ohh so worth it.  I’ve got business cards, folders, plans, outlines, etc..  all packaged up and I just hand them to the clients.  They cost about 9 dollars for everything in one, and I only give it to you after we’ve talked about prices, vetted you, and are on our way to finishing things up.

It’s got your contract inside it.

It’s got my cards inside it (20 of them with the clients name already printed on the back…. I do free work in return for referrals.)

It’s got question and answer sheets.

It’s got a form to fill out with all the parts their site will need.

It’s got an example workflow for a fictional client so they can understand how long things are going to take and the fact that input is required from them at certain stages (they hold it up — it’s their fault not mine).

Staples, vistaprint, and kinkos are all my best buds.  Vistaprint is great pricing to try new cards out – that’s about all I use them for.  Kinkos and staples literally have folks there to help you design and layout everything. (kinkos is better if you have one -but more expensive).

It’s going to cost some money to get things made – and your going to keep making changes.  Before you go that route do some work with off line clients and make sure your comfortable working with off line clients.  A great way to get started is to do some work at cost for some influential people in your area.

Or just do some of the things in the black hat experimental section here and walk in with proof your an expert.