Forum Moderators: LifeinAsia
We're considering calling up other creative firms - printers, small marketing shops, PR firms, and the like - and offering our services as outsourcers.
Is anyone else doing this? Any advice on how to approach them? How to structure a deal?
Thanks,
Hunter
I hate telemarketing, too. And we don't send unsolicited emails, either. Cold calling businesses for us isn't telemarketing - we don't sell, we don't hammer or bother people or drone on like a long distance carrier. We don't even have an "opening line"...
We just call up and ask X business if they have anyone looking after their website - if not, do they need help with it? We keep it short, simple, and to the point.
We target businesses carefully - only calling ones with
"dead" or static websites, or those without them - and out of 50 targetted calls this week, we only had 1 guy who was remotely hostile... to which we got off the phone as quickly and politely as possible ('cause you don't want to work with someone like that anyway.)
You'd be surprised. If someone actually called you up when you needed something, before you needed it, you'd likely change your POV on it.
Problem is, telemarketers call up and hassle you when you DON'T need it, they hammer you with a sales pitch and they don't damn well listen to you. They deserve the ire they get.
Anyway - back to my original question, no matter how we contact them...?
Speaking as someone who had to answer such calls for a few years, I suggest not wasting your and other people's time. At two companies I worked for we even had the principle of NEVER doing any business with those that cold-call us. This sales pattern just isn't conducive to good quality product/service, and businesses learn this very quickly.
If you're pitching a product or service that is precisely targeted and not easily found through conventional channels, you may have a point. With web site design you obviously don't.
I'm very sorry you had that position - I agree with your frustration, just from my limited experience in my own business.
But we're way off base of the point here - the point of this thread is that one way or another - networking, etc. -we'd like to contact small marketing shops, PR firms, and the like and offer our services.
Are we the only ones out here looking at this? Does anyone have experience with this?
But make sure you use the right contact information at these companies - do a little networking. Target these folks at local seminars, etc or other networking opportunities.
here is what I do
I made a network of business genres that are complementary of mine
then try to wedge my offerings somewhere in the domino effect
you do not perform their tasks,neither do they perform yours
therefore you are complementary
trust is the #1 fundamental
now please tell me how you do find webs in dire needs of work or repair etc...
I run my own business
which is just about me and me :)
so I cannot see myself surfing at night time till AM.
thanks
Yep, I'm with you on the generalities - I was just wondering how you specifically looked for/contacted these other agencies, what type of deal you offered them... how much they needed from you RE: profit...
As for searching for websites in need... yeah, I wish I could tell you it was easy, but it ain't. A lot of high-speed surfing, checking in industries without a lot of technology at hand... (ie/ don't bother calling software companies, everyone there thinks they can code a website)
That's part of our problem - trying to get a decent volume of research/calls in, in one day...
