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I know this is not a new thing at all. In fact, I thought these SEO companies would be out of business by now. But it doesn’t seem to be the case. They’re out there and I’m losing potential customers to them.
So how to I tell a client not to be fooled by any guarantees and go with me instead? Has anyone have any email templates or suggestions they would be happy to share.
Thanks
Donal
Maybe throw in an analogy something along the lines of "what would be the reaction of a baseball owner if during the interview process one of the prospective managers said 'i 100% guarantee we will get to the World Series next year.'
Maybe explain how good business is about stable, long-term success not empty promises.
Yep! I thought they would be out of business by now also, but, they ain't. My advice is take the "high road". Explain to your client that it would be a mistake, but, allow them to make the mistake if they wish!
The client will in the long-run remember your advice, and you will make them pay for their bad judgment one day in the future!
I don't advise getting into a negative campaign against these people, we know they are con-artists......allow time to show them for what they are!
There is nothing that does more for your reputation than a client that has had a bad experience with the competition.....let them experience the others!
Companies want guarantees, they want promises, they want solid results. If you can't deliver the first two, focus on the results. Almost all SEO's are reluctant - for various reasons - to show theirs, so it's an area you could quite easily make a difference. Provided you're a good SEO'er of course.
I think where you get in trouble is saying things like I guarantee you will have these 5 keywords in the top five results within 3 months or that you will have X number of number one listings etc. Any of these really specific results will come back to bite you in an arena like this pretty quickly, but claiming or guaranteeing that you can improve the current situation shoudn't be too hard unless they are already a top tier company and looking for even better results. A company like that could potentially cause some problems on failed delivery.
In my experience moving from the bottom 10-20% performance to 50-60% category shouldn't be too difficult if you have been doing this. However moving from 60% to 90% might be difficult or if you are even in a higher position when you start. I wouldn't shy away from a challenge like this, but I personally would really do a good job educating the client about results to expect.
In the cases where I sold such packages to my client's I stated I would improve results, but not with detailed specifics. I also gave enough information about how this works to both educate them and show them I know what I am doing.
So far it has worked ok for me. If there are other thoughts I would love to hear them because I still run into prospects that are getting "promises" from my competitors, which I know they will have trouble delivering, but I can't always convince the client of that.
Fortune Hunter
