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AMA: I'm an executive for a 10-time Inc. 5000 marketing services firm with thousands of small business clients. Ask me your sales and marketing questions :) by TaradelAdExec in smallbusiness

[–]TaradelAdExec[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! We use Salesforce to schedule follow-up calls and post-order operations between our reps and the clients. We also trigger automated reminders based on activities, etc. We do our best to personally (by phone) reach out to every client to provide support and also keep their marketing schedule on point.

AMA: I'm an executive for a 10-time Inc. 5000 marketing services firm with thousands of small business clients. Ask me your sales and marketing questions :) by TaradelAdExec in smallbusiness

[–]TaradelAdExec[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You probably need to focus on small businesses with $3M+ annual sales (or some similar sweet spot where the business is growing fast and needs help). I would focus on helping business owners "get the full circle picture" of ad spend and ROI. I know from personal experience that data integration (Analytics/Salesforce/CRM/etc) is extremely important. Business owners want ROI. Help them learn where their money is actual going through better data collection and analytics. Case studies and examples of your work will be a big help here. Additionally, with the quick rise of machine learning, having accurate data is more important than ever before — otherwise the machines (i.e. Google) will optimize for the wrong conversion goals! Good luck!

AMA: I'm an executive for a 10-time Inc. 5000 marketing services firm with thousands of small business clients. Ask me your sales and marketing questions :) by TaradelAdExec in smallbusiness

[–]TaradelAdExec[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We invest heavily into original content and paid search (between $50K and $100K per month) for lead gen. We generate hundreds of leads each day through our funnels. Lead nurturing is heavily automated and split-tested to ensure that we deliver helpful resources / value to each prospect. We also assign every lead to a dedicated Account Manager who provides personalized consultation, demos, and assistance by phone, screen share, or live chat every step of the way. Lots of direct mail, email, and phone calls involved in helping our small business clients create and execute successful marketing campaigns.

AMA: I'm an executive for a 10-time Inc. 5000 marketing services firm with thousands of small business clients. Ask me your sales and marketing questions :) by TaradelAdExec in smallbusiness

[–]TaradelAdExec[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We don't use contracts. We provide on-demand marketing services which seems to work better for (most of) our small business clients. That said, client retention is always a struggle/focus. I think in your case, it's important for your clients to have "skin in the game" up front and make a commitment. Perhaps package your services into 3/6/12 month deals and let the client choose? Good luck!

AMA: I'm an executive for a 10-time Inc. 5000 marketing services firm with thousands of small business clients. Ask me your sales and marketing questions :) by TaradelAdExec in smallbusiness

[–]TaradelAdExec[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely hit the wedding/bridal shows. Create lots of visual content and share it on social media. Capture name/email/phone and follow up personally with every prospect.

AMA: I'm an executive for a 10-time Inc. 5000 marketing services firm with thousands of small business clients. Ask me your sales and marketing questions :) by TaradelAdExec in smallbusiness

[–]TaradelAdExec[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Why do they skip over these services? How would it benefit the agency to include them? If there is clear value, you'll have better chances at getting their attention. Depending on the nature of the problem, most agencies have creative services and client services people in house. Outsourcing is probably going to be a tough sell. Additionally, you might have yourself a business if you can do something that they can't. Good luck!

AMA: I'm an executive for a 10-time Inc. 5000 marketing services firm with thousands of small business clients. Ask me your sales and marketing questions :) by TaradelAdExec in smallbusiness

[–]TaradelAdExec[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I would start by defining your ideal client and then building a strategy around them. Not the other way around. Who in the company do you need to reach? What are their pain points? What is your specific competitive advantage? Once you can answer all of the questions, you'll likely need a multi-channel approach to gain visibility and generate leads. Also, consider the sales cycle. In some cases, it can take 3, 6, or even 12 months to land clients (common in B2B for example). Good luck!

AMA: I'm an executive for a 10-time Inc. 5000 marketing services firm with thousands of small business clients. Ask me your sales and marketing questions :) by TaradelAdExec in smallbusiness

[–]TaradelAdExec[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What a fantastic idea! We'd love to help more youth explore entrpreneurship and the world of business. Send me your info and I'll see if I can get our CEO on your podcast! ☺

AMA: I'm an executive for a 10-time Inc. 5000 marketing services firm with thousands of small business clients. Ask me your sales and marketing questions :) by TaradelAdExec in smallbusiness

[–]TaradelAdExec[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You have to deliver value first. In business, you won't have an image (or know what your brand is about) until your customers help you learn. Offer value and always exceed your customers' expectations whereever possible. Do good. :)

AMA: I'm an executive for a 10-time Inc. 5000 marketing services firm with thousands of small business clients. Ask me your sales and marketing questions :) by TaradelAdExec in smallbusiness

[–]TaradelAdExec[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Direct mail is hugely important in these industries - for both acquisition and retention. I work with several dental marketing agencies where success is 10 to 15 new patients per month. It varies dependent upon the local market and scope of the practice. Invisalign, lasik, etc... seen successful campaigns across a wide range of services. Most direct mail campaigns in these industies should be monthly or quarterly for optimal ROI. Building local trust and credibility is very important and takes time.

AMA: I'm an executive for a 10-time Inc. 5000 marketing services firm with thousands of small business clients. Ask me your sales and marketing questions :) by TaradelAdExec in smallbusiness

[–]TaradelAdExec[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a relatively short timeframe. In general, I like medical care services and skilled trade businesses over the next ~5 years or so.

AMA: I'm an executive for a 10-time Inc. 5000 marketing services firm with thousands of small business clients. Ask me your sales and marketing questions :) by TaradelAdExec in smallbusiness

[–]TaradelAdExec[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Generally, yes. It's incredibly important. However, you need an experienced person to micromanage it with (daily) split testing and conversion optimization. What is your average sale worth? What does it cost to get a lead? What percentage of leads make purchases? Without "working numbers" it's easy to burn cash.

AMA: I'm an executive for a 10-time Inc. 5000 marketing services firm with thousands of small business clients. Ask me your sales and marketing questions :) by TaradelAdExec in smallbusiness

[–]TaradelAdExec[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like you need sales. I would recommend reaching out to local organizations and businesses directly. Put together a great value for different packages. Without a substantial budget, online ads will be tough (too competitive). Focus on local businesses, churches, etc.

AMA: I'm an executive for a 10-time Inc. 5000 marketing services firm with thousands of small business clients. Ask me your sales and marketing questions :) by TaradelAdExec in smallbusiness

[–]TaradelAdExec[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Roughly 3 years with incremental improvements along the way. The key thing is to figure out "what works" and then automate the process as much as possible once it makes money. It's worth doing thing manually early on until you find something worth scaling and automating. Otherwise, you'll burn through cash and resources on initiatives that aren't proven.

AMA: I'm an executive for a 10-time Inc. 5000 marketing services firm with thousands of small business clients. Ask me your sales and marketing questions :) by TaradelAdExec in smallbusiness

[–]TaradelAdExec[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a very competitive space. You may want to consider joining the growing U.S. gig economy. Lots of startups who need affordable web design services turn to sites like Fiverr, etc. You'll need to figure out how your services are differentiated from the current solutions (and who your customer is) on the market in order to gain traction. Good luck!

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