Starting out, it takes a lot of work and there are so many components involved in the process.
You literally do anything and everything you can to get work.
You even take all of the difficult clients…
Learn how to pre-qualify your leads and only acquire “A” and “B” customers in steps 3, 4, & 5 in the DYB System.
Step 3 is Owning the first page of Google.
When we started over again in FL going door to door looking for work, we started searching the internet for how to build a website.
What we built was a blog really, but it worked. Very well in fact.
You might think to yourself, “Well, I’m not a writer, I’m just a painter.”
I used to have the same self-talk. To make it worse, 8th grade was the last year of school I passed.
I dropped out at 15. If I did this, you guys can, too. To help you, here is a link to download 52 Blog Post Ideas.
Step 4: DYB Website Conversion Funnel
Once leads started to come in from blogging, I found that a lot of them were not that great and I was spending too much time driving from town to town after bad leads.
I asked one of my mentors, Bob Burg, for advice and he suggested I read Robert Cialdini’s book Influence. So I did…
Side note: The key to keeping a mentor is to do the thing they suggested and then report back to them what you learned, applied, and the results. They will feel their time invested in you is paying off and not for nothing and will continue to offer wisdom and guidance.
After reading Cialdini’s book Influence, I went straight to work redesigning my website and I saw big gains in my quality of leads and close ratio from website leads.
Then Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Little Red Book of Selling, told me to start asking my customers why they bought from me, after every sale. And what they told me (and will tell you, if you ask) is pure gold.
I took that information and further improved my website, this more than doubled our close ratio from website leads, but that’s not even the best part…
The best part is that the website alone sold the job for me before I even arrived at the estimate.
I only know this because after I was awarded the job on the spot, I would say,
“Thank you. You could have gone with another company. Why did you choose us?”
And many would reply, “Steve, you had the job before you arrived. We didn’t call another company.”
Some were impressed with all the video testimonials we had, or better yet, recognized somebody they knew.
For others it was the simple You Can Book Me calendar at the bottom of every page of our site. They loved the idea of not having to make a bunch of phone calls.
Step 5: The ABC’s of Selling (Always Be Connecting)
The 3rd and major component to getting started as fast as possible is networking. This is one of the fastest ways to get known, build relationships, and get high-value leads, especially when getting started.
Start with BNI. Find a local BNI chapter in your town that has at least 30 members. Once you join, make it a point to get to know each member and what a perfect lead looks like to them. If you focus on them, you will be taken care of.
Then, join your chamber of commerce and do the same thing. Focus on others and what a great referral looks like to them. Buy Bob Burg’s book Endless Referrals for more on this.
The highest and most connected networking group is Rotary. The key with Rotary and why it attracts the most successful if because the focus is not business or networking but in service to others.
Upon joining Rotary, find a community to join and then serve. If you do this, again you will be well taken care of.
Focus on these 3 areas and you should see serious gains in the first year alone.
If you read this far, I’d like to give you a FREE copy of my DYB Book. Just pay the $7 for S&H. Plus I’ll sign it and include a diagram of my DYB System for you.
Remember, it’s the hard that makes the great. You’ve got this!