Buddy Web Design

Facebook is great for marketing websites. I am training a new sales representative from Tokai to do Facebook marketing for me. So i do the training via this blog entry so I can share with other sales representatives of Buddy Web Design in other parts of the country.

We did a lot of business in the deep south of Cape Town or the Southern Peninsula. As part of our marketing efforts we started with the Peninsula Tradesmen Directory a couple of years ago. Besides it being a tool to engage possible new clients it is a little business on its own.I need to log into the website, rethink the business model and update the tariffs. (DONE). Since moving away from the Southern Subburbs our web design marketing efforts focused on the Helderberg. We did deliver on a complete website to a new client in Kommetjie the other day. The Southern Peninsula is only 45 minutes away.

Pic above : This is a screenshot this morning from the Tokai Local community Facebook group. As I have mentioned my new sales representative lives in Tokai. I am assisting her to develop her Facebook Marketing business and specifically that of marketing my web design services as well as listings on the Peninsula Tradesmen Directory. IF she performs in that area I will not appoint another person targeting the same Facebook groups as it will get confusing when you have more than one sales rep targeting a specific area.

I replied by posting a link to the plumbers section of the Tradesmen Directory. You see everytime i market the Tradesmen Directory I also market my own business.

This is a key point I use when selling listings on the directory, that I market the Tradesmen Directory via Facebook. Tradesmen like plumbers are too busy during the day to sit on Facebook. We do it for them.

As per previous paragraph this slide exaplains that we do Social Media Marketing while the Tradesmen does the job. The first picture above is a simple example. I think it is a great tool to create awareness for our web design services as well as the Tradesmen Directory. Directories are often seen and viewed as so yesterday and old news but I believe if you focus on a niche topic or in a very specific geographical area then it can work, especially if the directory is also marketed via Facebook.

As I am writing this blog people are continuing to post suggestions for a Plumber who can attend to this lady problems. There are many suggestions coming in as is always the case whether people look for a web designer, painter, plumber or electrician.

Picture above : suggestions coming in fast and furious for Plumbers to assist this Lady in Tokai.

From these Facebook recommendations it is is very quick and easy to follow the links to the Facebook Pages to see if they:

a.) have a website and b.) if they would interested in a listing on the Tradesmen Directory even if they have their own website

Important tip to follow:

Picture above : There are many groups for specific areas such as the Southern Peninsula. All groups have a search function. See picture above where I searched for a Painter. I found a posting and reference to a local painter who services Tokai. So he too would be a good quick possible web design client to investigate: First we see if he has a website. Even if he has a domain, the website might be inactive or the website might be outdated or not displaying. Those are the little diamonds that need to be approached.

Using this specific person i found , not a Facebook Page but a person who goes by the name of Andev Painters. ( He used the personal profile of Facebook to create a business Page).

I did a Google search but could not find a website. I did see that the business already advertise on a couple of directories which is good news as it shows that the person is advertising in that manner and might be keen for a listing on the Peninsula Tradesmen Directory. I find that doing a bit of research before contacting possible new leads, leads to a higher conversion rate. It also saves on phone bills.

Its been a little over an hour since the post was created. There were 17 comments. 8 Plumbers were recommended . Its a relative small group (6126 members) and it is early 08:28 for Cape Town.

I will now start from the top to bottom and see who has a website , who needs a website or could do with a listing on the Tradesmen Directory.

Pic above: I messaged the first Plumbing company who has a website. This is perhaps the lazy way. When doing sales you could do well to start by saying hi and only respond when they have answered. In this example I jumped in warts and all. Our sales representative for the area would start with we instead of I (using above message).

Pic above : This is an example of not being lazy. Messaging this way ensures that you do get a response because they might think you need their services and not that you are trying to sell them something. Their attitude towards you would start of positive. Their probable response would be something like:

Thank you! How can we help you?

My response would be:

I actually do Social Media marketing for businesses like you and we also run the Peninsula Tradesmen Directory. Can I send you more information?

From the response I would decide on further action. Maybe a phone call, maybe I will just post the link to the Tradesmen directory / advertisers info.

Our main business is web design. The Tradesmen Directory is a little business on its own but what we really want is the plumber with no website or a website which needs to be upgraded.

Instead of writing individual emails to all who might be interested I created a new service on my personal website. My sales representative can copy the text when she messages people via Facebook or when she emails people more information. She can make the email her own and ad to it as she likes. She is a freelancer who is also busy doing an online Social Media marketing course. Alternatively she can start with. " Hi I do Facebook Marketing for Francois Marais. Here is more info:

https://www.francoismarais.co.za/p/918428/south-peninsula-tradesmen-marketing

Picture above : Again this is the lazy way to do it. (Getting tired because I am blogging while I am doing the actual Facebook Marketing.) Perhaps it is the better way. Who knows? The guy might just not be happy with his current website. Sales is a numbers game and you got to contact enough people. Apparently there is a limit of 50 businesses one can contact in this manner per day. I am hoping to reach that limit myself today. The " problem is that I usually get a positive response early on and then I start doing the actual work. As I build our web design business I will get people to do the actual website building or listings. One can only do so much on your own. By having a look at my personal website and my service i realise i seriously need to start getting others to assist me / work with me.

Pic above : This was one of the 9 plumbers recommended

I saw that they had a Facebook Page , looked for the website URL and followed that link. I then saw that their website is under construction.

This is when I get excited and what I am looking for!

Pic above : It is quite possible that this person has been battling with his current service provider or that he has tried to do everything himself. This is a great lead which I would typically follow up with a quick phone call as well.

So far its been a busy morning while doing the blog I am doing the actual marketing as well!

The guy whom I justs aid hello to replied positively so i told him why i contacted him and asked if i can share more information. Somewhere in a sales manual it said you need 3 yesses during a sales pitch to get a deal. I should perhaps change my approach then and ask more questions. Questions which would include : Would you like to get more business via Facebook? Would you like more traffic to your website? (It is during daytime and the guy did reply that he would look at it later. Now is the time Tradesmen are on site). Its a bit difficult to remain in sales mode as I am blogging here. This is the reason i need to get dedicated sales representatives who remain in sales mode and not get into nerd mode like me.

The plumber whose website is down also got a link to our predesigned templates for plumbers. We have great looking many predesigned templates which is one of the secrets why we are able to offer such affordable web design prices.

Its a great idea to show these examples when chatting to someone on Facebook.

See predesigned templates.

The example i used was plumbers and the just one group on Facebook. I don't have a Tradesmen Directory for every area, City or Town in South Africa but I can assist a sales representative or a new web design consultant in a specific area to do something similar. It should be viewed as a little business on its own but mainly as a conversation starter with possible new clients.

I am now going to finish the other plumbers mentioned. By that I mean see if they have websites , would consider a listing on the Tradesmen Directory and then Facebook message them, phone them or email them. I hope this blog entry assist future Sales Representatives in getting leads quicker and having a higher conersion rate. Ration between people contacted and sales.

One of the recommendations was simply an email address. I copied my services description from my personal website and made that the body of an email.

It only takes a few seconds.

Sales is a numbers game. You have to contact many people and keep on doing that. You will get the yesses. When you contact many people the no's does not bother you. It comes with the territory.