Even before launching our system in Beta in October, I did some trips in which I tried to sell it.
I really needed to go out there and see what the market really wanted, not what was in my mind.
In order to minimize risks, and because the system itself was not ready (and is not ready) for the big shots, I wrote emails to small business owners.
I first did this in Morocco in May, during a two weeks trip (I mix personal travel and business all the time) and I wrote to Riads (local "garden" hotels) which are not apartments (my core business).
I offered them "a riad dedicated website, easy to maintain and in 8 languages".
I sold two, having sent maybe 40 emails and met 5 owners.
One bought it because she was tech savy (did her own websites and so on) and immediately understood why it made sense, and the other one simply bought visibility.
She wanted to be "first in google" and did not want to hear anything else.
Did not care that she could edit her own prices and pictures, she could pay me for this.
Did not care about 8 languages, she wanted to be first in google, that's it.
I ended up selling her a "visibility results based" package and got the deal for a few hundres euros a year.
First money on the project, I'd take any deal :)
Fine for me, but it made me realize that the less they know, the more they pay only for certified results.
Make sense.
As the system grew, so I could target higher, and it became much easier and profitable.
So, do I want to target the guys who "never wanted to be on the internet"?
No, they will probably be go with a webdesigner who sells a joomla website for 2000-4000 euro (in Morocco they spend a lot, even more than Europe!) and then realize they are not "first in google" and spend 1000 more to be "first in google" with a local "SEO" firm.
I have no time and no need to explain how things work to them, I better invest my time with the guys who, after 5 minutes, tells me "great idea, let's try it, how much?".
There's many of them and they will appreciate my project more than anybody else.
Comments
Even before launching our system in Beta in October, I did some trips in which I tried to sell it. I really needed to go out there and see what the market really wanted, not what was in my mind. In order to minimize risks, and because the system itself was not ready (and is not ready) for the big shots, I wrote emails to small business owners. I first did this in Morocco in May, during a two weeks trip (I mix personal travel and business all the time) and I wrote to Riads (local "garden" hotels) which are not apartments (my core business). I offered them "a riad dedicated website, easy to maintain and in 8 languages". I sold two, having sent maybe 40 emails and met 5 owners. One bought it because she was tech savy (did her own websites and so on) and immediately understood why it made sense, and the other one simply bought visibility. She wanted to be "first in google" and did not want to hear anything else. Did not care that she could edit her own prices and pictures, she could pay me for this. Did not care about 8 languages, she wanted to be first in google, that's it. I ended up selling her a "visibility results based" package and got the deal for a few hundres euros a year. First money on the project, I'd take any deal :)
Fine for me, but it made me realize that the less they know, the more they pay only for certified results. Make sense. As the system grew, so I could target higher, and it became much easier and profitable.
So, do I want to target the guys who "never wanted to be on the internet"? No, they will probably be go with a webdesigner who sells a joomla website for 2000-4000 euro (in Morocco they spend a lot, even more than Europe!) and then realize they are not "first in google" and spend 1000 more to be "first in google" with a local "SEO" firm. I have no time and no need to explain how things work to them, I better invest my time with the guys who, after 5 minutes, tells me "great idea, let's try it, how much?". There's many of them and they will appreciate my project more than anybody else.