I set out a challenge for myself this month. The aim of the challenge was to reach out to 10 businesses for 10 days and sell them a service (social media marketing).
The rules where that I could use any method of cold out reach. I could cold call, email, Facebook message, door-to-door, video message, basically any form of outreach that I seen fit. I done most of these but focused on only one or two methods that best suited me.
Chosen method
The method(s) I chose to use as my main form of outreach were Facebook along with video messaging. I also done a few cold emails and also the odd cold call. I have used cold calling in the past but I am currently exploring other methods and seeing what best suits me.
I would advise you to split test all methods of outreach. This way you can see what is bringing you the most results and focus more on that specific method.
Okay so how did I actually make this work?
Its pretty simple and is very repeatable.
How it works…
Go to your Facebook search bar and type in what type of business you want to contact and type an area to search for them in.
Now simply look through your search results and start reaching out to businesses who you think could benefit from using social media marketing.
Send them a message on Facebook asking could you speak to the person in charge of the social media page (see below)
Do this 10 times and reply to the businesses accordingly. Some might not get back to you, others will respond with a message saying they are all covered in the social media department. That’s fine this is a numbers game so the main objective is to reach as many high quality leads as possible.
If the business messages you back something along the lines of “We deal with our social media ourselves, is there anything I can help you with?” Then DO NOT message them back, but send them a Loom.
Loom allows you to send video screen recordings via a link. Once the prospect opens this link you will get a notification telling you they viewed your video. This is important as you will know for sure they have seen your message.
In the video itself just explain who you are and make some highlights to their Facebook and website on how things could slightly improve. Give them compliments on what is working well also. Just keep it short and sweet and don’t ramble on!
Wait a day or two and follow up with the prospect and tell them you seen that they viewed the video and did they find the information helpful or useful.
What I found
After reaching out to around 100 businesses I have secured 1 meeting. This may seem like a lot of work for not very rewarding results, but this was with very minimal work. It took me around 30-45 mins each day to do my outreach. If I can just increase my number of outreach slightly then I can secure more meetings.
Remember I only need 1-2 clients to replace my full time income. And doing this method is definitely getting me on the right track in terms of client outreach.
I also noticed that I made some good connections with other businesses who could potentially want to work with me on down the line. Due to the fact i was talking on camera quite a lot I started to feel more and more comfortable doing it, which was such a big fear of mine.
Overall I am happy with the results but I know I can do much better and be on my way to finally securing my first client. This year I am determined to reach my goal of being able to create a successful online business and becoming financially free. This blog is helping me document my journey and allowing me to share my valuable experiences with you so you don’t make the same mistakes as me.
Thanks for reading
Conor