Kevin McCarthy - Founder, BlindSpots.comHuman Behavior Consultant, Leadership & Teamwork
Bio

Former CEO, COO, CTO & President with many "learning experiences" and a number of nice successes to draw upon. Co-founded and developed the 13th largest Century 21 franchise in the United States. Conceived and developed the first automated website builder for real estate prior to realtor.com's arrival to the market. Founded a private dot com business and sold it to a publicly held company. Pioneered several divisions for client companies. Trained thousands of leaders and small teams throughout North America and abroad. Certified coaches and trainers to do the same.


Recent Answers


This is really not a SaaS question as much as it is a simple marketing question. And, the assumption is you do not have $20 million to spend on marketing.

1. Focus - identify one buyer persona. Who is your ideal customer. Everyone equals no one!
2. Simplify - too many choices confuse buyers and slow or hinder sales.
3. Test - do some targeted marketing and monitor the results closely.
4. Pivot - make changes in your marketing and pricing quickly based on your results.

Summary: build a sales funnel targeting a single buyer for a single product/package then up sell them as appropriate. Focus on your sweet spot. Don't try to appeal to everyone.

Hope that helps. I noticed some good advice mixed in with the other answers. Good luck!


I totally agree with Preston. People will pay based on value. People usually have the money to pay for the things they value the most. Case in point, I've worked with impoverished families who need financial assistance and food gifts. Yet, some of them always have money for beer and cigarettes. Ironic, isn't it? Don't make it about price, make it about the value you provide in solving their needs or pain points.

Perceived value is also important to remember. You know the saying, "you get what you pay for". Well, that is a double edged sword. If you price too low, people will expect a low-end product or output. But, if you price too high and do not deliver the value you promised, you will never see them again and your negative reviews will eventually put you out of business or force you to change your model.

So, like Preston, I say price at the high end of the market provided your can deliver great value and customer service. If you try to price in the low - mid end of the market, you are just a commodity that can easily be priced shopped.

Sell in terms of the client's "investment" not "cost". Differentiate and show them how working with you will yield them greater results than hiring a commodity provider.

Call me if you need more help with your strategy. All the best!


As a small business owner, you are the salesperson. No one understands and owns your product more than you do. Is there a reason you are not closing those $20k deals? Do you not have the time? The skills? The processes?

Without knowing the details of your operation, I can only make assumptions. A friend said to me that he is not a sales person. I beg to differ. If you are passionate about something, you will be able to persuade someone to take action on it.

That said, if you are simple unable to close the sales, which is a different issue to address, then hire a sales person. You will need a talented person with great people skills who will learn your product intimately, build rapport and relationships with your leads/prospects and move them through a sales cycle to close the sale.

Hope that helps. Let's get on the phone if you need more assistance. I can definitely help! Best of wishes!




Telemarketing laws pertain to B2C - Business to Consumer calls. http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0198-telemarketing-sales-rule

What you are doing is a fact-finding call to gather research. There is an art to doing this effectively and ending up with a sale.

If you would like to chat further, schedule a free call. See my profile for a promo code.

Regards,

Kevin McCarthy


If the purpose of the meeting is clear to both of you, then have the meeting and build the relationship.

If there are false pretenses on either end, it will be a waste of time for both.

If he has the expectation that you are interested in a sales job and you blind side him with a pitch for freelance services, it will be a waste of time for both of you.

I would simply communicate ahead of time and make sure that he is open to learning about your services and knows that you have little or no interest in his sales position.

Hope that helps. Need more coaching on this? Set up a free get-acquainted call. Check my profile for a promo code.

Regards,

Kevin McCarthy


It sounds like you are not paid in the form of sales commission, correct?

The bottom line - out sell your peers and you will move to the top of the pay scale.

Sales people are only compensated on their production. Product and brand knowledge is not an option for a top sales person, it is a minimum standard requirement.

So, do as you are suggesting and master the product and brand. Then, become the most helpful sales person to the customers. And, outsell the others. You will be noticed.

By the way, if you are looking to make a career out of sales - a noble profession - product and brand knowledge is just part of the equation. You will need to master many other areas.

If you would like to chat, schedule a free call. Go to my profiile for a promo code.

Regards,

Kevin McCarthy


Place your program on JVZoo or another affiliate marketing platform and pay an affiliate fee to the marketers for promoting your program.

Give away a lot of free but valuable content to your online sphere of influence through twitter, linkedin, G+, FB, etc.

If you would like to schedule a free call, I'd be happy to spend a few minutes to help you out.

See my profile for a promo code.

Regards,

Kevin McCarthy
kevinmccarthy.com


NOT Wordpress! Facebook uses PHP among other languages, if that tells you anything.

Every programmer will be bias toward what they like and what they are used to coding with.

The bigger question for you is, have you completed your due diligence? Is there a real need for another crowd funding platform? Why would yours be so different that it would stand out among the others? Who is you target market? What is your unique selling proposition? How big is your potential market? Should you go vertical or horizontal? You may have already answered these and the two dozen other questions every entrepreneur must ask before they waste valuable time and money to become another business start up statistic.

Assuming you have a strong grasp of where you are heading and a solid strategic blueprint to be able to predict your growth, the last thing I will leave you with is this. The programing language is not nearly as important as your database structure and IT infrastructure for the purpose of scale. Not to say the language is not important - all three components work together. Spend time on the other two and work backwards.

If you would like to discuss this further at no charge, use the link below. I provide a free 30 minute consultation to first time callers.

https://clarity.fm/kevinmccarthy/FreeConsult

Best regards,

Kevin McCarthy
www.kevinmccarthy.com


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