I work for the web development company, Web Logic Now. For years, we have focused almost exclusively on serving the client base, relying on word of mouth to bring in new clients. This worked very well and we have grown at a comfortable rate since 2001, but it’s time to go out and find new customers. Lots of them. It’s time to take the Gary Vaynerchuk approach (that’s a blog post for another day).
I could focus on cold calling, warm calling, toasty hot calling, and some other classic techniques. Boring. Instead I’ve invented a new process in lead generation. I call it… well, I don’t have a name yet, but I’d love to hear your suggestions.
The Lead Generation
First and foremost, I want to express that my goal for Web Logic Now is to bring serious value to the companies we work with. I want to open people’s eyes to what they can do. There’s nothing like showing someone something they didn’t know was possible. It’s great. Anyways, I’m taking my web development business and attacking a new niche – really poorly designed websites. Have you ever stumbled across a website and been surprised at, well, how bad it was?
Some Quick Math
I safely assume there are 100,000 terrible websites. The actual number doesn’t matter – what matters is that it’s a big number. Let’s assume half of those website owners realize their site is terrible, they just haven’t gotten around to doing something about it. Let’s also assume that half of those are interested in hearing about how to improve their website. Okay that’s like… let’s see…. carry the seven… 25,000 website owners who would be interested in hearing about improving their website.
Here’s the cool part. I have a plan for getting in touch with those people, helping them, and (this is key) turning them into customers.
Meet OoglyWeb.com
OoglyWeb.com is a place for people to submit ugly websites that need help. It’s like checking a website into digital rehab. Websites can be submitted by the site owner or someone who is simply fed up with using a terrible website. It’s like a cry for help, a protest, or calling 911 on behalf of a website. Simply submit the URL of a website you believe needs help.
Next, I’ll contact the owners of the submitted websites, tell them that they’ve been submitted to OoglyWeb.com, and offer them free consultation on how to improve their website. Along with my recommendations I will also include pricing options if they should choose to hire me to implement the solutions. Listen, by the time I even suggest that they could hire me, I’ve already had several positive, honest, helpful interactions with them. If they like my suggestions, I believe they will be willing to take our relationship to the next level and hire me.
What do you think? Am I crazy? Will this work? Do you have suggestions? Just had another idea – instead of hiring ME to do the work, I could refer them to others and instead collect a referral fee. Hmm…
How will people react if I tell them their site was submitted to OoglyWeb.com – will they be offended? You’ve read this whole thing, now don’t waste your thoughts by not sharing with the rest of us – go comment!
{ 2 comments }
That’s a great idea. I can’t count the number of times I’ve wanted to write an e-mail telling someone that their website was an atrocity. You just have to be careful about how you phrase it I guess.
Elliott,
Thanks for commenting! I know exactly what you mean… I want to help those websites (if they’ll accept it). Next time you stumble across a terrible website submit it to OoglyWeb.com and I’ll drop them a note and offer some help (or at the least, point them in the right direction for improvement).
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