I will start this by saying that I love this industry. I get to meet a lot of characters from all over the world, both good and bad, local and online. I met this character James Wabel online after he purchased some SEO leads about 2 years ago to this day. James wanted to try some leads out. From what I can tell, I believe he was fairly new to the industry and up in age in his 60’s.
The phone call that started it all
Over the phone, he had a very distinguished voice that I can still hear to this day. He mentioned something about a SEO platform that he and a few guys use to sell that did most of the offsite SEO work for you. All you have to do was install a plugin – either WordPress or html/php – and it links your site to relevant sites in the same industry and makes subpages based on your keywords. Nothing mind-blowing, but very convenient and time-saving. Plus, there are tens of thousands of sites in there, and the guys do a good job at quality control.
So he bought some SEO leads. I was naturally intrigued by this platform and decided to try it out as well. He was a good salesman because all he did was mention it, and I knew I needed it. We did a conference demo call and did some free trials and paid trials, and the platform worked pretty well most of the time. I learned these things: It depends on competition, and don’t try super hard keywords on low authority sites right away. But for local and semi-competitive key terms, it worked wonders.
Free SEO trials as a sales tactic works
James introduced me to the Free SEO Trial technique. Just offer the potential client the first 30 days free with no money upfront and no credit cards. I am quoting him on the script we wrote here.
“We are so confident we can help you we are willing to do a 30 day free trial on our SEO platform. NO CONTRACTS, NO CREDIT CARD NUMBERS AND NO UPFRONT MONEY!! You have nothing to lose and knowledge to GAIN!” – James Wabel.
This technique works because you build the clients trust and then they can see your results. Yes, it sucks that you don’t get paid in 30 days as well as the risk of not getting paid at all. But hey, no risk no reward. Over time, I found out the success rate this way is much higher than trying to get paid upfront. Hey, go figure!
I decided to put most of my clients on the platform and everyone had success with it. Some more than others. This platform solved the age-old SEO problem of finding relevant, quality backlinks related to your industry. We were both making money but life got in the way. I was going through a lot of personal issues with bad partners. Then I found out he was battling cancer. He would call me sometimes slurring his words and I thought he was hitting the bottle. Later I found out it was his medication that was making him do that.
I wished him the best and hoped he would beat it. This was in the summer of 2016. From what I knew about James, he cared a lot about providing for his family and was still working hard while battling his illness. Anyone who knows me knows that 2016 was the worst year of my life mentally. Starting a new business, getting involved with partners and people that I shouldn’t have, business partner disputes, being extorted, lied to, etc. I can go on. I fell out of touch with James, but continued to use the platform here and there and still thought of him.
Sell to the sellers Chris!
I was on my way to work this week, and I remembered something he said to me that popped into my head when thinking strategies and sales techniques.
Sell to the sellers, now that’s sexy!
This is true when you look at people like Alex Becker, Russel Brunson, Neil Patel and even Tai Lopez. The majority started out providing SEO to clients/businesses or themselves, and now what do they do? They sell to people like you and me who provide client services and rake in millions. So I decided to start selling the platform to agencies instead of businesses/clients. Because instead of getting 1 sale here and there, sellers will bring their whole clientele to the table. It’s not rocket science, just basics.
So as I was on the bus passing the Flatiron Building. I decided to see what’s up with my man James…Sadly I read James Bruce Wabel, 68, of Wilkesboro passed away Friday, Nov. 24, 2017, at Wilkes Senior Village.
Damn. Too late. No words left.