Having converted my business from a freelance gig to an agency in recent years, there are certain tools that I don’t always have.
So, I occasionally use sites like RocketLawyer to produce new contracts and service agreements. This time around, I was given a free trial and I used it to finish a handful of documents that had been on my to do list, fully expecting to cancel 6 days later, before it expired.
Of course, I knew I’d probably forget and part of me though, you know this might be a useful tool to have, even if we’ll rarely use it.
Fortunately, a few hours later I got a phone call from an account rep with RocketLawyer who asked a few questions, made sure I’d found what I needed and then told me “you’re probably not a good fit for RocketLawyer – I don’t see you needing enough to justify the expense.”
Wow. I was blown away – when was the last time an account rep or sales person TOLD You pointblank, “you’re not a good fit for our product, but thanks for checking it out.”
It’s brilliant, and frankly unexpected. Of course, it’s happened before.
More than once I’ve had a contractor move on because they didn’t fit the skillset of what I was contracting. I’ve done the same thing, referring clients to other writers or developers who can do what they need better than myself.
But for a large site with an established system in place, I was pretty surprised.

Why This Works

Not that I should be surprised. This is the new age of sales and making the customer 100% happy, even if they are not your customer.
What my account rep, Donald, did is EXACTLY what every company should do – ensure that, no matter how it affects their bottom line, the customer is happy in the end.
What good does it do Rocket Lawyer if they lock me into a pricey monthly payment plan that I never use and I eventually quit with nothing good to say about their service?
None.
But, what if I go and tell other people who DO need RocketLawyer how great their service is and they get new customers out of it – ones that actually need their help and will actively use the site and refer other people.
It makes good sense.

The Writer’s SEO Dilemma

Our business is at a strange transition right now. Content writing as a whole has evolved quite a bit. The days of keyword-stuffed content being churned out by the dozen are numbered (or gone depending on who you ask).
At the same time, backlink farming and other mass-SEO tasks are becoming less effective and less popular. So, increasingly, businesses and marketers are reaching out to us as a solution.
A company that specializes in writing SEO-friendly content that is ALSO very good so that it resonates with readers and creates relationships. We’ve changed who we sell to and how we sell because of these overarching shifts in the market.
At the same time, the trust level for SEO as an industry is at an all-time low. The quick-sales tactics, stalking phone calls and constant salesmanship that worked a few years ago to get people on those long term contracts is now scary. Businesses that NEED what we sell often tell me that they’re not sure it’s right for them. It’s a serious barrier.
But we get past it by talking to them not about the benefits of hiring us, but what we do and why that’s important. It’s about educating the prospect, giving them everything they need to succeed (even if they decide to take that knowledge and give to a nephew with a laptop) and not worrying about the sale.
?It’s working and when I see other companies eagerly embracing the idea of customer first, sale second, I want to share it with everyone.
Have you been told by anyone recently that they are not a good fit? Better yet, did they recommend someone who would be and provide useful tips to help you get started? Share below!