Chat with a small biz owner in Nashville changed how I pitch SEO packages

I was grabbing coffee last Tuesday and this lady who runs a boutique clothing store started talking about her marketing. She told me she turned down three agencies because they all promised her first page Google rankings in 30 days. I laughed but then she said something that stuck with me. She said she just wanted someone to explain why her site was slow and what a backlink even does. I realized I've been selling results without ever asking what the client actually understands or needs. Now I'm trying to lead with education instead of guarantees. Has anyone else had a client teach them something basic about their own process?

2 comments

2 Comments

ben4867d agoMost Upvoted

Did that make you realize how much of your pitch was just industry jargon you assumed everyone understood?

hugo_hayes7d ago

Does it ever feel like we're all speaking different languages at these things? I remember presenting to a small business group once and someone finally asked if 'synergize' meant we just wanted them to use our software with their existing tools. @ben486, that moment made me realize I was just throwing out buzzwords without checking if anyone actually followed me.