Scene 1 – “been there, done that”:
CEO: So what can you do for us?
Me: I’ll keep it brief. We bring targeted traffic to your website. Then we make sure that more of your visitors convert.
CEO: Hmmm. How do you do bring more traffic?
Me: We start with Google. We make sure that your website is optimised both for—
CEO: No no, we tried SEO. Didn’t work. What else?
Me: Okay, we can revisit that. We also use AdWords to—
CEO: Not interested. We tried that. Too expensive. Didn’t work. What else?
Me: I wouldn’t rule-out Google just because what you’ve already tried didn’t work. Our approach is to—
CEO: Google’s too expensive. It doesn’t work. We tried it. Not interested. What else can you do?
Me: Well… we also work at converting more visitors to customers. We—
CEO: We already do that. Doesn’t really work. What else…
Scene 2 – “open minds”:
Two days ago I spoke to a group of startups as part of the Springboard programme.
I shared my experiences of working with SEO and Google AdWords, and also shared what I feel are 23 of the most common website mistakes.
The buzz and thirst for knowledge in the room was electric. Particularly impressive as I didn’t even begin my sessions until 4:30 in the afternoon; a time when many of us are starting to droop a little.
What struck me the most was the willingness to hear new ideas and the open-minded approach to everything I had to say.
The twenty-something people in the room knew that there are no guarantees; that they won’t all automatically turn their ideas into sustainable businesses, but the combination of raw talent and open minds stack the odds heavily in their favour.
