Feeling like a hostage to your web design / IT supplier?

Web Design Services, Get Rid Of Your Web DesignerMany small business people treat one of their most precious assets as an afterthought, rather than as one of their most precious assets. It’s not inconceivable for a website to be worth $100,000+ when there is a legitimate brick and mortar business “behind it”.

Put differently, years ago, when you bought a Yellow Pages ad, you’d SPEND thousands of dollars with NO appreciation in the capital asset value of the phone book. With the Internet, every dollar spent on your website should increase its capital value. Think about it this way – if you were assess two identical businesses, one with a website and the other without one, which one would YOU buy?  Enough said.

Most small businesses don’t proactively deal with their website and/or web online presence for a long list of reasons including:

  • “I don’t get all this Interweb stuff”
  • “I don’t like Facebook and don’t understand why people waste so much time ‘talking’ to complete strangers”
  • “My son-in-law, nephew or neighbour seems to understand it and is not charging me much to handle my website…”
  • “Technology is changing too quickly, I can’t keep up.”
  • “I don’t get any web inquiries so it’s not worth worrying about.”
  • “My staff’s taking care of it, in fact, we all kinda pitch in to get stuff done.”*

Whatever your excuses, as a small business person, in this day and age you simply cannot hand over your online presence to just anyone anymore than you would give them the pin code to your bank card. I am totally serious.

Lack of attention to and understanding of the Internet’s role in business is one of the fastest rising causes of small business failures today. Sticking your head in the sand is no longer an option. The Interweb is here to stay and the Yellow Pages era is over. (Pstt! The phone book era was over more than 10 years ago!)

If you’re a small business owner operator, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Can you make reasonable demands of your web supplier with commercial results or are you walking on eggshells every time something needs to get fixed or done?
  • Are you proactively engaged making things happen to achieve YOUR online outcomes or are you a victim of your supplier’s whims and preferences because “it’s what they do and how they do it?”
  • Are you tracking metrics at least every month so you know what every dollar spent is producing for you in sales and/or profits?
  • Do you know if you actually own your domains and if you do, do you know how to access them?
  • Do you know who is hosting your site and what the access and security protocols are to protect you from hackers and other risks?
  • Does it take more than 24 hours to make minor updates and/or correct something on your website and/or blog?

If you don’t have positive answers to most of these questions – are you at least a little worried about the risk to your business?

I see it every single day. A hard working business operator who is so busy working IN his/her business that the Internet gets pushed aside and the Web / IT supplier knows it and exploits it.

How do unscrupulous web / IT people exploit business owners?

  • They make everything they do sound complicated when in reality it’s so easy, even a fifth grader can do it now with the latest new online tools
  • They make it seem intimidating when it’s never been easier to understand BECAUSE online success is no longer about technology, it’s about STRATEGY which is what business people are good at (and what IT people are NOT good at… Hmmm…)
  • They tell them it’s expensive and labour intensive when many/most solutions are FREE, quick and easy to implement in minutes.

Why do they do this? Because they either don’t know any better or because they know that if YOU knew what I teach my clients, you won’t need them.

Let’s look at another industry – optometry. Did you know you can get rid of your glasses without expensive eye surgery? You can.

If the strategies have been around for more than 100 years,
why do more and more people need glasses?

Simple – the optometry business model is not to cure you of  near or farsightedness, it’s to sell you glasses and contacts on an on-going, recurring basis for the rest of your life.

The solution to wearing glasses existed in the late 19th century. Back in the 1880’s it was UNFASHIONABLE to wear ‘spectacles’ so opticians gave you a treatment plan to return your eyesight back to normal – without medication or surgery.

But there was a problem – there was no on-going recurring business.

That’s when the ‘industry’ changed and today, more than 100 years later, more people wear glasses than ever before.

You have to question people’s motivations – if their model is based on making money FROM you rather than FOR you, you’ve got a problem.

I’ve been wearing glasses (or contacts) for more than 30 years. Within the last 2 weeks, I reduced my prescription strength from -2.25 to -1.00. I expect to be free of glasses and contacts within the next 30 days.

I don’t want to rid you of your glasses, I want to rid you of your
frustrating and aggravating Web / IT supplier
who is working against your best interests

The day has arrived when you don’t have to have a specialised web/IT company fleecing you, trying to convincing you that you can’t do it on your own when you absolutely can.

There are thousands of small business people getting rid of expensive, arrogant and troublesome Web / IT companies and are reaping the benefits.

When you get control of your website and online presence, you can:

  • Save money – a LOT of money. Most of the tips, tools and techniques are free or cost very little.
  • Reduce your level of aggravation and frustration that distracts from you doing what you enjoy. Without the constant confrontation with a 3rd party, you can focus on what’s most important to you when it’s convenient.
  • Act and react faster. With full and total control over your website and blog, you can instantly make changes to react to competitors, a newsworthy event or special promotional idea – without delay and ‘negotiation’ to put it at the top of the queue’.
  • Work on your website when it suits you, rather than try to fit into someone else’s rigid ‘production schedule’. That means you can do it while travelling, in your hotel room on a rainy night or in-between meetings at a local coffee shop when you’re inspired and have a few spare minutes.
  • Be much consistent, congruent and authentic. Let’s face it, by the time you delegate something to a 3rd party, everyone wants his/her 2 cents to count. That means your original idea gets watered down, sometimes altered beyond recognition all for the cause of “improvement” when deep down, you know your clients and prospects better than ‘they do’.
  • Get more involved in your branding and positioning. With the Internet’s audio and visual capabilities, you can get much closer to your clients than ever before. You might uncover a new source of leads by becoming more engaged and involved.
  • Have more fun! Yes, that’s right. The Internet doesn’t have to be a chore. It can and should be fun. I am NOT advocating wasting countless hours with strangers on Facebook, I’m simply suggesting that as you explore new strategies, you’ll probably get reinvigorated by the new ways you can relate to your clients.
  • Increase your asset value much more quickly. A 3rd party supplier doesn’t understand your industry as you do. A well developed online presence can become a priceless asset – when you follow your intuition and do what works. When you’re in charge, without the constant hassles of dealing with an outsider, you can grow (the asset) much more quickly.
  • Expand your sphere of influence. Without becoming an industry advocate, with an improved online presence, you will attract more attention and as such gain pre-eminence in stature that otherwise would elude you. That doesn’t mean you’ll become the next celebrity, it does mean that your peers, clients and prospects will admire and respect you for who you’ve become.

Imagine controlling your website and blog WITHOUT the intervention,
constant frustration and aggravation of your Web / IT company?

Stop Imagining. It’s here right now.

But you have to have the courage to make it happen.

I want to teach you to become fully “web independent” so you can navigate the web on your own WITHOUT ANY dependency on any 3rd party whatsoever.

Imagine what that will be worth to you in the next year… And every year after that!

Click on the hyperlink to find out more about the Exponential Internet Marketing Bootcamp. It’s a 3-day investment that will pay off for a lifetime.

Still sitting on the fence?

You can sit on the fence until the next time you want something done to your website and your web developer says:

  • “I’ll get to it as soon as I can, certainly within the next WEEK OR SO.”
  • “No probs, that’ll be $100+ GST to fix that typo.”
  • “We don’t think that will work (free option), we suggest X at a cost of $Y.”
  • “We don’t work on weekends.”
  • “Sorry, our tech guy’s on vacation in Bali…”
  • “If you want it urgently, we have a 50% surcharge.”

When you’ve had enough – join the thousands of other Australian businesses who have given their arrogant web guys the flick!

* Here’s a quick question for you if you have your staff kind of handling your Internet tasks… “Do you also let your car mechanic cut your hair?” If not, why not, after all you’re paying him, so he could just do it at the same time… Getting your UNTRAINED staff to take care of your Internet Strategies is just as ridiculous as a car mechanic cutting your hair and you’d NEVER consider that as an option. Yet one of your most important business activities is being treated with the same disrespect… Seriously, think about it. If it’s any consolation, most SMALL businesses do it this way – THAT’S WHY THEY ARE SMALL AND ALWAYS WILL BE.

If you want your staff to competent take care of your Internet Marketing Strategies, you need to train them properly – simple as that. You know what to do… Bring them along to the Exponential Internet Marketing Bootcamp.

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