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- In Out-Of-Box
If you sell SEO services like I do, your SEO contract can make or break your sale. Over the last 10 years I have obsessively tweaked my SEO contract to perfection. Now, I’m giving my secrets away. I have literally sold million of dollars in SEO services. I know why people buy and don’t buy, so pay close attention. Don’t waste years of your time figuring out what I already know.
That being said, here are the 7 Super Secrets of SEO Contracts.
1. Simplicity
Your contract should be 5-7 pages max. Anything more is too much to read and overwhelming. Anything less, may seem a little light. The magic number is between 5-7 pages. Trust me on this, I have gone from a one page contract to a 30 page contract. Nothing has sold better for me that a contract between 5-7 pages.
2. Transparency
Your prospective clients aren’t buying SEO, they are buying you and your team. So be super transparent. Use big photos to show your team, but remember #1 above, keep those bios nice and short. I promise you transparency is huge. People buy from people.
3. A Process
Have your process laid out on one page of your contract. This shows your prospect that you’re a real pro who has perfected your services over time. I have been told many times that we were chosen over competitors simply because we had a process.
If you need to develop a process I highly recommend you adapt DASEMRA , the Agile SEO Cycle. Pop it into your contract and discuss it in sales meetings.
4. Speed
Delivering your SEO contract on time and early is huge.Build the relationship with your client before your competition does. Getting your SEO contract submitted to them early will help do that. You will have set the bar for quality, and you will be on their mind the longest.
5. Walk Through
Don’t just email your SEO contract, require a walk-through. Preferably this would be face-to-face, but the phone works pretty good to. Only send them the contract a few minutes before your meeting. The reason for this is that you do not want them going through your proposal on their own and misunderstanding something. That could be a disaster!
6. One Page of Terms
Don’t let your attorney write pages and pages of terms and conditions you will never use. After 10 years, I found out that 6-7 clauses in my contract were important. Everything else was BS. My Terms of Agreement page is now only one page. I love it and my clients love it. Less to worry about.
7. Credit Card Form
Ya know what I love? Checking my email (or fax) and randomly seeing a contract from prospect I hadn’t spoken with for a couple weeks. Make it easy for your prospects to pay you. Include a credit card form at the end of every contract so they can easily send in a payment. Of course I’d rather have a check, so I’d make that clear as well.
By: Marvin Russell