November 27, 2023

How to Sell PPC Management Services?

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Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can be an extremely effective way for businesses to drive targeted traffic to their website and generate leads and sales.

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However, managing PPC campaigns requires specialized skills and constant optimization to ensure success. This is where PPC management agencies come in.

As a PPC marketing agency, you have the knowledge and resources to set up and manage profitable PPC campaigns on platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads.

But running a successful agency means more than just creating campaigns – you need to be able to sell your Pay Per Click services effectively.

How to Sell PPC Management Services?

How to Sell PPC Management Services

In this comprehensive guide, we will walk through the critical elements of selling PPC services, including:

  • Understanding what potential clients are looking for
  • How to set your pricing
  • Crafting a compelling proposal
  • Streamlining your sales process
  • Choosing the right business model

By the end, you’ll have actionable tactics to attract and close more PPC clients. Let’s dive in!

The Mindset for Selling PPC Services

Before we get into the specifics, it’s important to ground yourself in the right mindset:

You are selling services to another human being. At the end of the day, your client is simply a person trying to make the best decision for their business. Any information you provide should aim to help them decide quickly and confidently.

Your ideal client likely already has some web presence and is looking to further optimize it with PPC. They aren’t a complete beginner to digital marketing.

The most effective way to sell PPC services is to find clients who are already convinced of PPC’s value. Don’t waste time trying to “evangelize” the stubborn.

If you approach PPC sales with empathy and aim to serve those already committed to digital advertising, you’ll be setting yourself up for success. Now let’s look at how to put this mindset into practice.

Understanding What Clients Want?

To sell your services effectively, you need to intimately understand what potential clients are looking to achieve with PPC marketing. We can break down clients into three tiers based on their level of digital marketing adoption:

Beginner Clients

These businesses likely already have an existing client base, but their web presence doesn’t fully align with current digital marketing best practices. Common characteristics include:

  • Basic website with little optimization.
  • Little or no experience with paid advertising.
  • Goals of expanding reach and gaining online visibility.

For beginner clients, your job is to quantify the initial PPC investment required, set proper expectations around results, and convey the long-term value. These clients know digital advertising is important but need guidance on how to get started.

Intermediate Clients

Intermediate clients have likely already invested in digital advertising but didn’t achieve the desired results. Some signs you’re dealing with an intermediate client:

  • Existing ads/campaigns that are underperforming.
  • Misalignment between goals and tracking.
  • Poor account structure or strategy.

With intermediate clients, your job is to do an audit of their existing setup to identify issues and then clearly explain how you will fix them. These clients need you to get their PPC back on track and optimized.

Advanced Clients

Advanced clients have PPC campaigns already running smoothly. Their goal is to push for greater volume, faster results, or expanded reach. Typical characteristics include:

  • Heavy focus on ROI and clear key performance indicators.
  • Large budgets.
  • Highly optimized conversion tracking.

For advanced clients, your job is to demonstrate how you can take their PPC campaigns to the next level. This means showcasing how you can expand reach, accelerate results, or boost ROI beyond what they are already achieving.

Client Level Comparison

Client Level Common Goals Your Role as the Agency
Beginner Expand reach, gain online visibility Quantify initial investment, set expectations
Intermediate Fix underperforming campaigns Audit setup, explain optimization plan
Advanced Greater volume, faster results Showcase how you will accelerate performance

How Should You Price Your Services?

Pricing your PPC services appropriately ensures you remain profitable while providing maximum value to clients. There are a few common pricing models:

  • Hourly: You charge an hourly rate for any PPC work done. Rates typically range from $50 to $200 per hour.
  • Project-Based: You quote a fixed price per project. For example, you may charge $1,500 to set up a new campaign.
  • Retainer: Clients pay a monthly fee for ongoing campaign management and reporting. Average monthly retainers range from $1,000 to $5,000.

(Of course, these pricing models can be combined if appropriate.)

Factors that allow you to charge higher pricing:

  • Broader scope of services required.
  • More complex client situations or niches.
  • Greater revenue opportunity for the client’s business.

Conversely, pricing may need to be lower if:

  • The client already has an extensive PPC setup in place.
  • Strong in-house marketing team to support you.
  • Limited ability to directly impact client revenue.

The pricing you set should directly map to the value you will provide. Understand the client’s needs, projected results, and your role – then align pricing accordingly.

How to Create a Winning PPC Proposal

After identifying a qualified lead, the next step is putting together a solid proposal that persuades them to buy your services. An effective PPC proposal includes:

  1. Demonstration of Deep Understanding

Thoroughly analyze any existing campaigns and materials provided by the prospect. Prepare insightful questions that showcase your experience. The goal is to make it abundantly clear you grasp the nuances of their situation deeply.

  1. Statement of Project Goals

Be as specific as possible in defining what results constitute success, whether it’s a 10% lower CPA, 100 additional leads per month, etc. Quantifiable goals get prospects excited and provide accountability.

  1. Detailed Scope of Services

Break down exactly what services, deliverables, and ongoing management you will provide. The prospect should have zero doubt about what their money is buying. Use visuals like tables to simplify the scope.

  1. Precise Pricing Summary

After detailing the services clearly, provide pricing for your proposal tied directly to the scope. Breakout costs by project phase, monthly retainer, additional fees, etc.

  1. Case Studies and Examples

Have 3-5 case studies showing quantifiable results you’ve achieved for similar clients ready. Sprinkle these into your proposal to build confidence.

  1. Clear Next Steps and Timeline

Close your proposal by recapping the next steps for the prospect if they decide to move forward. Provide a projected timeline so they know what to expect.

Getting these six elements right in your proposal is proven to significantly increase close rates. And remember, the goal isn’t to sell everything in the proposal – it is simply to move the prospect into a conversation.

Optimizing Your PPC Sales Process

Even armed with a compelling proposal, closing PPC clients still requires an effective sales process. Here is an optimized four-step process to convert prospects into happy clients:

  • Step 1: Identify Promising Leads

Leverage paid tools like SEMrush, SpyFu, and Google Analytics to find prospects with existing Google and Facebook campaigns that need optimization. Prioritize leads in lucrative niches where you have expertise.

You can also keep an eye out for prospects promoting jobs related to PPC to indicate a potential need. Networking events, referrals from existing clients, and well-crafted cold emails also work.

  • Step 2: Make Introductory Contact

Keep your initial outreach simple and focused on piquing interest instead of overtly selling. Send prospects a personalized email, message, or letter briefly introducing yourself and offering to provide a free audit of their existing campaigns.

  • Step 3: Deliver Free Audit + Consultation

For interested prospects, deliver a short but high-value written audit of their existing campaign strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for optimization. Then schedule a 30-minute call to discuss your findings and answer any questions.

The goal here is demonstrating your expertise and building comfort – not selling. Simply feel out fit and interest.

  • Step 4: Provide Proposal + Follow Up

If budget and need align, send over a polished proposal tailored to the prospect’s needs uncovered during the consultation call. Make it clear you’re happy to hop on another call to walk through the proposal in detail.

Then patiently follow up and answer any additional questions that arise as they evaluate moving forward.

Master these four steps as a consistent sales process – each optimized to move prospects closer to becoming clients. Now let’s discuss various business models to consider once you’re closing deals.

Choosing the Right Business Model

As your agency starts closing more PPC clients, you’ll have to determine the right business model that enables sustainable growth. Here are two proven options to consider:

  • Performance Marketing Agency

With this model, you position your agency clearly as performance marketing experts who deliver quantifiable results through PPC and other channels like paid social or SEO.

This allows you to seamlessly provide additional services beyond PPC campaigns as you grow. It also attracts clients focused on continuous optimization rather than just setup help.

The key is having rigorous tracking, reporting, and optimization processes baked into your recurring services so clients have full confidence they only pay more when their results improve.

  • PPC Partner Agency

Alternatively, you may choose to focus very narrowly on providing dedicated PPC campaign management and optimization as an extension of clients’ in-house marketing teams.

This partner agency approach allows you to deeply specialize in the PPC channel and be the client’s go-to expert. Monthly retainers may be lower but you build trust to take over larger portions of search budgets.

Essentially you act as integrated PPC talent without the burden clients larger agencies bring. The streamlined approach can work very well.

Choosing between a performance marketing agency model or one hyper-focused on PPC comes down to your goals and bandwidth. Both can work – identify what option best fits your expertise and growth plan.

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Conclusion:

Attracting and closing qualified leads consistently ultimately comes down to mastering essential PPC sales fundamentals, including:

  • Targeting businesses already invested in digital advertising.
  • Tailoring pricing and services to client needs.
  • Crafting polished proposals focused on results.
  • Following a sales process centered on value.
  • Choosing a sustainable business model.

There is a tremendous opportunity to help businesses optimize their PPC campaigns – over $150 billion will be spent on search ads alone in 2023 according to eMarketer.

By putting these best practices outlined above into play, your agency will separate itself from the pack and thrive in the market.

The demand is there – now go captivate clients and grow!

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