After five years of sitting in a chair in my prior position fielding call after call from salespeople in the industry I am now a member of, I got to know the habits of the SEM sales rep, as well as some of the pricing algorithms they use for fees. I always found the “Based on a Percentage of Ad Spend” school of thought disturbing. I would listen for a slim window of opportunity between pitches to calmly ask them, “How do you get paid?” Invariably we bobbed and weaved back to the old standby: “A Percentage of Your Marketing Spend.” The call usually ended with me letting them know we weren’t interested at the time. Here’s the kicker: these companies were calling to replace me in my capacity for more money than I was being paid. Further, based on the percentage / spend fee formula, it seemed it would be in their best interest to keep the ad spend high. I never quite understood it.

I just read a blog post from a very gifted and dear friend that just about sums up something I and probably many others can directly relate to. I quote:

“I have not been employed by anyone other then myself, since 1999 (the year my son was born).  Although I have been a busy musician, small business woman, and artist, as well as book keeper/accountant for my husbands company, it has been a long, long time since I have had a “boss” or a “real” job!

I am so in love with intersecting(LA), and so committed to seeing it manifest, I am willing to do whatever it takes.  With the recession, and a promise to my husband, that I would not use our personal money to finance the project, it has been really difficult to keep the project moving forward.” (source: Jamie Coakley. McArtist.)

My Sentiments exactly. I vowed to never punch a time clock again but I also vowed to care for my family. So I add a new vow: WhiteStone Results Marketing will never propose arrangements with companies based on Ad Spend. Our goal is to cut your spending and increase your sales. We will name a retainer, possibly a performance-based contingency plan, and we will work with our hearts as well as our heads. To plagiarize a well-known Fast Food chain’s slogan: “I’m lovin’ it!”

Would you like to supersize that?

©2010-2011  McDonald’s

It’s true, more traffic generally equals more money. If you’re running a PPC campaign or paying someone to get vistors to you some other way, more traffic also means more money out. Think of it as a freeway (pretty easy to imagine traffic on a freeway, huh?) If the desired result is to get as many visitors to the destination then you’d want more cars on the road. Send out invitations. Buy some radio time. Generate a “buzz.”

Now imagine the freeway had some confusing signs. A roadcrew doing work. Potholes. You get the point.

Is this your customer?

At WhiteStone we work our way toward the desired endgame a little differently. We clear the road, fix the signs, fill the potholes BEFORE inviting the public. And we suggest including a map in the invitation. Folks will find you with ease, know where to go, and generally enjoy the ride. Maybe they’ll even come back. Sounds better than spending all week picking up after some frustrating road-rage event, doesn’t it?

“If a host had a special guest whom he greatly appreciated, whose ways and works were right, the guest was given a White Stone with a name or message written on it, directed only to the guest–not to be shared by any other. Without the White Stone they might not enter on business…”

We Welcome You.

WhiteStone Results Marketing is a full-service consulting company, specializing in getting traffic to your website and helping turn visits into conversions. Our primary goal is to spend less and make more.

Services include:

• Pay-Per-Click Assessment, Setup and Management.
• Web Design with focus on usability.
• Landing Page Optimization and AB and Multivariate Testing.
• Videotaped User Testing
• Search Engine Optimization.
• Designing and Refining Ad Creatives that generate clicks.
• Social and Web 2.0 Implementation and Networking.

Thanks for stopping by and don’t hesitate to contact us if you are looking for a boost in traffic and an increased ROI.

~Jim Williams

WhiteStone Results Marketing

info@whitestoneresults.com