There I was, holding a cardstock sheet of fake coupons in my hand and mouthing a quick prayer before walking into a local business in Maui. “This HAS to work,” I thought to myself.
It really did have to work. I was out of a job, living in a new state, and running out of time and money. My family was depending on me to put something together before it was too late.
I took a deep breath and stepped into the business ready to deliver the pitch of my life.
A week later I had $7,000 in the bank, 16 new clients, and ZERO web presence.
I didn’t realize it yet, but I was becoming an Offline Shark. What is an Offline Shark? Why such an odd-sounding name in an age where marketing is almost synonymous with social media, Google ads, and SEO-friendly web design? Don’t you have to sell digital services if you want to make it as a digital agency?
The answer is yes and no. Though I moved into offering digital services later on, my first success didn’t require internet access. For me, this meant helping businesses advertise through coupons sent in the mail, but more on that in a second. Let’s talk about why offline marketing was the way to go.
I chose to hunt offline because everyone else was hunting online. Thus, I found an ecosystem undisturbed by other sharks. It enabled me to thrive as a marketer, and help my small, local businesses compete with the big dogs.
Even today, I maintain that my Coupons To Cash method is THE BEST WAY to gain both profit and happy clients for a new marketer.
The Coupons To Cash Method is generating quite a buzz on our Facebook group, by the way. Click here to join the conversation and strategize with thousands of other sharks.
Let me tell you the full story of how I stumbled upon this method.
The Coupons To Cash Method Gave Me the Clients and Confidence to Make Over Six Figures In My Very First Year
Almost a decade ago, I got fired from my corporate restaurant job. At first, I was distraught and humiliated. Who wouldn’t be? But in the end, it became one of the best things that ever happened to me.
I got on government assistance and moved to Maui to start a new career. My slate was now clean, but I knew I had a limited amount of time to get back on my feet. This led to a feeling of desperation. I wanted to become my own boss and break free from the soul-sucking 9-5 situation I had been in my whole career. This meant I had to make money, fast.
I also knew that I had a knack for sales, ever since I was little. Only, I had never tried to support myself with it because of all the unknowns and uncertainty it brought. But I decided this was the absolute best time to try something new. After all, my best efforts in the corporate world had only landed me alone, outside on my keister.
So the question became “how can I make enough money to survive on my own as a marketer?”
Thankfully, a friend had let me know about a system where you could send mass mail to hundreds of addresses in your area for cheap. A mass mailer casts a wide net, and catches a few curious fish… especially when the business in question attaches limited-time-only deals to it.
So I made a mock-up mailer with a bunch of fake coupons on it, and resolved to ask every business in my area if they’d like to buy ad space on a mailer like this. On day one, I made a list of 10 or so businesses to talk to, and began driving around and pitching my mailers.
This led to that moment of praying it would work while walking through the first business’ front door.
And they said “Yes!”
So did the next business I asked. While not everyone committed, 16 of them did, altogether filling my mailers with $7,000 worth of ad space. Most of them became long-term clients, and by the end of my first year as a marketer, I had made over $100,000.
But enough about me.
If you want to become a self-employed entrepreneurial success, then congratulations! You’ve found the best way to start.
Why The Coupons To Cash Method Will Work For You
In the years since, I’ve thought long and hard about why this was so successful, and I came to the conclusion that it has nothing to do with my roguish charm or rugged good looks.
It has everything to do with the most basic, core tenet of sales: Find a hungry market and solve a problem for them. Let me break it down:
- It’s Easy For You
You may not know how to design a website that ranks high in Google thanks to your impeccable SEO skills. You may not be able to get the most bang for your buck out of a social media ad or an Adwords campaign. You may not know how to write a sales letter or launch a content marketing campaign that converts leads into customers.
But I guarantee you can create or place basic coupons onto a design and send it to an online print shop. I can also guarantee you’ll be able to explain their value to a prospective client.
- It’s Easy For Them
Because of the relative simplicity, it’s not hard for a local business to understand how putting coupons on a mass mailer will help them. Bringing in an example helps them understand it as well, because they can get their eyes and hands on it.
Since you can almost guarantee their ad space will pay off with visits to their store, purchases, and new loyal customers who start to look out for their deals, they run out of reasons to say “no.”
- The Market is Hungry
Nearly every small business feels the pressure of competing with giant incumbents in their market. Depending on the nature of the business, there’s almost always a bigger, corporate option either right next door or one click away.
They want to get a competitive edge with a personal touch. Though you will get some “no’s”, you’d be surprised how many people are willing to give it a try. You’d also be surprised how many ask you about other marketing services you can perform for them.
- This Solves a Problem
I completed my first coupons to cash run in 2010, but it was far from the last. Back then, we were coming out of a great recession, and people were beginning to experience life and business like normal again. Sound familiar?
With the rise in vaccinations and the economy showing improvements over the past six months, now is a time in which many local businesses want to reclaim the revenue they once had. If you walk into their store with a solution, you’ll feel like a godsend.
If I’m making this all sound too easy, hear this: there is definitely a challenge to designing and mailing thousands of coupons after taking the time to pitch your mailers to every small business in your community. But I don’t know of an easier way to make $7,000 and gain over a dozen happy clients during your very first week as a marketer.
And here’s the kicker: we have a ridiculously huge done-for-you system to jumpstart your agency into a self-funding machine. It’s called the Coupon Cash System Unleashed. Take a look, read the reviews, or ask around on our Facebook group. If you’re ready to get your agency started and invest into your newfound entrepreneurial freedom, click here.
