Me vs. Bid Management Program

[Waldo]

I'm competeing for a few accounts through a new reseller I found. The other PPC companies are using Bid Management programs and we are being judged on conversions. That is it.

This is a pretty broad question, but how should I compete against them without using bid management software. What can I do to differentiate myself from the software? Not really sure if I phrased this question correctly, but I want to talk about it.

[cianuro]

It completely depends on the client and the size of their account.

We use bid management solutions for some accounts while we pay a lot more attention to non-automatic managed accounts.

If you are competing against agencies using bid management and you are sure you do not want to go that route, sell yourself on your personal attention to detail. Sell on your experience in the industry. Sell on your understanding that PPC management is not just a numbers game.

[Waldo]

I don't really have to do any of the selling. I just manage and build accounts... other people sell them. I was just informed by the client and our bus. dev. team that I'm up against 2 other agencies (both using bid software) for A LOT of business...

I'm going to optimize my face off... I'm just looking for some new ideas I guess. What are the advantages of using the software vs. me. What can I do that the program can't.

[befidled]

Waldo, you may not sell directly to your clients, however you definitely are in a position to provide your business development team with rationale for why your services are better than an automated service.

I'd start by asking myself, if I were in my client's shoes, why I'd feel more comfortable with myself doing the work versus an automated system. I'm sure you can come up with a number of reasons. These are your primary differentiating points.

Then I'd ask myself what advantages an automated system would have over me. Once you have this list, create counter arguments for it. This set of counter arguments will allow your bus dev team to counter any client concerns over these specific issues.

Then sit down with your bus dev team and go over each of your differentiating points and each of your counter arguments. With this information they'll be able to build a good case for hiring your services.

[Eddings]

Your cost for service might be lower since you do not have to charge extra to cover the cost of the monthly fees for the use of the software maybe?

[Waldo]

Eh.. Maybe? I don't really know what the others are charging.

Most of the time selling on price alone isn't worth the effort. I'd rather compete on the value of my cost and how much I charge.. not being the lowest price.