How to Sell Websites to Local Businesses in 7 Steps

To sell websites to local businesses, write to owners who already have a weak site, show each one a single problem you found on it and ask for a 15-minute call. Then offer three packages with clear prices and send the proposal within a day. This guide explains how to sell websites to local businesses in seven steps.

Most advice on selling websites to small businesses starts with the pitch. This guide starts with the list. In our own test of 3,570 cold emails, who received the email changed the reply rate more than what the email said.

Who buys a website from a stranger?

Owners who already paid for a website and can see it letting them down. They accept that a site matters, so you only have to sell a better one.

We tested this with real email. We scored 20,000 Dutch company websites and sent 3,570 cold emails to three groups.

Choosing the weakest sites made a positive reply about 3.2 times as likely. Naming the problem in the email pointed the same way. That gap was not statistically significant (p = 0.238), so treat it as a hint.

The test has three limits. The companies were Dutch, the channel was email only and businesses with no website were left out. The method is in our write-up of the test.

A business with no website can still buy. Expect a longer conversation, because you are selling the idea of a website before you sell your own.

How to sell websites to local businesses in 7 steps

The seven steps run from choosing a trade to sending a proposal. The times are my own estimates for a first batch of 50 businesses.

1. Pick one trade in one area

Choose a trade where customers search before they buy and one job is worth a lot. Roofers, dentists, law firms and heating companies all fit. One trade lets you reuse what you learn. By the tenth roofing site you know what a good one looks like.

2. List 50 businesses and check each site

Search the trade and the town on Google Maps and open every website on your phone. Look for slow loading, a layout that breaks on a small screen, no button to call or book and a "Not secure" label. Our post on businesses that need websites lists nine signs with a check for each. Keep the businesses that show three or more.

At about three and a half minutes a site, 50 sites take roughly 3 hours. Past a few hundred, software has to do the checking. Leadodo is in that category. Twip, its AI, scores every website in a search out of 100, and sites that score below 40 form the shortlist.

3. Write one finding per business

A finding is one specific problem on the prospect's own site that the owner can check in 10 seconds. Pick the one that costs the owner the most and write it in a single sentence.

"Your quote form returned an error twice on Tuesday" is a finding. "Your website needs modernizing" is an opinion, and owners argue with opinions.

4. Send a letter, then emails, then LinkedIn

Put the finding in a short posted letter. Fewer marketers use the mailbox. In the ANA's Response Rate Report 2021, which counted 581 qualified responses, 82% of respondents used email and 38% used direct mail (ANA). Our guide to direct mail for agencies covers the letter itself.

Then follow up. In Leadodo, your Outbound Machine spaces six steps over 19 working days, and the same spacing works by hand. A letter arrives on day 1. Emails follow on days 4, 7 and 11, and LinkedIn steps on days 15 and 19. Stop the moment a business replies.

Follow-ups matter. In Backlinko's 2019 study of 12 million outreach emails, one follow-up brought 65.8% more replies than a single email (Backlinko).

5. Hold a 15-minute call

Ask before you show anything. How do new customers find you today? What happens when someone visits the site? What is one new customer worth to you? Then share your screen, show the one finding and stop talking.

6. Offer three packages, each with a price

Offer three packages and state the price, the timeline and what the owner has to supply for each. List a monthly care plan as a separate line. With three, the owner chooses between your options and picks the one that fits the budget.

7. Send a one-page proposal within 24 hours

Write down what you agreed on the call, in the owner's own words, with the three packages, their prices and a start date. Send it the same day or the next morning. Our web design proposal template gives you the page. Follow up after 3 days if you hear nothing.

The same seven steps answer how to sell web design services beyond a first build, such as a redesign, hosting or a care plan. Only the finding changes.

Selling websites is one part of filling an agency's pipeline. Our guide to agency lead generation covers the rest.

What do you say in the first message?

Say what you saw, what it costs their customers and what you would do, in under 100 words. This example is made up. The roofing company, the owner and the sender do not exist.

Dear Mr. Okafor,

I searched "roof repair" on my phone last week and opened Pinder Hollow Roofing's site. The quote form sits below four screens of text, and it returned an error both times I tried it.

Anyone ready to book a repair hits that error and calls the next roofer. I would move a short form to the top of the page and test it every week.

I can show you the fix in 15 minutes. My number is 555-0134.

Jamie Cole, Cole Web Studio, jamie@colewebstudio.example

The letter holds no flattery, no list of services and no claim about rankings. It has one finding, one cost and one request.

What do owners say, and how do you answer?

Four objections cover most first calls. Each has a calm answer that returns to the finding.

Our post on sales objections covers these in more depth.

What should you avoid when selling websites?

Avoid anything that makes your message look like every other web design pitch the owner has deleted. Five habits do that.

• Scare tactics. "Your site is losing you thousands" is a guess. State what you saw.
• The full audit. Nine problems from a stranger read as an attack. Send one.
• Ranking promises. Google's own guidance for owners says "No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google" (Google Search Central). Leave rankings out of a website pitch.
• A free website. A mockup of one screen is a fair opener. A free build attracts owners who do not plan to pay.
• Chasing a no. A no ends the sequence on every channel.

Questions

How do I find local businesses that need a website?

Search one trade in one town on Google Maps and open each site on your phone. Businesses whose sites are slow, broken on a small screen or missing a way to book are your list. For businesses with no site at all, check the chamber of commerce directory and the county license list.

How many businesses do I need to contact to win one client?

No single figure fits every agency. In our email test, the group with the weakest sites and a specific email replied positively 2.35% of the time, which is about 1 positive reply per 43 emails. A reply is not yet a client, and that test covered Dutch companies and email only. Track your own numbers from the first 50.

How much should I charge a local business for a website?

Charge a fixed price for the build and a monthly fee for hosting and care. Set the build price from the hours it takes you and from what one new customer is worth to the owner. Quote one fixed price for each of your three packages on the call. A price that moves makes owners nervous.

Do I need a portfolio before I sell my first website?

You need proof that you can build, and two demo sites for your chosen trade will do. Label them as demos. Never present made-up client work as real. After your first paid site, ask the owner for permission to show it.

Is it legal to email a local business about its website?

In the United States, yes, when the email follows the CAN-SPAM Act. The FTC's guide lists the requirements, which include an honest subject line, a valid postal address and a working way to opt out. Other countries have their own rules. This is not legal advice.

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Next step. Leadodo finds the businesses and scores their websites. Your Outbound Machine then sends the letter, the emails and the LinkedIn steps under your name. See how it works.