Can You Build Nice Websites? Here's How To Turn Your Skills Into Money!

Hey guys,

I just wanted to leave a little bit of information here for those of you who are looking to build and rank websites for cash.

I was in this predicament very recently, until I got my first job offline. Here is my solution to finding work as a web designer...

COLD CALLING SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS

I have a sales background so I have a fair bit of sales experience, but I am no expert at cold calling, yet I landed a job after only about 15 to 20 phone calls to local businesses. Let me tell you how I did it...

Step 1 - Make sure you can do a job worth paying for!

You must be able to deliver a quality, functional website that a local business owner can compare to other websites, and be able to rank it to at least page 1 of Google. If you don't have an eye for design, or the ability to create a functioning website, go and learn first. Immerse yourself in wordpress tutorials, or learn how to create custom themes for Artisteer, go and research the best looking sites you can find and understand how they were put together.

You don't want to let your client down, so make sure you are confident you can produce a quality product.

Step 2 - Research the market you will be cold calling!

You want to ensure you can at least get to page 1 for some common keywords in your potential clients market. They don't want a website that people can't find. Depending on your location, this can be very easy or moderately difficult, depending as well on the clients market. Still, you just need to target more niche clients if this is the case.

So, I always start with a couple of key pieces of information that you can discover using Market Samurai/Google searches or similar keyword research tools :

- You need to get the number of searches for the clients market in their location IE "butchers salt lake city" or even more specific "butchers hoboken" or something similar. I live in a 150k population town, so I simply use the town name alongside the market. You need this search number to tell your potential clients in your pitch.

- Obviously, find out if they already have a website, or listing in yellow pages. Most local businesses already have at least a yellow pages listing, but you should discover the payment options and aim to offer your services for at least half price to persuade them to buy your services. If they have a website, it's not really worth calling, because they already paid for a website and they usually don't like the thought of having to pay 'again' to get it ranked/SEO'd etc.

So, to recap : Find out how many Google searches their market gets, and if they already have paid for internet related services.

Step 3 - Use This Script!

So, crack out your Yellow pages. You want to focus on the ads that have no website listed. Also, look for ads with emails that have @hotmail.com or @gmail.com, as some people simply list their websites email. Remember, there isn't much hope cold calling people who already have a website.

I will share what I literally say that has had the best results for me, because of a few factors :

- People automatically disregard what you say if you come across as trying to sell something within the first 30 seconds of the call. You want to come in under the radar.

- You need to present them with the problem that should be solved in a creative way, to hold their attention.


So here is my script :

YOU : "Oh, hi there, is this *businessownername* of *smallbusiness*?"

(If they don't list their name, make sure you ask if they are the owner. If you get a secretary/receptionist, it's going to be almost impossible to reach the decision maker, you will just get the run-around, so it's not really worth cold calling doctors/lawyers/dentists/big businesses)

CLIENT : "Yes?"

YOU : "Oh great, I just came across your ad in the yellow pages but I was wondering if you had a website?"

CLIENT : "Oh, no actually...."

(See now they feel the guilt/embarrassment of having to admit to a potential customer they don't have a web presence, but you will ease them of this immediately afterward)

YOU : "Oh, well just to let you know I have been a bit of research into the local market of *xmarket* and found some interesting things..."

(At this point they realise you aren't a usual customer, but haven't figured out if you are selling anything or maybe you are just trying to share information)

YOU : "See I am a local freelance web designer and I have been looking into the *xmarket*, especially the search results for going to Google and typing in "xmarket xlocation". I found out there are over *list search results per week* for *xmarket xlocation*" and I these businesses "list their competitors" are all on the first page...You see most of these guys spent upwards of $1500 or so to get their website down and on the first page of google, but seeing as I am a local freelancer I don't have the overheads of those big web design places, I was wondering if you might be interested in talking about getting a webpage for your business on the first page of google?"

(This is your big sales pitch. You want it to sound very natural, as if you are just relaying information, don't put on a salesy voice ie don't try to accentuate the points, just talk like you are talking with one of your friends. The less of a big deal you make it sound, the better it comes across.

THE KEY here is that the subject in their mind has changed from the point of your phone call to this vital information and it will take the clients mind from the reason behind your call to the information at hand if you talk normally and don't raise suspicion!)

CLIENT : YES/NO

(This is where they will give an indication of their interest. It's either yes, leave it with me, or no. Usually if they haven't interrupted you, it's maybe or yes. It's rare to get through the whole pitch with a complete no.)

If YES, CONGRATULATIONS! If MAYBE, don't lose hope, pass on your details and thank them for their time. If NO, thank them politely, then simply move on to the next call.

Using this method, I made my first sale of $400+$50 per month to a local client within 20 phone calls. The total time for finding the client was about 2 hours. The total time to complete the website is estimated at 8 hours, bringing net income of $50 per hour.

I'm going to leave this post for now and edit is as needed. Thanks for reading and please leave your feedback, I appreciate it!