How to tell a prospect thier site sucks?

Not sure I would tell them their site sucks.... maybe ask them if their site reflects the image they want to portray to their visitors...

"So, Mary, I was checking out your website... and I was curious if it reflects the image you want portray to your potential customers"...

If it's a sucky site, they're going to likely say... "uh... no not really, but it's a website"

then you can ask them if they'd like it to more accurately reflect the image they want to portray.

Who's going to say NO to that?

I have made MORE money by telling people their website sucks, than I have telling people they have a nice website. And yes... I have literally told them their website sucks.

In cold email prospecting, I say "it looks like your site could use some sprucing up".

Gets the job done.

There's nothing wrong with telling a warm prospect or a client their site sucks after trust has been built... but I don't believe the first contact should be "your site sucks". In fact, I think it'd more often piss potential prospects off.

Well telling them their site sucks, and in those words.. May just help you stand out of the crowd.. Remember, business people are humans too.. A little humour will always be well received.

Just explain the short comings of their current website, and then juxtapose that with the positive effects a properly structured design will have on their company.

I wish I had your nerve Iamnameless, but I don't think I could ever do that. But is sure cracks me up. I would love to hear the exchange on that one.

Ya Nathan, that is exactly what I am afraid of. But it would be interesting to see the results on your messages

It's true: tell them.

This guy has made a career of telling people "Your Marketing Sucks." (click)

Not a bad read, been quite a few years now.

Same thing that Nameless shows: they get pissed initially, but if they stay on the line or have time to think about it, the smart ones begin to think differently. And those are the customers you want.

Are you worried about offending people?

Let me ask you this: are rapidly angered people fun to work with? Are easily offended people good judges of things? Are defensive people going to spend money on you?

Jason, I understand where your coming from, it is just not in my nature to tick people off. I am one of those 'keep everyone happy' people. It actually sucks cause it doesn't do me any good in the long run. It's pretty bad when your own mother tells you to toughen up!


Iamnameless, that is awesome! It's amazing how the attitude changed so fast.

Hell Ken, been there done that, by the time I toughen up I will be dead! lol


Be careful what you wish for, I might be due for a move soon. haha

Pretend you're putting on a play, and "Can I tell you something?" (Pause for Yes) "Your website sucks." are the lines you're saying.

That's the level of involvement you need to get to feeling. Your personality is not on the line. You are not trying to make people happy or unhappy. You are merely saying the line. And it's a line that has the purpose of getting a response.

Since you already know there are only going to be two responses:

"FU! My site's great! Get the hell outta here!"

or

"...Yeah, you're right..."

what do you have to lose? Treat it like a science experiment.


When you're driving, do you worry about what other people think? Say someone zooms up behind you when you're already driving 5 miles over the limit, and wants you to speed up because they want to continue zooming along. (No matter how fast I drive, someone always wants to go faster.) Do you not want to disappoint them, and so drive faster?

I don't know that person. I'm not going to get a $200 or whatever speeding ticket for them. I don't owe them anything.

In sales, it's very helpful to start disassociating yourself from what is happening. It's just one person talking to another. So what if they get upset? What can they do to you, exactly? And an important part of selling is having the strength to ask the uncomfortable question...knock the prospect out of their comfort zone. Make them feel uncomfortable. From there, they have to take action to return to comfort.

Disassociating yourself is an aspect I need to work on. I often think to myself that I am going to pretend (to myself) to just be a sales employee that way I am not as personally invested in the responses I get...yet I get on the phone and that all flies out the window. I guess I need to learn to play better head games with myself lol

I like the idea of seeing whether a person angers quickly to determine if they are a good client or not. We all want clients that we can be 100% honest with and that we feel will be 100% honest with us. Sounds like a fun qualifying technique. :-)

If You want to go for the softer approach go with this

The Praise sandwich ( I hate it but)

Tell them something nice - I like the colour
Tell them what's bad - your site sucks
Tell them something nice - its great you have a facebook share button

It can be seen a a weaker way to do it but it will work on some customers

Sam

I often use an implement. Its not me suggesting you have a crappy site. But an analysis of your on and off site metrics indicate your site sucks... These are the areas I would look at...

I'm a fixer.

(website) Grader.com
(offsite) Getlisted.org

How about..."your website design is pretty bad...I can help you improve it so much that I can guarantee you more business just by changing the look of it."

Be very very careful.

You don't know who created that site...it could be their wife, son...they might have done it themselves.

And it's quite likely they had a lot of input into the creative process so they have a lot of emotional energy invested in that site.

Usually it's best if you can find something positive to say about the site (I like the color in the header...did you choose that?)

The focus on talking about strategies that can help them bring in more sales and profits.

Get the focus OFF the actual site and onto using direct response strategies that will help them make more sales.

"It doesn't look as pretty but we've found that this works better at converting visitors into customers who spend money..."

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

I always ask them if they've had an increase in clients from it. If the answer is no, I then start my pitch and tell them why they need me.

@azmodien I probably wouldn't even go as far as saying mine would be better but like you said tell them why.

@piney94 I wouldn't even have the nerve to say it is bad but giving ideas on how it can be improved is a good tactic

@Andrew You make a good point, though I would never have to worry about that since I would never come straight out and say it's bad...I am not quite that gutsy lol. But you do make a good point about who the designer of the current site might be.

I have been researching the past few hours and I must admit, I have come across some sites that I really wouldn't have a problem saying they are bad....they are that bad, so you know its bad lol.

If you Youtube "Claude Diamond Cold Calling" there's a good video on how to do the "Your Website Sucks" approach.

Hello azurews,

It's so nice to see an active discussion in this thread.

IMHO, I won't focus on how to say that my prospect's website sucks. Rather, I will focus on how to make this customer believe that I can handle the things that they have missed as to why they're not getting the volume of sales that they've envisioned to get.

We need to be careful, humanly-sensitive (a sensitivity that is enough for me not to overly-react defensively or offensively), responsible, and selective to the words that we say whenever we deal with existing and prospective clients. Yes, it's true that there are some people who would still take it nicely even if you're using bold and tactless words, but how many are they? How many are those who will respond nicely and who will most likely lend their ears to you if you know how to empathize and use kind words? I think, we don't need to make a case study with that just to find out the numbers.

I have learned so little about so many things in Internet Marketing. This exposure is a gift in such a way that I can come prepare for the possible thoughts and presumptions of the people whom I will be talking to. Here comes the power of being preemptive.

Entrepreneurs, marketers, and networkers like us can use the ability to "think ahead of what the other person will be thinking of" as a powerful weapon to bag the business. But what if our potential customers are applying the same preemptive technique on us? What if they already have a conclusion in mind on what we're currently saying right before we finish talking? I know it's ridiculously embarassing when your potential customer acts and talks as if he or she knows everything about what you are yet to say. The truth hurts but some people are like that. You and I may not be able to change the behavior or mentality of these people. What you can change is your marketing strategy on how to deal with these people.

This reaction of people is a behavioral pattern. When you didn't get what you wanted to get, you get angry because that's your pattern of behavior. Since there are patterns, we already have an idea what may happen next. Needless to say, as entrepreneurs, we need to know the patterns of responses of our target customers.

Have you ever met someone who's acting like hey-I'm-a-busy-person-and-I'm-not-interested-on-what-you-do-and-on-what-you-say type of person? Do your customers have this attitude of formulating a conclusion in mind about what your company does even if you're not yet done explaining the entirety of what your company really does?

Speaking from experience, your answers to these three questions are most likely affirmative - a big and an exclamatory "YES!" Now, let's discuss on how you can change your current rebuttles to these behavioral patterns. If these people have behavioral patterns, we can also have a pattern on how to response to them.

Let me introduce the "Feel," "Felt," "Found," and "Anything Else" formula. This formula will reveal the real reason why your potential customer is rejecting the business that you offer. Your goal is to have this customer run out of excuses and get his nod for your business. Here's a scenario:

Andrew does not have a business. He wants to have a business and he has good funds to establish a business but he is not equipped with the right disciplines in handling a business. Carlo invites Andrew to attend his online seminar on how to manage a content writing business but Andrew said that he already knew how to manage a content writing business because his fellow Warrior has the same business. Here's how Carlo may respond following that pattern.

"Hi Andrew! I understand how you FEEL. When I was in your case, I also had a fellow Warrior who offers web design services and I FELT the same understanding that all web design service providers have the same techniques. However, through my case studies, I FOUND the things that most failed to accomplish so their clients' websites will generate more sales. Now, if I were to disclose to you the techniques that most failed to accomplish in web designing, is there ANYTHING ELSE that stands between you being successful in your dream business that you can do by putting your time and investment with my web design services?"

Andrew may be saying another excuse. Simply repeat the "FEEL, FELT, FOUND, and ANYTHING ELSE" pattern until Andrew says the real reason why he's hesitant to try your web design service. The "ANYTHING ELSE" part will make your potential customer run out of reasons or excuses of not trying your web design service. Take a look at this "ANYTHING ELSE" application assuming that we have mentioned the "FEEL, FELT, and FOUND" patterns.

"Andrew, if I could reveal to you the reasons why I'm a sought-after web designer, if I could tell you how I've made my former clients increase their sales up to 30%, if I could just make you sit back and relax while sales are coming in, if I could _________________, is there ANYTHING ELSE that will make you half-hearted in believing me that your website needs an overhaul?"

You will see in this pattern that Andrew will really tell you the truth why he is hesitant to try your web design services. Maybe he has zero knowledge in designing his website because it wasn't him who managed the development of that website. Maybe he is ashamed to tell you that he needs 100% support for the first 2 to 3 months after you completed the overhauling process. All of the possibilities will be revealed. This pattern will help you come up with counter offers and real-time rebuttals to the rejections of your prospects with your web design services.

I do hope this helps, in one way or the other.

Amplifying what Ken is saying in post#16 above. You can say "You could really use a better presentation," or "It looks like it was built on a Mac."

Nameless, that is freaking amazing, lmao!

Contentwriting360 : That was a gret sharing.. Thanks.. I learn somthing from it..

Guys guys guys, you're all hitting this from the wrong angle!

The KEY FACTOR is getting them to admit to YOU that their site sucks!

Obviously this requires some carefully crafted email copy or phone or face time.

But trust me its WAY more powerful when they openly admit to you that their site sucks big balls!

Worked for me about 3 weeks ago. I was on the phone with a client who wanted a simple 1 page revamp. I started talking to them about "internet marketing secrets". She was looking to spend like $300 based on what she had seen from craigslist etc..

I was giving her great information over the phone and they told me that they really appreciated my honesty and help. That's when I asked her, "Can I be brutally honest with you?" She said, "Of Course". To keep it short, I told her that her logo was horrendous and her website really stunk. After a few more minutes of conversing, she was all in for a complete branding revamp, name change and website. It went from $300 - $10K by pretty much telling her what they had sucked.

The key here is that it did. I had built the trust in them because I was telling them the truth. Now with a complete brand revamp and website, she was so excited to begin again. She was absolutely blown away and re-energized. I gave her a new direction and she was pumped. In turn she also referred me to 2 other potential leads.

People react differently to things. Business owners are people just like us and you have to adjust accordingly. Some will react well, others well... move on.

My .02

I believe that Jason also mentioned asking the prospect, "Is it okay if I be totally honest with you?" If they reply yes, then you say, "Your websites sucks."

Sometimes it takes telling the prospect their website sucks before they really want to take action and do something about it.

@JoeRockefeller, that's a great case-study! Congratulations on a great deal.

I would be interested in hearing about this issue because I have a client that created what they feel is a good website but it is really bad, they are a serious multi million dollar business but run by a family, I learned a long time ago that when you go into "kill" an old website that you have to be careful because often it was done by the owner.

So it is a challenge to find a way to convince them that what they have is not working.

@Humbee360 - You can bring in a little twist to an old adage. If you needed to have a facelift done, you wouldn't do your own facelift would you? I replaced brain surgeon for the obvious cosmetic reasons.

He is probably great at what he does, which is why he has created a multimillion dollar company, but that doesn't make him the slightest bit inclined to know what it takes to make his website succeed. If something major went wrong with his plumbing, who would he call? A Plumber. If his electricity failed him he would call an electrician. If something is amiss with his website, he needs to call a web designer/internet marketer.. etc You get my drift. Let a professional handle it.

There is great value in a website. It is a virtual representation of the company, 24/7. If it doesn't look good, odds are the poor image that his company is representing is a detriment to his sales.

A large portion of today's consumers (depending on his industry and demographic) go online to gather information to make an informed decision. I do all the time. If I go to a site that looks like it is from 1998, or doesn't look like the company took any time with it, it looks very unprofessional and I won't purchase anything from them. I pitch them to make there site better

A company website is it's virtual business card. It needs to represent the same quality as the business does. 24/7 Virtual Assistant. If the site isn't helping you sell. It ain't working! The website needs to help generate income/ leads / sales simple as that. If you can get him to understand that fact you might have him.

Another note for Family businesses is that they usually end up being great clients because they are usually the most loyal. If you end up getting the job, make sure to take care of them because they will come to you for everything.

Other Notes:

A) Sometimes we can't see what's right in front of our very own faces, that's why we need mirrors.
B) The site isn't created for him, it's created for his clients!
C) Show him the value of having a professionally done website!

Hope this helps.

@abelamorales - Thanks - Sometimes you just say the right things. When you figure out what those things are and at the right time, that is when good things happen. The Truth Works,

My .02

The best way is to educate them using third party sources. That way if they attack the source they are not attacking you.

But remind them that the source is a valid one and that's why you are contacting them.

You were curious if they were aware of the recommended changes suggested by trade magazines in their industry.

They will probably say they don't know and ask …"what are they?"

Now you can say the web site suck

It sucks because__________ according to abc magazine.

Ask if they'd like to know the truth about how to [fill in the problem statement here]?

Ask if you can be as brutally honest as someone they know and trust would be.

Tell then their website sucks and here's why...

They'll appreciate your honesty and being candid with them. If they don't and it ends up not turning into a piece of work for you then that's fine because the best clients are those that KNOW they have problems and are motivated to have them solved by professionals who are NOT AFRAID to tell them what needs to be said.

(What if you went ahead and didn't tell them and you did some work that they thought was fine but you knew 'sucked' and then as a direct result they didn't get results? It would be your problem)

A Doctor would never couch the truth -- OK, they might not say your physique 'sucks' but they sure will tell you that you're carrying like '2 spare tires around your waist' and you need to get rid of them or else..

You get my drift!

Bayo

Sorry guys, I have been trying to stay focused and haven't responded lately. You all do bring up very good points and I do appreciate all the great advice I have received!

@Rearden I am going to check out the "Claude Diamond Cold Calling" approach.

@contentwriting360 I love your concept of FEEL, FELT, FOUND, ANYTHING ELSE. I am going to see how I can work that into my presentation. Thank you for such a detailed post!

@Rus Sells How do you get them to admit that?

@JoeRockefeller That is amazing! Congrats on your success. I did notice that you didn't bring up the subject until you had somewhat of a repoire going but your strategy reminds me of what Rus Sells does.

@abelamorales That is true but I think you need to have a decent repoire first.

@Humbee360 Yes that is a fine line to walk.

@AlexTee Using third party resources is a great alternative to getting them to see the light.

@Bayo You do make a good point but usually the doctor doesnt call us on the phone to tell us we are fat so I would have to be a bit diplomatic or save it for a presentation when meeting with them.

Very nice thread and lot of useful info here for off liners. I actually sent sweet emails telling the owner that their website could be better. From this discussion I am guessing I will try the straightforward approach.

IMHO you let them arrive at that conclusion without forcing it too much

Ask them open questions eg:
So how many leads is your site generating for your business?
Do you track and measure results?
What is the main purpose of you site? To get them to call? Oh..... where IS the phone number????
How long is the average user spending on your site etc etc....


Exposure flaws in their site without insulting them - remember they may have built it themselves or the good ol' "friend" so don't bag it out =)

Well the best way is to show some quality sites and bring them some feelings from inside that there site is outdated and is needed to be revamped totally.

What you could do instead of writing and physically telling them "YOU SUCK" is to send them an email with a video attached, in this video you could have a similar site that looks great (maybe another client of yours, or maybe their bitter rival...either or would suffice).

Then in this video you could show them parts of the other site that you think would work better in their site (in other words use the video as a kind of "nudge nudge, wink wink - your site needs a face lift" kind of message to them).

You could also screen grab of their website and use that as the link to the video, with Jing or any other software you like yourself. Heck you could even do a screen grab of the actual video you have made making sure you start it with the screen recording their website so they can physically see that there is a video of their website....I think that would grab their attention.

Just an idea though

Have a great rest of day!

I like to compare what they are doing with their competitors who are doing things much better, and emphasize that the competitor has more authority because they are doing things online more professionally.
But as said above you do need to build a bit of trust first, and the easiest way is to give good info and make suggestions based on what is working and how easy it would be to do the initial small tweaks.

Tell them specifically why it sucks. Ask how many customers they get from their site, ask if they track their results and offer them your expertise to make it better than it is now, add them on other services like Google Places, Facebook, etc. and setup a tracking number for all this internet stuff, send reports weekly or montlhy and they will be happy.

This is why I just get them to admit their site sucks balls. We all know telling people their sites sucks is going to work sometimes and not work sometimes. So it can have a polarizing effect.

There's no need to create this situation when all you need to do is lead the prospect into admitting it to you themselves.

When they do that they are practically saying, REDO MY SITE PLEASE!!! HELP!

^ That's to much for me to try and comment on this early in the morning! LOL

Hang in there, Blogger, and remember: You're not the one whose website sucks.

I've always wondered why this is such a hard thing for some people to say.

You have to understand for the avg person their OWN WORDS will be "my website sucks". So when you say "your website sucks", you're just telling them what they already think. Which is obviously good to build rapport.

Don't say it in a nasty way, just in a casual matter a fact way. I'm always sure to mention at least 5-6 things immediately after saying this though. Just so they know I'm paying attention. Like "text is hard to read", "graphics are not professional", "no on page seo" etc etc.

Moreso, if I see a person just got done spending some money on their site, and it looks decent, I'll say: "well the graphics look good, but its not optimized for conversions".

Its VERY RARE I ever come across a site that stumps me. Where I look at it and go into a trance because things look so well done. That hasnt actually happened once yet when I really think about it.

-Red

Be careful, the site may have been done by his daughter!

Fact is we do not have one client that knows the difference between good and bad when it comes to websites. These people are too busy plying their trade to really care about the the things you know would make their site better.

Our client's marketing dollars are divided between the BBB, Yellow Pages, Marketing Memberships, and some TV. (At $10.00/second, it doesn't take long for that to wear off).

What our clients do care about is getting their money worth for the advertising $ spent. So what can we do to help with that? ....a few things.

1. Track the site. We find many of the directories or marketing club memberships they purchased on a whim last year are sending little traffic, and the traffic sent is 100% bounce... Cut those costs. We find BBB membership for the most part pays off in terms of steady traffic.

2. Incorporate some kind of benefit for site Viewers to become customers. Discounts for website customers. It's hard to track, but the owner will be able to tell if its working, and if it does, he will want more of the same.

3. If the site is more than five years old, he's probably not taking advantage of a blog section, Video, RSS, social networking, newsletter subscription, SEO, and other features you could provide that he's probably missing now.

4. If it's the content that bothers you, have a sit down and pick his brains. Almost all our guys know a LOT more about their business than they can put into words. They often overlook their latest accomplishments, new employees, training they have received, and lots of other stuff on which they have spent money to be able to better serve their clients. Many of our clients did learn the value of on site testimonials and before-after job photos. (Content should probably be #1).

In short, what can you do for the guy that he's probably missing out on? When you're done you won't have to tell him ... He'll probably tell you.

(Oh, yes... All above is an example of Vetter's second law... "talking about it is easier than doing it").

Will be real interested in how this plays out.

Vern

I am sooooo glad I read this thread! I love it. In my experience you have to have the attitude to keep it up once the replies come in, but it's like nameless said, it plants the seed. Great stuff!!

in my opinion, just tell them straightly but with respectful manner..

I recently had a job interview and they asked me, what do you think of our website?
And I said wel uuurhmm
They said be honoust
I said, it's kinda outdated

They did not hired me

Wow! You guys crack me up. I can't believe some of you actually tried it. But hey if it gets results...You end up with a new customer and a business ends up with a better site. Everyone is happy...(except for the boss's daughter who made the original site, but she is out spending all the extra money you made her so I guess you can say she is happy too)

In all seriousness, you all have given me a looot of great ideas to go with. I hope one day I can get to the point of being forward enough to tell someone their site sucks straight up, but I am not quite there yet.

Thank you again!

He's not your market.

Advisers are highly paid NOT because they are YES men.

I've come across phoney's like this many times, in various industries while selling.

He's probably lying to you about "considering" to make you feel bad.

However, you could turn it around and take the authority angle and drive it home.

He didn't just give you a one-liner... that's always good.

When I am working to close a client for Offline SEO I know I am going to have to tackle their site. I always ask who built the site. When I find out that it's not a family member, I figure it is fair game and I will tell them their site is not doing them any favors. Usually when you hint to a client that their website isn't quite doing it, they quickly agree. This is something you can use to form a bond with your new perspective client, you both don't like the site.

Now if the site was developed by a family member I still know that I have to tell him it's not a good site. I just need to get there from another angle. At this point, it's strictly business not personal so I go that direction. I sell them on my ability to do offsite SEO. I show them past clients and make sure they believe I am the expert.

Once I have sold them I tell them, the first thing I have to do is create a website report and in the report tell them exactly what I would do to fix it or many cases, the fix is to scrape it and put up a new site. I have never had a client get upset with me when I'm trying to make them more money. I think the key to that last statement is that before I go after their terrible website, I make sure they know that I am here to help them and that they completely know and understand that I CAN help them. I do this by becoming the SME (subject matter expert) Once your client sees you as the expert they'll take just about anything you say in stride.


I hope this helps,

Airborne!
Kevin

Funny you should mention the hair thing Ken, I have been a hair dresser for 27 years. And yes, most women will expect their spouse to give their opinion...but just a word of advice for you guys out there....tread very carefully and think before you respond or you could be in for a rough ride! Haha

And come to think of it, most women are asking a question they already know the answer to. They just want confirmation. Because when you know it looks good you don't need to ask in the first place.

But I agree with being obligated to let them know about how their site is affecting them.

I have felt obligated to the point of telling one of my college professors his hair was uneven. It was driving me crazy all through class! He admitted his girlfriend tried to cut it. I got out my scissors after class and fixed his hair cut right there in the room! lol

I think the reality is for me anyway, I am not getting any responses to cold emails/letters, so I may as well try something totally new/different/offensive. Why not? It can't hurt. Maybe I get a reply out of it instead of continually getting ignored.

You could also say : "Do you find your website generates you a lot of business?, I have some good ideas to really make it work like a machine!"
You know, a lot of smaller business people have absolutely no idea what they are doing - and they like to think they do.