Web design for local businesses

A lot of people in my area is charging $950 a month i think $399 is to cheap for all the work you have to do.

Jim

I think that is a good start for a small business in a small town and then add packages.

* Google Analytics
* Google Places
* Blog Posting service
* And many more

Quentin

Talking to your target audience is the best way to find out what they will pay. They're the only ones who can tell you what it's worth to help them brand their businesses and engage audiences to differentiate themselves from the competition.

I would advise you to think over your value proposition for a few more days before you start dialing numbers. If you land a customer for a couple hundred bucks, pump out a template design, and say "here's ur website, kthxbai" you still haven't added much value to their business. In a town that small, your reputation can't afford to make a lot of mistakes.

Price is all relative to the designer, if you think your worth the bigger money than charge it, however just starting out, I would caution you to not overshoot it. Get the experience of offering your services, make sure you can eat and live with the money made and then if needed adjust to a price more indicative of your living style. No sense in slaving away to "not" make ends meat.

Well today we went through and called most of the numbers, a lot of them were numbers that were out of service, but for the ones that weren't, we failed tremendously. We couldn't even keep them on the phone for a minute and I think its because of the script we were using, it went something along the lines of, "Hello, am I speaking to the owner? oh okay my name is Josh Lucas with Genesis Media (I think we just sounded like telemarketers at this point) and then we asked them if they had a website and we would just get back a "no" or "no and we don't want one".

Most of the people were complete dicks, so we got nowhere today and I am hoping to find some good advice so I can get back to work tomorrow, because today was a little dis-heartening.

Actually, it would be easier to sell mobile websites targeting small business owners with websites. Once you get your foot in the door, maybe redo or redesign their old website. The key is to get your foot in the door so they can see what you can do for them.

You should see if you can conduct your business on a more national level. That way you can purchase mailing lists of offline business owners who bought something related to website design and internet marketing.

In my experience personal visit works best but you need to go in their with an affordable offer, or in the very least just to introduce yourself as the local internet marketer who can help them get more business using the internet.

One thing that is crucial is to know that small businesses do get hit up ALOT by internet marketers and web design/development services. So when you are actively pursuing prospects, you must keep that in mind so you can hopefully then work out how to rise above the noise.

Also if you are having difficulty with getting them to accept your offer for a website of $400 etc. then i would suggest giving them a free ebook on how to increase their business online (make sure it has your contact details in their). For them to get it you can either email it to them or hand them a slip of paper where they can download it after they opt in.

Also i would not worry about losing money on the front end even if the offer is a cheap website, because you can always follow up with so many other offers such as ongoing maintenance, SEO, mobile websites, facebook marketing etc.

The key is to really make that connection with the prospect, more so than trying to make money off them as quickly as possible. If you treat them well they will be more than happy to do further business with you.

Great start for your small business))

Good luck! I hope you succeed!

Guys I am having an extremely hard time opening to these businesses and I am in such a small town that I only have about 30 places left to call before I move to the next area. I hate starting off saying "Hi I am josh lucas with blabla designs" I want to just strike up conversation with the business owner and not sound like I am trying to sell him anything, any advice?

Lots of good advice, however you might want to call them and say you were trying to find out more about them online and say, I tried to find your website, do you have one? If they say no then ask why. Believe it or not some folks actually have all the biz they want or need. Those folks aren't qualified customers. However, you might find the reason they don't have one and it might open the door for your offer.

You may want to consider offering to build the site for free and host it for 30 days. If they like it they can then then rent it from you for $99 a month (or whatever works). Do the basic site get the phone ringing for them (you provide a virtual number that you can pull if they don't want the service after the free period). If they want more pages, changes etc., then bill them a fair rate. The other services mentioned previously may then open up for you.

Yeah, a bit of a time risk and a few bucks as well, but if you get a monthly contract and they get more businesses then you are in the drivers seat.

Hi, Josh, do you have any business meetups or a Chamber of Commerce in your area? That might be a route that works better for you. Just keep trying things. It's the only real way to find out what works for you and your area.

I would concentrate on how you can help them with local advertising and lead generation. Show them the power of squeeze pages and what a good local email list can do for the bottom line!

call after hours and leave a short sweet message. believe they will listen to it on their own time. i get alot of call backs this way. they are relaxed when they are listenning to it and more likely to be more receptive.
that is just what works for me.
thanks

Just carefully check all the requirements of client first and then give them a presentation with the required things and make it as interactive as possible and be positive while running a business but follow all the protocols.

Hi,

Soles Web Design is the minute Business' alternative for Web Design, SEO Copywriting and ...Do You require Website intend, SEO Copywriting or Local SEO Services?
Thanks!

personal visit

For clients who can afford, consider the option of Geo marketing with Adsense.

I'd put together a directory/web portal site for your town/area. Much like wordpress.com.

Use WP MultiSite. Enable local businesses to have their own blog (but don't call it a blog to the businesses - they usually think blogs are all about cute fluffy kittens!).

Install a good directory theme on the site, install a heap of relevant, useful plugins for them, a range of themes they can choose from, and a pay to blog system.

You can then very easily sell an annual membership - giving them a listing in the directory PLUS give them their own blog. $600 a year up front is an easy sell.

Make the price $800 a year, but if they join in a pre-launch stage, or while you are visiting you'll take $200 off... but once you walk out the door of the initial visit - they price goes back up to $800.

Remember to OVER deliver and you'll be sweet.

From there you can offer other services like Google Places, Social networking etc etc etc.

Thanks Russell

It's a simple and effective system, giving the business owners a full functioning website for a fraction of the cost... and because it's wp multisite it quickly climbs the search engines with all the regularly updated blogs.

With contacting people - I'd still be making a phone call to get an appointment... all you want is the appointment. So find the business owners main problem/s, then in the phone call you can tell them that your website is designed to overcome bla bla bla problem, by encouraging visitors to bla bla bla. If you do this right, then at this point they'll start to agree with you about the problem, have a little whinge about it and are immediately open to your suggestion of "I'll be in your area this afternoon and would love to stop by, have a chat and explain how bla bla bla website can help your business, is 2 o'clock good for you?"

If you've correctly hit on their problem then you should get the meeting.

Just remember - NEVER NEVER NEVER tell them the price until the END OF THE MEETING. If you've priced it reasonably they'll be amazed that's all your charging and reach for the cheque book.

The local portal works pretty well in small towns - been there, done that. My company was born after a small town portal.

It's a damn good advice.

One idea is to create a youtube video showing how your portfolio and or additional things you can do for the client. This includes some up sell opportunities for Google Places, etc. Then send the link to the potential clients. I'd recommend sending email 1st or postcard with follow up calls. We tried door to door but that was a waste of feet power.

Man, I can't tell you how much I hate the idea of "pitching" anything to a business owner.

One wouldn't normally walk up to a girl you don't know and ask her to marry you without at least a few dates first, so why would a business owner who doesn't yet know, like or trust you be any different?

That "people buy from those they know, like and trust" is the best marketing lesson I've ever learned and just like developing personal relationships, business relationships usually take time to develop too.

Sure, you can take the telemarketing approach and just call a few hundred people hoping one will take you up on your sales pitch, but I've always liked two-step or educational marketing where you provide prospects with valuable, free info educating them about how you can help them while demonstrating your expertise and beginning a relationship with them.

You can offer prospects anything from free reports, books, DVDs or audio products that they can learn from and I think doing a free seminar like Matt mentioned above is a great idea and so is doing a local directory like Stef mentioned. All of those things can provide value to your prospect while giving them reasons to know, like and trust you and while not everyone will buy what you're selling right away, over time, the odds are good you'll get a large percentage of those prospects as clients.

HTH some,

Steve

I have extensive experience with this and sell sites all day long from $399 to $8000+, depending on features, client, SEO, etc.

1. Don't re-invent the wheel each time. See Swift CMS Content Management System | Wordpress CMS System - pays 50% for life including hosting and everything... we're split testing now and adding upsells / downsells, but it's hot, and I think we can be the #1 money earner on all of clickbank $1400+ per sale as the recurring kicks in. Most people sell the site for like $397 for example then pocket the $300 cash, run the client's card for the $97, of which 50% (48.50) comes back to you (+$14.50/mo per client!) via clickbank... they then spend about 1-2 hours on twitter, setting up some basics, and they're 100% done in 2 hrs. Tell the client you're the quarterback, we're the linebackers - upsell / future-sell SEO, PPC, ORM, etc. with a "hub and spoke" idea, gotta have the hub first, but you'll help with "spokes" (how they get found).

2. Don't sell "websites' sell "we get you more business" and "how much biz are you missing because your competitors are getting found online" - know what I mean? Nobody gives a sh*t about websites except as much as it will do for them.

3. Cold calling blows, but it is a start. Better: Ask for referrals, tell them you want to help them build a Keiretsu - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia i.e. wedding planner locked in with a florist locked in with a photographer and they all cross-sell - anyway - use that strategy and your closing rate will go way up, via perceived endorsement. Also note that some of the best, highest-paying clients are NOT online, and are offline types - they are hugs and handshake types of guys.. these are the guys that won't bat an eye at $1500 simple websites, while online-savvy are bombarded with offers for $1 websites (that suck, but they get that pricing expectation).

4. Pricing: Frame it along side how much they pay for rent. Their website is their home online. Do they rent a $150 storage warehouse? Or pay top dollar for nice retail? the same is true online - and it makes whatever you tell 'em seem cheap. I've sold sites before for $3k+ that took me under 3 hours to make - $1000/hour isn't bad money at all, huh?

Happy Hunting!
RogerV
WSO coming soon, sign up at SwiftCMS.com to get preview access free.

I would suggest you ask them what are their target audience for their businesses before even opening your price to them.

Some might be willing to spend more, some rather spend less. Approaching in an open manner is better than closing them down with a price. Understanding their business and making them understand how I.T can help them would be a plus point for you.

Also consider outsourcing some of your projects once you get them. In that way, you will keep your business repo in good shape =P. No man can handle all at once. Therefore consider your cost before opening a price for them.

Also consider to provide them hosting yourself. In this way, you have a recurring income to keep you running and expand from there.

HMMMM this is a tough one cause you live in such a small town. With only 40 businesses the competition is very slim so most of them are content where they are out. I think you are gonna have to sell them on the idea that they still have some growth left in them. I would push getting there name out to the surrounding cities by making an online presence for them

Push the idea that there are people within a 20 mile radius that could be potential customers for them but may not have any idea that their business exists because of a lack of online exposure. Put together some statistics and possibly other businesses similar to theirs that are within 30 miles or less that have websites.

See if you can get some data as to how many visitors that business gets a month to their site and how bigger they are compared to the business you are pitching to. It may sound like alot of homework but if you can make the business owner think twice even for a split second about it or even just ponder it for a moment you can win he or she over.

You just have to be and appear comfortable, knowledgeable and confident in what you are selling. If you keep saying the same old things the same old way it will be just another person calling trying to get them to buy something.

Im with Em. Personal visit is the way to go. If im a business owner, I want to meet the person im dealing with before I invest any time in hearing their sales pitch. but hey, what do I know

Don't say maintenance is free. Say it's part of the payment.

They should see if they can conduct your business on a more national level. That way it can buy mailing lists of offline business owners who purchased something related to website design as well as internet marketing.

Hi Lucas,

I understand what you are going through it is sometimes difficult to start and figuring the best approach. The best way to go is actually whatever you feel comfortable with. Definitely combine what people have mentioned here with your personal style.

Some of the pearls you should use are:

Always Talk Benefits
Offer something for free so you can approach your prospects
Don't push the sale.
Build rapport

The problem sometimes is that all the recommendations are great but it is hard to put together something. You normally don't know where to start so I put something together for you. It talks all benefits you need, feel free to use it.

You can copy it, change some of the text to add your personal style, add your logo and make it the free report you give your prospects.

You can also use it to create your presentation in the chamber, use what's in it to personalize what you'll say to the client, depending on what he needs, you can even use it to overcome objections.

Advantages of taking your business online | Start your business, Grow or Improve your Business - Gabriel Collignon

I am sure it will help your prospects get some perspective of what you are doing

I hope you find it helpful

--------------

If you find this helpful you can always Thank me by clicking the "THANKS" button in the post

I read about 20 replies before jumping down here. There are a few questions you need to answer (for yourself) before this can be successful.

The first is: why haven't these business got a website in 2011? I mean, Jesus C, everyone knows about the web.

Second: How is not having a website REALLY hurting their business? Don't give me that boilerplate crap, either. You are going to have to understand this part.

Three: Why should they listen to you? You really need to be able to get them to believe that you are legit when you are telling them how this is hurting them. And then they need to feel you know enough to solve that problem.

I really hope you succeed! But you may be "developing a product" for which there is no market. These people know about websites. They have chosen to forgo one for a long time.

Here is a great idea... maybe you should tell them, "Your company is one of just many that we found without a website. Lucky for me you answered the phone - most of the rest are out of business. We're hoping to help you avoid that same fate..."

But this will backfire if they have been in business for 20 years and are still kicking ass.

You can private message me if you want to talk more. I'm always up for a good sales brainstorming session.

-Steve

Good for you! Your price point is very reasonable and affordable for an HTML site. You might consider $350 for 3-pages and $450 for 5-pages to upsell it. Free hosting for a year or showing them how to save on hosting (with an affiliate) is great. Also, we used to give 6 or 12 months web maintenance as an added bonus (valued at $50 hr, so $300 or $600 bonus - it's limited to 1 hr per month and does include design).

I'd use an approach that you're comfortable with. A mix of phone, email and site visits are great (for testing yourself and the business climate). In fact plan to use all three for every contact, just mix up the order to test.

There are plenty of threads on there about scripts to use for phone and email.

You're there to solve a problem, and you have an affordable solution as a starting point. You want to speak to their objections, barriers, and what has prevented them from taking their business online. The fact that local search increases every day (month, year) and mobile search is increasing so quickly, it should be a no brainer. But then again, that's why you want to get to the root of why they're not online and speak to it.

Good luck.

There's no difference between a business owner in New York or a business owner in your small town. Why would the location determine your price or your approach? Why would you only want to design sites for those who don't have sites? Why not upgrade the old site to a new shiny WP powered site?

You see my point.

You're restricting yourself and you're sending a message that your services aren't worth much by charging a low fee for the website.

Website design isn't a local offline thing. I design websites and I live in the Costa Rica jungle, with most of my clients living in the USA. I have more business than I want.

If you want to sell websites locally, get your foot in the door another way. Then upsell websites, mobile sites, SEO or whatever you want.

What I like about serving offline clients is that they're loyal. Once you do good work for them, they'll use your services for whatever you offer and they'll refer you so you don't have to be chasing new clients all the time.

You're trying to barge into these businesses and sell them. They won't go for that approach. It doesn't work. Pre frame them so they know your name. Direct them to your sales page so they know what you can do for them. Offer them something useful so they'll bite.

Cold calling, meeting in person and such things to make a sale is no way to run an online business serving offline businesses, when there's easier ways.

Calling? NO WAY!

Why not just to make a sample website + a presentation showcasing why they need a website, walk to them, ask for the owner and reserve 10 minutes, turn on your laptop and present the sample website, presentation and say it is very unprofessional for biz not to have a website in this century, say if they order NOW they will get a mobile website for FREE or whatever. base your price on their needs. I plan to do this.

It is easiest to start off with people that you already know and have a relationship with (family and friends). If you can do something for them first and they see success from it you will have someone to give you a testimonial and they will tell all of their friends how great you are! Word of mouth is very powerful.

If you are in that small of a town you have to get out and meet with them face to face. It is not hard and it will give you a great opportunity to tell them what you will be able to do for their business.

When I meet with someone that has a website already I like to do a top 10 report on their SEO and compare them to the top 10 in Google so they know exactly what they have to do to rank for their keywords. It is very powerful and you can leave with a check in your hand on the first visit, even if they don't know exactly what they want in terms of a website right then.

How about facebook ads for geo marketing , will that work for a town ?