Hello,

I need a good telemarketing script to sell my web design services to local prospects. I want to sell a basic 3-page website to local automotive businesses for $49.99/month. The recurring fee is justified by maintenance, security, web hosting, and making minor changes to the site. In addition to this 'package' I will be adding their business to my free business directory. I will compile my list of prospects from the yellowpages. Any business that doesn't have a website listed will be contacted.

I also need a good 'terms of services' template on my directory site which will highlight areas of responsibilities and the required payment to keep the 'service' up.

Keep this thread updated. I have been interested in a model like what you have described, but have never really 'dug' in to it.

If it works for you, it will be very profitable. Make the site, once they are happy with it - it stays dormant and you keep pocketing $49.99/month. Any changes they request will be small as per the agreement, and they are unlikely to change anything once it is up and running.

Further, when you have them on board for 2 or so months, you can offer to promote their site online for a total of $100/m or $150/m so that they can actually start attracting local clients. Since you've already built trust, getting them on board like that should be easy.

The only annoying part is going to be dealing with their initial requests to change the website around. In my experience, it gets really annoying, really quickly. But if you can hold out, you'll have some good cash to make!

With the cold calling script, you're going to be met with a lot of resistance. People have been offered it all before. You are trying to call them and capture the people who are in 'buying mode' right at this moment. To do that, you don't need to sit there with a long script.

Your script should be short and simple, and almost seem as if it is intrusive or 'careless'/'rude'.

Don't say "How are you doing" or anything like that. It gives it away that you're about to pitch them on something. Get right to it. "Fuzzy here from So & So Company. Just quickly, we make websites for $49 a month which includes everything in the one package - would you be interested?".

Yes, you're going to get a lot of "no's" but you don't want to sit there trying to go through a whole pitch. People do not want to hear it. Get in there, right to the point and get the yes or no. If yes, then you know you have room to talk a bit longer and further about your service or product.

Initially, the idea is to sift through your list and get to the people who ARE interested. I personally cannot act like one, but in this case, acting like a robot is the best thing you can do. Be a robot the whole way through, only stopping for interested prospects.

I wouldn't say the price right off the bat. If you take that out and include the things they are missing out on then how you can change that.

Ex) "My name's Kyle and I'm a Senior Design Manager from Fuzzy Web Design. I was browsing the yellowpages and noticed you didn't have a webpage. XXXX people are searching for your company every month in google, but can't find you because YOU'RE NOT THERE! You're sending potential customers to competitors while you could be raking in xxx new customers a month and literally have to push some away because you will be getting too much business..."

Then when they say they're interested you say, "here's what I can do for you... (list everything you can do)"

Then tell them the price. You should be able to go way higher than $49/month if you are offering design, upkeep, and SEO of a site.

Hope this helps!

idea: try reversing everything......
Hey "owner", this is _____, just giving you a quick call to find out why you are not interested in my $49.00 website design, hosting, etc etc.......He will be forced to give you a reason or say I never said that....either way win win.

Hello autoshopABC,

this is fuzzy corleone and i found your business through <wherever>, I own a major web directory that services automotive companies like yours in your area. I'm giving the opportunity to ask your permission for clients to be able to find your shop and information straight from our directory and its absolutely free for you, is this alright with you? GREAT! I also want to let you know what else we can do for you... blah blah blah...

sold.

Businesses are getting blasted with telemarketers pitching websites all day...

I developed a method in a different offline niche that worked pretty well....it was a spin on the old E-Whore tactic....I called it the B-Whore Method, since I was targeting businesses.

Pick a particular auto repair business and have your telemarketers actually call and ask a couple of general questions about auto repair, like they're a prospective customer. Then have them say something like....."ok thanks, I gotta go but I'll check out your website and give you a call back....what's your website address?"....

When the business says they don't have one...."seriously, you don't have a website? Wow, I thought every business had a website, how am I supposed to check you out online?" you get the picture....

Do this several times over a week....

Then you call back and say, "I'm John Doe from ABC Web Design, and a friend of mine mentioned they called you about some auto repair but you didn't have a website, so they were a little unsure..." whatever you want to say, but something along those lines.

"I notice you have yellowpages advertising, but did you realize you're missing customers by not having a website?" "I'm calling because my firm can help you increase your web presence and customer base. We build websites for any budget....and I mean ANY BUDGET. I offer FREE consultations, and I'll be in your area Thursday".....something like that.

I used this strategy for contacting small businesses for a consumer financing offer and it worked like a charm. (Not these exact words per se, but you get the gist).

Not sure if it would work for selling websites, but it worked for me...

... web design is a pain in the ass. what i mean by that is the clients are always extremely difficult to work with. i believe there's a oatmeal comic on it...

Code:

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/design_hell

Originally Posted by liquid5170

... web design is a pain in the ass. what i mean by that is the clients are always extremely difficult to work with. i believe there's a oatmeal comic on it...

Code:

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/design_hell

I don't want to write a long-winded essay about my life story but last year I had the idea of being a freelance web designer (since I was good with photoshop and had some programming background). Recently I gave up on that idea because clients were extremely difficult to work with. I figured I could just try my hand at IM since it's less work (pretty much everything can be outsourced to some kid in Indian).

Anyway, I have this small automotive directory site and a dentist rental site. For the automotive directory all I have to do is a compile a list of prospects and pay a telemarketer based on performance (pay per lead). I tried the hourly rate route with a previous telemarketer and it was a disaster. As for the dentist rental site...I may give up on that. I did some horrible keyword research and picked a keyword that is hard to rank for (all of the dentists on the front page have a highly optimized website).

So the plan is to offer my web design services over the phone and if the prospect shows any hint of resistance or skepticism we can just offer them a free demo site. I'm currently looking for a cheap telemarketer however since I have other projects going and don't have time to call prospects.

Already wrote a custom script and sent it to my telemarketer.

I have another project which is a rental site for a dentist. I gave up on that project because the site temporarily fell off the google SERP. But just a couple of days ago it's ranked on page 3 for 3 different keywords. So I'm going to need to start calling dentists in the area for a free trial (to have their info on the site for 3 weeks for free).

Well that was embarrassing. It was a complete and utter failure. Gave my telemarketer a list of 20 prospects (auto repair companies) and many of them weren't interested in my web design package.

Perhaps I'm targeting a bad industry or a bad location (lots of cheapskates here).

FlexPayDude had an interesting approach. Try that.

It's not the industry or it being a bunch of cheapskates. It's the fact that your approach is all wrong.

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but put yourself in their position and then be brutally honest and answer this question... do I, as a business owner, really care about a website?

I promise you the answer is a resounding "No!"

No business owner does. This also holds true even if a business owner says they do care about having a website.

You may be thinking, WTF? Is this guy out of his mind? The business owner told me they cared and/or were interested.

That might be true but what the business owner was really telling you was that they are interested in the end result that a website can bring to their business. The website itself means squat!

Let me ask you this...imagine you own a really high end entertainment system. You're a movie junkie. You can't wait to buy your favourite new release on Tuesday. You look forward to it each week and that high end entertainment system provides some of the best surround sound and crystal clear, lifelike pictures anyone has ever seen. You with me? Can you picture it? Great! So when you spent your hard earned money on those high end entertainment components, was it the components that you cared most about or was it the experience that those components are able to deliver to your audio and visual perceptions?

The answer is pretty clear. So as the salesperson selling you those components, will I have better success if I talk about the components exclusively, our will I have better successes in getting you to purchase my components if I appeal to what it is you ultimately care about?

The keyword here is ultimately.

Finally, how about charging a large up front fee to design the site and then a modest recurring monthly maintenance package? In fact, you could package this a number of different ways because honestly, website design by itself yields zero benefit to your client (in terms of what really matters to the business owner).

I brought up your price point because there is an assumption that cheap prices produce cheap results. The old adage, "You get what you pay for" applies. And do you really want to target cheapskates? Cheap people always want the most and want to pay the least for it. These people are the ones who have no respect or appreciation for your time and expertise. Do as you wish of course, but never claim that you were not warned

People always feel they need to compete on price and the simple truth is that competing on price will kill your business, if not you first. It's not worth the headaches and you have a skill that they do not possess. They should pay for it and pay you well!

Change your marketing mindset and it will pay better dividends!

Originally Posted by PoolShark

FlexPayDude had an interesting approach. Try that.

It's not the industry or it being a bunch of cheapskates. It's the fact that your approach is all wrong.

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but put yourself in their position and then be brutally honest and answer this question... do I, as a business owner, really care about a website?

I promise you the answer is a resounding "No!"

No business owner does. This also holds true even if a business owner says they do care about having a website.

You may be thinking, WTF? Is this guy out of his mind? The business owner told me they cared and/or were interested.

That might be true but what the business owner was really telling you was that they are interested in the end result that a website can bring to their business. The website itself means squat!

Let me ask you this...imagine you own a really high end entertainment system. You're a movie junkie. You can't wait to buy your favourite new release on Tuesday. You look forward to it each week and that high end entertainment system provides some of the best surround sound and crystal clear, lifelike pictures anyone has ever seen. You with me? Can you picture it? Great! So when you spent your hard earned money on those high end entertainment components, was it the components that you cared most about or was it the experience that those components are able to deliver to your audio and visual perceptions?

The answer is pretty clear. So as the salesperson selling you those components, will I have better success if I talk about the components exclusively, our will I have better successes in getting you to purchase my components if I appeal to what it is you ultimately care about?

The keyword here is ultimately.

Finally, how about charging a large up front fee to design the site and then a modest recurring monthly maintenance package? In fact, you could package this a number of different ways because honestly, website design by itself yields zero benefit to your client (in terms of what really matters to the business owner).

I brought up your price point because there is an assumption that cheap prices produce cheap results. The old adage, "You get what you pay for" applies. And do you really want to target cheapskates? Cheap people always want the most and want to pay the least for it. These people are the ones who have no respect or appreciation for your time and expertise. Do as you wish of course, but never claim that you were not warned

People always feel they need to compete on price and the simple truth is that competing on price will kill your business, if not you first. It's not worth the headaches and you have a skill that they do not possess. They should pay for it and pay you well!

Change your marketing mindset and it will pay better dividends!

I understand all of that. We explained to them the benefits of having a website and how it could bring in more business for them. They just weren't interested.

Really? Exactly how does a website bring in more business?

Better yet, other than price, how are you any different than the other ten website design companies that have solicited my business in the last seven days?

Originally Posted by PoolShark

Really? Exactly how does a website bring in more business?

Well I thought about selling a website creation + seo package but I'd rather sell a product that has a free trial of some sorts. People aren't likely to purchase a product over the phone so that was my strategy. Offer them a free demo site and upsell them on seo after the real site is made and paid for.

If you want to offer a free trial, how about delivering a couple of leads to your prospect direct from your website. Prove to the prospect that your service can, in fact, deliver what matters most.

Then you approach the business and say, hey bud...you like those leads? I have more if you want them, but at a premium.

You get the idea. In addition, a sample size of 20 is way too small. You need to contact a minimum of at least 100. And even then, that's undersized. Then you go back and tweak and test and repeat as often as necessary.

Truth be told, it takes multiple contacts to get a sale on average. And part of that process is building a rapport with the prospect and trust. People never just buy a product...the relationship is a key component of any sales process.

Originally Posted by PoolShark

If you want to offer a free trial, how about delivering a couple of leads to your prospect direct from your website. Prove to the prospect that your service can, in fact, deliver what matters most.

Then you approach the business and say, hey bud...you like those leads? I have more if you want them, but at a premium.

You get the idea. In addition, a sample size of 20 is way too small. You need to contact a minimum of at least 100. And even then, that's undersized. Then you go back and tweak and test and repeat as often as necessary.

Truth be told, it takes multiple contacts to get a sale on average. And part of that process is building a rapport with the prospect and trust. People never just buy a product...the relationship is a key component of any sales process.

I'm going to use a similar plan for my rental site. 1) Get the site ranked. 2) Offer a 3-week free trial. 3) And if they want to continue getting leads they will have to pay a monthly fee to keep using my site.

I am intrested in this when can we start.

Originally Posted by MAHESH TRIPATHI

I am intrested in this when can we start.

Started on what exactly?

Do not explain to the business owner that your services can benefit them. You want THEM to explain this to you... You need to nudge them towards this idea..
"You use the internet at home and at work, right?" -Yeah
"Well when you look for {keyword}, you look online, don't you?" -Yeah
"Wouldn't you want to be visible to other people searching for your {keyword}?" -Yeah
*Sell hard*

They are a business owner, they want to be the smart one. They want to make the decisions and they want to have the ideas.

For you, who cares who idea it is? As long as they BUY, then let them think that. They want to talk to somebody who makes them feel smart, and they still walk away with the information they didn't have before talking to. Funny how that works.

You want to lead them with questions, but your questions need to be all resulting in one thing: The other person saying yes. If you break it up into 4-5 question, all ending in "yes," it will be easy to squeeze that last yes (sale) out.

"Wouldn't you want to get to work on time?" -Yeah
"Then you'd rather get a ride to work than walk?" -Yeah
"It'd be nice to have your own ride to work, right?" -Yeah
"You'd probably save a lot of time if you had your own ride, wouldn't you?" -Yeah

My favorite sales tips came from Tom Hopkins "How To Master The Art Of Selling Anything."
I haven't had to sell anything for a while, but I used to read and listen to his stuff constantly when I did and I always did well. When you use some of his techniques, it's very fun because you already know exactly where the conversation is heading and it's like mind control.

My roommate and I used to joke with it, like, "you'd rather clean up this mess than make me do it. WOULDN'T YOU?" But it's a very effective selling strategy.

Originally Posted by meatro

Do not explain to the business owner that your services can benefit them. You want THEM to explain this to you... You need to nudge them towards this idea..
"You use the internet at home and at work, right?" -Yeah
"Well when you look for {keyword}, you look online, don't you?" -Yeah
"Wouldn't you want to be visible to other people searching for your {keyword}?" -Yeah
*Sell hard*

They are a business owner, they want to be the smart one. They want to make the decisions and they want to have the ideas.

For you, who cares who idea it is? As long as they BUY, then let them think that. They want to talk to somebody who makes them feel smart, and they still walk away with the information they didn't have before talking to. Funny how that works.

You want to lead them with questions, but your questions need to be all resulting in one thing: The other person saying yes. If you break it up into 4-5 question, all ending in "yes," it will be easy to squeeze that last yes (sale) out.

"Wouldn't you want to get to work on time?" -Yeah
"Then you'd rather get a ride to work than walk?" -Yeah
"It'd be nice to have your own ride to work, right?" -Yeah
"You'd probably save a lot of time if you had your own ride, wouldn't you?" -Yeah

My favorite sales tips came from Tom Hopkins "How To Master The Art Of Selling Anything."
I haven't had to sell anything for a while, but I used to read and listen to his stuff constantly when I did and I always did well. When you use some of his techniques, it's very fun because you already know exactly where the conversation is heading and it's like mind control.

My roommate and I used to joke with it, like, "you'd rather clean up this mess than make me do it. WOULDN'T YOU?" But it's a very effective selling strategy.

I will try that.

I think my problem is that I've been outsourcing cold calling to people on fiverr. This one guy I hired didn't seem terribly smart (I think he followed my script word for word rather than putting his own twist in it).

Originally Posted by fuzzy_corleone

Hello,

I need a good telemarketing script to sell my web design services to local prospects.

Their is a guy John Durham at http://thetelemarketingforum.com
has a specific section of his forum dedicated to offline telemarketing
stuff. (No Aff.)

Buyer beware though like any other recommendations I give

JQ

Originally Posted by fuzzy_corleone

Well that was embarrassing. It was a complete and utter failure. Gave my telemarketer a list of 20 prospects (auto repair companies) and many of them weren't interested in my web design package.

Perhaps I'm targeting a bad industry or a bad location (lots of cheapskates here).

I have been doing telemarketing of some sort for the last 20 years. Unless you are a killer cold call closer, the average rate of conversion for your run of the phone mill telemarketer will close 1-5% (this varies with script, product, leads, and caller of course). Out of the 20 you gave them, a top end closer with totally cold leads could have closed 1 at this rate.

Do not be discouraged. Just pump them more than 100 leads so that you can get a percentage count. The more leads you run through, the easier it is to tweak to get a higher conversion rate.

Here's an idea.

What if one were to call their prospects and ask for an email address. "I'm not calling to sell you something over the phone, I know you don't have time for that and neither does your business. Would you be interested in receiving a one time email with some engaging information about how a website can help your business?"

I've recently started getting a better response (though this is from a SMALL number of calls) that way and am able to send them info, track whether they opened it (for a follow up call) and also direct them to my website which has the sales page and more information about the company.

Not sure about the scalability but going to keep this up to see how it works.

This is pure gold have to try this . Was panning to do for Google Places optimization

I run a little business and we get these type of offers all the time. Email, phone, fax. They go straight into delete. There was some good input earlier about calling a bunch of times and pretending to be a customer so that a business owner think's there is a need. However a lot of business owner's don't work the phones the messages get filtered out.

What one company did, they somehow got through to the owner on his cell phone. Misled him into thinking they were part of the YellowPages directory and got a voice recording of it saying he wanted their services. Then they had a system to make you think you must pay. For us, they played me back one of the tapes but wouldn't play back the other tape or send me any copies, so once I threatened BBB, they backed off.

I think that direct mail would be better for selling this sort of thing. There was a pretty good writeup posted here recently where the guy threw a pair of dice into the envelope to make it bulky and more noticeable to a potential client.

Originally Posted by VinBed

I think that direct mail would be better for selling this sort of thing. There was a pretty good writeup posted here recently where the guy threw a pair of dice into the envelope to make it bulky and more noticeable to a potential client.

Direct mail is really expensive, you want to make sure you have a service that is going to generate enough money to make the cost worth it. Just a consideration.