How to approach a business and tell them there website is sh*t

I have a number of businesses on the go, all 'offline' based so to speak. I only added websites for them when and if i needed them. Now I'm contstantly getting emails from webdesigners who are offering their services for anything from 100$ to 10,000$. they all end up in the same place - SPAM. Any unsolicited mail is spam. If you're good, we'll find you. If you're not, well...then you gotta spam hundreds to get business.

 

It's not spam if it's done correctly. But that's why I said before you shouldn't be contacting someone and pitching services in that first email. Those people generally won't get many contracts that way. It's more about a "soft sell," like writing as a visitor, pointing out legitimate problems, and either following afterwards if you receive a response, or simply including a link to your services (minus any hype) in your email signature. Then if the business owner wants to contact you, they will. If they don't, they won't. And if nothing else, they'll know visitors are actually paying attention to their site, and they'll be aware of potential problems moving forward.

 

Exactly. And I've often contacted designers that way or more importantly word of mouth. I just don't see why anyone should start telling someone their design is sh@T. If they ask for a critical analysis go right ahead! But one designer will say its brilliant, the next its terrible. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. i'm sure there must be better ways of picking up business then telling someone their site is not the best.

 

If your website is sh*it we will also find you and tell you how they can help you, if you are recieveing all these emails it must mean there is something wrong with your website or people can see protential in your business !!!

I would never email someone who i didnt think that i could provide a better website for and increase there business / sales.

 

To answer the title of this thread, I would say, in a nutshell:

- do not use manipulative techniques; so don't send an email making out you are a casual surfer who spotted a few problems. Always be upfront an honest with people.

- why is everyone obsessed with email? Don't be scared - consider picking up the phone or even write a letter and try to get an appointment to chat to the owner of the business.

- focus on the things that matter to business people - making money, saving money, looking good to their peers, impressing their boss etc. And don't talk generics - this is why you should aim for a meeting or phone chat, as this way you can find out exactly what problems these people are facing and suggest ways to solve them using the web.

Whatever way, it's hard to win projects this way. Not only are you convincing people you are the man for the job, you also have to convince them that they need a redevelopment in the first place. Very, very low probability sales, so be prepared for a lot of rejection. Most important thing is you do the math - work out how much time you spent on this task, how many sales you got, how much money you got and see if it was worth it. If so, repeat, if not, try something different.

 

ROFL!! hehe true, true. The point I was trying to make is that any designer will see flaws in anothers design and no doubt can do better. I'm sure i have put some perfectly honest, reputable people into my 'delete' folder simply because they've emailed me more than once. I don't object to an email from someone advertising a genuine business (We all have to try drum up business somehow - whether that be writing, phoning, or email).As long as I'm only emailed once! What I do object to is getting numerous emails from a designer saying 'we can do this better' or ' this is wrong, do this instead'. It irks me no end.

 

I've had alot of success with going ahead and creating a design, semi-branding it and contact them saying if you have any interest in upgrading/modernizing your current website you have a unique concept that you believe would suit their needs.

This way you are showing them something tangible, can "wow" them more then just text in an email like all the other spam. They know its not some bulk copy paste pitch. It prompts a reply as you have actually gone out of your way etc.

If they say no, you got a design you can tweak/rebrand for another similar potential client.

 

whois search the owners email. and contact them directly as long as you not bulk emailing you will be alright. Maybe get a writer to do a premiliminary sales pitch there are many on here.

 

Personally I'd write a sales script.
And pick up the phone.
Ask them if they are happy with their website and is it making them money.
Also would run a free SEO report that would take seconds.
Email is just SPAM really to most

 

Good point
A call may be better than an email..... But practice what you are going to say on a message in case you get voice mail everytim.

Or perhaps call, and then follow up with an email (If the person won't take your call after several attempts).

However, cold calling is a numbers game, the more you call, the better chance you have of getting a solid lead.

 

Lol, I recently went through this problem. I saw a car dealer advertising on TV, checked out there site and ... wow... This is garbage! The website had midi music, horrible pics with crazy random colors/borders, bad frames, no title/meta tags, it was just awful.

So I emailed them politely telling them I'm trying to build a portfolio and I charge very cheap! $40-$150 for a full website plus get them in search engines for keywords that would help them. I told him I have a reference from another company who has BOOSTED their sales ever since I made their website.They went from 1-5 uniques a day to now 15-30! They are now selling 3 RVs a week, before they was lucky to sell 1 a week.

I got a rude quick response back a day later. It was about 10 lines long of how great the site is and how many people are visiting it, ect...

So I guess being friendly isn't the way to go, it may hurt the business owners pride? Maybe a more business approach would of been better? Maybe I should of dropped off a flyer or something? I dunno, his loss. I could of increased his sales while keeping expenses down. His ad on TV had to cost him a lot. He played it around 4pm on a highly watched channel.

EDIT -

After I got the email back I emailed him back telling him what he should do to improve his search engine rankings. 7 quick examples from his site that he should change to attain good rankings in the SE. Haven't heard back from him since and it's been 2-3 weeks.

 

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned here, correct me if I missed it, is what the business owners return on investment will be. In my experience, most business owners don't care what the site looks like (even if it is s***).

They care about solving problems. In 1995 customers kept bugging them, asking if they had a website or not. So, they had a site designed, problem solved!

Since then, no further problem has come up related to their website. It lists their business hours, location, etc. Customers aren't going to tell the business owner that they would spend more money if they had a better site.

You need to show them what they will get in return for a better site... (i.e. how it will increase their business.)

 

Not every business relies or needs a strong web presence. In fact, some just have a very basic one just because they feel like they need to, not because it is a central part of their marketing efforts.

Identify areas that could be improved and how that can benefit them. Nobody really cares that you can make a pretty site or a contact form or valid xhtml tableless design. Focus on the benefits.

For additional impact, write a hand-written snail mail letter to prime them. If they don't respond, follow up via phone or email about a week after. They will likely remember you if you send a sincere handwritten letter.

 

OK here is how to do it.
Firstly DO not charge $150 dollars for a website. Add a zero.
1.Choose your customer carefully carefully. Cherry pick.
2.Take snapshots of 3 or 4 competitor websites
3. Ring the guy/ girl and ask permission to email over details on their three main competitors (take snapshots)
4. Ring to check they have recieved it and explain ask them if they were a customer who would they choose.
5. Ask for the business. Invest in a credit card machine or paypal terminal and take their card details
Create a problem but offer a solution. This is the basic rule of capitalism.
For heavens sake don't work for $100 bucks Give good quality.
Offer bolt on packages such as link building and SEO

I could probally sell 10 websites a week just as sidelines @ £300 - £600, but I just am too busy to build them. Plus SEO!

 

Totally agree with jmort732. Always listen to your client. Also try to get examples of companies that did a redesign to their sites and increased the sales. Hope this example helps: www.usabilitynews.com/news/article3330.asp

 

It depends on your target market. Instead of straight up bashing their site come up with a free analysis report of their site. Here's some pointers regarding site analysis reports (my company has done these before so here's some tips):

1) Use headings -- Layout, Text, Call to Action, Graphics quality, thematic flow, SEO compatibility
2) DESCRIBE the problems don't jump to conclusions. If you have a conclusion, back it up with specific examples.
3) Quote usability studies and case studies
4) Offer an alternative--the alternative is YOU. How do you sell yourself: address each of the problem areas and point out how you fixed it. Include a link to happy clients.

You end up EDUCATING them and SELLING them.

 

Fisttly, you can introduce your website to the "would be" customer.Then try to display some of your designs, in the form of links. Finally, you can discuss what exactly you can do for the customer. Some of them may just require a modification with their website.

 

Say it with a cockney accent, they won't understand what you're talking about

But seriously, there has been some good advice in here. I'd vote for the one about sending a casual email as if you were a user pointing out any glaring or obvious 'woops' items then if they bite, lay the consulting offer as this is your field.


Webmasterlabor's suggestion of 'educating' them that may lead to a sale is also right on imo...most people want someone else to do it even after they know what's up.