What to say when you see a company who doesnt have a website [Archive]

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william232

07-31-2006, 09:36 PM

i have been wondering wat do you say businessesif they dont have a website?

do you say somthing like:

my name is such and such i am from company such and such would you like a website done for you?

somthing like that?

JPnyc

07-31-2006, 10:43 PM

Something like that. Basically explain to them that in this day and age, most every business that isn't a mom and pop operation has a web presence, and explain that the lack of one is costing them business and stifling their growth. If you want, you can also tell them it'll help them lose weight, but I don't recommend it.

william232

07-31-2006, 10:51 PM

that it will help them loose weight what do you mean that they dont recommend it

JPnyc

07-31-2006, 11:11 PM

That part was a joke. The rest was serious.

william232

07-31-2006, 11:34 PM

oh ok lol

FireCracker37

08-01-2006, 12:52 PM

I like to tell them that phone books are out, googleing is in, if you don't have a website up for people to find it would be the same as having an unlisted number in the phone book. Not to mention that many business can sell their products/services right online, and that it often times is the cheapest form of advertising.

I have a whole presentation that I can pitch in just a couple of minutes that normally will spark the interest of any smart business owners...now if only there a few more smart business owners in western Nebraska lol.

NetNerd85

08-04-2006, 03:40 AM

That part was a joke. The rest was serious.A joke? tell us more of this concept :D

Very interesting question. I guess a smart way to approach it would be to find out more about how the business works. We should all know by now that developing a web site and the continued operation of a web site aren't cheap. Make sure the business is wealthy enough to have one developed. Check out the products and services, see if you can trust them and believe in their business - this point isn't always needed but it is better to be passionate about their business. Think of the business as your own, brain storm ideas to see how a web site could help their business to grow. Then contact the business owner, find out more about them then offer them to help their business. Try to have a conversation in person rather than over the phone :)

Be casual, confident and DONT SELL your services, let them know you can help them out ;) Make them beg to give you their money.

william232

08-04-2006, 05:48 AM

so how can i make them beg say you have a winning lotto ticket that you will give them if you do a site for them lol

FireCracker37

08-04-2006, 05:53 PM

NetNerd85

08-05-2006, 12:34 AM

Remember that it doesn't allways matter if they have a website or not...

Just today I sold a guy who has a very nice website up, but he is willing to pay me 500 bucks, because he wants it done more local. Also it is a good idea to have a repository of sites that you built, you have each business advertise your repository, then that becomes a selling point for businesses who already have a website, as well as a good way to lure in potential customers. The best bonus, IMHO is that you have an easy to access portfolio to send to potential employers or customers.

Another tactic that I'm using, is contacting people who have their site hosted by one member of my compotion who hasn't been very popular. It may seem a little backhanded, but business is business, and we still meet up for drinks on Friday night. Maybe if he'd offer me a good job, and let me do things the right way, I would stop stealing his clients.
$500 bucks for a web site? Are you trying to put yourself out of business, go work for McDonalds, they pay more! - Don't sell yourself short, you are worth more :)

As for stealing other peoples clients, that is a really nasty thing BUT can be just IF the client comes to you more on their own free will. If you are actively going after a client even though they are being well served by another company and you are just trying to "get" the client by offering lower prices. Well you are only damaging your own name and I would actively focus on crushing your business if you stole a client from me in a matter of "price wars" rather than the quality of your service. Always compete on quality or speed of service but never just on price. You're in business to make money. Just offer the client more for the same price. It's not difficult to find out information about a business deal, people like to talk, more so on a full stomach :D so finding out the deal to offer a better deal is not difficult. Business is all about making money and relationships, keep it clean :cool:

FireCracker37

08-05-2006, 12:49 AM

lol, the only reason that the website is only going for $500 is because I just took his content and put it in a new design, total time was less then 5 hours, including upload and configuration.

As for stealing clients with a "price war" - it isn't that way at all. Truth be told, my prices are higher then the other guys, but I deliver fast (often within 72 if it is a simple site), and I communicate better with the client. Everyone I've contacted thus far has had a negative story or two about the other company, but before I moved in there wasn't another local choice.

I do agree 100% that you can't win over people with the promise of doing things cheaper, and I have learned - both in the business world, as well as in my personal dealings - that often times "cheaper" actually comes with a larger price tag in the long run, which is one of the reasons that I charge what I do.

KDLA

08-05-2006, 07:43 AM

(Let's not discuss pricing in this thread -- it's against the forum rules.)

One thing you can do is ask them about their customer base: is it strictly "local" - meaning city/region/state - and ask them about if they would be interested in expanding that customer base. The website is just like a franchise of their business with no geographical location. It can reach a whole lot more people than a dozen stores could.

KDLA

Design by JT

08-11-2006, 10:38 PM

I find it interesting that you said a low priced site is selling us short. I have on my website a burst that says "Sites starting at $cheap" that gets people to call or email. Once I speak with them or see them in person, its time to bump them up. Most people know what they want in a site. And 9 times out of ten, its not just a simple basic cheap site. I use the low price to draw in the business but its the sales skills that will get you more service work and money. You show them, i'll use your example, a $500 site and then show them a $1500 or $3000 site. I bet they will want the better site before the meeting is over. Even if its a compromise, its still more then the $cheap site. I am also a speciality car broker as my full time job so for me its just second nature to upsell someone at this stage in my business. This is also not to say that I haven't done sites for the "special" price but they get good basic site for what they pay, it doesn't take more then a day or two or a couple nights after work to make, and everyone is happy. I just try not to do many of these cheap sites.

Good luck in your sales!

urquanmaster

08-24-2006, 08:38 PM

I tend to talk about the product before popping the question. I find that in web development, you never want to give off that salesman stink. My idea of the ideal situation is when you can interest the customer enough to ask you.

So, be direct, but make sure you don't put the person on a hot-seat. Perk his or her interest by giving subtle hints. I find that a lot of people appreciate being given some room, especially with something as daunting as a webpage project.

Oh yea...

A neat way to "ask" inadvertantly, is to pay for their services and give them your business card when they ask for contact info. Good examples are dry-cleaners, framing shops, law firms, accountants, etc. If you're in a store, ask for something they have to special order. This also helps you get an idea of their process and proceedurs.

william232

08-24-2006, 09:03 PM

well I went to my brothers karate class this weekend and said i saw your website and took it from there with the instructor he told me hasnt updated it in awhile so i said to him ill be happy to update it for them and just let me know.

was that the correct way to do things? or not?

KDLA

08-25-2006, 07:42 AM

He didn't karate chop you for saying it, so I'd guess it was OK.

rebel12

08-31-2006, 10:51 AM

:confused: hi guys :cool:
I want to also start making sites for various people and wanted to know how to best install a shopping cart to someone else website.How do I charge them and how do I administer the sites, If they are not that computer literate how do the get access to theirs business and know what they are selling from their browser in their offices?
If someone could give me a list of steps to follow that would be great.
Sorry for too many questions, also guys what the appropriate place to get this kind of shopping cart?I hope you get what am trying to ask
thanks for your help :confused: :confused:

KDLA

08-31-2006, 12:43 PM

Word of Caution: We're not allowed to discuss pricing/charges here.

FireCracker37

08-31-2006, 12:48 PM

Rebel, there are tons of different answers to your questions. First off, I use the 2checkout shopping cart system (allthough I haven't built an e-commerce site in ages, so I don't know if it is still the best). I like them because there fees are low, and they payout twice a month. Check them out at http://www.2checkout.com/

We aren't allowed to discuss pricing on this forum (I'm not sure why, maybe a mod can fill us in on this), but basicly establish a fair hourly rate, and make sure the customer is okay with that. If you want to figure out what is fair, talk to some other web guys in your area, I was surprised to find out that my compotition not only explained to me their pricing stratagy, but also let me look over their contract, and even helped me develop my presentation. They told me that a little bit of healthy compotion wouldn't hurt anyone, and even gave me a list of clients that they weren't going to be able to service as quickly as they expected.

The client doesn't have to be computer literate to tell you about their products and services, it is part of your job to help them decide how to show off their product, and also decide if they are going to bennifit from selling it online (which most people do, also I maybe have misintrepreted your question, if so, please let me know and rephrase it, and I'll try and do a better job).

As far as the steps to building a website, I am actually working on an article about that as we speak (I came back to look at this forum to get ideas), and if the mods will allow it, I would love to post it in the business forum (I'll send it for approval first, if need be), as I think this is a huge issue that a lot of people need help learning.

Anyways, nice to meet your rebel, hope you learn a lot on our boards.

rebel12

09-01-2006, 10:28 AM

Thanks for the reply, is there any software that any of you guys would recommend when it comes to shopping carts.I want to install them on behalf of other people.
One more question, I know that plenty of people have asked this ques before but where can I get cgi inorder to retreive data from my forms and how do I incoorporate these scripts into the server or do I install the sript as part of my html which am sure does not make sense though I know you can use html to send th users info to an email an example would be excellent

thanks alot

FireCracker37

09-01-2006, 11:18 AM

My suggestion would be to skip the CGI and use PHP. CGI scripts are normally a lot more difficult to maintain, whereas a PHP script is easy to install (it doesn't have to go in a specific directory) and if you need to make changes, the language is easier to understand, and there is a ton more support for it.