When you offer a digital service, it can be tricky to convince others why they have a need for it, especially if they have no digital presence. But if you’re willing to put in the work, local businesses can be great conversions.
Among other advantages, you have the benefit of location; business owners who are nervous about going digital will be reassured that you aren’t far away if they need help.
Of course, you can’t rely on location alone to sell your services to local businesses. Check out the five tips below to help you make those connections and sales.
1. Plant the seed
Start by letting people know you’re in the neighborhood and how you can help. Use direct mail to target neighborhoods within a specific radius of your location. Send out flyers advertising your business and what you do. Outline what makes you stand out from your competition and the benefits you can provide to businesses that might be handling their own websites.
To increase your chances of getting the mail opened, put it in a branded envelope. Keep the design simple and professional, and use fonts that mimic handwriting for a personal touch.
In addition, get out and get to know the people in your community. Man a booth at a local fair or festival with business cards and promotional materials. Gifts such as branded pens and buttons are old standbys, but consider handing out something a little more creative, such as Frisbees (take a look at FlyDiscs.com for examples of what’s possible).
Strike up a conversation with attendees and collect names and contact information for your mailing list. Alternatively, participate in local community service events. This allows you to get to know people in the area and shows your commitment to the community at the same time.
2. Build a connection
Stop by local businesses and introduce yourself. Remember, you only get one chance to make a great first impression. Don’t take up too much time because, like you, the business owners are busy. Instead, take a few minutes to let them know who you are and what you do.
Then, focus on getting to know them. Make sure that this interaction is more about you getting to know them than talking about yourself. This will make them more receptive to speaking with you and show that you genuinely want to help them. Offer to meet with them again for a consultation at a convenient time. Leave a business card behind so they can look you up when they have some free time.
In between meetings, research the businesses in your area to learn more about them and their demographics. Check out their websites to brainstorm ways to make them better.
3. Prepare a takeaway
Though your services are digital, sometimes providing something tangible is the best way to go in order to leave a lasting impression of your brand. Create personalized sample packets for the business owners to give them an idea of what you can do for them.
Sometimes, having something printed in front of people (instead of just on a screen) can help them visualize the final product. Include color palettes, logo images and other house samples to help bring the design to life.
You can keep your takeaway materials packaged together using paper clips or folders, but custom branded binders allow you to give your presentation a much more professional look. They also show how much time and effort you dedicate to each account.
Don’t forget, your binder is the first representation of your work the business owners will see. Make sure it stands out with a professional, unique design. To see how other businesses have used binders to build their brands and boost business, check out some examples at Company Folders.
4. Compare and contrast
After you show them what you can do for them, show them their competition. Offer an analysis of their competitors’ websites and explain what they are doing to be more successful.
They’ll likely be surprised to find out how much they are missing out on because of their poor or nonexistent web presence. Once the business owners’ competitive spirit kicks in, you can show them how your services can help them beat their competition.
5. Play to their budgets
Whipping out all of the bells and whistles is great, but it won’t do you any good if local business owners can’t afford your services. Be sure to provide a variety of options to cater to your potential clients’ budgets. Show them that you understand running a business is expensive and that’s why they might not have as good of a website as they desire.
Consider offering a special introductory rate for new clients. This will allow them to try you out and find out what they are missing. Highlight the value of your services so they can see the return on investment. Remember, the local business scene is a tight-knit community, so word will spread quickly if you do good work, and even faster if the business owner feels wronged in some way.
Getting local businesses to use your services is a process, but if you are authentic and stick with it, you should be able to add them to your client list. Remember to reassure business owners that you are not going to leave them high and dry once you’ve created or updated their websites.
Let them know you are available for site maintenance as well as troubleshooting and fixing any issues that come up. A lot of times, people have a basic website or no website at all because they don’t have the time and/or knowledge to keep it up. This will help ease their fears about going digital and allow you to build a stronger relationship with clients.
Hopefully, these tips help you boost your business. Do you have other strategies? Share them in the comments below.
