The short answer
To sell websites to local businesses, pick one trade in one area, find the businesses in it with no website or a weak one, build each a real demo before you ask for anything, send it in one short message, and charge a monthly price that includes hosting and changes. The website is the easy part now. Finding the right business and getting a reply is the job.
Pick one trade and one area
Selling to "small businesses" means writing a different pitch every time. Selling to roofers in three counties means you learn what roofers lose jobs over, you get faster each time, and the fifth roofer's site takes half the work of the first.
Choose a trade by two questions:
- Is one customer worth a lot? A single roof or a new bathroom can pay for a year of website. A single haircut doesn't, so the sums are harder.
- Do customers search before they call? People search for an emergency plumber. Fewer search for a new barber, because they ask a friend.
Plumbers, roofers, HVAC companies, electricians, landscapers and dentists all pass both tests. Start with whichever you already know someone in. A first client who'll take your call is worth more than the best trade on paper.
Find who needs a site
You're looking for a business that's clearly working but missing online. A van on the road, good reviews and no website is the best lead there is, because the business has money and something to lose.
You can do this by hand. Search a map for the trade and the town, open each listing, look for a website link, and judge what you find. It takes a few minutes per business, and our guide to finding businesses without websites walks through it.
Or use a tool that does the checking. Radar searches a trade and a town, checks each business's website, and ranks them with the reasons beside each name.
Either way, write down why each one is worth a call. "Has 40 reviews, Facebook page only, no way to book" is a reason. "Local plumber" isn't.
Build the demo first
The old way was to pitch, get a yes, and then build. That made sense when building took a week. Now that a draft takes minutes, build first.
A real demo does what no pitch can. The owner sees their own name, their services and their phone number on a page that works, and the question changes from "what would I get?" to "do I want this one?".
One rule matters more than the rest: make it true. A demo with a wrong phone number, a made-up review or a price the owner never charged doesn't just lose the sale, it tells them you didn't look. Use only what's on their listing or their existing site, leave out what you can't support, and keep it private until they agree. That's why Shingle checks every line against the business's own facts.
Send one short message
Keep it to something you could read aloud in fifteen seconds. Name the business, say what you did, and include the link.
Hi Dana, I noticed Northside Plumbing has great reviews but no website, so I built you one to look at. It took me a few minutes and it's yours to use or ignore: [link]. Anything wrong on it is easy to fix.
That message works because it doesn't ask for anything. There's no "hop on a call" and no list of services. They can look in private, on their phone, between jobs.
Start with email or a call to a business line. A text or a WhatsApp message to the number on a listing is quicker, and it carries more legal risk, because a cell phone an owner uses for both work and home can count as residential under the TCPA, and some states add rules of their own. Email has its rules too, such as a postal address and an opt-out. Our cold email templates and call script go through them. This is general information, not legal advice. If they've asked not to be contacted, don't.
Follow up, then stop
Many replies don't come from the first message. People see it on a job, mean to answer, and forget.
If you use a pitch link that tells you when it's opened, you know exactly when to call: while the demo is on their screen. If you don't, a fair rhythm is one follow-up after three days and one more a week later, each with something new, like a change you made or a question about their area.
After that, stop. Two follow-ups is persistence, and five is the reason people dislike being pitched.
Answer the objections
You'll hear the same few things. Have a short, honest answer ready for each.
"I get all my work from word of mouth." Good. Ask what those people do after they hear your name. Most search it, and finding nothing makes a good recommendation look doubtful.
"I already have a Facebook page." Keep it. A website adds the things Facebook doesn't do well: showing up when someone searches a service, and working for people who don't use Facebook.
"How much is it?" Give one number, not a menu. "It's $99 a month, which covers hosting and any changes you need" ends the conversation faster than three packages.
"I need to think about it." Fine. Ask what they'd want changed if they did go ahead. A small change gives you a reason to come back, and often turns into a yes.
Price it monthly
A one-off fee means starting from zero each month. A monthly price means each client adds to the last, and the owner gets a site that stays looked after.
A simple structure:
| Part | What it covers | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | First build, domain connection, their photos | $0 to $1,500 |
| Monthly | Hosting, small changes, a look at the numbers | $50 to $300 |
Those are ranges people commonly charge in the US, not rules. What you can charge depends on the trade, the area and what you include. Run your own numbers in the web design pricing calculator, then read how much to charge for a website.
Hand it over well
The sale isn't finished when the site goes live. Connect their own domain so they own the address. Show them where the leads go. Send a short note each month with what came in, because a client who can see the calls has less reason to cancel.
Done well, this is how a client becomes the reason for the next one. Ask a happy client who else they know, and ask early, while the new site is still exciting to them.
