"Hey, morning - is the owner around?" If they ask who's calling:
"It's Ahmad, I'm local, here in Erie. It's about their website - I'll only need him a minute." Don't pitch the receptionist. Don't leave your number with her. Ask when he's in and ring back.
First twenty seconds with the owner — say it in one breath, then STOP
"Hey - is this the owner? ... Hi, I'm Ahmad. I'm local, here in Erie.
I'll be straight with you so I'm not wasting your time: I build websites for businesses around
here - shops, garages, contractors, that kind of thing. I'm not selling advertising and I'm
not calling from a call center.
The reason I picked you - I had a look at your website before I called. What I do is rebuild it
so it actually works on a phone, so it loads quick, and so somebody who finds you can call you
or send you a job in one tap instead of giving up. Usually takes me about a week.
Before I say anything else though - can I ask how people mostly find you these days? Word of
mouth, or are they looking you up?"
Then shut up and let him answer. The rest of the call comes out of what he says.
If he asks what you actually do
"Two things. First I rebuild the website - fits a phone properly, opens fast,
your number's one tap, the stuff people want is on the first screen instead of buried.
Second, once it's up I look at whatever else is slow - how jobs come in, how you get back to
people, whether you're losing calls after hours. Half the time the site isn't even the biggest
thing costing you."
"We already have a guy"
"Good - is he still on it? A lot of guys build it and move on. If he's looking after
it, keep him. If it got built a while back and nobody's touched it since, that's the situation I
usually get called into."
"Not interested"
"No problem. One thing before I let you go - is it that you don't want to touch the
website, or that you've been called about it a hundred times?" (Usually the second, and that
answer often restarts the call.)
"How much?"
"Depends what you need - I'd rather look first than throw a number at you blind. It's
a one-off to build it, and a small amount monthly if you want me keeping it running. Want me to
look properly and come back with the number?"
"Send me an email"
"I can. What I'd rather do - give me a couple of days and I'll rebuild your home
page as a sample and send it over. Costs you nothing, you're not committing to anything, and
if you hate it tell me to get lost. What's the best email to send it to?"
The close — one small next step, best first
1. The sample. "Give me a couple of days, I'll rebuild your home page and send
it. Nothing owed." 2. Fifteen minutes later in the week walking him through his own site.
3. Permission to follow up.
Always finish with what happens next and when:
"So I'll have that to you by Thursday. I'm Ahmad, my number's [your number]. Appreciate your time."
Read it, don't perform it. Under 20 seconds. Slow down on the last four digits of your number and say it twice.
Ring 07:00-08:30 before they open, or after 17:00. Early morning is the better of the two: the owner walks into the shop or the office, the light is blinking, and he has time before the first job of the day. A message left at midnight is under everything else by then. If a line just rings out or the box is full, that is normal on a business landline - move on, it cost you twenty seconds.
Left so far: 0 of 3
1. H & H Machine Product
Erie, PA · not mobile
if he asks what you saw: I opened www.hhmach.com on my phone and it does not fit the screen, you have to pinch and zoom to read it - is that something you know about?
Hi, this is Ahmad - I'm local, here in Erie. I build and rebuild websites for businesses around here, and I was calling about yours. Nothing's wrong, I just think there's a better version of it and I'd rather show you than explain it on a machine. If you want a look, give me a ring - my number is [your number], again, that's [your number]. Thanks, have a good one.
Hi, this is Ahmad - I'm local, here in Erie. I build and rebuild websites for businesses around here, and I was calling about yours. Nothing's wrong, I just think there's a better version of it and I'd rather show you than explain it on a machine. If you want a look, give me a ring - my number is [your number], again, that's [your number]. Thanks, have a good one.
Hi, this is Ahmad - I'm local, here in Erie. I build and rebuild websites for businesses around here, and I was calling about yours. Nothing's wrong, I just think there's a better version of it and I'd rather show you than explain it on a machine. If you want a look, give me a ring - my number is [your number], again, that's [your number]. Thanks, have a good one.