How to Sell Websites Without the Anxiety
TL;DR
Selling websites feels scary because people connect selling with dishonesty. Real selling is just presenting something people can spend money on that you think they’ll like. Three prerequisites and one rule take the anxiety out of it.
- Believe in what you’re selling. If you think it stinks, you’ll feel sleazy selling it.
- Sell to the right people. Not anybody with a pulse and a credit card.
- Value the person over the sale. A full lead pipeline means no single conversation makes or breaks you.
- Hear the problem before you offer a solution. Listing everything you can do leads to “Send me a proposal.”
To show that selling doesn’t have to be scary, I’m going to sell you something in this post. It’s not a paid promotion. It’s an example, but you might actually buy something. So how do you feel right now?
Why Selling Feels Scary
Take an inventory of how you feel after I said that. Do you feel defensive, like, “No, you’re not selling anything to me”? That’s how I tend to feel. It’s like walking into a timeshare presentation. You’re thinking, I’m not buying any timeshare points from you.
I think that’s why people don’t like selling. It feels scary because you don’t want to trigger that negative reaction in people. But that’s not the kind of selling I’m talking about.
What Selling Actually Means
When I say selling, I just mean presenting something to somebody so they can spend money on something you think they’re going to like. That’s all.
People like buying stuff. I like buying stuff. I bought this guitar, and I love it. If someone had told me, “Lee, I’m not going to sell you that guitar,” I’d have felt sad. So if people like buying things, and people like giving things to people they like, why is there so much friction and anxiety around selling?
Dishonesty Is What Makes Selling Feel Sleazy
I think it comes down to dishonesty. As the buyer, you feel like the seller is trying to give you something worth less than what they’re asking you to spend. Like the timeshare points, you worry you’ll get roped in, tricked, or locked into something you can’t get out of.
The dishonesty, the tricking, and the overvaluing are what cause all the problems. So what if you don’t do any of that? What if you go back to the definition and just offer something you think people will like?
Three Prerequisites and One Rule for Selling Web Design
I don’t even like calling it a sales process because of all the negative connotations. But here are the three prerequisites and the one rule I follow.
I’m hoping they change the way you feel about offering your web design and marketing skills to local businesses. If you know you can help somebody, why would you hold that back? I think a lot of web designers do because of the anxiety around selling. I hope this helps you feel excited about it instead of nervous.
1. Believe in What You’re Selling
If you don’t believe in what you’re selling, you’re off on the wrong foot from the beginning. You’ll feel like that sleazy person trying to trick people into buying something. You think the thing you’re selling stinks, and you’re selling it anyway. What a mess.
2. Sell to the Right People
You could have something good and valuable and still offer it to the wrong people. If you don’t separate the people it’s good for from the people it’s not good for, you’re selling to anybody with a pulse and a credit card.
That’s going to make you nervous, because you might be selling something to someone who doesn’t want it, doesn’t need it, or won’t get results from it, even though it works for somebody else. So there’s a qualification prerequisite for selling to people without stressing out.
3. Value the Person Over the Sale
This one completely changed how I see selling web design and marketing. When I first started my agency, almost all my leads came through referrals, and I didn’t get many. So when I got one, I felt like I had to work with that person. If they didn’t hire me, I didn’t know when the next referral would come. The sale became more important to me than the person.
What changed my business was building a lead generation pipeline. Now I genuinely believe no individual conversation has a significant impact on my overall revenue. If someone hires me, awesome. If not, that’s fine too, and I’ll work with the next person.
A full pipeline takes the pressure off any single lead. That lets you put the person ahead of the transaction. If I know someone isn’t the right fit, the person still comes first, because I want everyone to win. When you offer something to someone, they like it, and you enjoy working together, that’s a great experience.
The Rule: Hear the Problem Before You Offer a Solution
I don’t offer a solution until I’ve heard the problem it’s supposed to solve. Skipping this is really stressful in web design, especially when you’re meeting someone from a cold introduction instead of a referral. It’s so hard to get people to buy when you just tell them everything you can do.
You’ve probably done this too. When you list all the things you can do, even if you do it well, two things happen:
- It feels exhausting, for you and for the other person.
- They say, “I need to think about it. Can you send me a proposal or some more information?”
That happens because you haven’t connected the dots between what you’re offering and a problem they have. They can’t remember everything you just said, so they need it in writing to figure out whether any of it actually helps them.
Watch Me Sell You a T-Shirt
Here’s my example. I don’t like shopping for clothes, and I don’t like picking out what to wear in the morning. But I also don’t want to look sloppy. I wear a lot of T-shirts, and for the past few years I’ve bought them from Fresh Clean Threads and True Classic Tees. They’re high quality, soft, and form fitting, not floppy, boxy, or wrinkly.
But it feels weird to spend $25 to $35 on a T-shirt. Fresh Clean Threads shirts are around $25, and True Classic Tees run up to $35. Buying in packs brings the price down a little, but that’s still a lot for a T-shirt. It felt worth it because I like how they fit and I don’t like shopping.
Then I discovered the shirt I’m wearing now. It’s a Next Level T-shirt from Jiffy, product number N6210. It costs about $5. It’s soft and smooth, and it’s almost indistinguishable from a Fresh Clean Threads shirt. If you buy about 10 at a time, you get free shipping. I feel like I’m saving about $20 a shirt, so I can have new shirts all the time.
They come in great colors, too. My wife and I just went to Sedona for our 25th anniversary, and I’ve gotten into earth tones, so that’s why I picked this color. So why wouldn’t you buy T-shirts for five or six dollars each?
So How Do You Feel Now?
There you go. I just sold something to you. How do you feel now? You’d probably say, “That’s a great deal. Thanks, Lee, for telling me how to get awesome form-fitting T-shirts for five bucks instead of $25 or $35.”
That’s what I mean by selling. You present something people can spend money on that you think they’ll like. I believe in it. I’m wearing it right now, and I just got a shipment of them a couple of days ago. If you buy some, I hope you like them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you sell websites without feeling nervous?
Follow three prerequisites and one rule. Believe in what you’re selling, sell to the right people, and value the person over the sale. Then hear the client’s problem before you offer a solution. Selling becomes presenting something you think a business owner will like, not trying to talk them into it.
Why do web designers hate selling?
Most people connect selling with dishonesty, like a timeshare pitch that tricks you into something worth less than you paid. Nobody wants to trigger that defensive reaction in someone else. But selling just means offering something you believe in to people it will help. Without the dishonesty, there’s nothing sleazy about it.
Why do web design clients ask for a proposal instead of buying?
Usually because you listed everything you can do before hearing their problem. The conversation feels exhausting, and the client can’t connect what you said to what they need. So they ask for a proposal or more information. Hear the problem first, then offer the solution that solves it.
How do you stop feeling desperate for web design clients?
Build a lead generation pipeline. When I relied on a few referrals, every lead felt like one I couldn’t lose, so the sale mattered more than the person. With a full pipeline, no single conversation has much impact on your revenue, so you can put the person ahead of the sale.
Should web designers sell to every client who wants to buy?
No. Something valuable can still be wrong for a particular business. If you sell to anybody with a pulse and a credit card, you’ll be nervous, because some clients won’t need it or won’t get results. Qualify people first and offer your solution only to the ones it fits.
