Cold Calling Site Design???

[Paul88]

Hello there,

I have been interested in AM for a while now and although i have not made many moves i have been learning how to build sites in my spare time and am now fairly competent and have had an additional idea for making revenue and am wondering if any of you guys have any experience in what i am proposing to do which is as follows:

I have gathered a large list of contact details for small local buisnesses which do not have websites i.e. indian takeaways etc...

I propose to cold call this buisnesses and arrange meetings with the managers to show them the benifits of having a website with links straight to yell.com with menus and offers etc... and i would show them examples of sites i have already created.

Obviously i will need to have a terms & conditions type of legally bound contract as an ass protector for both parites.

I would offer my services to them at a very cheap price as i just want to gain the experience and test the waters so to speak.

Do you think this is a good idea? and if so what do you think would be a cheap competative price to offer a fully custom designed website to them?

I am thinking a few hundred pounds will be ok?

Any feedback will be great and have a merry christmas and a happy new year!!

Paul.

 

[Chianti]

I think 95% of people who familiarise themselves with Wordpress & Photoshop go through this phase of 'Hey, I could design websites for small business. Maybe the reason why they don't have websites is that it's too expensive, but I could do it cheaply because I'm not a proper designer'.

Having to cajole business owners into commissioning a website seems like more trouble than its worth to me, considering that this kind of client is a pain in the arse at the best of times (ie. when they are actively looking to get a site built).

NB: I thought you joined some networks a few months ago? How's that working out?

 

[dchuk]

Having to cajole business owners into commissioning a website seems like more trouble than its worth to me, considering that this kind of client is a pain in the arse at the best of times (ie. when they are actively looking to get a site built).

it's definitely more of a dream than a reality

 

[GreenMachine54]

Graphic design can be a pretty competitive market. I think this idea has potential but it really depends on what your portfolio looks like and how well you can sell these business owners on a website.. The biggest difficulty I see is that the business owners don't have sites and in this day and age they are probably aware they need one and still haven't chosen to obtain one for their business.. Of course you could spin that into a reason that they need a website (to be competitive since everyone else has websites) Generally this is a much easier sell for businesses that will truly gain more customers through having a website (Just about anything services related)

 

[bigkats]

Dont undercharge, even if you suck. Think (and charge) like a champ and you will become a champ.

Start networking and join your local chamber of commerce. Finding clients in person is often a good way to start (people trust you more and less competition- meaning you can charge more and pretend like you know what you are talking about)