When I first started selling websites, I thought targeting businesses without a website was the obvious choice. They need a website, you offer to build one, and hopefully you get a new client. Pretty straightforward, right? But after spending years running a web design business, I've started looking at this differently. There are definitely advantages to targeting businesses without websites. You're introducing them to something they might genuinely need, and there is no existing website to compete with. However, I've noticed that these businesses can sometimes be much harder to sell to. The biggest problem is that some of them simply don't see the value of having a website. Others rely entirely on Facebook, Instagram or word of mouth and are perfectly happy with how they're getting customers. You end up spending a lot of time explaining why they need a website before you can even start selling your services. On the other hand, businesses that already have websites are a completely different story. They have already invested in having an online presence. They understand why a website matters, and there is a good chance they've paid someone to build and maintain it. But that doesn't mean their website is good. I've come across countless businesses with websites that load slowly, look terrible on mobile, have outdated designs, poor SEO or confusing layouts. These are actual problems that can affect how customers experience the business online. And that's where I think the bigger opportunity is for web designers. Instead of trying to convince someone that they need a website, you're showing an existing website owner what could be improved and why it matters. This is also how I approach prospecting nowadays. I use Swokei to find businesses with existing websites, analyze them for issues with design, SEO, speed and mobile optimization, and generate personalized cold emails at scale based on the actual findings from each website. Of course, I'm not saying targeting businesses without websites is a bad strategy. There is money to be made in both markets. But personally, if I were starting a web design agency today, I'd probably focus more on businesses that already have websites. I'm curious what other web designers think. Do you prefer targeting businesses without websites or finding existing websites that need improvement?   submitted by   /u/Murky_Explanation_73 [link]   [comments]