Sales Success Outline
How to Sell to Small Business Owners Nationwide — and Close the Deal
This isn’t onboarding paperwork. This is the playbook for what actually gets you paid: 30% commission on close, 7% recurring for as long as the client stays on. Every part of this outline exists to get you to “closed” faster and more often.
Who We’re Selling To
Our buyer is a local service business owner — HVAC, roofing, dental, legal, home services, med spa, contractors, etc. Not enterprise, not DIY-website shoppers. This is an owner-operator who is busy, skeptical of agencies, and has probably been burned before by a “website guy” or an SEO company that overpromised.
These owners didn’t get into business to run marketing — they got into business to do the trade they’re good at. That means two things for you as a rep: they don’t want a technical education, and they don’t want to manage a project. They want to INCREASE REVENUE, website forms completed, the phone to ring more, booked appointments, and they want someone else to make that happen. Every part of your pitch should speak to that reality, not to features.
Key mindset: we are not selling a website. We are selling a customer-acquisition engine — we increase their revenue. The site, the video, the AI receptionist, the reviews system — those are mechanisms. What the owner is actually buying is more jobs booked and revenue growth. Within that stack, video is the sell before voice — the video is what makes the site convert and is what closes the deal on the call; Front Desk AI comes after, as the upsell once the core bundle is closed, not something reps lead with or sell alongside it. [Unless their site is flawless, but lacks video or voice]
The package reps sell first, every time
The sales team’s default pitch is not “pick from a menu.” It’s one bundle, presented as the standard:
This is the priority package because it’s both the highest-ticket offer and the easiest to close — a 1-page site or a stripped-down option gives the prospect an easy “let me start small” out, and it undersells what actually moves their business. The 5-page site positions them as an established, credible operation (not a single-page brochure), and the video (homepage/hero video, commercial-style spot) is what makes the site convert instead of just exist. Reps pitch these as one connected outcome — “a site that looks like the biggest company in your market, with video that makes people trust you enough to call” — not two separate add-ons the prospect has to opt into individually.
Why this matters for your commission: a bigger closed deal is a bigger check today and a bigger recurring check every month after. Reps who default down to a cheaper option because it feels like an “easier yes” are actually costing themselves money twice — once on the close, and once every month on residuals.
Only drop to a smaller package if the prospect clearly cannot support the full bundle on money — never lead there, and never offer it as the first option.
The Core Framework: Interest → Control → Money
Every call runs on this sequence. Skipping a step is why deals stall. Think of these as gates, not phases you can shuffle — you can’t sell effectively to someone with no interest, you can’t hold a controlled call once you’ve lost the frame, and you can’t close a deal with no money behind it. Diagnose which gate you’re stuck at when a call isn’t moving, and go back to that step instead of pushing forward.
The prospect must want something before you can sell anything. Your job in the first 60–90 seconds is not to pitch — it’s to surface the gap between where they are and where they want to be — we increase revenue (more calls, fewer missed leads, more 5-star reviews, more booked jobs). Interest isn’t created by features. It’s created by the prospect hearing their own problem said back to them more clearly than they’d say it themselves.
- Ask about their current lead flow before you ever mention SMH.
- Let them talk more than you in the first third of the call.
- Interest is confirmed when they start asking “how does that work” — not when you’ve finished a script.
Once interest exists, the rep must hold the frame of the conversation. Control does not mean pressure — it means you are the one asking the questions, setting the pace, and defining what happens next. A prospect who is asking you random tangential questions (“do you guys do Instagram too?”) before you’ve established value has taken control of the call, and closers lose deals here.
- Control the agenda: tell them what the call will cover before you start.
- Control the pace: don’t let them rush to price before they understand the problem/solution fit.
- Control next steps: never end a call without a specific, mutually agreed next action (not “I’ll follow up” — a day/time).
Interest and control mean nothing if the business can’t or won’t pay. Qualify budget/authority early and honestly — not as an interrogation, but conversationally, tied to what growth is worth to them (“what’s a new customer worth to you?” naturally leads into what they should be willing to invest to get one).
- Confirm they’re the decision-maker (or get the decision-maker on the call).
- Anchor price to value (cost of one lost job vs. monthly investment) before you state the number.
- If money isn’t there, don’t force it — disqualify fast and move to the next prospect.
What the Call Actually Sounds Like
“Hey [Name], this is [Rep] with Sterling Media House — quick question, when’s the last time you looked at how many calls you’re actually missing versus booking?” We increase your revenue.
- How are leads reaching you today — phone, website, referrals?
- What happens when a call comes in after hours or when you’re on a job?
- Roughly how many new customers a month would change your business?
“Based on what you just told me, here’s what I want to walk you through — three things that are probably costing you jobs right now, and how we fix each one.”
Present the fix, tied to their words, anchored on the flagship bundle:
Lead with the 5-Page + Video bundle as the answer to whatever pain they described — don’t present it as one of several tiers. The other products are upsells layered on afterward, not alternatives.
“What’s a new customer worth to you on average?” → let them say the number → “So if this brings you even 2-3 extra jobs a month, what would that be worth?” → then introduce the $1,197 + $599 bundle as the standard package, framed against that number, not against cheaper alternatives.
Ask for the decision plainly. “Does this make sense to move forward on?” Silence after the price is a tool — the next person who talks loses leverage. If they hesitate, isolate the real objection (money, timing, trust, spouse/partner approval) rather than re-pitching.
Once they say yes, have them select and pay while you’re still on the phone. Don’t schedule a follow-up call to collect payment, and don’t hand this off to someone else to invoice later — momentum is highest at the moment of “yes,” and it drops fast the second the call ends. Walk them through it directly: “Great, let’s get you set up right now — I’ll show you what revenue increasing feature to click and pay now, and we’ll have this moving today.” A deal isn’t closed until the card is run.
Objection Handling (Common Ones)
| Objection | What’s Really Being Said | Response Direction |
|---|---|---|
| “I need to think about it” | Vague — find the real objection | “Totally fair — what specifically do you want to think through, price or whether this works for your business?” |
| “I’ve been burned by agencies before” | Trust gap | Acknowledge, then pivot to what’s different (no long-term lock-in language, delegated access not password handover, etc.) |
| “Too expensive” | Value not yet anchored | Return to cost-per-lost-job math before discounting anything |
| “I do my own marketing” | Doesn’t see the gap yet | Go back to Interest — ask what their current numbers actually are |
Closing Standards — What Counts as a Win
Every call ends in one of three states: closed, disqualified, or a specific next step with a date/time. “I’ll circle back” is not an outcome, and it’s not commission.
Track calls through the pipeline stages consistently so nothing goes cold and no closed deal falls through the cracks on payout.
A close isn’t just getting a “yes” — it’s getting payment locked in, card run, while they’re still on the phone with you. Verbal yes with no payment is not a close.
What Top Earners Do Differently
The reps who make real money on this team share the same habits:
Your Job Ends at the Close
Sales is not responsible for onboarding. Once the card is run and the deal is closed, the handoff to fulfillment is seamless — you are not expected to manage setup, chase down assets, walk the client through implementation, or answer post-sale service questions. That’s built to happen without you.
Your job is to get business owners interested, keep control of the call, confirm the money, and close the deal — paid, while you’re still on the phone with them. That’s it. Stay focused on the next lead the moment a deal is done, and let the rest of the operation run seamlessly behind you.
If you have suggestions on how to inhance or improve the website or sales process do not hesitate to discuss.