What should my agency sell to local businesses, and which service should I lead with?

Votel recommends selling outcomes, not software. Local businesses such as roofers, plumbers, HVAC companies, martial arts schools and dental offices do not want another piece of software and often do not want to log in to one. They want leads, customers, sales and appointments. Most agencies offer a solution in a box: every niche has a pain point, and the offer solves it with an outcome, such as more service appointments booked each month for HVAC companies. Selling the outcome is also what lets you charge the most.

Common offers: a 24/7 answering service and AI receptionist with automated booking so the business stops missing calls, more Google reviews, database reactivation, speed to lead, follow-up systems, website design, social media management and better local search rankings.

Start with one service and add the others as upsells. The services complement each other: start with web design, then add the AI agent on the website to capture leads, then nurture campaigns, then the AI receptionist for missed calls, then social media management. Lead with whichever service gets the highest response or lowest cost per acquisition with the people you target, for example web design for businesses with a dated website.

Build the system once for the niche, put it in a snapshot and sell it over and over. Create a sub-account for each client and set it up for them rather than expecting clients to learn the platform. Many agencies set it up so the client never logs in, while others give full access and hide features the client does not need, such as payments, reviews or click tracking, so the product is as simple as a microwave.

Do not touch a client's website unless you need to. Website access brings problems (nobody knows where it is hosted or the password) and moving it only adds work, though you may want to add the website widget to it. For database reactivation, tell the AI assistant what the business is, what it offers and how long the campaign should run (for example seven days over email) and it creates it. For social media, paste the client's link and ask for social media content.

An easy icebreaker: paste a prospect's dated website URL into Votel, ask the AI to redesign it and show them the result in a few minutes. Once they see that, they ask what else you can do.