A cold call script for selling websites to local businesses
Word-for-word scripts for the opener, the voicemail, the text you send while they're on the phone, and the follow-up. Built around showing the owner a site that already exists.
Cold calling for websites fails when the call is the pitch. It works when the call has one job: get the owner to open a link to a site you have already built for them, while you are still on the line. Here are the scripts, word for word, and what builders on Pindrop actually use.
- the pitch pieces builders copy most from Pindrop's pitch writer
- Email, then opener
- median time to pay among deals that closed, so keep them on the line
- Minutes
- the most common monthly charge asked
- $50/mo
- restaurants vs nail salons: share of sites sent to the owner
- 8% vs 25%
Before you dial
- Build the site first and have the link ready to text. Without it, you are asking for a meeting; with it, you are showing them something.
- Call the trades that answer: cleaners, trades and salons pick up in business hours; restaurants rarely do during service. Why that matters is in the best businesses to sell websites to.
- Say the owner's business name the way it appears on their sign, not their listing.
The opener
Hi, is this the owner of [business]? My name's [name], I build websites for businesses in [town]. I noticed you don't have one, so I built you one this morning. Can I text you the link? It's free to look at.
That is the whole ask. Not a meeting, not a budget, just "can I text you the link". Most owners say yes to that because it costs them nothing.
While they look
It should be coming through now. It's got your hours and your reviews on it already. Take a look and tell me if anything's wrong.
"Tell me if anything's wrong" is the most useful line on the call. Owners love correcting their own details, and the moment they ask you to change something, they are treating it as their site.
The price
If you want it, it's [build fee] to put it live under your name, and [monthly] a month for hosting and changes. Or I can do it with no setup fee, just the [monthly]. I can send you a link to start it right now.
Offer the no-setup version out loud. Among the deals that closed on Pindrop, owners leaned toward a small monthly with little or nothing up front. Send the pay link while they are still on the phone: the deals that close, close within minutes.
The voicemail
Hi, this is [name]. I build websites for local businesses and I made one for [business]. No charge to look. I'll text you the link now, and if you like it, just call me back at [number].
Then text the link right away, with a one-line message: "Hi, it's [name], here's the site I built for [business]: [link]".
The follow-up
Hi [owner], [name] again. Did you get a chance to look at the site for [business]? Happy to change anything, or take it down if you'd rather not.
Once, three or four days later. "Or take it down" matters: it tells them there is no catch, and it is often the line that gets a reply.
What not to say
- Don't criticize their current setup. "Your Facebook is fine" goes further than "you're losing customers".
- Don't promise rankings or a number of new customers. You can't know it, and they know you can't.
- Don't read a script word for word. Learn the four lines above and say them your way.
How we counted
- Most-copied pitch pieces: copies from Pindrop's pitch writer, September 19 to 26, 2026 (the email and the opener lead).
- Time to pay and asking prices: Pindrop client billing, July to September 2026; see the pricing study.
- Send rates by trade: 4,206 sites built on Pindrop, July 10 to September 26, 2026.
