Most agencies don’t struggle because they lack technical SEO knowledge. They struggle because they don’t know how to sell it. Ranking tactics can be learned quickly. Turning conversations into signed contracts takes deliberate practice. The fastest way to improve is to pick a niche, run structured discovery calls, and build offers directly from the problems you hear. In this post, we break down how to learn sales the practical way, how to use structured frameworks like SPIN, and how to turn patterns into profitable local SEO offers.
Table of Contents
Why selling matters more than another ranking trick
Most people think the way to grow an agency is to learn the next SEO hack. That helps, but it won’t make you money by itself. The bigger win is learning how to sell what you already do. If you can sell, you can charge more and keep clients longer. If you only deliver leads, someone cheaper will replace you. If you become a business advisor, you become hard to replace.
Pick a niche and learn everything about it
Choose one industry to focus on. Read about it. Talk to business owners. Learn how they make money, what slows them down, and what keeps them up at night. When you know the industry as well as or better than the owner, you can offer real solutions that improve profits and operations—not just traffic.
Run discovery calls, not sales calls
Book calls labeled as discovery calls. Tell people up front you are researching their industry and not trying to sell anything on the first call. Your goal is to learn, not to close. This removes the pressure and builds real rapport.
- Set a goal: aim for about 15 to 20 discovery conversations in your chosen niche.
- Ask open questions and listen. Record notes or the call if they agree.
- Ask what frustrates them about marketing, lead flow, phone handling, or operations.
- Take quiet time to write down patterns you hear.
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Turn patterns into offers
After 20 calls you will see common problems. Those common problems become the basis for specific offers. An offer that solves a clear problem is easier to sell than a generic SEO package.
Design deliverables that match the problem. Keep them repeatable. The same package should work for many businesses in that niche so you can scale and predict delivery needs.
How to pitch without sounding like every other vendor
When you return to the people you spoke with, your next call can be a short presentation of the solutions you built. They will be more open because you already showed interest in their business. Pitch the offer as a fix for a specific problem, not as a list of tasks.
Use SPIN Selling to guide conversations
SPIN Selling is one framework that works well for local SEO sales. It helps prospects see their problems and the cost of leaving them unsolved.
- Situation: Ask about how things currently work.
- Problem: Find the specific problems they face.
- Implication: Help them see what happens if the problem goes on.
- Need payoff: Show how fixing the issue will help their revenue or reduce headaches.
Practice these steps until they feel natural. They help you steer a conversation without being pushy.
Make the next step small
Don’t go into a call thinking you must close the whole deal. That pressure shows and prospects can sense it. Instead, aim for one small next step. It might be a follow-up call, a trial run, or a short audit. Once the client takes one step, move the goalpost to the next small step.
Repeat and refine
Work the same offer over and over in the same niche. That repetition helps you refine pricing, messaging, and delivery. If you chase 15 different industries, you will never get the repetition you need. One niche gives you clarity and faster improvement.
Practice more than study
Books and videos help, but sales skills grow fastest by doing. Combine study with real calls. Schedule more discovery conversations. Each call is practice. Apply what you read right away and adjust based on real feedback.
Books and resources to start with
These are simple starting points that we found useful. Read or listen and then use the ideas on calls.
- SPIN Selling — learn the full method and how to guide buyers through discovery.
- SPIN Selling Fieldbook — shorter and more hands-on for quick practice steps.
- Books on direct response marketing — learn how to write offers and messages that get attention.
- Mindset of a Sales Warrior by Jason Forester — helps frame how to move prospects step by step.
Audio versions of these titles are fine. The key is to act on what you learn.
Simple scripts and questions to use on discovery calls
- Open: “I’m researching your industry and I’m not here to sell today. Can I ask a few questions about how you get customers?”
- Situation: “How do most customers find you today?”
- Problem: “What takes the most time or causes the most headaches in handling leads?”
- Implication: “If that keeps happening, how does it affect revenue or staff time?”
- Need payoff: “If we could fix X, what would that do for your business?”
How to price your offers
Price based on the problem you solve and the result for the business, not on hours. If your work helps a shop book more jobs or handle leads faster, show the math: more revenue minus your fee equals profit. That makes your offer easier to accept.
FAQ
How many discovery calls should we do before building an offer?
Aim for about 15 to 20 calls. That gives you enough repeat answers to see real patterns. Use those patterns to shape a focused offer for one industry.
What should we ask on a discovery call?
Ask open questions: how customers find them, what the biggest time sinks are, what they wish would change, and what happens if problems continue. Then listen more than you speak.
Is SPIN Selling the only method that works?
No, but SPIN is a simple and repeatable way to guide a prospect to name their problems and see the cost of doing nothing. It pairs well with direct response ideas for crafting offers.
How do we avoid sounding desperate on a call?
Remove the need to close on the first call. Make the first call purely discovery. Aim for one small next step instead of a full close. That reduces pressure and builds trust.
Should we target many niches or one niche at a time?
Start with one niche. Repeat your message and product in that niche until the pitch and delivery are dialed in. Then expand if you want to scale.
Final note
Selling local SEO is a skill you learn by doing. Pick a niche, listen to 15 to 20 business owners, build offers from the problems you hear, and then sell those offers to the same group. Use SPIN Selling to guide conversations. Aim for small next steps. Practice on calls more than you consume content. That combination is how an agency goes from replaceable to indispensable.