It can sometimes be tricky making WordPress maintenance sales.
Clients often don’t understand why, having (usually) just invested in a new website, they now have to pay a monthly fee for it.
However, if you have the right systems and processes in place, the right software and an efficient and strategic structure to your offering, you will close far more sales than you have done previously.
In this blog, we provide you with 4 steps that have proven to help increase conversions.
Tip #1 – Introduce WordPress maintenance early in the sales process
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when selling WordPress maintenance plans, is to leave the conversation too late in the process.
Usually, a client will sign up for maintenance after having just invested in a new website.
Don’t leave it until you’ve built the website before you approach the matter of ongoing support and maintenance.
Make it an important part of the process, as early as possible.
In the brief that you take from the client, ask them what their budget for support is.
Explain to them that building the website is only one part of the process and that diligent and effective maintenance is hugely important in driving the success of their website long term.
The thing is, the vast majority of clients aren’t aware of the importance of website maintenance.
This means that you have a job to do here.
You need to educate them as early in the process as possible, explain how your service works and why it’s so important.
That way, when it comes to the end of the project, it’s just a formality that they move onto one of your maintenance plans, rather than another sales conversation.
The sale was done at the start.
Tip #2 – Offer 3 or 4 maintenance plans (+ ‘Most Popular’ option)
The number of maintenance plans that you offer has a huge bearing on how easily you’re able to sell them.
The trick is to find the balance between not making your offering look to “thin on the ground” and not making it look too complicated.
‘Thin on the ground’ would be 1 or 2 plans with a limited services set.
‘Complicated’, would be 5, 6, 7 plans with multiple price points and choices.
In the research we’ve conducted, we’ve found that the most efficient structure is either 3 or 4 maintenance plans.
Any less than 3 and you’re missing out on the opportunity to sell more services at higher prices.
Any more than 4 and you’ll confuse the client with what you offer – it’ll make it harder to sell the service and selling WordPress maintenance is already hard enough if you don’t have the right systems and processes in place.
With 3 or 4 plans, you’re able to:
- Demonstrate a significant service offering
- Give clients a fair amount of choice that doesn’t confuse them
- Provide a low, medium and higher priced setup
- Highlight a ‘most popular’ option
Also, consider adding a ‘Most Popular’ notice to whichever plan is your most profitable.
This is a simple tactic that genuinely works.
Tip #3 – Don’t provide custom development time on your lowest plan
One of the reasons that selling website maintenance can be tricky, is that the client doesn’t understand its value.
They don’t know what plugins are.
They don’t know what uptime is.
Even if they did, they often can’t ‘see’ this work that you’re doing.
However, what they can see, is the changes you make to their website when they ask you to make them.
We often refer to this as ‘custom development time’, ie, how much time each month do you allow your clients to request changes on their website.
This is also the part of your service that they want and care about most.
So don’t give it to them on your lowest plan.
Make it available from your second tier upwards and you will drive them onto your higher priced plans.
Tip #4 – Present your proposal, don’t email it
This is one of the easiest things to change in your process. It makes a huge difference to your conversion rate when you present your proposals to clients rather than sending them on an email.
Not only are you able to communicate your offering much more easily, you’re also able to answer any questions your client might have.
Emailing a proposal can sometimes feel like sending it off into the digital wilderness.
How many times have you done that and just never heard from the client again?
This tip ties in quite nicely with the first one, where we recommend introducing the subject of maintenance early on in the process.
Explain to the client that your process involves having a meeting with them to present your proposal.
A video call is perfectly fine for this.
Screen share your proposal and talk everything through with them.
Conclusion
Here’s a quick recap on those 4 tips we’ve shared with you in this blog:
- Introduce WordPress maintenance early in the sales process
- Offer 3 or 4 maintenance plans (+ ‘Most Popular’ option)
- Don’t provide custom development time on your lowest plan
- Present your proposal, don’t email it
In conclusion, selling WordPress maintenance doesn’t need to be hard.
There’s no doubt it can be hard at times though.
The key is to make sure you have the right systems and processes in place.
If you do, you’ll attract more clients, demonstrate the value of maintenance to them more easily and, ultimately, convert more.
Is there anything you’d add to this? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
