The "Practice Project" That's Closing Half of Prospects

Hey Agency Owners,

I just heard about the most genius sales strategy I've seen in years.

And it's so simple you're gonna want to punch yourself for not thinking of it first.

One of my friends has people in his group making $1,500 a week.

With a 50% close rate.

Using what I call the "Oops, I Made Your Website Better" approach.

Here's How It Works

Step 1: Find a business with an ugly website (shouldn't take long)

Step 2: Rebuild it using AI tools to make it gorgeous. Can be done in 10 minutes with the right tools.

Step 3: Send them the new version with this message:

"Hey, I'm learning web design and picked your website to practice with. It turned out really great and I just wanted to see what you thought about it."

That's it.

No sales pitch. No "I can help you." No "Are you interested in upgrading?"

Just: "I was practicing and accidentally made your site amazing."

The Psychological Genius

This approach is brilliant because it removes every single sales objection:

• You're not trying to sell them anything
• You already did the work (no risk for them)
• You positioned yourself as a student, not a salesperson
• They can see exactly what they'd get

Most importantly? YOU'RE NOT ASKING FOR ANYTHING.

Which makes them want to give you something. psychology is weird like that.

What Actually Happens

About 50% of people respond with some version of:

"Wow, this looks amazing! Would you charge me to actually build this?"

The other 50% either ignore it or say "thanks but no thanks."

Perfect qualification system.

The people who respond are PRE-SOLD and ready to buy.

No convincing required.

The Real Money Is in the Backend

Here's where it gets even better.

These "students" typically charge $500 for the website build.

Nice payday for a few hours of work.

But then they offer managed hosting for $49/month.

That's where the real money lives.

$500 one-time becomes $588/year in recurring revenue.

Plus they can upsell everything else once they're the "web guy":

• SEO services
• Social media management
• Email marketing
• Google Ads
• Whatever else the business needs

Why This Works Better Than Traditional Pitching

Normal agency approach:
"Hi, I noticed your website could use some work. I'm a professional web designer and I'd love to discuss how I can help improve your online presence."

Sound of prospect running away

The practice approach:
"I was learning and accidentally made your site beautiful. Thoughts?"

Sound of prospect's wallet opening

The "Learning" Positioning Is Magic

When you say you're "learning," several things happen:

• They don't feel like they're being sold to
• They want to help/encourage you
• They assume you'll charge less (which you can)
• They feel special for being chosen as "practice"

Meanwhile, you're using AI tools that make you look like a design wizard.

The 9-Year-Old Proof

Want to know how simple this is?

One woman in the group watched the training with her 9-year-old daughter.

The kid built a website and sold it to her gymnastics studio for $200.

A NINE-YEAR-OLD.

If a 4th grader can close this deal, you probably can too.

How to Scale This

The really ambitious people are sending out 100 of these "practice" emails per day.

Costs about $1.50 each to create.

50% response rate means 50 interested prospects.

Even if only 10% of those convert, that's 5 new websites at $500 each.

Plus ongoing hosting revenue.

That's $2,500 in immediate revenue + $245/month recurring.

Not bad for a day's work.

What Your Agency Can Learn

You don't have to be in the web design business to use this psychology.

The "practice" approach works for anything:

"I was practicing email campaigns and created one for businesses like yours..."

"I was learning Facebook ads and set up a campaign for your industry..."

"I was studying marketing funnels and built one for companies in your space..."

People love helping someone "learn."

Even when that someone is secretly an expert who could run circles around their current marketing.

The Confidence Factor

The best part? You don't need confidence to try this.

You're not asking for anything.

You're not making bold claims about results.

You're just a student showing your homework.

Takes all the pressure off.

Which paradoxically makes it easier to close than traditional pitching.

The Bottom Line

Sometimes the best sales strategy is not selling at all.

Just create something awesome and let them talk themselves into buying it.

Works every time.

Well, 50% of the time.

Which is still better than most agency outreach.

Practice makes perfect (and profitable),

Laura

P.S. That 9-year-old made more money in one afternoon than some agencies make in a month. Just saying.