Most agencies don’t lose SEO deals because of price.
They lose them because they don’t control the call.
What usually happens:
The client asks about rankings.
The agency starts talking about keywords, backlinks and technical audits.
The conversation becomes tactical too early.
The client says, “Let me think about it.”
The agencies that consistently close SEO don’t start with tactics.
They start with questions.
Here are the questions I recommend asking on an initial SEO sales call if you want to increase close rates and position yourself properly.
1. Start With Revenue, Not Rankings
If you open with SEO talk, you’ve already lowered your position.
Start here instead:
- What’s your revenue target for the next 12 months?
- How many new customers do you need per month to hit that?
- What’s an average customer worth to you?
- Which service or product generates the highest margin?
- Are you currently limited by leads or fulfilment capacity?
Most businesses have never been asked these properly.
This shifts the conversation from “SEO cost” to “growth strategy”.
It also gives you numbers to anchor your proposal around later.
2. Expose Lead Generation Risk
Next, move into dependency.
- Where do most of your leads currently come from?
- What percentage comes from paid ads?
- If you turned ads off tomorrow, what would happen?
- Are your competitors showing up above you in Google?
- Have you ever looked at how much traffic they’re getting instead?
You’re not attacking their current setup.
You’re calmly highlighting risk.
If they’re reliant on paid ads, SEO becomes insurance.
If competitors dominate search, SEO becomes protection.
Either way, it builds urgency without pressure.
3. Identify the SEO Knowledge Gap
This part tells you how much authority you need to bring.
- Do you know what keywords your customers are searching?
- Have you seen your current rankings recently?
- Have you invested in SEO before?
- What worked and what didn’t?
- Do you know how many enquiries come from organic search?
You’ll usually uncover one of three things:
- They’ve never done SEO properly.
- They’ve been burned before.
- They’ve had random activity with no strategy.
All three are opportunities — if you stay structured.
4. Move Into Website & Conversion
This is where you increase deal size naturally.
- Is your website built to convert traffic into enquiries?
- Do you have proper tracking set up?
- Are you tracking calls from organic search?
- Do you have dedicated service and location pages?
- When was the last time the site was properly optimised?
If tracking isn’t set up, that’s step one.
If service pages are missing, that’s step two.
If conversion is weak, that’s step three.
You’re building a roadmap while they’re still on the call.
5. Pre-Close Before You Pitch
Most agencies skip this.
They explain their SEO package before checking buying intent.
Instead, ask:
- If we could generate an additional 5–10 qualified enquiries per month, would you have capacity to handle them?
- What’s stopped you investing properly in SEO before?
- Are you looking for quick wins or long-term growth?
- Who else is involved in the decision?
These questions remove friction before you present anything.
You’re not “closing”.
You’re qualifying.
How to Use These Questions Properly
Don’t run through them like a script.
Use them to guide the conversation.
Take notes.
Spot the gaps.
Summarise what you’ve uncovered.
Then say something like:
“From what you’ve told me, you’re heavily reliant on ads, competitors are outranking you for high-intent terms, and tracking isn’t properly set up. That’s the opportunity.”
Now SEO isn’t a service.
It’s the logical next step.
Why This Works
Most agency owners talk too much on SEO calls.
The goal isn’t to impress people with technical knowledge.
It’s to:
- Anchor the conversation around revenue
- Expose risk
- Highlight opportunity
- Position yourself as strategic, not tactical
The more structured your questions, the easier the close becomes.
If You’re Selling SEO But Don’t Want to Deliver It
A lot of agency owners are confident selling.
They just don’t want to manage the ongoing SEO delivery — content, links, reporting, technical work.
That’s exactly where I fit in.
I work with UK agencies who want to close SEO confidently without building an internal team.
You handle the client relationship.
I handle the SEO delivery.
Everything is white label.
If that’s useful, you can book a partner call here.
