What to offer each type of local business: restaurants, hair salons, clinics, workshops and shops

Almost everyone who starts selling services to local businesses makes the same mistake in the first week: they prepare one message and use it on everybody. The same pitch for the café downtown, the physiotherapy clinic and the workshop next door. It works a little with one of them and hardly at all with the rest, and the conclusion people draw is usually the wrong one: "selling to local businesses doesn't work."

It does. The thing is that a hair salon, a restaurant and a plumber don't have the same problems, don't hear about things from the same places, don't work the same hours and don't make decisions the same way. What keeps one of them awake at night is irrelevant to the next. When your message fits the daily reality of the business, the conversation changes tone from the first sentence.

This guide goes through six very common types of local business in Spain and tells you, for each one, how it works, what usually goes wrong for it online, what to look at on its website before you call, what to offer and what to avoid. At the end there is a method for comparing sectors and settling on the one that works best for you.

Short answer: offer according to the sector and, above all, according to what that particular business is missing. Restaurants and bars usually need a menu that reads well on a phone and an up-to-date Google listing; hair salons and beauty centres need to let people book without calling; clinics need to convey trust and comply with the law; workshops and home-service trades need a simple website that makes the phone ring; shops need a way to sell or take reservations without a full online store; and academies or gyms need to capture sign-ups in the good seasons. Before offering anything, spend five minutes checking what their website has and what it doesn't.

Why the same message doesn't work for everyone

Think about how each of them starts the day.

Whoever runs a bar opens at first light, serves regulars, sorts out an order that hasn't arrived and by one in the afternoon is on their feet, without sitting down, until four. If you call at two, it isn't that they aren't interested in what you offer: they simply can't listen to you.

Whoever runs a hair salon has their hands full with a client, and the phone rings right then. For that person, a diary that fills up without picking up the phone is a real relief, something they understand instantly.

A clinic has a receptionist or a manager who acts as a filter, appointments waiting, health regulations and patient data that can't be handled lightly. A workshop depends on someone with a broken-down car finding it on their phone in ten minutes. A neighbourhood shop competes with online shopping and with the big chains. An academy lives on filling its places in September.

Those are six different logics. What you offer might be the same thing, a website, a booking system or managing some social media, but the reason it suits each one is different, and that reason is what you have to talk about.

Before choosing a sector: three questions

If you still don't have a sector, or you chose one because "there are a lot of them", do this short exercise first.

1. What exactly do you sell? Not "digital marketing", but something you can describe in a sentence: a five-page website, a booking system, managing the Google listing, product photography. The more specific you are, the easier it is to see where it fits.

2. Where can you show that it works? It is much easier to sell to clinics if you have already built a clinic's website; by the second one you arrive with an example. If you don't have one yet, pick a sector where you can quickly do a cheap first job and show it off.

3. Who has room in the budget to pay you? A business with thin margins or strong seasonality will give you more work than money. One that charges per appointment or per service, and already pays other platforms, usually understands better that investing in its online presence pays off.

With that in mind, this table points to where each thing usually fits. It isn't a rule, but it is a good starting point:

Restaurants and bars

How they work. Service rules everything. There are two slots in which you can't count on the owner, mealtimes and dinner, and outside them they are usually restocking, shopping or doing the accounts. The best time to talk to someone in hospitality is mid-morning, around eleven, or early in the afternoon, between four and six. And the very best option is to drop by in person, have something to drink and ask who looks after the website.

What usually goes wrong for them.

• The menu. Many are a PDF of several megabytes, or a photo, which on a phone is tiny, slow to open and unreadable without zooming. Someone searching for somewhere to eat on their phone gives up before seeing it.
• The Google listing is out of date: summer opening hours not set, an old phone number, few photos, reviews left unanswered.
• Bookings are all made by phone, just when nobody can pick it up, or depend on a platform that charges for every booking or order.
• A website that is only a link to Instagram, or not even that.

What to check before calling. Whether it has its own website or only profiles and directories; whether the site looks right on a phone; whether the menu is text or a file; whether there is a book or call button; whether it uses HTTPS; and whether the opening hours on the Google listing match the ones on the website.

What to offer. A light website with the menu written on the page itself (not a PDF), the opening hours, a tap-to-call phone number, a booking button and photos of the place and the dishes. If they do takeaway, their own ordering system might save them the platform commissions, although it is worth checking each case's numbers before promising a specific saving. A set-lunch bar doesn't need a spectacular website: it needs one that loads fast and says what's on today.

An opening line. "I searched for somewhere to eat nearby from my phone and your menu takes a while to open and looks very small. Would it make sense if I showed you how it would look written on the page itself?"

What to avoid. Talking about search rankings or technology. The owner of a restaurant doesn't want to "improve their SEO": they want the person four streets away who searched "dinner near me" to find them and not somebody else. And don't turn up at peak hour, which is the fastest way to never be received again.

AI-generated image. Early in the morning, before service, is when a bar has time to listen to you.

Hair salons and beauty centres

How they work. Everything revolves around the diary. A salon with three chairs lives on having no empty slots and no double bookings, and a large part of the day goes on answering messages and calls with busy hands. For whoever runs the salon, the phone is both the sales channel and the biggest interruption.

What usually goes wrong for them.

• Appointments are requested by phone or WhatsApp and have to be written down by hand.
• Forgotten appointments, which leave a gap that can't be refilled.
• A beautifully kept Instagram, with the work on display, but no website where you can see services, prices and how to get there.
• A Google listing with few photos of the real work.

What to check before calling. Whether there is a booking or WhatsApp button on the website; whether the services appear with prices (or "from" prices); whether the site works well on a phone, which is where almost all their clients will open it; and whether there is an active Instagram profile but no website of their own, a very common combination.

What to offer. An online booking system connected to their diary, with automatic reminders for the people who have booked, and a short website with the services, the prices, photos of the work and a clear book button. The argument is time: fewer calls, fewer messages, fewer gaps from forgotten appointments.

An opening line. "I can see you have a lovely Instagram, but to book an appointment you have to call or message. How many calls interrupt you in a day while you're with a client?"

What to avoid. Calling on a Saturday or late in the afternoon, which is when they have the most work. Tuesday mornings are usually calmer. It is also best not to assume that whoever answers is the owner: ask who deals with these matters.

Clinics: dental, physiotherapy, veterinary, psychology

How they work. In this sector trust weighs heavily. Nobody chooses who is going to treat a health problem because of a special offer, but because of what they see: who the team is, what experience they have, what other patients say, whether the information is clear. There is almost always someone at reception who filters, and the person who decides is the owner or the manager, who isn't always reachable.

What usually goes wrong for them.

• An outdated website that inspires little trust or doesn't look right on a phone.
• It isn't clear who the team is, which services are offered or how to book.
• Contact forms that collect health data without explaining what it is used for.
• Texts that promise results or use testimonials, which has limits in healthcare.

What to check before calling. That the website uses HTTPS (more important here than in other sectors, because there are forms with sensitive data); whether the team appears with names and qualifications; whether there is a legal notice, a privacy policy and a cookie policy; whether you can book without calling; and, if there is a form, what data it asks for.

What to offer. A clear, sober and fast website, with the specialities, the team, a simple way to book and a well-kept Google listing with replies to reviews. You can also offer to review the legal texts and the forms. One important point: advertising for healthcare services has its own rules, so don't write promises of results on your own initiative or any message they haven't reviewed, and remember that health data is a special category under the GDPR, with higher requirements.

An opening line. "I looked at the clinic's website from my phone and couldn't find how to book without calling. Have patients ever mentioned it to you?"

What to avoid. Sounding like a salesperson in a hurry. Decisions here are slower, go through several people and reliability is valued above speed. A small, well-done job opens the door to more.

AI-generated image. In a clinic, whoever sits at reception often decides who gets to speak to the owner.

Workshops, renovations and home services

This covers car workshops, plumbers, electricians, locksmiths, painters, renovation firms, gardeners and removal companies.

How they work. They spend the day out and about, in a van, in somebody else's flat or under a vehicle, and answer the phone when they can. Many are self-employed or firms of two or three people, and most of their customers arrive through recommendation or because someone searched for them on their phone with a specific need: "emergency plumber near me", "car workshop nearby".

What usually goes wrong for them.

• They have no website, or an old one that doesn't work on a phone.
• They don't appear on Google Maps or appear with outdated details.
• They have no photos of finished jobs, which is what most persuades someone who is hesitating.
• When someone searches for them, the phone number can't be tapped to call directly.

What to check before calling. Whether there is a website of their own or only a directory listing; whether the phone number is clearly visible and tappable; whether there are service areas and services that make sense; whether there are photos; and how it all looks on a phone.

What to offer. Something simple: a one-page website, or very few pages, with what they do, in which area, a big call button, a WhatsApp button, photos of jobs and a complete Google listing. They don't need more to start getting calls, and it is a job that is done quickly and can be charged at a fixed price. If you want to know how to work that out, there is the guide on how much to charge for a website for a small business (in Spanish).

An opening line. "If someone searches for a plumber in your area from their phone, do you know whether your number comes up so they can call with one tap?"

What to avoid. Calling in the middle of the working day: they are at work and won't pick up. First thing in the morning or at the end of the day gives you a better chance. In this sector a visit works especially well: a workshop receives visitors all day, and it is easy to leave a card or arrange a time to talk calmly.

Neighbourhood shops and local retail

How they work. Every day they play for the same thing: that someone walks in. They compete with online shopping and big chains, and almost all of them have something to offer that a platform doesn't: personal service, advice, selected products and closeness. Many think the solution is to "have an online store", but it isn't always.

What usually goes wrong for them.

• What they sell can't be found easily, nor can their opening hours or where they are.
• An online store opened a while ago and abandoned, with out-of-date products.
• Social media kept up when there is time, without a clear line.
• Not even a minimal website showing the products they have.

What to check before calling. Whether it has an online store and when it was last updated; whether the catalogue on the website matches what they sell; whether there are opening hours and a map; whether they use WhatsApp for orders; and whether they meet the basics the law demands of anyone selling online, such as a legal notice and terms of purchase.

What to offer. Before setting up a full online store, which means photographing, weighing, handling shipping and returns and dealing with orders, it is worth proposing a lighter version: a catalogue with photos of what they have, with opening hours and the option to reserve or order and collect in store. For many small shops it is the best fit. If they already have their own product and want to sell beyond their neighbourhood, then an online store does make sense, with the legal obligations it brings: among them, that in most cases the consumer has the right to withdraw from the purchase within 14 calendar days.

An opening line. "Your shop has things I haven't seen anywhere else, but on the website you can hardly see anything. Would you like people to be able to see what you have before they come in?"

What to avoid. Selling them an online store as if it were a money machine. If the shop doesn't have time to look after it, it will end up abandoned and, with it, your relationship with the client.

AI-generated image. For many small shops, a simple catalogue is worth more than a full online store.

Academies, gyms and training centres

How they work. They live on sign-ups, and sign-ups arrive in very specific seasons: September and January mark the year. A gym or academy has recurring income, which means that every sign-up is worth much more than a one-off sale, and that losing a customer costs.

What usually goes wrong for them.

• Schedules, prices and activities scattered across the website, the posters and social media, with nothing matching.
• A contact form that is slow or breaks.
• No easy way to try before signing up.
• A website that doesn't explain who each course or activity is for.

What to check before calling. Whether schedules and prices are on the website or have to be asked for; whether there is a page for each course or activity; whether there is a trial or information form; whether it looks right on a phone; and whether it uses class bookings.

What to offer. A website with a clear page for each course or activity, up-to-date schedules, clear prices and a "trial class" or "ask for information" form. If they already use a management platform, make sure what you offer doesn't clash with it.

An opening line. "I looked at the class schedules and they're in three different places. Would you like to have them on a single page that is always up to date?"

What to avoid. Proposing big changes just before peak season. Mid-August, or from late November, is a better moment than the start of September, when they are overwhelmed.

How to know what a business is missing before you offer anything

The difference between a message that sounds like "salesperson" and one that sounds like "someone who took the trouble to look at me" comes down to a five-minute check. Nothing sophisticated is needed: you open their website on your phone the way a customer would and note what you see.

The signals that usually tell you the most are these:

• Does it have its own website, or does it only appear in directories and on social media?
• Does it look right on a phone? If you have to zoom in and scroll sideways, that is a real problem.
• Does it use HTTPS? If the browser warns that the site is not secure, that is a trust problem.
• Can you book, make an appointment or buy without calling?
• Does it have an online store, and if so, is it alive?
• Are the phone number and WhatsApp visible? Can they be tapped?
• Does it have a legal notice and a privacy policy? It is mandatory for anyone with economic activity online, and a very frequent omission.
• Are the social media profiles visible and kept up?

Ideally this list gives you a single sentence: "it has a website but you can't book" or "it has an online store that has stalled" or "it has no website, only Instagram". With that sentence you can already talk to the business about its case, not about yours. If you want to do it with a tool, the website analyser (in Spanish) is free and needs no registration, and you can find a longer guide in how to tell if a business needs a new website.

What changes when you search by sector with Coworky

Doing this check by hand for twenty businesses takes an afternoon. Coworky does it for you, sector by sector. You enter the type of business and a town or postcode, and the tool brings you up to 20 businesses. For the ones you choose, it works out their real official website (telling it apart from directories, profiles or cloned sites), checks the technical signals you have just seen (mobile version, HTTPS, online booking, online store, social media) and collects the contacts the business itself publishes. With all that it gives you an opportunity score, high, medium or low, according to what each one is missing.

If you want, it also generates an AI report: a summary, fit with what you sell, key questions, a script for the first call and likely objections. It only uses verified facts, and what it doesn't know it raises as a question rather than presenting it as certain.

Two clarifications that matter. Coworky doesn't send emails or messages for you: it tells you who is worth visiting or calling and what to say, and you make the contact yourself, in the way the law allows. If you have doubts about that, the guide on whether it is legal to cold-contact businesses explains it channel by channel. And it doesn't tell you which sector suits you: it lets you try several with the same method so that you decide with your own data.

You can try it free, without a card, with 3 searches and 10 analyses. Paid plans start at €19 a month plus VAT, and you can see them on the pricing page (in Spanish).

How to choose a sector without marrying one

The best way to decide is to test. Here is a simple method:

1. Pick two or three sectors that seem reasonable given what you sell.
2. Search for 20 businesses in each in the same area and analyse them with the same criteria.
3. Contact the ones with a high score, using only permitted channels, and note how many pick up the phone, how many accept a meeting and how many sign.
4. Compare after two weeks. The sector that works best for you is not necessarily the biggest, but the one where your offer is best understood and where people pick up the phone.
5. Stick with one and repeat. The more you talk to businesses in the same sector, the better you know their objections and the faster you solve them. Specialising ends up being a shortcut.

If you want to calculate how many contacts you need to win a given number of clients a month, the prospecting calculator (in Spanish) does the sum for you. And to prepare what you are going to say, the cold call script generator (in Spanish) is also free.

The mistakes that come up most often

Offering what you know how to do instead of what they need. If you are good at online stores, every business will look like a candidate for an online store. Look first at what they are missing.

Talking about technology. "Responsive design", "on-page SEO" and "conversion optimisation" mean nothing to someone who runs a hair salon. "People can book from their phone without calling" does.

Calling at the wrong time for them. In hospitality, at midday; in salons, on Saturday; in home services, in the middle of the working day. A call at a bad time is a closed door.

Using the same proposal for everyone. A generic proposal shows on the first page. Change at least the example and the problem you raise.

Promising Google rankings. Nobody can guarantee first place, and whoever promises it risks being reminded of it. Promise what does depend on you: a website that looks right, a complete listing, a button that works.

Forgetting the legal side. The legal notice, cookies and forms with personal data are obligations the client often doesn't know about. Reviewing them is a good reason to talk to them, and getting them wrong can cost you too.

Writing cold by email or WhatsApp. It is the fastest way to be shown the door and, besides, the law forbids it without prior permission. The method is still to visit or call with care and ask for permission before writing.

Before contacting a new sector

1. Have you spoken to someone in that sector or looked at how they work?
2. Do you know which hours are best for contacting them?
3. Do you have an opening line that talks about what you saw on their website, not about yourself?
4. Do you know what that business is missing and can you show it?
5. Does your offer fit in one sentence and have a clear price?
6. Are you going to contact them through a permitted channel and note down the result?

If all six answers are yes, you can start. And if you don't yet have a complete method, start with the guide to winning clients among local businesses (in Spanish) and check the tools comparison (in Spanish) if you are deciding what to work with.

Frequently asked questions

Which local business sector is best for selling websites?

There isn't one that is best for everyone. The most receptive tend to be those that depend on being found on a phone and have little online presence: workshops, home services, small clinics and academies. The best one for you is where your offer fits and where you can show an example of your own. Try two or three with the same method before deciding.

Is it a good idea to specialise in a single sector?

In the medium term, yes: you know the objections better, you reuse what you have done and you can talk using examples from other clients in the same sector. But you don't need to decide on day one. Start by trying several and stay with the one that gives you the most conversations and the most sales.

What do I offer a restaurant that already has Instagram?

What Instagram doesn't do well: making the menu comfortable to read, having the opening hours and phone number a tap away and letting people book without having to write a message. Many customers search on Google, not on social media, and there what counts is a complete listing and a website that loads fast.

What time is best to call each type of business?

As a guide: hospitality, mid-morning or early afternoon; salons, on weekdays and early; clinics, better in the morning, when reception has more room; home services and workshops, first thing or at closing time; shops, in the hours with fewer customers. There are always exceptions, so if they say "call at another time", note it down and do it.

How much should I charge each sector?

It depends on what you deliver and what it is worth to that business, not so much on the sector. A one-page website for a plumber and a website with bookings for a clinic don't cost the same to build and aren't worth the same to the buyer. The guide on how much to charge for a website for a small business (in Spanish) helps you work out your rate and present it in three options.

Does a small shop need an online store?

Not always. If the shop has neither the time nor the means to handle shipping and returns, an online store ends up stalled and gives a worse impression than not having one. A catalogue with photos, opening hours and the option to reserve or collect in store is often a more realistic first step. If it sells its own product and wants to reach further, then it is worth it, with the legal obligations that implies.

How can I tell whether a business has online booking?

Open its website on your phone and look for a book or appointment button, or links to booking platforms. If booking is only by phone or WhatsApp, it probably doesn't have it. Coworky detects this signal when it analyses the business's website and takes it into account in the opportunity score.

Does Coworky tell me which sector suits me?

No. What it does is give you the same method for any sector: you search, you analyse, you see what each business is missing and what to say to it. That way you can try two or three sectors with comparable data and decide for yourself, based on what has actually worked for you.