How to pitch a business owner on WhatsApp, with message examples

To pitch a business owner on WhatsApp, send one short, personal message: who you are, one true and specific thing about their business, the link to a free preview of their future website, and one simple question. Show instead of promising, follow up once, and stop as soon as they say no. Below you will find ready messages to adapt, in French and in Tunisian derja, because those are the ones you will actually send.

Prepare before you write

A good message is decided before you touch the keyboard. The owner already receives offers, and recognises in two lines a text sent to everybody.

• Know the business. Read its Google Maps listing, its photos and a few recent reviews. Note what customers appreciate, the opening hours, and the owner's first name if it appears in replies to reviews. If you do not have a list yet, start with the guide on how to find businesses without a website on Google Maps.
• Have the website preview ready. A link that shows their business, with their photos and reviews, is worth more than ten sentences. You are not asking the owner to imagine, you are letting them see.
• Check the preview. Open the link on your phone, fix the name, the hours and the address. A mistake about their own business costs you all credibility.
• Know your price. The question comes fast. If you hesitate, first read how much to charge for a website in Tunisia.

With LeadMax, the website is generated from the business's own photos and reviews, you can adjust it in the editor, and you get a preview link to send on WhatsApp. You also see when the link was opened, which helps you choose the moment for the follow-up.

The structure of a first message

Four elements, in this order, and nothing else.

1. Who you are. Your first name and what you do, in one sentence.
2. One true, specific thing about their business. A detail read in the reviews or seen in the photos. It proves you are not sending in bulk.
3. The free preview link. Say clearly that looking costs nothing and commits them to nothing.
4. One simple question. Only one, that can be answered in a word.

In French:

Bonjour [prénom], je suis [ton prénom], je crée des sites web pour les commerces de [ville]. J'ai vu [nom du commerce] sur Google Maps : vos clients parlent beaucoup de [détail précis tiré des avis], mais je n'ai pas trouvé de site. Je vous ai préparé un aperçu avec vos photos et vos avis, c'est gratuit à regarder : [lien]. Qu'est-ce que vous en pensez ?

In derja, in Arabic letters:

عسلامة سي [الاسم]، معاك [اسمك]، نخدم مواقع واب للمحلات في [المدينة]. شفت [اسم المحل] على Google Maps، والحرفاء يحكيو بالباهي على [حاجة محددة من الآراء]، أما ما لقيتش موقع. حضرتلك تجربة بتصاوركم وآراء حرفائكم، نحب نوريك هي، والفرجة بلاش: [الرابط]. شنوة رأيك؟

In derja, in Latin letters, the way many Tunisians type:

Aslema si [prénom], m3ak [ton prénom], nekhdem des sites web lel commerces fi [ville]. Choft [nom du commerce] 3la Google Maps, w el clients ye7kiw bel behi 3la [détail précis], ama ma l9itech site web. 7adhartlek tajriba b tsawerkom w les avis mte3 el clients, n7eb nwarrik hia, w el forja blech : [lien]. Chnowa rayek ?

And in English, for owners who work with foreign customers, or simply so you understand what the versions above say:

Hello [first name], I am [your first name], I build websites for businesses in [city]. I saw [business name] on Google Maps: your customers speak highly of [specific detail from the reviews], but I could not find a website. I prepared a preview with your photos and your reviews, it is free to look at: [link]. What do you think?

Choose the language from the listing. If the owner replies to reviews in French, write in French. If they write in Arabic or derja, do the same. LeadMax prepares these messages in each of these languages, but always reread the text and add the business detail yourself.

Timing and tone

Write during opening hours, outside the rush moments of the trade. A restaurant owner reads nothing during service, a hairdresser is overloaded the day before a holiday. The Google Maps listing gives you the hours, so use them. Avoid late evenings and closing days.

For tone, use the polite "vous" in French and keep it simple. No capital letters, no promises of results, no technical vocabulary. You are talking to someone who runs a shop, not to a marketing director. One message, not three bubbles in a row, and no heavy attachment.

The follow-up, 2 to 3 days later

Silence does not mean no. The owner may have read between two customers and forgotten. Wait 2 to 3 days, then send a single short follow-up that gives them an easy way out.

Bonjour [prénom], je reviens vers vous au sujet de l'aperçu du site de [nom du commerce] envoyé [jour]. Le voici à nouveau si vous n'avez pas eu le temps de l'ouvrir : [lien]. Si ça ne vous intéresse pas, dites-le-moi simplement et je ne vous dérange plus.

In derja:

عسلامة سي [الاسم]، نرجعلك على الموقع متاع [اسم المحل] اللي بعثتهولك نهار [اليوم]. كان ما سنحتلكش الفرصة باش تشوفو، هاو الرابط مرة أخرى: [الرابط]. وكان الحكاية ما تهمكش، قلي برك وما عادش نقلقك.

Both say the same thing: here is the link again, and if you are not interested, tell me and I will not bother you any more. After this follow-up, do not insist. Note the date in your tracking sheet and move on to the next business.

Handling the common answers

"How much?"

This is good news: they looked. Give a clear price, say what it includes, and offer something written. Do not answer "it depends" and do not send a grid of ten options.

Merci pour votre question. Le site tel que vous le voyez dans l'aperçu, avec [ce qui est inclus], revient à [prix] TND. Cela comprend [nom de domaine, mise en ligne, modifications]. Le paiement se fait [modalités]. Voulez-vous que je vous envoie un devis écrit ?

In derja:

يعيشك على سؤالك. الموقع كيما شفتو في الرابط، بـ[شنوة فيه]، يتكلف [السوم] دينار، وفيهم [اسم النطاق والنشر والتبديلات]. الخلاص يكون [طريقة الخلاص]. تحب نبعثلك devis مكتوب؟

"I already have Facebook"

Do not criticise the page, it serves them. Explain that the website completes it: it belongs to them, it gathers services, prices, hours and contact, and it can be read without an account. Offer to put the website link on their page.

"Not now"

Thank them, ask whether they would like you to come back at a specific period, and note the date. If they give no date, do not invent one and do not follow up.

No answer

One follow-up, then you stop. Leave the preview online for a while in case they come back to it on their own.

If these exchanges intimidate you, rehearse first. LeadMax has a practice mode, a role play where an AI plays the business owner, so you can repeat your answers before sending them to a real person.

What you should never do

• Mass sending. Dozens of identical messages in an hour look like spam, to the owner and to WhatsApp.
• Copy-paste to everyone. Without a detail specific to the business, your message is an advert.
• Pressure. No "answer me quickly", no chain of reminders, no insistent calls after an unanswered message.
• Fake urgency. Do not invent "offer valid until tonight" or "only two places left".
• A voice note as a first message. A stranger does not listen to a voice note in the middle of work, and cannot skim it at a glance.
• Fake proof. No invented clients, no figures you cannot show.

Respect and personal data

The number shown on a listing is there so customers can reach the business. It is often the owner's personal mobile, so it is personal data under Tunisian law 2004-63. Nothing guarantees that prospecting by message is permitted in every case, so stay on the careful side.

• One personal, relevant message, then one follow-up.
• As soon as the person says no or asks not to be contacted, you stop and you note it.
• You do not share your list of numbers and you do not resell it.
• WhatsApp's own rules forbid spam. An account reported by several recipients can be restricted.

To place the message inside the full approach, from the search to the delivery, read the guide to selling websites to local businesses in Tunisia.

Frequently asked questions

Should I write in French or in derja?

Follow the owner's language. Look at how they reply to reviews and how they write on their pages. When in doubt, a simple and polite derja suits almost everybody.

How many follow-ups can I send?

Only one, 2 to 3 days after the first message. Beyond that you move from a reminder to insistence, and you risk being reported.

What if they say they do not like the website?

Ask what they would change. A precise remark about a photo or a text is a sign of interest. Fix the preview and send the link again, once.