How I Landed A Major Website Redesign Project For An Organization Without A Sales Pitch

Most people think you win projects by pitching.

Having the right script.

The right pricing.

The perfect close.

That’s not what happened here.

It Started With a Facebook Live

This opportunity didn’t come from outreach.

It came from a Facebook Live.

At the time, I had been consistently going live, just talking through marketing, business, and things I was learning in real time. No huge audience, no strategy to “go viral,” just showing up.

My dad happened to share one of those Lives.

He’s a VP for Teamsters Local 429.

I didn’t think much of it at the time.

The next day, I got a message through my website.

It was from a representative of the local.

That was the first inbound lead I had ever received through my site.

The Situation They Were In

When I first looked at their website, it wasn’t just “outdated.”

It was difficult to use.

• Long paragraphs everywhere

• No clear navigation structure

• No footer with general contact info

• No clickable phone numbers or emails

• No easy way for members to find what they needed

It was the kind of site where, even if you showed up with a purpose, you could lose focus halfway through.

And for a union, that’s a real issue.

Members need to:

• Contact their agent quickly

• Find information fast

• Navigate without friction

Instead, everything felt manual.

Everything took effort.

The Bigger Problem (That Most People Would’ve Missed)

The website wasn’t even the biggest issue.

They were stuck.

Their site was controlled by a company that:

• Charged them for updates

• Held control over their infrastructure

• Had them locked into a contract

The only way out?

A full rebuild somewhere else.

If you’ve never dealt with that before, it feels like a risk:

• “What happens to our domain?”

• “Do we lose everything?”

• “What if something breaks?”

  
  

That fear was very real in the conversations.

Where Most People Would’ve Tried to Sell

This is the point where most agencies would step in and say:

“We’ll handle everything. Here’s the price.”

I didn’t do that.

I didn’t even try.

I just helped them understand what they were dealing with.

What I Actually Did

Before there was ever a proposal, I walked them through the process step by step:

• How to approach their current provider

• What to ask for (specifically)

• How to retrieve their existing files

• How to keep their domain

• What needed to happen before a rebuild could even begin

  
  

I literally gave them homework.

And they did it.

Within 48 hours, they had files and assets they didn’t think they could get.

No contract.

No invoice.

No commitment.

Just progress.

The Real Problems We Identified

Once we got clarity, the actual issues became obvious:

1. Navigation Was Broken

Members couldn’t easily find what they needed.

2. Contacting Someone Was Friction-Filled

Nothing was clickable. Everything required extra steps.

3. Updates Were Dependent on Another Company

They couldn’t move quickly or independently.

4. The Site Didn’t Serve the Members

It existed, but it didn’t work.

Building the Right Direction (Without a Pitch)

Over the next couple weeks, we had a few calls.

There were delays for board approvals, internal discussions, all the normal things that come with an organization like that.

During that time, I:

• Helped them evaluate potential platforms

• Explained what was possible (and what wasn’t)

• Gave examples of features that would directly solve their problems

Nothing formal.

No slide presentations.

No sales pressure.

Just alignment.

The Moment Everything Changed

I genuinely didn’t know if they were going to choose me.

I knew they had another option.

I knew I wasn’t the cheapest.

And I knew this project had a lot of depth behind it.

On our final call, they said:

“You’re our guy.”

That was it.

No back-and-forth. No negotiation battle.

Just trust.

Delivering the Build

The goal wasn’t to reinvent everything.

It was to respect what existed, but make it actually work.

We:

• Kept the core structure, files, and identity intact

• Modernized the design naturally through a better platform

• Made every contact point clickable and accessible

• Built clear navigation with dropdowns and structured pages

• Added a site search so members could find things instantly

• But the most important part wasn’t what users saw.

• It was what happened behind the scenes.

  
  

The Part That Actually Matters

We built systems that allowed the Teamsters to control their own site.

• Updating staff

• Adding flyers

• Changing content

• Managing information

  
  

All without needing to go through another company.

That was one of their biggest goals, and it’s what made the project truly successful.

What This Changed for Me

This project taught me more than anything else I’ve done so far.

Not about design. Not about development.

About how I want to operate.

I didn’t win this because I was the cheapest.

I didn’t win this because I had the best pitch.

I won this because:

• I took time to understand the situation

• I helped before asking for anything

• I stayed consistent in how I approach people

  
  

And when it came time to deliver, I didn’t cut corners.

The Balance Most People Get Wrong

There’s a balance here that’s easy to miss.

You can’t just “be nice” and expect things to work out.

And you can’t just charge aggressively without building trust.

You have to do both.

For a large portion of this process, I was simply helping. Because that’s how I believe business should be done.

But when the time came, I knew my value.

And I delivered on it.

Final Thought

If you’re building something, whether it’s a business, a brand, or a service, this matters:

Stick to your values. But don’t undervalue what you bring.

That combination is what creates real opportunities.

Not just quick wins, but the kind that actually build something long term.

I love a new challenge. If you are a business owner who has been struggling to figure out an issue with your website or socials. Let's talk.