Short answer
To sell to small businesses, pick one industry and size band, then sell to the owner: lead with money or hours saved, keep the price simple and monthly, remove risk with a trial or a short contract, and aim to close in one or two conversations. Reach owners by phone, in person and through people they already trust, such as their accountant and suppliers. Keep your cost of sale low, because each deal is small.
- Small usually means very small: 89% of US employer firms had fewer than 20 employees in 2022 (Census Bureau).
- Below about 20 employees, the owner decides; sell to them directly.
- Price monthly and simply: rising costs were the most common financial challenge in the Federal Reserve's 2026 small business survey.
- Keep the cost of sale low: in our example, 17 hours of sales time per client pays; 40 hours of senior time doesn't.
- Owners trust their accountant, suppliers and peers, so get introduced through them.
On this page
This guide is for B2B sellers whose customers are small businesses: software and service companies, suppliers, agencies and consultancies selling to firms with a handful to a few hundred staff. It covers how many small businesses there are by size, who decides at each size, how owners buy, how to reach them, and the arithmetic that decides whether selling to them can pay. (If you're looking for how to sell your own business, that's a different subject: talk to a business broker.)
How many small businesses there are
The Census Bureau's Statistics of U.S. Businesses counts employer firms (businesses with at least one paid employee) by size. A firm can have several locations; each is counted once.
| Firm size (employees) | Firms (2022) | Share of firms | Employees | Average receipts per firm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fewer than 5 | 4,029,041 | 63.0% | 6,295,615 | $0.5 million |
| 5 to 9 | 1,034,135 | 16.2% | 6,810,300 | $1.6 million |
| 10 to 19 | 656,917 | 10.3% | 8,844,269 | $3.1 million |
| 20 to 99 | 561,160 | 8.8% | 21,976,701 | $10.4 million |
| 100 to 499 | 93,341 | 1.5% | 18,323,671 | $66.7 million |
| 500 or more | 21,041 | 0.3% | 73,497,851 | |
| All employer firms | 6,395,635 | 100% | 135,748,407 |
Three things follow. Nearly nine in ten employer firms have fewer than 20 people, so "small business" usually means an owner with a small team. The firms are numerous but individually small: firms with 5 to 9 staff averaged about $1.6 million in receipts, which caps what each will spend with you. And these counts leave out businesses with no employees at all, which the Census Bureau counts separately and which add millions more one-person firms.
The industries with the most small firms are professional services (815,006 firms with fewer than 20 employees), construction (718,831), other services such as repair and personal care (683,865), health care (593,927) and retail (585,925).
Who decides, by company size
| Size | Who decides | How they buy | What wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fewer than 5 | The owner, alone | Fast, often online or by card, month to month | Saving the owner time, with no setup work |
| 5 to 19 | The owner, often with an office manager or bookkeeper | One or two conversations; may ask their accountant or a peer | A clear price, a local reference, help getting started |
| 20 to 99 | The owner or general manager, with a department head | A short evaluation, often two or three quotes | Proof from similar firms and one named contact |
| 100 to 499 | Department heads, with finance signing off | A process with several people and some paperwork | A business case, references and sensible contract terms |
Cash is the constraint at every size. In the Federal Reserve's 2026 Report on Employer Firms (6,525 small employer firms surveyed in late 2025), rising costs of goods, services and wages was the most common financial challenge, and more than 40% of firms cited higher costs from tariffs. A vendor who adds a predictable monthly cost and shows the saving in dollars is easier to say yes to than one with a large upfront fee.
How to sell to small businesses, step by step
- Pick one industry and one size band. "Dental practices with 5 to 19 staff" gives you a shared vocabulary, shared problems and referrals that travel. "Small businesses" gives you none of that.
- Learn the owner's week. Owners are hardest to reach at their busiest hours: a restaurant at lunch, a contractor on site in the morning. Call when they're at a desk, often early or late in the day, and keep it short.
- Lead with money or hours. Owners think in cash and time. "Cuts about four hours of invoicing a week" beats any feature list.
- Make the price simple and visible. One monthly price, no setup fee if you can avoid it, and a short or no minimum term. If you need a contract, keep it to a page.
- Take the risk off the table. A free assessment, a trial or a first month at cost lets the owner test you without staking much.
- Sell in one or two conversations. Bring the price to the first meeting, and the agreement to the second. Every extra meeting costs you more than a small deal can carry.
- Go through people owners trust. Accountants, bookkeepers, suppliers, trade associations, chambers of commerce and other owners. A referral from the firm's accountant is worth dozens of cold emails.
- Do the setup for them, then ask for referrals. Owners don't have time to onboard themselves. Once the first result shows, ask who else they know with the same problem.
Channels that reach owners
| Channel | Why it works for small businesses | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Phone | Owners often answer their own phone | Timing: avoid their busy hours |
| Visiting in person | Works for local businesses with a storefront or office | Slow, and only where you can travel |
| Accountants, suppliers and other partners | Borrowed trust; one partner reaches many owners | Partners need a reason to recommend you |
| Associations and chambers | Owners meet peers there; sponsorships and talks build recognition | Results take months |
| Cheap and fine for follow-up after a call | Owners get a lot; CAN-SPAM rules apply | |
| Search and marketplaces | Owners search for a fix when the problem bites | Slow to build; you compete on price |
Building the list is usually the slow part: small firms rarely appear in big databases with accurate owner details. Bebop finds small businesses that match a plain-language description, with the owner or manager for each and a note on why each fits. Check a sample before you call.
Scripts for owners
Hi, is this [owner's first name]? It's [your name] from [company], here in [city]. I'll be quick, I know it's a working day. We help [type of business] like yours [the outcome in hours or dollars, e.g. stop losing an afternoon a week to IT problems]. Is that something that costs you time at the moment, or are you well covered? (If yes): The simplest next step is a free 30-minute check at your office. I can do [two specific times]. Which suits you?
Subject: [business name]: the [problem] we talked about Hi [first name], Thanks for your time today. As promised, in short: What we do: [one line, in their terms] What it costs: [one monthly price], no setup fee, cancel with 30 days' notice What happens next: a free 30-minute check on [day and time], then a one-page plan Three [type of business] nearby already use us, including [a client who has agreed to be named]. [Your name] [Phone] [Company and postal address] [One line on how to opt out]
For more ways to handle the answers you'll get, see the cold calling scripts.
Worked example: does selling to small offices pay?
Illustrative example. The consultancy, its prices and its conversion rates are fictional; the wage and benefit figures are real Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Brightline Managed IT (brightlineit.example) runs IT support for offices with 5 to 19 staff for $120 per user per month. A typical client has 10 users: $1,200 a month, $14,400 a year, and $5,760 a year in gross profit at a 40% margin. Brightline will spend up to half of a client's first-year gross profit, $2,880, to win one.
What a client costs in sales time. From Brightline's last six months:
| Activity | Volume per two clients | Time each | Total hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dials | 200 | 2.5 minutes | 8.3 |
| Conversations with owners | 24 | 10 minutes | 4.0 |
| Free 30-minute checks, with travel and a one-page plan | 6 | 3 hours | 18.0 |
| Agreement meetings | 2 | 2 hours | 4.0 |
| Total | 34.3 (about 17 per client) |
What that time costs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics put the median wage for sales representatives of services at $33.65 an hour in May 2025, and benefits averaged 30% of private industry compensation costs in June 2026. So a sales hour costs roughly $33.65 ÷ 0.70 = $48. At 17 hours, a client costs about $820 in sales time, well under the $2,880 limit.
The same client sold the enterprise way. Four meetings, a custom proposal and a senior consultant's involvement could easily take 40 hours at $100 an hour: $4,000, more than the client's entire first-year acquisition budget. The product is the same; only the sales process changed. That's why small business sales need a short, standard process.
Self-check
- You've chosen one industry and one size band, and you know how many firms are in it.
- You know who decides at that size and when they're reachable.
- Your offer is stated in dollars or hours, with one monthly price.
- A new client can try you with little risk.
- You can close in one or two conversations.
- You know your sales hours per client and your limit on cost per client.
- At least one accountant, supplier or association introduces you to owners.
Common mistakes
- Treating a 10-person firm like a small enterprise. Long discovery, custom decks and procurement-style proposals cost more than the deal is worth.
- Talking features to an owner. They want the outcome and the price.
- Hiding the price. "Contact us for pricing" loses owners who could have said yes today.
- Annual contracts with big upfront fees. Cash is tight; monthly terms with a short notice period sell faster.
- Ignoring churn. Small firms close, get bought and switch suppliers often. Price and onboard so a client pays back well inside a year.
Next step: see how the same principles apply to bigger buyers in how to sell B2B.
Sources
- 2022 SUSB Annual Data Tables by Establishment Industry (U.S., by enterprise employment size), U.S. Census Bureau, accessed 26 October 2026
- 2026 Report on Employer Firms: Findings from the 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, Federal Reserve Banks, 3 March 2026
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 national estimates (41-3091, Sales Representatives of Services), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 26 October 2026
- Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 9 September 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Last updated .
Questions people ask
How do you sell to small business owners?
Sell directly to the owner, in their terms. Lead with what you save them in money or hours, give one simple monthly price, and make it easy to try you with a free check, a trial or a short contract. Aim to close in one or two conversations, call when they're at a desk rather than during their busiest hours, and get introduced through people they trust, such as their accountant or suppliers.
How many small businesses are there in the US?
The Census Bureau's Statistics of U.S. Businesses counted 6,374,594 employer firms with fewer than 500 employees in 2022, 99.7% of all employer firms. Of those, 5,720,093 had fewer than 20 employees and 4,029,041 had fewer than five. These counts include only businesses with paid employees; businesses with no employees are counted separately and add millions more.
What is the best way to reach small business owners?
Phone and in-person visits work well because many owners answer their own phone and run a local premises. Introductions from people owners trust, such as accountants, bookkeepers, suppliers, trade associations and chambers of commerce, work even better. Email is useful for follow-up after a call. Avoid their busiest hours, keep the first contact short, and give a specific, low-risk next step.
Why is selling to small businesses hard?
Each deal is small, so a long sales process can cost more than the customer is worth. Owners are busy and hard to reach, cash is tight, and small firms close, change hands or switch suppliers more often than large ones. The answer is a short, standard process: a clear monthly price, a low-risk first step, one or two conversations, and onboarding done for the customer.
Should I sell to small businesses or enterprises?
It depends on your price and how you sell. Small businesses decide quickly and are numerous, but each deal is small and churn is higher, so you need a low cost of sale. Enterprises pay more per deal and stay longer but take months, involve many people and need references and contract work. Many companies start with small firms, then move up as their product and proof mature.