Website as a sales tool
Use your small business website as a sales tool.
I was recently involved at a local bridal show - related to a project I am working on. A couple of things simply floored me. First off, it was very interesting to see what kinds of businesses came out and took part. Some you would expect, some you might not. But I was blown away at how few of these businesses actually had a good website. I mean, it is not rocket science to build one, nor does it cost a small fortune to outsource a nice site. I understand that not everyone can build one but this is part of your marketing efforts.
For example, there was an event planner there. To my knowledge they don’t even have a website. I have looked for them online and can’t find them. Nor do they have a site listed on their business card. Their email address is at gmail.com. Painful really.
Another company had a beautiful display at the show. The are a business that rents out portable shelters. So if you want to have an outdoor reception, you call them, they bring in a big tent and set up your deal. Their business is named All Shelter Sales and Rentals, which unfortunately is not completely what they do. They had a beautiful display at the trade show offering complete catering equipment, location decorating and so on. Their website does not do justice to the different types of services and products they offer.
Here is what we do. You see, our website at starsluxurylimousine.com is used daily right within our business. Maybe someone finds our info in the phone book or from some advertising and they call us. They are looking for a wedding package. Great, we have 3 different wedding packages they can choose from. But instead of trying to explain what these are over the phone, we just simply send them to the website. Go check out our website and give us a call back (now, of course we take their contact info in case they do not call us back). We do this for a couple of reasons. First, you can’t explain the 3 packages over the phone and what the differences are. People can’t remember that many details all at once and it just ends up sounding like gibberish when you are done. So, this is all clearly laid out on our website - it is easy to find and easy to understand. Secondly, we want people to go to our website. It looks good, it displays our limousine very well, it is a good website and we are proud to have it. If people go to our website and then to our competitors, they will book with us. We want them to go there, call over another family member to say “hey, come see this site” and we want them to bookmark it for future reference.
Now, when people call back after seeing the site (most of the do, by the way) they are ready to book. Very few questions are left to answer and we have had people that call use, go check the site, and call right back ready to book. Now that is a great feeling - and a great use of our website.
Tags: niche marketing, internet marketing tips, website optimization, internet marketing, article marketing
Build the Website
So, how can we build a website? Well, there are a few options here. You could hire some kid to do it on the cheap, but really, this is your business we are talking about here. You don’t want to do that. You could outsource it completely, and this is a good idea if you really have no clue on anything related to building websites. I would rather see good money being spent with a good marketing company than to try and skimp on this. It will affect your bottom line.
For me, I do have experience in this and could have even coded it by hand if I wanted to but I chose to use Wordpress. Wordpress has become my favourite way of building sites. It is fast, easy and can be set up very well for SEO. Maybe I’ll do a post on that down the road. But for now I am using wordpress with the Corporate Theme put out by StudioPress. In fact, the exact same setup as on themarketersmind.com. I like the Corporate theme - it has a good layout that is easy to navigate and presents a simple, yet nice site. I love the Featured Content Plugin they integrate as well. It can take a bit of customizing if you want to change the menu or things like that.
OK, platform and theme selected. Now create the site. So, let’s think about the goals of this site. We want to come up in the search engines of course, we can to present a very professional image to anyone who goes to the site and once people come to the website, we want them to call us on the phone. At the end of the day, all of our business will be done on the phone. We can’t offload that to the website. There are special requests that people have, questions they need answered and so on. We can put as much info as possible on the site but eventually they need to call us on the phone. So the goal of the site is to presell our company and lead to a phone call.
Now we post all the info we can think of on our site. We listed different packages we offer, obviously our contact info and definitely lots of pictures. This business is one that has to be visually appealing and we want our site to show off our limousine.
Tags: website optimization, Jonathan Hook, niche marketing, internet marketing, internet marketing tips
Is your website mobile?
I recently got myself a Blackberry device. I have only had it for a few days now but am falling in love with it. I really enjoy the fact that I can look things up online without having to wait until I cam back in the office. What I have noticed though is that some sites come in very well on the mobile browser. Others do not. So, this got me to thinking that I need to pay attention to sites that we build in the future.
Is your site mobile friendly?
Make sure that as you design your website or order it built by a design firm that you make sure it is mobile friendly. Certainly this means keeping flash to a minimum and certainly don’t build the whole site in flash - mobile devices can’t render flash - at least not very well. It wouldn’t hurt to put a browser detector in and separate code for the mobile browsers. you have to remember what the purpose of your website is - likely it is for people to find out about you and make sales. So keep in mind these mobile browsers and that you want to cater to them. There is no point in having a website that can’t be read, that doesn’t help your business grow. It is one of those things that you might not think of if you haven’t had the experience. I hadn’t thought of it until I tried surfing on my mobile device. But more and more people will be using these in the future - so it does matter a lot.
Tags: Jonathan Hook, affiliate marketing, niche marketing, internet marketing, website optimization
Don’t Get Stuck On Video
Video is great, and online, it can be a wonderful tool. People love it, it ads a lot to your message - if you are doing a teaching session, video is great, if you are doing a live presentation, that is great too.
Video let’s people learn by watching and hearing at the same time and that makes it more interesting.
But don’t let online video take you over. There is a place for it - and there is a place it shouldn’t be.
For example, a sales letter.
If you do your entire sales letter in only video, you can have a problem. First, for whatever reason, there will be people who can’t watch your video. The connection is bad, they don’ have the right version of some plugin, or whatever. One, though is that they might not have the time. Another thing is that they may be at work or in another environment where video (specifically audio) is not a practical option. Not everyone does all their online work from their home office.
I know when I go to a site and see a video, the first thing I do is look to see how long the video is. I am only prepared to sit there and watch a sales video for a couple of minutes. If it is, say 10 minutes or longer, I won’t even start it. Why should I? I have not yet been sold on anything that this person is offering - that is why I am at the site. So, why should I give them my time?
If you want to use video on your sales page, keep it short. Use it as an intro to a longer video and get people to opt-in. Then send them the link by email. That way, if they don’t have time to watch it right now, they can come back to it. It also allows you to follow up with them and make sure that they watch it. Offer it in smaller chunks if it is long.
and don’t forget to also include a written text version of your sales letter on the same page. Some people will watch the video - but not all. Others will just want to read, or skim the sales letter. Let them. The point of video is to add an element to your site - not take away from it. Don’t exclude the people who want to read the sales letter.
Tags: niche marketing, internet marketing, internet marketing tips, affiliate marketing, Jonathan Hook
Nice Website, No Sales
I recently got a call from a good buddy of mine. It went something like this:
“hey, can you check out my new website and tell me what you think”
“Ok, yup here it is, um, great, well, it looks nice but it won’t sell anything”
“Well, what do you mean, we just had it professionally designed”
“Well for starters, there is no headline, no call to action and no sales copy”
See, my buddy is a computer network specialist. He has a company that operates locally in his city and provides networking solutions to other companies. They will go in and maintain a network, set up security, set up software and so on in their clients place of business. He has a buddy who is an advertising guy - builds websites and the likes. So here he is with his new website all set up.
The website looks very corporate, tells a litle bit about what they do - describes some of their services.
I said, OK, right now your website looks like all the other websites out there in your field. Why should a client do business with you above any and all other options available to them?
He couldn’t answer. See, this is the USP - the Unique Selling Proposition. What is it that sets you apart - what makes you different, why should anyone do business here? He never defined what he does or what he sells.
Next question, where is your call to action?
“my what?”
What is it you want people to do once they come to your site?
“Oh, well, I don’t know, I thought I just had to put up a nice site”
(oh, please)
See, my buddy doesn’t even have a clear, defined sales process. I said, OK, let’s work backwards here. How do you get new business?
“Well, all I know is that if I can meet with a prospect, there is a pretty good chance I can close them”
OK, now we are getting somewhere.
“OK, so if that is the case, then your website needs to sell a meeting. You need to irritate a problem that your client would have and then offer to solve the problem by coming in to their business and having a free consultation. Your website needs to sell the free meeting. Then you can close them”
Now he was starting to see the light.
See, BEFORE you get started on all of this, you need to take a minute and clearly define your sales process. What steps do you want your prospect to take? Make them easy steps to take, tell them what to do, hold their hand as they do it. Guide them along. If your business works when you have a meeting with a prospect, then any marketing you do needs to be focussed on getting that meeting. Print advertising, website, all need to be targeted towards getting that meeting. The first thing that the prospect should see when they come to your website should be a good headline - one that draws them in and irritates the problem. The solution to their problem needs to be for them to invite you to a meeting, and then make it very easy for them to set up the meeting right there.
If you can sell face to face, then your website needs to set that up.
It is too bad my buddy didn’t ask me for help BEFORE he set up his site. What a waste of a website 
Why You Should Use PayPal to Process Your Payments
Do you use PayPal to process your customer’s payments? If not, you are one of the few people left on the planet who aren’t taking advantage of this wonderful resource.
PayPal’s multi-million client base is growing at the extraordinary rate of 28,000 new accounts daily, and their payment processing system is sheer perfection. Still, you may wonder why you should use PayPal to process your payments. What’s in it for you? It’s a fair question, and you deserve some good answers.
Versatility and Ease
PayPal is the most widely accepted payment system in the world. At the time of this writing, it is available in 38 countries, and the company has plans to continue expanding its services around the globe. That means you can do business on a global scale and get paid the same day.
The user-friendly interface makes it a breeze to sign up for a free consumer account, which allows the sending, receiving and requesting of payments. It’s free and easy for all those happy potential customers to buy from you and pay you immediately for your product or service.
Upgraded PayPal accounts can even accept credit card payments without having to sign up for merchant accounts with credit card companies. Being able to accept cash or credit card payments opens you up to a wider client base.
Speed and Security
Using PayPal is a dream for buyers and sellers alike. Their checkout system allows for a quick and seamless online transaction that simply processes a payment with the click of a button. Your customers can even pay you from their mobile phone rather than waiting until they get home to their computer. No more waiting for a cheque in the mail. That alone is a good reason why you should use PayPal to process your payments.
Although much of the world now has at least some idea of how to stay safe online, many people are still nervous about the security risk of making purchases. PayPal’s payment processing takes that worry away with their aggressive security measures. They use only secured servers and information is encrypted. No one ever sees the consumer’s financial data, not even the person or company receiving payment. Customers can relax and feel safe using PayPal to complete a transaction with you, as their details cannot be stolen.
If a consumer has dealt with a verified seller and feels there is an issue with that seller, PayPal will step in and investigate. Their account holders are offered buyer protection and Safeweb Insurance. This is another feature that helps you to establish trust with clients, especially if they have never dealt with you before.
There are so many incredible reasons why you should use PayPal to process your payments. The ease, versatility, speed and security all make for smooth transactions that will leave both you and your customer happy.
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