Planning Your Site

 Is Your Web Site “Sales Ready”? 
 

Customers aren’t likely to throw money into your lap, much as you’d like them to.  You have to lead them down the path to your door.  This path is your sales process.
 
There are many different theories about how to close sales, depending on the type of product or service you’re selling, its cost and other factors. 
 
The important thing here is to know the process you use and how your web site fits into that cycle.  You’ll want to make sure information on the site supports your sales message.
 
Phases of the ideal sales process:

  • Attention:  Gain prospect’s interest by letting them know what benefits they’ll get by working with you.
  • Qualification:  Determine whether the prospect is a good fit for your offerings.
  • Information:  Gain their trust by giving information (success stories, examples, credentials, etc.) that shows you can solve their problem. 
  • Presentation:  Learn about their needs, present your solution, gain agreement in principle that your solution would work for them.
  • Proposal:  Prepare a proposal that summarizes that agreement.
  • Contract:  Finalize the sale.
  • Delivery:  Deliver product or service as promised.
  • Evaluation:  Follow up for “lessons learned” and referrals.

Your “sales ready” web site can make your job easier.

In the Attention Phase -

  • Make sure your site is search engine friendly and choose keywords thoughtfully.  Your web design team can help you here.  
  • Grab attention on your home page.  One technique is to start with a catchy headline, tell who you work with, follow with a brief description of a common problem your clients experience, and tell how you solve that problem.   This also starts the qualification process by ruling out those who would not be a good fit for your offerings.

In the Qualification Phase -

  • Qualification starts when you clearly describe what you do and who you work with (home page).
  • It continues throughout the site as you talk further about your services and products.
  • A well worded RFQ form on your web site gives you information you need to qualify the prospect, and can help the prospect define his needs and gently introduce him to what you do offer, as well as what you do not offer.

In the Information Phase -

  • Your web site should give information that’s helpful to your prospect to show you have the knowledge to help them solve their problem.
  • Consistently providing helpful information – as in a newsletter or blog – helps build trust.
  • You can also build trust by including testimonials and before/after pictures. 
  • Write from a benefits oriented point of view.
  • Know what action you want them to take and include a call to action.

Your sales process is dynamic.  As you learn more, as your business environment changes, you’ll want to tweak your process and the supporting information on your web site.

That’s why you need a CMS web site that lets you change information yourself without waiting for, or paying for, a web professional each time.
 
Can You Easily Change Information on Your Web Site Yourself?
 
If not, contact us for a quote on a site with a Content Management System (CMS).  A CMS web site makes it easy for non-technical people to upload files and update wording on their web site. 
 
You’ll save hundreds or even thousands of dollars by performing these routine updates yourself rather than paying a web professional every time you want to change the wording on your site.

If you can use Microsoft Word, you can use our Content Management System!

To get a free quote on your CMS web site go to www.affordablewebdesign.com/quote.

Web Content for Consultants, Professionals and Service Companies

Effective, well-organized web CONTENT is one of your best sales tools!  It drives visitors to your site, positions you as an expert, gives you higher search engine rankings, and keeps clients coming back for more. 

Before you build your web site you need to spend some time organizing the content and information that will appear on your site.
 
There are many successful ways to organize your site’s content.  Here’s one proven strategy for consultants, professionals and small service companies that will help position you as an expert as well as save you valuable time by weeding out prospects who aren’t a good fit for your services.

  • Home Page – Give an overview of your services.  Start with a headline, tell who you work with, briefly describe a problem your target market has, and then tell how you solve it.  End with a call to action (example: “Call us and ask for our free report”)
  • Who We Work With – Give more detail about the clients you work with and the problems you solve for them.  This helps qualify clients by letting them know exactly what you do and what you don’t do.  Your time is valuable and you don’t want to waste it on prospects that are looking for something you don’t provide.
  • How We Work – Talk about the results you can provide for them.
  • Services – Detail the services you offer and end with a call to action (example, “Call or email us to learn more”)
  • Testimonials – These are important so if you’re not already gathering them, start now! Unsolicited testimonials are great, but you can also make a note of all positive comments, summarize them yourself and get the client’s permission to use them. 
  • About Us – Your bio builds credibility.  Photographs of you and your staff are appropriate here as well.
  • Resources and Links – Include helpful links for your clients (but don’t link to your competitors!)
  • Contact Us – Give people several easy ways to contact you.  Consider placing a well-thought out “request for quote” form on the contact page as a way to qualify leads.  (If they don’t take the time to fill out the form they may not be serious prospects.  You might want to limit how much time you spend trying to turn them into a client.)

To get a free quote on your web site go to www.affordablewebdesign.com/quote.