Four Rules to Turn Your Website Into a Sales Engine

Today I want to share an article written by Jayson Deets, our new Director of Sales at Herring Consulting, Inc.  He definitely is one worth listening to when it comes to sales:
 
Sales is competitive.  For a business owner the burden of an unsuccessful sales rep is not just the expense associated with their salary and/or benefits, but the greater expense of missed opportunity.

A FAILED SALES EXPERIENCE
Recently, I found myself in a large, well known retailer looking for a pair of shoes.  I knew exactly what I wanted before I even got there; the challenge for the retailer with me is to just make the process easy.  When I got there, there were 5 other customers waiting in the shoe section with no sales person to be found.
Five minutes later, the other potential customers just left, I was determined and so I pulled out my smart phone, looked up the stores contact info on their website and called the number for the store.  I explained that I was in their store and I would like to do business with them, if they would only provide me an opportunity to do so.  The person who answered the phone hung up on me in the process of transferring my call.  On the second attempt I got someone and within a few minutes a sales person finally showed up and I completed my transaction.
The sales rep’s supervisor was hovering around trying to apologize and to limit whatever damage she could.  She seemed relieved that I wasn’t angry; I was just determined to get my items.  What she did not know was that I had planned on getting some other things while I was there, but due to the inconvenience, I was no longer in the mood to open my wallet again.  Additionally, she did not know that there were multiple other potential customers who had just given up and left.

RULES FOR WEBSITE SALES SUCCESS
Everyday consumers begin their search for a good or service by entering in key words into a Search Engine, like Google and Bing.  The search results are presented to the customer in a popularity contest of sorts.  Businesses that win that contest will be presented to the consumer ahead of those that don’t.  If you want your website to win that sales competition there are at least four rules that you should follow.

Sales Rule #1
Show up.  A sales person, who never shows up, will never have any opportunity to win the business.  If your website fails to follow the principles of success, your website and your business will have lost out on the opportunity to be considered by the consumer.

Sales Rule #2
Have something relevant to say.  A website that lacks fresh, relevant information or focuses more on flashy designs then content will not hold the attention of a consumer that happens to find your site.

Sales Rule #3
Make the sales process easy.  The design of your website should make it easy for a customer to get the information or make the purchase that they want.  A site that doesn’t do that, will just drive business away.

Sales Rule #4
Ask for the business.  This rule is probably only exceeded in importance by Rule #1.  Many websites provide no opportunity for the customer to interact or get relevant information, beyond a “Contact US” section hidden at the back of their website.  If you want people to do business with you, you have to give them multiple opportunities to do so throughout your site.
Beyond being embarrassed, if the CEO of that retailer had heard about my story of trying to buy shoes at their store, there is no doubt they would make changes immediately.
It maybe that a good portion of your website’s current sales activity is just a result of the customer continuing the process rather than just leaving.  Sales is a competitive business, but if you follow these rules, you will find that you can turn your website from a failing sales representative into a sales engine.
 
About the Author:
Jayson Deets has spent the last 20 years selling millions of dollars of goods and services to businesses of all sizes.  He currently is the Director of  Sales for Herring Consulting, Inc.  He can be contacted atJayson.Deets@herringconsulting.com.