The real reason to have a website
What would you like your website to accomplish for you? If you say anything other than bringing you new business, I don’t believe you.
Every single person I’ve ever spoken to about a business website has wanted the same thing: More business. They want their website to bring them more customers.
Of course some may say they want to brand their business. Or they want to educate people. But all of those reasons are designed to, at the end of the day, bring in more customers. They want to brand their business so that they get more customers. They write a blog a day so that they can bring in new customers. The end game is getting new customers.
Any business who says the goal of their website is anything different is either lying or doing it wrong.
They put the wrong department in charge
If your website isn’t bringing in new customers, it is not because it is ugly. It isn’t because of the navigation. It isn’t because there are not enough pictures. It is because of one thing and one thing only. It is because you put the art department in charge of sales.
Again, the function of any website is to sell. But most people don’t put the sales department in charge of the website.
And whether you are a one person show or have a team of 50, there are multiple departments. You may wear all the hats, but there are very real departments. Even if it is just a state of mind. If you design your website from an art department state of mind, it won’t function as a sales person. It will function as art.
People develop a website with the wrong goal in mind
Everyone wants a pretty site. And god forbid you find a prettier site than yours. Then you have to go back to the art department for a redesign to be prettier.
Eventually everyone will sit around the conference table scratching their heads as to why sales are flat. The answer is so clear right? You need a prettier site. Wrong!!!
Here’s a crazy idea. Let’s put the sales department in charge of the website. After all, if the goal of a website is to sell your stuff, then who better to sell it than the sales department?
It’s as simple as this
Think through how you sell to your customers. When someone calls you, what do you say to get them to buy something or come to your store? How do you convince them to take action? Whatever you say is exactly what your website should do.
The best thing you can do to create a website that converts is to record yourself selling. Record the phone calls you receive that convince people to take the next step. Record yourself overcoming every single objection your prospects throw your way.
Then transcribe these. Next, get a testimonial to backup all of your claims. Then use this to create your website.
This content on a web page with a plain white background and no images will sell better than the flashiest website money could buy. And you prove it every time you make a sale face to face. If it works in real life it will work online.
And once you have this structure in place, making your website look pretty and professional will just enhance what you have. But the most pretty and professional site that doesn’t do this is a complete waste of money.
A real life example
A website is nothing more than a long form sales letter. This can be a hot topic as many people hate long form letters. They don’t believe people will read them. An argument I have debunked over and over by using long form methods to gain new customers. It works.
The fact is, people want information before making a decision. The longer the letter, the more opportunities you have to make that one argument that pushes them over the fence and makes the sale.
It may be only one paragraph out of a 20 page letter. But if you hadn’t written all that sales copy, they wouldn’t have had their question answered.
I am currently planning to hold a live seminar where I will share a road map for getting a website found locally on Google. This is something every business has to do but with Google’s ever changing rules, many people don’t know where to start. So I will be showing them in a 2 hour free presentation the steps they can take to make sure they are being found when people search for their product or service online.
To market this, I am putting together a sales letter that I will be mailing. It will also be a landing page (its own website).
So far it is about 5 pages long. When I am done it could exceed 10 pages.
Here’s why. It will answer every possible objection my prospect will have about coming to a live event.
A person may only need to read one simple thing that gets them to register. But if the letter doesn’t hit all the possible concerns, I won’t fill the room.