Making Your Site Sell

Copyright © Mario Carini
http://www.entrepreneurcircle.com

With today’s technology, selling has taken a new meaning. The door-to-door salesman is a thing of the past. Though the method of selling a product or service may be different today, the basic rules are still the same and need to be reflected on your web site.

While the Internet allows you to market your product worldwide, it lacks the personal touch that a face-to-face meeting could do. Your site has to be able to speak to your customer. With Web 2 video and audio feeds able to communicate with the viewer better, your site still has to stand out in case the viewer is on a dial-up modem and has to wait to hear and see your audio and video downloads.

A flashy website won’t always lead to a plethora of sales. Anyone can put up a flashy site, but you have to have positive and informative content. A site full of banner and text ads won't impress the viewer.

In order to keep your customer at your site long enough to know what it is you are selling, your site needs to address the basic wants and needs of the viewer. Just as the title of an add is the most important part of any ad, the first page of your site is the most important. It must meet certain criteria if your site is going to lead to sales.

It Should Fill a Need: What is it your customer wants? He came to your page looking for some kind of product or service your ad promised to deliver. Your first page should focus on that product. The viewer is not prepared to slog through pages of your site to find it. Your site should fill an existing need, not necessarily create new ones. It should provide a solution to a problem. Customers buy solutions, not the products or services.

A Basic Presentation: Your site shouldn't be cluttered with banners, text ads and too many graphics. All these can distract from your central message. The door-to-door salesman of the past sold only one item, whether that item was a hair brush, cosmetics or a vacuum cleaner. Keep your site simple, direct and easy to understand.

Persuasion: Your product or service should convince the customer that he is better off with your product than he would be with the money to buy that product. Position your site as a low-risk provider of your product and service. The customer always looks for the lowest price for whatever he wants to buy. Persuasion addressees the customer’s fear of making the wrong decision when buying your item. This should come across in your web page. Overcoming the customer’s fear means the promise of his money back if he isn’t satisfied.

Establish Trust: Building trust online isn’t easy to do on a web site. So you need to make yourself available. That means posting your email address, phone number and even your address as necessary. It’s one good way to establish a good relationship with a faceless customer. Remember that trust does not end after the first sale is made. Your are not just selling a product, you are working for your customer! That after sales service means keeping in touch once you have his contact details. Email your customer with periodic updates and questions about his satisfaction with your product. Offer new ways for him to use the product more efficiently. Offer incentives that keep him from forgetting you and coming back to buy from you again and again.

Preparation: This really should come first before all else. The salesman of old prepared for every sales call. You should do this too by establishing a web presence that projects professionalism. And that means going beyond just the layout of your site. What do YOU know about the product you are selling? If you're involved in an affiliate program, how much do you know about the company's products? What should the product do for the customer? What are the benefits? You should be able to post some answers to questions the customer comes up with even before he has the chance to ask them! You are a teacher educating your customer about your product and service.

Take the time to design your front page. It’s the first thing people see before they make the decision to view the rest of your site. Your front page is like the outside of your home. If it isn’t attractive, no one will want to know how the inside looks!

End

About the Author

Mario Carini lives near Ottawa, Canada and is currently promoting 3 of the best affiliate programs on the Net. With his experience he stands ready to coach and mentor anyone to financial independence.

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