How To Design A Killer Website That Makes
The Sale Virtually Every Time
This guy is an unbelievable
sales representative...
...and he is available to go
to work for you right now!
Let me tell you a bit about
him. He works around the clock...24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
He never takes a lunch hour nor a fifteen break to grab a
snack. He's a real pro, but doesn't charge like a pro. In fact,
he works almost for free. This guy is a selling machine,
bringing in the profits day after day after day. Whatever I ask
him to do, he does it without question or comment.
Wouldn't you like to have a
sales rep like this guy to promote your web business?
You do. After all, he is my
website.
You see, a website is your
personal sales rep that never takes a break, nor questions your
sales decisions. Your website works basically for free and,
when used properly, can bring in the profits over and over
again.
Let's face it, not every
website is a record breaking sales representative. However,
with a few quick tips you can have that slumping sales rep
moving your product as if he came back from a Dale Carnegie
Sales Seminar!
How about a quick workshop?
Every sales rep, excuse me,
every WEBSITE, needs to have at least 8 things to consistently
make the sale...
1. A clutter-free path to
your purpose. Every website needs a purpose. What is yours?
To obtain new leads? Make the sale? Attract new affiliates?
Whatever your purpose, there needs to be a clear path that
leads straight to it. Every unnecessary link, banner and button
only serves as a distraction, oftentimes pulling your potential
customer away from your website altogether.
Think about it this way. Would
a "real world" company send a sales rep out to
promote products and services other than that of the company?
Not usually. Why? Because the company is more interested in
selling their own products than earning a smaller commission on
someone else's. Learn this: the less options there are, the
easier it is to make a decision. When I go to McDonald's for
ice cream, it's either vanilla or chocolate. I make my decision
quickly. Baskin-Robbins is an entirely different story. With 31
flavors to choose from, which one should I select?
The point is simple: If you
want to sell YOUR product, then eliminate (or at least reduce)
all references to outside sources. Affiliate programs are a
great source of income, but they are best used as back-end
products. Your website needs to be YOUR sales rep first, and
then suggest other products later.
SIDEBAR: Check out the
websites of the most well known web marketing "gurus"
online and see this in "living color." Ken Evoy (http://www.sitesell.com)
, Cory Rudl (http://www.marketingtips.com)
Marlon Sanders (http://www.higherresponse.com)
and Terry Dean (http://www.allthesecrets.com)
have high response sites. One thing distinctly absent from
their webpages are references to any product other than their
own.
2. A unique sales
proposition. When I worked in a commercial print shop, our
sales representative let me in on a secret to his high sales.
Whenever he approached a business to solicit their printing
orders, he always left behind a Hershey's Chocolate Bar. Why?
Because in the city I worked in, commercial printing was a very
competitive market. Our sales representative had just separated
himself from the competition. He was different. He was unique.
That Hershey's Chocolate Bar subconsciously left our company
name in each contact's mind. Whenever they needed printing -
voila - they remembered our sales representative and we usually
got the order.
To succeed online (where there
are 50 gazillion other people trying to do what you do, if you
can even remember what it is that you are trying to do ;-) you
must stand
out. Your proposal must be different than the rest. Your entire
approach must separate yourself from the others.
In the past, things like a
demo or trial membership worked well. An excerpt or preview was
a great idea just months ago. While these still work, a crowded
marketplace is growing. Just a few months ago if I saw a
"Free 5 Day Web Marketing Course" I would have
requested it immediately, because it was something new. Now,
they are everywhere. "Oh, another 5 Day course" is my
response. There needs to be something different to grab the
customer. Something they haven't seen 50 times in the past half
hour...
...you've got to find your
Hershey Bar.
3. Useful content. When
someone visits your website, they are looking for something
specific. He didn't stumble across your site by accident. Learn
this:
Everyone who visits ANY site online is looking to meet a need
in his life. Did you catch that? Let me repeat it because it is
important.
Everyone who visits ANY site online is looking to meet a
need in his life. There are no exceptions. Whether it be to
make new friends in a chat room, purchase a bouquet of flowers
to ship to mom, or find information on how to promote a
website, we surf the net to meet SOME need in our lives.
Your website must provide some
way of meeting whatever our need is that led us to your place.
There are three keys to providing content that meets needs...
(a) It should be immediately
usable. We live in a world that will not wait. We demand
action. We want fast results. Your content must be immediately
usable,
something that can be accessed in minutes. Unless it is such an
overwhelmingly attractive offer that we cannot refuse it, we
won't wait around...
...we'll just surf on over to
someone else's site where we can get it now.
That's the reality of the web.
(b) It should be fresh and
original. Keep your content updated. The kiss of death is to
have information on your website that is no longer applicable
or newsworthy. Outdated material doesn't meet a need.
If possible, your content
needs to be original. If someone arrives at your website and
sees the same exact banner, the same exact article, the same
exact content that they have seen at hundreds of other
websites...
...then it is going to be
tough for you to make a sale.
Imagine a sales rep trying to
sell black and white televisions in a color tv world. Not going
to happen, is it?
If you are promoting the same product as many others, make
your USP (unique sales proposition) original...that's what
makes it "unique." Don't use the same banners as
every other affiliate. Don't use the same classified ad. Be
different. Promote a different angle.
An easy way to be original is
to target a niche. For example: When I completed my first web
marketing course, I realized that there were hundreds, maybe
thousands, of
other courses similar to mine. How could I be original? Being a
Christian, I looked around and saw that there were ZERO web
marketing courses designed to help Christians market online.
Voila! I made some changes to my website and focused on a
niche. That got me started and soon my outlet grew.
(c) It should
solve a problem, rather than prevent one. The old adage may be,
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,"
but it sure hasn't caught on in the real world. We want
solutions to existing problems, not preventions from ones that
may or may not come along.
Think about it. How many
teenage guys are beating down the pharmacy doors to purchase
the latest hair-growing tonic? Not many. They have a full head
of hair. It's not a problem yet. I know, I was one of them. By
the way...
...got any Rogaine I can
borrow? ;-) See, now I have a need that I would like solved.
We are looking for solutions.
Remember, everyone who visits ANY site online is looking to
meet a need in their life. We have problems that need
solutions. We have questions that need answers. We have
mountains that need moving.
How will your content help us
meet those needs?
(4) Professional,
quick-loading layout. The appearance of your website speaks
volumes about the product or service you offer. Imagine an
unshaved, shabbily dressed sales representative walking into a
meeting - a half hour late - with mustard on his sales
proposal. That company just lost a sale.
Unfortunately, many websites
look like this kind of sales rep. The layout resembles either a
shabbily dressed salesman or they go overboard and look like a
rep who is wearing a Halloween costume. The graphics load
slowly, like someone 30 minutes late for a meeting. The sales
letter is filled with typographical and grammatical errors,
and it has no flow from one paragraph to the next. Oooh! Looks
like mustard stains!
The appearance of your website
is critical to the success or failure of your online business.
It must...
- Have a professional layout design that is pleasing to the
eyes.
- Be quick-loading, free of any graphics that make visitors
wait for an extended period of time. (Most of us are VERY
impatient and won't wait long)
- Be typographically and grammatically accurate. Check it no
less than 5 times.
- Flow from one paragraph to the next in an easy-to-follow,
easy-to-understand language.
- Focus on the benefits to the customer. How does it meet their
need?
Your website is your saleperson, remember? Maybe it's time for
a new suit.
(5) A sense of urgency. Let's
be real honest here. You want them to buy today, right now. If
they leave, then they may never come back. They may find a more
attractive offer elsewhere. Their automobile could need new
brakes. A thousand things could happen that would leave you
missing a sale.
You want them to buy today,
right now. So, put your sales rep to work!
Your website should, in some
way, say, "If you don't act now, then you are going to
miss out." Instill a sense of urgency in the reader. Let
them know that they are taking a great risk by waiting. They
need to place their order now if they are going to take
advantage of your super offer.
There are two often used
methods of instilling a sense of urgency...
(a) Post a deadline. Make a
"limited time only" offer. Maybe it is for a special
price or perhaps for some bonus items. Let the reader know that
if they want to take advantage of your special deal, then they
cannot delay.
(b) Limit your quantities.
This is a variation of posting a deadline. Inform the customer
that only a certain amount of product will be sold at the
special price. Only a certain amount of new affiliates will be
accepted. Only a certain number of units are available.
"Supplies are limited, so act fast" -how many times
have you heard that. Amazingly, it works again and again.
Every website needs to present
the message of urgency. If nothing else, use action words like,
"Act Fast!", "Order Now!", or "Place
Your Order Today." Call the reader to action. You want
them to order don't you?
So, act fast and go tell them
now! ;-)
(6) Bonuses that are more
valuable than your product. Ginsu made this one famous. They
pitched a set of steak knives for $19.95. BUT WAIT! If you
"order now" then you will also receive... They went
on to include about 500 different kinds of knives and utensils
for free. By the time their commercial was over, most people
couldn't help themselves. Good grief, they were offering $500
in free bonuses, right?!
Bonuses add more value to your
offer. There is no set rule as to how many bonuses you should
offer or how much value they should represent. I always try to
include at least 5 bonus items. On one of my web marketing
ventures I even included 50 bonuses!
A WORD OF CAUTION: Make sure
the bonuses you offer are quality items. Reprint rights to 50
outdated reports do not qualify as "quality items."
Nor do those diskettes with 50 million email addresses for you
to spam and get yourself bounced off of the internet. Shareware
programs? Nope. Your bonus items must be of legitimate value.
If you offer worthless bonuses just for the sake of having
bonuses, then your potential customers will equate the value of
your bonuses with the value of your product. A valueless bonus
= a valueless product = no sale.
That's a formula for failure.
Give away enough high quality
bonuses to at least triple the value of your product and you
should see a rise in sales faster than you can say, "Ginsu."
(7) A summary post script
message. Everyone reads the "P.S." at the bottom of
the letter. Everyone. If someone takes the time to read through
your website sales letter, then I guarantee you they will read
any "P.S." you have attached at the bottom. Use the
"P.S." to drive home some important fact about your
proposal. Remind them of the deadline. Offer an additional
bonus. Use it in some way to get in a last bit of information
to seal the deal.
One of the best ways to use a
"P.S." is to summarize your entire offer. When many
people arrive at a website, the first thing they go to is the
end of your sales letter. Why? Because they want to know how
much it is going to cost. If they see a price that they are not
comfortable with, then many will never even read your sales
letter at all. Use the "P.S." to summarize your
offer. The customer will see the price, but they will also see
EVERYTHING that is included...product, bonuses, deadline.
Research has shown that adding
a "P.S." can actually DOUBLE your sales. By adding
one simple thing to your website, you could be doing twice the
business.
I don't know about you, but
I'm going back to my website and adding a "P.S." :-)
(8) A freebie to follow-up.
Experts (whoever they are) say that it takes as many as 7
follow-ups to make a sale. If the reader decides to pass on
your offer for now, then there is one thing that you absolutely
need in order to make the sale...
...you need their email
address.
You need some way of
contacting them in the future to follow-up. If you don't obtain
their email address, then you will have no way of ever knowing
who they are or how to contact them.
The easiest way of obtaining
the email address of a potential customer is to give them
something for free. Whether it be a subscription to your
newsletter, an ebook, a sample of your product, or a trial
membership, you need some freebie to offer. Set up a simple
form for the reader to enter his name and email address in
order to receive your special gift.
Again, I must caution you,
your freebie must be something of quality content.
Use the names and email
addresses you receive for future follow-up. By using an
autoresponder you can actually have the entire follow-up
process completely automated.
Your website is your sales
representative. It represents you, your business and your
product line...
...so make sure it represents
you well.
Copyright © 2000 Jimmy D. Brown. All rights reserved
worldwide. Jimmy D. Brown is helping average people get out of
the rat-race and earn a full-time living online. For more
details on firing your boss and creating your own internet
wealth, visit us at ProfitsVault.com
