Contact forms are such a mundane part of a website that they are often neglected. But they are a very important component of a successful website, and should be given consideration.
The first thing you should do is to create a contact us page. Ideally, you should have several methods of contact – email, phone, form, chat, etc. The contact form is important, because some people may not be very adept at email and it's easier to just submit a form than type and send an email.
Once you've created a contact us page, add a link to this page to your site navigation, and make it easily noticeable. Anytime your customers have a question about something on your website, you want to be quickly and easily available to answer their questions and close the sale.
There are other important uses for contact forms. One is to convert your online leads into offline leads. Here is what I mean by that. Joe Doe is browsing your website, looking at your products. If he doesn't buy right away, he may close your website and forget about it. However, if you can get his address before he leaves the site, you can mail him a brochure. He now has a tangible piece of literature to remind him of the benefits of your product, and tell him how to buy it.
The same is true for online contact info capturing, though it may not be quite as effective. If you can get Joe Doe to signup for your newsletter before he leaves your site, you can continue to follow up with him, and his chances of making a purchase from you increase.
Of course, there are ways to increase the chances that Joe Doe will fill out your contact form and leave you his contact info. One of the best ways is to offer him a free report, ebook, or valuable newsletter in exchange for joining your mailing list.
To sum it all up, never neglect your contact forms – they are the crucial link between you and your customers!
Showing posts with label sales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sales. Show all posts
March 10, 2010
January 19, 2010
Probe Before You Sell
When selling a product to a customer, it is very important to find out as much as you can about your customer and their needs before you proceed with your sale.
This is commonly referred to as “needs based selling.”
The most effective way to find out about your customers needs, is to ask probing, open-ended questions.
An open-ended question does not allow your customer to give you a “yes” or “no” answer, it makes them explain to you what their needs are, and why they would need a particular product.
Here is an example, if you were a sales associate at a furniture store, and a customer walked in looking for a dining room set, an open-ended question you might ask would be:
“Tell me about the particular type of pattern you are looking for,” or simply put, “tell me more about what you are looking for”
This puts your customer in a situation where they cannot say “yes” or “no,” they must go into detail.
On a personal note . . .
Not to long ago, my wife and I were in a department store looking for a coat for me.
I spotted one that I like hanging on a discount rack. It was brown, with a removable liner, and a zipper that ran the length of the collar, to protect your neck.
I liked it so much, I took it from the rack and tried it on.
As I stood admiring myself in the mirror, a sales associate came over and complimented me on my appearance in this jacket.
I smiled politely and thanked her. She than proceeded to tell me that the best part about the jacket was that it smelled like real leather.
Taking her word for it, I put my nose to the sleeve, took a whiff, and sure enough, it smelled like real leather.
The only problem was . . .
I don’t like the smell of leather.
Needless to say, I put the coat back on the rack, and the friendly sales person lost the sale and the commission.
The mistake the sales person made was assuming that I liked the smell of leather. It was a safe assumption on the part of the sales person, because most people like the smell of leather. This doesn’t mean it should be taken for granted.
The point I am trying to make, is that it is essential that you ask probing and open-ended questions, find out as much as you possibly can about your customer before you present them with a product. You’ll end up with a lot more sales. Believe me!
This is commonly referred to as “needs based selling.”
The most effective way to find out about your customers needs, is to ask probing, open-ended questions.
An open-ended question does not allow your customer to give you a “yes” or “no” answer, it makes them explain to you what their needs are, and why they would need a particular product.
Here is an example, if you were a sales associate at a furniture store, and a customer walked in looking for a dining room set, an open-ended question you might ask would be:
“Tell me about the particular type of pattern you are looking for,” or simply put, “tell me more about what you are looking for”
This puts your customer in a situation where they cannot say “yes” or “no,” they must go into detail.
On a personal note . . .
Not to long ago, my wife and I were in a department store looking for a coat for me.
I spotted one that I like hanging on a discount rack. It was brown, with a removable liner, and a zipper that ran the length of the collar, to protect your neck.
I liked it so much, I took it from the rack and tried it on.
As I stood admiring myself in the mirror, a sales associate came over and complimented me on my appearance in this jacket.
I smiled politely and thanked her. She than proceeded to tell me that the best part about the jacket was that it smelled like real leather.
Taking her word for it, I put my nose to the sleeve, took a whiff, and sure enough, it smelled like real leather.
The only problem was . . .
I don’t like the smell of leather.
Needless to say, I put the coat back on the rack, and the friendly sales person lost the sale and the commission.
The mistake the sales person made was assuming that I liked the smell of leather. It was a safe assumption on the part of the sales person, because most people like the smell of leather. This doesn’t mean it should be taken for granted.
The point I am trying to make, is that it is essential that you ask probing and open-ended questions, find out as much as you possibly can about your customer before you present them with a product. You’ll end up with a lot more sales. Believe me!
January 18, 2010
Every Entrepreneur's Worst Nightmare
Gone: Customers, sales, profits. Following is a simple little tale about how it happens.
"Jones was a typical entrepreneur who worked long hours and wore many hats.
"The problem was that all the hats screamed for attention. Jones solved the problem by wearing the hat that screamed the loudest.
"Unfortunately, this was only a temporary solution since all the hats kept screaming until they were worn.
"There was, however, one hat that never screamed. It never complained, whined or whimpered, even though it was lonely. It knew it was important, whether or not it was worn. That hat was right.
"One day the customers quit coming. The other hats became quiet; they no longer were needed. It was then that Jones noticed the hat named Marketing and how little it had been worn.
"'Why didn't I wear the Marketing hat?' thought Jones.
"For one thing, Marketing hadn't screamed for attention like the other hats. The other reason was that Jones was afraid the Marketing hat was too expensive to wear and would drain profits.
"But now there were no profits; the customers were gone.
"Jones put on the Marketing hat. It was time to get the old customers back, and to get new customers, too. It was time to wear the Marketing hat regularly.
"Even the other hats perked up."
(c) 2005 Neil Sagebiel
"Jones was a typical entrepreneur who worked long hours and wore many hats.
"The problem was that all the hats screamed for attention. Jones solved the problem by wearing the hat that screamed the loudest.
"Unfortunately, this was only a temporary solution since all the hats kept screaming until they were worn.
"There was, however, one hat that never screamed. It never complained, whined or whimpered, even though it was lonely. It knew it was important, whether or not it was worn. That hat was right.
"One day the customers quit coming. The other hats became quiet; they no longer were needed. It was then that Jones noticed the hat named Marketing and how little it had been worn.
"'Why didn't I wear the Marketing hat?' thought Jones.
"For one thing, Marketing hadn't screamed for attention like the other hats. The other reason was that Jones was afraid the Marketing hat was too expensive to wear and would drain profits.
"But now there were no profits; the customers were gone.
"Jones put on the Marketing hat. It was time to get the old customers back, and to get new customers, too. It was time to wear the Marketing hat regularly.
"Even the other hats perked up."
(c) 2005 Neil Sagebiel
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