SalesHQ

I've been thinking a lot about how the internet has leveled the playing field between the big guys and the little guys in terms of image.  The other day I saw a website that seriously looked like it was done by Apple and it was made by a small biz? At the same time I tried to research a new bedframe at a fairly reputable bedroom furniture retailer in my area, and their website was heinous looking, and whats worse...so useless that I had to make a trip to the store (maybe that was their goal).

Please!  Become your own worst critic in terms of your website.  Are you satisfied with its visual appeal, ease of navigation, speed of server?  If you don't trust yourself as a judge, as for many opinions.



I cannot stress how important it is to invest in a good website.  If you don't it is seriously not worth having one.  It is easy to have a high class image...much less expensive than buying nice real estate for your brick & mortar location.

Do you think creating a website about you and your personal information would help your overall sales. Maybe include your webpage on your business card. What do you guys think?

If you want to start a blog today I'd suggest you look into WordPress. You can get a free blog hosted on their website at http://wordpress.com/signup/

DanDraper says ...

The Beauty of the Internet is That is is Measurable!

 

If you have a website, make sure you have a web analytice platform to go with it. Google Analytics is Free! And better than msot that charge 60k+ per year. It will allow you to meassure all the activeity on your site.

 

If your feeling ambiious use surveymonkey. Aslo Free!

 

the Three most important qeustion to ask of your website users.

 

1) Why did they  come to your site

2) Were they able to accomplish their task

3) if not, why.

Survey monkey is a great tool!  It really is critical to get inside your customer's heads.  You think you know how they think, but I have always been surprised when I test my assumptions.

You can definitely drive paid adwords traffic to a blog site, but blogs are not really good at monetizing traffic throuch ecommerce.

If you want an actual site that you can have content control over, you should take a look at Homestead.com. They allow you to create your own sites and they are very easy to use. There are a lot of start ups that do the same thing and change a bit less, homestead is $20/month, but they are owned by Intuit, so they will be around and offer very solid customer support. They also offer a lot of traffic generating marketing services but you can also do this for yourself once you have your site set up. Another great plus is that they offer eccomerce platforms for the sites you build.

Hello,

Found all of the information discussed to be valuable.  While most posts discussed "look,"  "control of content” and cost -- all of which are important considerations, there is a missed bet that is frequently overlooked which could result in a great deal more revenue.

People are reluctant to make decisions because they fear making a mistake.  While there is a great deal of copy on the internet that is designed to sell (some of it very lengthy), most doesn't -- in my humble opinion -- adequately educate the prospective client or customer.

If one comes from a mindset of being a "giver who gets thanked," an "objective, unbiased advisor," "integrity and trust" along with "partnering," "clarity," "confidence” and "leadership, rational evangelism" prospects will bond very quickly and become life long clients as long as you deliver on your promises.

This is especially true when you take the time too not only give your readers every reason why they should say, "yes", but also the instances or circumstances in which it is not appropriate to do business with you.  The best sales advisors will even suggest alternatives when what they have to offer is not the "best" solution for a prospect.

Remember, business success is long term and when you are dealing in cyberspace, creating and maintaining trust are worth their weight in GOLD!

Midas

PS  Do you know what a "rational evangelist" is?

Agreed...

a website needs to have personality too.  thats where a designer comes in...to convey a brand image.  My advice about that too is to let a designer do the designing.  Too many people fall into the trap of thinking they are a good designer when they are not.  They battle the designers and make them do what they want instead of doing what the designer wants.  Of course it is a give and take, but I had a boss once tell me, "give your opinions, but always listen to the person with the best resume for the job."  In this case, the person with the design resume shough be treated like the professional they are.

Only a few months until the holiday sales season starts. Last year more consumers made holiday gift purchases early in the season.Are you ready for a successful season? Your chances of being the consumers choice on the web are small because the top 100 sites are taking most of the market share. Tisk Tisk!!!! That's what the top 100 want you to think. It is difficult to compete with these giants, but remember David and Goliath?

CHECK YOUR WEBSITE NOW

MAKE YOUR LANDING PAGE LOAD FAST ON CONSUMERS COMPUTER SCREEN.

MAKE SURE YOUR SITE IS EASY TO NAVIGATE.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE PERTINENT CONTENT ABOUT YOU,YOUR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES.

MAKE SURE YOUR SITE IS SEARCH ENGINE FRIENDLY TO SPIDER.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE NO DEAD LINKS!!!!!!

START ADDING YOUR HOLIDAY IDEAS RIGHT NOW.

BEST WISHES FOR SUCCESS..............Hurricanemurph.

I'm WOWed again!  These discussions (even the short ones) are all positive and AWESOME resources!  I haven't even read through this whole topic but I just have to say THANK YOU to everyone that shared some information.

I have new ideas bursting out, just from hearing yours