We all know the importance of having a website for our small business. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself: is my website really working for me? Is it just a glorified online brochure, or is it one of my best salesperson?
Your website should be your best salesperson! How? By working 24/7, communicating what you do, how it benefits them, and making it easy to know what you want them to do. Gone are the days where a simple website with a few images and lines of text would cut it. Your website should not be a brochure. A website needs to have a clear message that draws in visitors and keeps them interested. But it also needs to be well-designed, visually appealing, convincing, and educational.
Wow, that is a lot! Ok then, let’s check out some tips on how to optimize your website to be your best salesperson!
Know Your Audience
When it comes to making your website your best salesperson, you need to start by knowing your audience. It’s tempting to try and appeal to everyone, but as a small business, you have the advantage of being able to target down. By focusing on what you do best and using language that resonates with your target audience, your website will be better equipped to attract and convert potential customers. Build around your strengths and make sure your ideal client understands who you help and how.
But wait! Remember don’t just focus on those you are looking to work with, make sure you are also making sure you are focused so you can filter out those who are NOT a fit. You are not being mean, but you are being selective. You do not want to waste their time or your time. It’s better to have a small group of loyal customers than a large group of disinterested ones. Which is also a great reason to start an email newsletter!
Tell your customer what’s in it for them
So here is something hard I had to learn when starting out with this: It is not about me or even what I do really.
My Ideal Client does NOT care what technology stack I use, or if I used vanilla JavasScript etc…They care more about the results I can give them. Same with you.
When it comes to creating a website that serves as your best salesperson, the most important thing is to speak directly to your potential customers’ needs. Don’t start with a boring explanation of what your business does. Instead, grab their attention with a headline that addresses their primary concerns or benefits. Tell them what you do, not when your dear old great-grandad started the business!
For example, if you’re a contractor, talk about how you can help them build equity in their home. Or, if you’re a real estate agent, position yourself as their “property income building guru.” Once you have their attention, then you can answer the three key questions: what you do, how it benefits them, and where do they sign up. When your website speaks directly to the needs of your potential customers, you’ll have a much easier time turning them into actual customers.
Something to Remember: Make it about Them!
Remember: it is not about us, it’s important to start with what’s in it for them. After all, they’re the ones who will be ultimately benefiting from your product or service! That’s why starting with a catchy but simple headline that covers primary benefits or addresses primary concerns for your customer is important. As I stated before, if you confuse ‘em, you lose ‘em (Note: I did NOT make that up!
For example, if you’re a contractor, focus on how you can help customers: “Build Equity in Your Home” instead of just labeling yourself as the “City’s Best Contractor.” By highlighting the primary benefits of your services, you better connect with potential customers and win them over better.
Use stories to create connection with your customers.
One of the best ways to make your website your best salesperson is to make sure you connect with your audience and tell a story. I am not talking about telling them about something that happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, but rather draw them in by letting them know you understand the frustration they are having. Position yourself as empathetic and their guide. One of the best analogies I have heard is that you are sitting next to them at the table, not across the table.
For example one easy way to do this is you About Us page. Instead of telling them about when you started the company, create a headline that emphasizes your purpose, values, and the problem you solve for your clients. Make sure to base it on your personal experience. This helps them see that you are a real person who can understand and solve their problem. If people are going to your About page that is awesome! You can score an easy win there by not being boring and generic but share a story and cool anecdotes about what you do, how it benefits them, and ultimately how they can sign up to work with you!
Remember people scan content before they commit to reading. You want to use your home page as a way to draw the visitor into the story and get them leaning into the conversation. Your home page should be largely made up a large headlines and a short paragraph of said product, service or benefit which then leads them to another section of the website where you can explain things a little more. If they are clicking to go to those pages then good job, you are piquing people’s interest!
Make it Visually Interesting
You know the old saying ‘Don’t judge a book by it’s cover’? Well guess what, we all do. And not only that, but people WILL judge your website by how it looks. In fact, you know you have less than 5 seconds to make an impression when they get to your website? Yep, you have less than 5 seconds to do 2 things: Make sure it looks good and answer the 3 questions.
If you don’t, someone else will.
That is why it is important to make sure your website not only effectively tells people what you do but it needs to look good doing it! In fact, over 50% of people will not recommend a business if their mobile site is not well-designed. So, while it may seem like a tall order that your site has to look good and tell a story at the same time, it is actually quite simple. Which is what you need to do: Make it simple. While it can be tempting to go and add all this fancy animations and effects etc…It is better to keep it simple and make sure your site is not only telling a story content-wise but also making sure it fits visually.
Some things to keep in mind is your use of colors, white space, and Call to Actions. Not sure what any of this means? Don’t worry I got your back! Check out my 5 Essentials guide (semi-shameless plug).
Clear and Concise Top Navigation Menu
I know what you are thinking: What, Roger, isn’t this a little technical? Well, yes and no.
You see the UX of your site is very important. And as such you need think about the story you are telling and make sure the chapters (pages) and information (content) is arranged in such a way that it leads people on a journey. AND that it makes sense if they decide to hop around.
So what do I mean by a clear navigation menu? It’s that menu at the top of your website, it needs to make sense and it needs to adhere as close it makes sense to industry standards. You don’t want to have a ton of options on the menu. Having roughly 5 items on the navigation menu is a good ballpark to shoot for. But Roger, you are saying I have a lot of pages. Cool! What can be a Main page and what can be a sub page? Can you group some pages together so that you can make a dropdown menu? If so, do that.
Remember, tell a story. Make it easy not just for your potential clients to navigate your site, but it also helps the Google gods as they crawl your site. If Google can’t make sense of your site as they crawl it, they will dock you for that and your rankings will go down. So make sure your site is telling a story through your content, and visuals as well as navigation.
Strong Call to Action
I have talked about this before in a few of my blogs, but it is worth repeating here. Your visitors need to know what you want them to do. You have already told them what you do and how you help them, now they need to know where the cash register is. You need to show them to the checkout line. Remember, you want an active CTA. Something like ‘Buy Now’, ‘Schedule a Call Now’, ‘Get Started Now’ and not a passive one like ‘Learn More’.
Your website visitors need to know within 5 seconds what you want them to do and walk away from the site knowing the action you want them to take. One good way to do this is have a friend look at your site and let them look at it for about 15 seconds and then ask them, “What is the one thing I want you to do?’.
If they can’t answer that, then you may need to rethink your Call to Action.
Video
Lastly, having a video on your website can drive traffic up on your website immensely. In fact, shoppers are twice as likely to buy a product if their is a video attached to the product. There are different ways to make videos work for your business and service, but it is important to have video on your website. Not only does it help people stay on your website longer, but it also helps visitors connect with you more. In fact, if the video is the main part of your page, Google will start showing your videos next to related search results! The big takeaway is that video is already popular and important for SEO and it will only increase this year!
Conclusion
So, transforming your website from just a brochure into a dynamic and effective sales tool, involves a strategic approach. Although we must remember that visuals are important, you also need to create substance. They go hand in hand.
By understanding your audience and tailoring your message to address their needs through the power of storytelling you better connect with them. You then guide your visitors with clear navigation, and give them a strong Call to Action. Lastly we see that the incorporation of videos not only enhances engagement but is becoming even more vital for SEO.
By taking these best practices, you ensure that your website not only looks good but answers the 3 questions. As well as serve as a genuine and persuasive salesperson for your business. This enhances your online presence and makes sure you get what you really want: TLC, Traffic, Leads, Clients.
Quick plug: If you liked this, I would be extremely humbled if you shared it with someone who would be interested. And, if you read this and thought to yourself, this sounds great but I don’t have the time to turn my website from a brochure to a salesperson. Go ahead and Schedule a Call with me today!