Archive for » January, 2009 «

28
Jan 2009

What really matters…

Sabrina Gibson
"Together Everyone Wins"

"Together Everyone Wins"

Sometimes we get so focused on generating business that we forget to step back and really look at the big picture.  Every once in awhile I like to publish stories to make sure our hearts are in the right place.  This true story always reminds me of what really matters.  Making money is not what motivates us.  It is something much bigger than ourselves.  If we continue to pay attention to what really motivates us, we will always win.

Based on a true story….
It was the biggest race of their lives. They had spent months and months in training. Now, 9 athletes stood at the starting line for the 100 yard dash. There were hundreds of people watching them in the stands.

When the gun was shot, all the racers got off to a good start. Each racer was committed to finishing the race. In a matter of seconds, one of the racers stumbled and fell to the ground.

Remarkably, another one of the racers stopped and went back to make sure the fallen racer was okay. It was as if you could feel his defeat. When he began to cry, his fellow racer put his arm around him and told him “It will be okay”.

The other racers noticed what happened. They slowed down and one by one turned around to come back to the crying boy. One of the racers came back and kissed him on the forehead and said, “This will make it better”

Then all nine racers stood up, linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood and the cheering went on for several minutes.

These highly trained and competitive racers showed what the true spirit of the game is. This was one of the biggest races of their lives. It was the Special Olympics.

This was a powerful lesson for everyone who attended The Seattle Special Olympics. People who were there are still telling the story… Why? Because deep down we know this one thing:

What matters in this life is more than winning for ourselves.
What matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means slowing down and changing our course.

Think about this…..

In life it is not about who finishes the race first.

In life it is about every racer finishing together.

What are you racing to do?  Who are you leaving behind while you are moving so fast? Do you have a story or quote that keeps you in check with your priorities?  Please comment.

You are invited to an online class for FREE (a $97 value) on how to build Strategies so you can leverage Social Networking to grow your business. http://www.SocialMaximizing.com/socialnetworking

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26
Jan 2009

Can you handle an honest review of your website?

Sabrina Gibson
Get a review of your website

Get a review of your website

95% of all websites are completely useless to a business in terms of generating results, building a prospect list and creating new revenue.  Every time I meet a person and they find out what I do they instantly ask me if I can “review” their website.  My answer to them is usually this, “Do you want me to review it or give you an honest opinion?”  I learned to ask this after offending quite a few people.  Okay, so I wasn’t born with being tactful.  Honest, yes…..Tactful, no.

There was a movie where they said, “You can’t handle the truth!” and that is how I feel about reviewing someone’s website.  In fact, my company use to charge to do web reviews as I thought it would be a great way to share our knowledge and gain some clients who really appreciated what we did.  We did over 150 web reviews and ended up with 2 new clients.  YIKES!  Most of the people were really upset and discouraged with our comments.  I heard a lot of “Why didn’t someone tell me this before?” or “What do you mean search engines can’t see flash…I just spent $4000 on my flash website” and “I can’t afford to make an upgrade to my website so I will just leave it”.

Yes….you might as well stop reading if you aren’t planning on doing anything different with your website.  You can save yourself the time.  I have never understood why people want an opinion if they aren’t going to do anything.  Man, I had no idea this post would turn into my venting session.  Okay, so let’s get to the review.  Below are just a few things to look at in your website.  This is just my opinion based on my 20 years of sales and marketing experience (of this, 15 is directly online and websites).

So here it goes…..(brace yourself)

  1. Pictures – you have to have a nice balance of pictures and content.  If your pictures are just there for the sake of being there, change them.  Use them to tell a story.  Test….if you only had pictures could your visitors tell what you do and who you help?
  2. Content – you should look good and have great copy.  Speak in headlines and stick to the “7 second attention span”.  Yes, I probably just lost you….pay attention.  SMILE  In 6 seconds or less I should be able to tell who specifically you help and how you help them.
  3. Stickiness – if you want to build relationships with your visitors, offer some juicy freebie (free report, free goodie, etc.) in exchange for their name and email.
  4. Prime Real Estate – the top 3 inches of your website is considered Prime Real Estate….treat it that way.  This means you should have stickiness, a call to action and/or interaction with your visitors.  Make your visitors crave to talk with you.  The goal of a website should not be to share your company’s novel, it should be to get visitors to say “Yes! I want more!!”
  5. Jargon – speak to your visitors like they are 3rd graders.  Watch phrases and terms that seem cool to you.  One word can lose a visitor’s interest.  Make it fun to read.  Speak to them as an individual who is just learning about your business.  I call it the “Yada Yada Yada Syndrome”.  It would go something like this “We help small business owners make sense of their online presence…..Yada Yada Yada…..get your “thangy majig whirly gong today!”  HUH????  Exactly.  I see this all the time.  People are really impressed with their own language….yes, I am talking to you! Or they jump right to a conclusion that really doesn’t take the visitor along with them.
  6. Less is more. Period.
  7. Don’t have things that move, jitter or shake.  The minute someone gets online they have ADD.  They may have not had it
    before….but now they do.  All it takes is some “pretty little bird”
    for them to take their attention away from your site.  Keep your site
    clean and simple so visitors stay focused on you. Imagine if I was shaking my hand while talking with you.  You would be thinking, “Why does she keep moving her hand” and would not be paying attention to what I was saying.  Same goes for websites.  If something is moving that is where the eye will go.
  8. Make it easy for someone to know where they are in your website.
  9. Create several easy ways for a visitor to connect with you.  Phone number and email link on all pages and a contact us button are a couple of suggestions.
  10. Testimonials are your best friends! Make a point to get them and add them to your website.  Have testimonials appear on every page.  You can easily add audio testimonials with this tool.
  11. Automate your website – if you collect a name and email address, have an automated system to follow up with them.
  12. Update your content FREQUENTLY.  We make all our client’s pages updateable. Meaning, they don’t need any special software or a developer to make changes to their content.  Search engines love fresh content so be sure to update often.
  13. Add audio and/or video to your website.  This helps you connect with your visitor’s.  It is personal and entertaining.

I hope you find this review helpful.  There are about 37 things I look for when reviewing a website.  If you were able to make it past point 3, congratulations.  I invite you to take action on this list.  What additional things would you add?  Find a site that has all of these….please share.

You are invited to an online class for FREE (a $97 value) on how to build Strategies so you can leverage Social Networking to grow your business. http://www.SocialMaximizing.com/socialnetworking

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Category: Website Tips  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  One Comment
21
Jan 2009

What can we expect from this new economy?

Sabrina Gibson
One of the Nation's top financial experts gives advice in this economy

One of the Nation's top financial experts gives advice in this economy

In life we are blessed to meet people who are true “Gurus”.  A guru in my book has always been someone who has mastered one particular area
in life. Yes, you could be a guru of
brushing your teeth. In addition to
mastering this one area, a guru freely shares their knowledge with others who
are seeking information.

For over 15 years, I have known Todd Rustman. He is truly a guru when it comes to financial
matters. In addition, to being a
business owner in 5 totally different successful businesses, he has made a point to get the best training and credentials.
He has an MBA and is a CFA, certified financial analyst, a CFP, a
chartered financial planner, a CSA, a certified senior analyst and a whole
other list of amazing titles. Yes, he actually carries 3 business cards just to list all of his credentials. In 2008 and 2009, Worth’s Magazine listed
Todd as one of the top 100 Wealth Advisors.

I had to ask him about what is happening right now. Here is what Todd has to say for 2009.

What are 3 tips you
would like to share for 2009 with small business owners?

Look at all ways to reduce costs, shore up balance sheets, lending will be coming back but restricted and cautious lending…

  1. Look to reduce/eliminate matches on 401k or other employee
    benefits to lean out costs
  2. Examine balance sheet for ways to increase assets. Take a life insurance appraisal on any key man insurance policies or Buy/Sell term polices—YES- even term polices
    can be valued now and sold.
  3. Any charitable remainder trusts can be bought now too (for a
    premium); and charities can collect early on money owed to them by donors by having our groups buy them out now (instead of waiting for an event to happen with a donor sometime in the future)

What is the biggest lesson you gained from 2008?

Leverage kills; as strange as it sounds. VERY RARELY should someone spend more than they make. It is a simple rule, but still people break
it all the time.

What are resources
you suggest for small business owners?

Perspective is key.
Business cycles come and go. Look at the chart of growth for any business,
stock, investment, real estate, commodity, etc. It is never, ever a straight
line! Bumps and wiggles occur! This is a BIG bump down across all assets,
investments and business- but life goes on while we plan for other things.

Cash Flow is king- protect it. There is value on your balance sheet, all is not lost. Those that come out on the other side of this recession (NOT Depression), shall be so much stronger- be part of that group.

Hope is not a strategy.

Some places you can look to for additional support:

http://www.Gen-Next.org
– Gain a voice/relevance as a business owner with the government through this organization. Be in the “know” and help shape the future and have an impact.

http://www.SettlementPlus.com Mention Todd Rustman to get a free appraisal on your life insurance policies.

What is one thing you
would like to learn this year?

Wisdom to know what things I can change. Learn what I must embrace and then “release” it.

Do you have a free
resource of your own that you would like to give people?

Free, in the end, is worth what you pay for it. 2009 will be the year of collaboration- but everyone must win/win to have scalability and growth. The free resources above look good and give you a 10k foot overview…but in the end, there are costs—which, in perspective, and the net overview- are nothing if value can be achieved. And, if no value is achieved/forecasted, then why go forward? Unless you are the government, a Union , car manufacturer, etc.! LOL

What would you like to learn for 2009? How are you being
impacted by the new economy? Please share your comments.

For 2009, working on flexible, collaborative relationships.
A team approach versus a top-down approach to success. Finding ways to lead by serving others- rather than leading and hoping people will follow. Operation
Simplify is our mantra!

If you want to continue to learn from Guru, Todd Rustman,
please connect with him at http://www.GR-Cam.com
or call him at 800-805-PLAN.

What challenges are you experiencing with the new economy? What are you wanting to learn for 2009?

You are invited to an online class for FREE (a $97 value) on how to build Strategies so you can leverage Social Networking to grow your business. http://www.SocialMaximizing.com/socialnetworking

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Category: Advice from GURUs  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  2 Comments
20
Jan 2009

Create Business Relationships Faster – 4 Simple Tips

Sabrina Gibson
Create Relationships Faster

Create Relationships Faster

If you are going to networking meetings, like most business owners, you probably have stacks of business cards sitting around and on your desk.  Do you realize you are literally sitting on a “gold mine”? For January make it a game to get all your business cards working for you.

Ever go to a networking meeting or been given a referral then put it into a database only to have it just sit there doing nothing? Or maybe you even made the initial contact but the lead really went no where.

It has been proven the average time to take a prospect to a sales is 8 contacts. Most people stop contacting prospects after the 2nd contact. Often times we look to find the instant sale and we miss out on the most important part and that is the relationship. Relationships take time. Once developed the right relationship can be extremely profitable.

When you make the time to continuously follow up with people you meet, you build powerful relationships while quickly finding out which leads are potential clients. More importantly, you get new business and referrals.

4 ways you can create relationships faster with your contacts:

  1. Immediately after meeting someone find as many ways to connect with them.  Within the first 24 hours, send a thank you card, send an email
    thank you and call for a meeting.

  2. Put them in your database and for every action you make with this prospect (a call, an email, direct mail, etc) create another action.

  3. Get creative with what you send.  What would be exciting for you to
    receive?

  4. Focus on 100 people you want to do business with and continuously market to those people. Many times we think we need thousands of people to contact over and over again.  In reality all the business we ever
    would need comes from 100 key contacts.

It takes time and money to go to networking events. Why not maximize your investment by creating a continuous follow up program. The more a contact gets to know you the more likely they will be to send you referrals and send you business. It is not the big things that you do here and there that generate results, it is the consistent things you do everyday that make a difference.

You are invited to an online class for FREE (a $97 value) on how to build Strategies so you can leverage Social Networking to grow your business. http://www.SocialMaximizing.com/socialnetworking

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15
Jan 2009

9 Smart and Sticky Website Tips (Part 7)

Sabrina Gibson
Is Your Website Smart and Sticky?

Is Your Website Smart and Sticky?

How does your website strategy measure up so far?  You have a website, you have a plan, your website has several sticky points, your content is concise and focused on your target market and your pictures tell a great story.  What more could you need?

Imagine this.  You get a phone number for your business.  You never put it on your business card, you never share it with anyone and you don’t publicize it.  How many calls would you get?  ZERO.  In fact, you are back on the “prayer program”.  “Oh please, please, let someone guess my phone number and give me a call.”

The same goes with your website.  What we are really talking about is “Marketing”.  And yes, this is our 4th and final ingredient for a successful website.  Many business owners think “If I build it, they will come”.  Unfortunately, the web is not Hollywood, we are not Kevin Costner and we are no longer in Kansas, Toto.  To get results from your website, we have to market the website so we can get visitors.

It is amazing to me how many business professionals don’t properly market their website.  In fact, many don’t market it at all.  In the next few months, I will give you some simple and basic marketing ideas that are FREE or basically free.

Here are some high level ideas to help you market your website.  Again, I will be sharing how to do each of these in the next few months.  (How is that for stickiness? SMILE)

1.  Make sure your email has your website domain name.  Meaning, if you have www.XYZCompany.com as your website.  Make sure your email is YourName@XYZCompany.com .

2.  Outlook is a great way to pull in your email.  Whatever email manager you are using, be sure to set up your email signature.  This should go out with every email.  This makes it easy for people to get a hold of you.  Here is a good format (with an example):

Your Name, Your Title (Sabrina Gibson, CEO)
Your Company Name (Smart and Sticky Marketing)
Your Company’s Tagline (“We build the last website you will ever need”)
2-3 Services You Offer (Smart & Sticky Websites – Membership Websites – Marketing Solutions)
Website #1 (www.SmartAndSticky.com)
Blog/Website #2 (www.SabrinaGibsonBlog.com)
Social Network Info (www.Twitter.com/SabrinaGibson)
Your Direct Phone Number (949-293-6821 Direct Line)
You can include your office address (I would only do this if you have clients frequently coming to your office)

3.  Update all of your social networks (e.g. LinkedIn.com, Facebook.com, Plaxo.com, etc.) with your website address.

4.  Put your website address on your business cards, invoices, checks, letterhead, envelopes, return address labels, all voicemails and all marketing materials.

5.  Register your website with Google Analytics so you can track the traffic and activity on your website.

Tip #9  Write a list of all the ways you think you could marketing your website.  Don’t get caught up with how you do it.  Just make the list.  Once the list is done do the things that are the easiest for you and fits your budget.  Make it a priority to include mentioning your website at every opportunity you can.  I simply say “If you get a chance, please feel free to visit my website at www.SmartAndSticky.com” (sometimes I will mention what page I think they would enjoy)

The more you give people your website and the more you make it part of your daily routine, the more traffic you will receive.  In addition, the more times someone hears your web address, the more familiar it will sound to them.

If you are embarrassed or ashamed of giving out your website, then it might be time to give it an overhaul.  Redoing a website or even just adding on to it creates numerous opportunities to share it with everyone you know.

What marketing techniques have you tried?  Which ones worked? Which ones bombed?

You are invited to an online class for FREE (a $97 value) on how to build Strategies so you can leverage Social Networking to grow your business. http://www.SocialMaximizing.com/socialnetworking

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Category: Smart and Sticky Websites  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  2 Comments
14
Jan 2009

9 Smart and Sticky Website Tips (Part 6)

Sabrina Gibson

Computer handshakeIn the last post, we talked about having stickiness in your website.  This means you have some attractive offer that compels a visitor to want to give you their name and email address for the offer.  Before we talk about the 4th and final ingredient of a successful website, let’s talk about other ways to make sure people want to stay at our website.

Did you know that you have approximately 7 seconds to capture a visitor’s interest once they get to your website?  This means you have to IMMEDIATELY grab them.  How do you do this?

First, you want to make sure your website is tuned into the WIIFM.  Yes, What’s In It For Me!  This means you are talking about what you can do for your target market and how you can help them.  If you are talking about how long you have been in business and how many awards you have won, no one cares.  Did you notice that I also said “what you can do for your TARGET MARKET” not any and everyone?

Tip#7 Go back and review your content.  Can you easily tell who your target market is?  Make it easy to understand who you help and how you help them.  Be specific.

Second, look at your pictures.  Do they tell a great story?  Pictures are literally worth a thousand words online.  I went to a site where I saw a bunch of dogs.  Figured the site could be about dog grooming, dog adoption, dog walking, etc.  If the website owner would have put a picture of a dog digging up a yard and the owner standing next to the dog with an awful face with a label, “before” and then put a picture of the owner holding up his hand (like a stop signal) and the dog sitting in front of the owner with a label, “after”.  I could instantly see this was about dog training or dog obedience.

Tip #8 Don’t use pictures for the sake of using pictures.  Use them to tell a story.  Go through your website and see how you can integrate pictures that tell your target market a great story.

Third, every page should have a clear call to action.  Meaning, you are inviting your visitors to take the next step with you.  This might be “Call today for your no obligation review” or “Email us now to find out how you can qualify for a $300 evaluation for FREE”

Finally, less is more.  This means, find the least amount of words to say what you want to say.  A website is NOT a blog.  You should not be writing novels.  A good rule of thumb – content should not take more than a minute to read.  The idea of a website is to tease a visitor enough so that they want to say “Yes….tell me more” or “Yes…I can see how you might be able to help me, let’s talk.

By taking a closer look at what you are saying and who you are saying it to, will help you create clarity with your website.  The more targeted the message, the more results you will get.

The idea is to “keep ‘em coming back again and again” so they eventually buy from you.  If you information overload them right from the beginning, you may lose them forever.  Any online marketing should be done in Sound Bites (Bytes).  Meaning, short and to the point.

In the next post we will talk about how to maximize all the tips so far and you will be given the last tip.  What challenges are you having with your website?  What challenges have you had with other websites?

You are invited to an online class for FREE (a $97 value) on how to build Strategies so you can leverage Social Networking to grow your business. http://www.SocialMaximizing.com/socialnetworking

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Category: Smart and Sticky Websites, Website Tips, sabrina gibson  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  2 Comments
13
Jan 2009

9 Smart and Sticky Website Tips (Part 5)

Sabrina Gibson

Sticky - tongue You have a website. CHECK.  You created a plan, hopefully before you built the website.  CHECK CHECK. Now you want to make it really work for you.  Imagine this, what if you could get 5,000 visitors to your site.  Many companies can easily get that in a month.  For this example, let’s say you get 5,000 visitors in a year.  You offer something for free on your home page in exchange for someone’s name and email address.  Yes, you have a sticky website.  10% of all the visitors leave their information which gives you 500 people in a list.  Let’s say you can convert 2% of the list, or 10 people, into paying clients.  (Don’t get caught up in the HOW right now.)  If your average sale was $1000, then you would generate $10,000 per year in sales from your website.

The benefits of having a sticky website are HUGE.  It is like casting a fishing net with yummy bait.  The fish, your target market, are drawn in and then captured.  Once you have a list, you can market to it for life.  As my friend Eric Lofholm, one of the nation’s top sales trainers, says ”You market to them until they buy or die”.  Now don’t take that literally.  It means you keep marketing to them until they become a client or choose not to be on your list.

The question of the day is…”How can I make my website STICKY?”  Good Question.  Let’s explore some ways you can create a sticky website.

Offer a Free Report
Examples:

  • Top 7 Deadliest Mistakes Athletes Make
  • 3 Ways To Drive Traffic to Your Website
  • 5 Secrets to Building Your Dream Home
  • How to Get Financing in a Down Market – Simple Tips
  • How to Buy a Car for 10% Less Than Sticker Price
  • How to Negotiate for Free Stuff

Offer a Free Audio Download
Examples:

  • 5 Secrets to Buying a New Home
  • Funny Examples on Being a Better Parent
  • Five (2) Minute Interviews of Successful CEOs
  • How to Make Money on the Hottest Trends on the Internet

Offer a Free Video Download
Examples:

  • NEW! Great Corporate Team Building Exercises
  • Easy to Learn _________ Instructions (Piano, Computer, Soccer)
  • The Funniest Pickup Lines in ACTION!
  • How to Talk to Anyone, Any where, Any Time!

Offer a Free Gift
Examples:

  • Free Coffee Travel Mug
  • Free T-Shirt
  • Free Basket of Goodies
  • Free Mother’s Day Basket
  • Free Travel Kit
  • Free Book or A Free Chapter from a Book

Offer A Contest
Examples

  • Register to win a Free IPOD or Palm.  One giveaway each month.
  • Submit the Best Headline and Win $100.
  • Submit the Winning _________ and Win ______.

There are so many ways to create stickiness in your website.  It is amazing how many websites are missing this key piece.

Tip #6 Create a freebie or a way to create stickiness in your website. Build stickiness into your website.

You can see the benefits of having stickiness and being able to increase your list and your revenue opportunity.  What are some incredible sticky offers you have seen?

Next post, we will talk about the 4th and final ingredient for a successful website.  Can you guess what it is?

You are invited to an online class for FREE (a $97 value) on how to build Strategies so you can leverage Social Networking to grow your business. http://www.SocialMaximizing.com/socialnetworking

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Category: Business Marketing, Smart and Sticky Websites, Website Tips, sabrina gibson  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  One Comment
10
Jan 2009

What are you missing? Is this you?

Sabrina Gibson

Bell
This was published in the Washington Post.
A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it
was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes.
During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of
people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three
minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He
slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his
schedule.

A minute later, the
violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and
without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later,
someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his
watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention
was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped
to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued
to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other
children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In
the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a
while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He
collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed
it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist
was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the
most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million
dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out
at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story.
Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the
Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and
priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an
inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we
recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible
conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a
moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the
best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?  We get one chance with each moment, what are you doing with each of your moments?

You are invited to an online class for FREE (a $97 value) on how to build Strategies so you can leverage Social Networking to grow your business. http://www.SocialMaximizing.com/socialnetworking

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Category: Inspirational  Tags: , , , , , , , ,  2 Comments
09
Jan 2009

9 Smart and Sticky Website Tips (Part 4)

Sabrina Gibson

Grab Opportunity Purple Do you have a website or are thinking of getting one?  Many times people think getting a website is a matter of choosing which pages to have, what colors it should be, which pictures to include.  Long gone are the days of informational brochure websites.  Websites can do anything you design them to do.  Meaning, they don’t have to just sit there and look pretty.

If you were to treat your website like a sales assistant or a marketing assist, I would guess you would have to fire it!  Can you imagine if you have a sales assistant or marketing assist in your business and the following situation happened:

(Phone Rings)
Sales Asst:  Hello, thank you for calling XYZ Acme Company, how may I assist you?
Prospect:  Oh I am so interested in your ABC Product can you tell me about it.
Sales Asst:  Oh it can do this and do that.  How does that sound to you?
Prospect:  Great!  How much does it cost?
Sales Asst:  It is affordable for any budget.  How many would you like?
Prospect:  I think I will take 8.
Sales Asst:  Great.  When can I ship them to you?
Prospect:  Today.
Sales Asst:  Would you like to pay with check or credit card?
Prospect:  Credit card….I will call right back with the number.
Sales Asst:  Great.
(Click – both hang up)

What is wrong about this picture?  The Sales Assistant never got the person’s name, phone number or email.  So what happens now?  What happens now is the Sales Assistant is on the “Prayer Program”.  You know, “Please, please – let the prospect call back.”

This is no different with the majority of websites out today.  There is no interactivity.  There is no reason to give your name and email address.  Driving a ton of traffic to your website is only one part of the equation.  The other part is getting people to give their information to you so you can continue to build a relationship with them.

What we are really talking about is “stickiness”.  It is our 3rd ingredient for a successful website.  Stickiness, in my book, is offering something to visitors so they want to give you their name and email address.  They may not be interested right now to buy something but if you keep following up with them you will be there when they are ready to buy.

If you look at basic principles of sales you can see why this is important.  The average number of contacts it takes to take a prospect to a client is 8.  Most people stop at 2.5 contacts.  Most websites stop at 1 (a person visits the website).

Tip #5  Think of things your target market might like to have that has value.  Start making a list.  If you don’t know what to offer, you can ask your top 10% of your clientele and a few of your prospects.  You can put together a simple survey for them to fill out by using www.SurveyMonkey.com – a free online survey system.

In the next post, I will give you some great ideas to create stickiness.  What have you gladly given your email address and name for? Meaning, what did you get for giving your information?

You are invited to an online class for FREE (a $97 value) on how to build Strategies so you can leverage Social Networking to grow your business. http://www.SocialMaximizing.com/socialnetworking

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Category: Business Marketing, Smart and Sticky Websites, Website Tips, sabrina gibson  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  Leave a Comment
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