Of course, its common sense and we all know that clever
websites with the best websites designed on being focused on being a sales
machine can help with on boarding prospects needs, but better than sales
people?
How the best sales people on board prospects
It is fair to say in fact that in a one-to-one challenge, an
excellent sales person can possibly outsell most websites at a quicker
conversion time. What I’m saying is that given both methods to on board a
prospect, an excellent sales person will no doubt move a prospect through the
sales process further through the sales funnel, and possibly quicker than the
website too!
A sales person will spend quality time learning about
meeting the needs of prospects so that they move to the next stage of the
funnel. Sales people are laser sharp and look for the quickest way to help the
prospect move to the next stage.
The sales challenge verses ecommerce website design strategy
However, if you have a very good ecommerce website design
strategy that can move prospects through the sales funnel, then a good website
can beat many excellent sales people. Why is this? Well a good ecommerce website
that has been tested and brings in good leads on a regular basis just needs
help in systematically getting more prospects to the website. Once this is
done, a website will systematically take a whole lot more prospects (and
decision makers) through a sales funnel then a sales person that is doing this
one-at-a-time.
Let’s look at some numbers, which I’ve made up. Let’s say
the excellent sales person has 300 prospects every month at stage one in the
sales funnel and there are five stages to an order. Consistently they have
twenty prospects who reach stage four ready to order each month. This includes
being flat out with talk time, admin like emails, answering queries, objection
handling et cetera.
Now the website that is also a smooth running function can
take prospects through the funnel, either with one prospect or a million. Yes,
but the website is not proactive in any way you may say. Yes, you may also
point out that the website is likely to be much slower at moving prospects
through the sales funnel. But if you feed it prospects, a good website will
give out a greater output. What are the chances of the website handling 10,000
prospects as well as 500? You’re right; the website will do this mechanically
over-and-over again just as efficiently and effectively.
If we were to say to the excellent sales person to take on
say another 100 prospects, so 33% more, oddly enough the conversion of
prospects to being on board may reduce. This is due to a number of
factors such as: quality of talk time being less with prospects, not answering
to queries quick enough, or being too brief, and so on.
A good website designed to be a sales machine is a long term
investment
It takes time to create a good website that takes people
through a sales process. You might say ‘well I don’t have time to put into it.
I just want one to put up on the web and it is done with'. In that case is it
worth it?
Here is my answer: “By the way, doesn’t it take months or
years for sales people to get used to your industry, prospects, customers, and
competitors to move prospects through the sales funnel?” What’s to say that a
website can be developed and launched first time round and generate results? Or
even second or third time around?
Yep, you guessed it. You will have to keep investing time
every week in understanding and fine tuning your website until it is a good
website designed to be a sales machine. That means a bit more work than creating
one that looks really cool; uploading it and then telling prospects you have a
website. Just like sales people, a website has to try new ideas and change the
presentation.
Latent needs
A latent need is a need we have but not seen as important.
Good sales people are able to help prospects see that they have a need or
problem and make a decision to take action.
Again, the best websites designed as a sales machine can do
this too. See “How to generate more leads for my business” article. This is
where a good website can help a prospect consider their latent needs. I have at
times seen it where people have taken it as far as possible with a prospect and
passed the lead to another sales person because the other sales person just
hits it off better, or plays “good cop-bad cop” to try and re-motivate the
prospect to have another go through the sales funnel. This is what a website
can do. Be the other sales person that hits it off with the prospect.
Top-of-mind-awareness
In advertising this is one of the Holy Grail’s of marketing
– for the customer to keep your brand in mind when they are ready to buy.
That’s why big brands spend millions advertising everywhere possible whether
it’s on television, or at the cinema, or on radio, newspaper, online and so on.
With a targeted website, your website is both an advert and
sales funnel vehicle. Adverts gain interest or trigger latent needs. Your
website can do this with the right information initially. Then as the prospect
keeps coming back, you can use tactics to move them through the sales funnel,
automating the sales process.
You still need sales people to close deals.
That’s not to say that you won’t need sales people anymore.
Excellent sales people are still the difference between some businesses. People
still buy from people. People still need to speak to people about queries and
have a human touch.
You might even find in a funny way that a good website is
generating enough good leads that you might even need more excellent sales
people. If your company does better because of the website and additional sales
person, then this can only be good in the long run.
So invest in the best website designed as a sales machine
with content that takes prospects through the sales funnel to gain more orders
over the long run.
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