Building the Sales Relationship One Web Page at a Time
I'm frequently reminded how similar selling is to dating and not in a metaphorical way. They both are primarily about wanting to build genuine and long-lasting relationships. The main difference is one is personal, and the other is professional. Relationships take time, especially the good ones or those requiring a more significant financial or emotional investment. Unfortunately, too many professionals try and rush the sales process and then struggle to understand why they can't keep their customers.
And the answer is simple: any good relationship takes time to build. And creating long-lasting relationships with your ideal client is no different. Your website plays a crucial role in building a relationship with your ideal client because chances are they're looking at your site long before they ever contact you.
Your business's website is much like an online dating profile, and your potential clients are researching you before they make a call or book an appointment. According to Gartner, leading experts in the world of sales insights, our potential clients have less and less time to speak with us as part of their sales selection process. In fact, their number one sales activity is independent online research, which is 27% of their buying activity compared to only 17% of their time spent meeting with vendors. And if they meet with multiple vendors, your time with a potential client could be as little as 5%. So your website needs to be more than good if you want to win the business over your competition.
For many potential customers, your homepage is their first glimpse into your business. . This is where they quickly assess, "is this business worth my time? Can they help ME?" So please, don't make the story about YOU! It's no different than going on a first date and having the person across the table talk about themselves all night. Chances are there wouldn't be a date #2, so don't make the same mistake with your website. They'll get to learning about you when they're ready. But first, it has to be about them.
The goal of your homepage is to CONNECT. It is NOT meant to sell. Most likely, your product or service requires education and costs more than a pack of gum, so the simple fact is, you're not going to make a sale on the first website visit. So please stop trying. Your homepage should offer compelling enough information to keep visitors around wanting to learn more. And the more costly your items are or education is needed, the more time you need to build that relationship.
Key Places To Focus On
Your homepage's one-liner is the first glimpse site visitors have into what you do and the problems you solve, so it must be clear and descriptive on who you help and how you make their lives better. Unfortunately, too many website one-liners are vague and fail to be as direct as they should be. Remember, you have 3-5 seconds to capture a website visitor's attention, so that one-liner needs to be to the point and not cause any confusion.
Another area many business websites fail to connect is they don't talk about the success past clients experience by purchasing their product or service. Visitors are on your page because they have a problem, and they think you might have a solution. This is your opportunity to demonstrate how your product or service has solved the problems of similar clients. Detail the past success clients have experienced and use client testimonials to reemphasize how you help make people's lives better. Many buying decisions are based on social proof, so don't miss the chance to include feedback from past satisfied customers.
If they like what they see and want to learn more, potential customers will probably visit your website multiple times. However, you never know when they will be ready to move forward in their buying decision, so it's critical to have a clear Call to Action (CTA) throughout your website. We like CTAs that are direct and aren't trying to be clever. Clever can confuse, and we don't want to confuse potential customers when they have decided to take the relationship to the next level.
For the past several years, the B2B buying experience has become more digital with an increased focus on online research and learning, and the pandemic has only sped up this trend. If you want to attract your ideal customer and build a lasting buying relationship, you need a solid digital presence, which begins with a compelling website.
Think of your website's homepage as your online dating profile. Is it designed to answer your ideal client's biggest questions quickly? Or is your homepage more focused on you and your business? If you're hoping to move the relationship forward, don't be the person sitting at the table only talking about yourself.
