Chapter 15
Website Sales Function
Is your website making sales?
If your site is like most, probably not. The vast majority of websites do not do a good job converting visitors into happy paying customers. Whether you already have a website or are just starting to think about one, it's important to understand that a website is part of your sales department. Driving traffic to your website, on the other hand, is a function of your marketing department. That's an important distinction. We'll talk about driving traffic later in this book. For now, let's talk about the sales function.
Once your website is discovered by a first-time visitor, the site needs to have a “conversation” with that person. It needs to identify the visitor's problem and how you can solve it. It needs to introduce your products or services and it needs to close the sale. If the site doesn't do these things, it's not doing its job. If you browse around the Internet, you'll find lots of beautiful and well-designed websites, but their good looks don't necessarily mean they convert well. In fact, some of the most basic websites do the best job converting visitors into customers. Why? Because they're so easy to understand.
When planning your website, make sure it answers three simple questions within the first five seconds. Why five seconds? Because that's about how much time you have before a first-time visitor decides whether he or she wants to continue browsing your site or click the “Back” button.
1. Why am I ...
