The best and most successful sales people today are those that go far beyond a good pitch. They are the ones that know their market and their products inside and out. More importantly, they speak to a customer's main question: "What's in it for me?" Many times, though, your website is the first "sales person" a potential customer will encounter. Below are four tactics that your website can employ to help make your website a highly effective, 24-7 sales channel.
1. Be an industry expert.
Great sales people know their industry like the back of their hand. Simply put: Expertise sells! Buyers want to know that you have the knowledge and skills necessary to solve their problems. Your website should demonstrate this knowledge. In addition to detailed technical information about your products/services, your website should offer articles, tips and tricks, and FAQs showcasing your knowledge of the markets you serve. This will give buyers confidence that they are dealing with the right people.
2. Know your products (a.k.a. talk shop).
As with industry knowledge, deep product knowledge is core to successful sales. Skip the "pitch" and focus on the meat of the matter on your website: Include detailed product information and key dimensional data, as well as industry standard specifications that apply, and/or a rich description of service capabilities. Other meaningful information would include CAD models, machines you have on site, tolerances you can hold, quality assurances practices you follow, production volumes you can support, etc. Buyers are going to have questions—lots of questions—and you need to prove that you can answer them.
3. Respect your customers' time.
According to Harvard Business Review, the best sales people are those that spend the most time researching customers' specific needs. An effective sales website is the reverse—it allows customers who are researching you to find all the information they need. Easy navigation is key. Every page should have consistent navigation menus. The most important information (technical details) should be reachable within a click or two of any given page. Product catalogs, where applicable, should be in HTML format. Internal search functionality provides a major convenience for most buyers. Buyers don't want to spend hours browsing your site to find what they need. The easier you can make it for them to find something, the more likely you are to be considered for a purchase.
4. Understand the buying process.
Sometimes a purchase has to pass through many hands before being approved. Top sales people know that some of those hands will want to know the business implications of working with you. For your website, that means presenting cost-related information, including ROI scenarios. Customer testimonials and case studies are also important. For most industrial buyers, the buying process cycles between technical matters and matters of reputation, trust and reliability. They will want to see all of those considerations addressed on your website.
"Top sales people are able to connect a customer's issues to the value his/her solutions can deliver," says Gerry Waller, national director of sales development at Thomas Industrial Network. "For a website to be a top sales contributor, it needs to establish value in the mind of every person that visits the site." Industrial manufacturers can benefit greatly and grow their business by thinking of their website as the first "sales person" prospective customers will encounter. Given that, it is imperative that you apply the same tactics as today's most successful sales personnel to your website.
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