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: Selling Web Design Services BlogThis is the kind of website every web designer should design
I just signed up with www.carbonite.com, a web-based backup solution. The process meets almost every criteria I can think of for a positive web-based ecommerce service:
- First, I heard about the service from a respected colleague, so I was already predisposed to buy.
- The home page is simple yet glorious. In a single sentence it tells you what the service does and how much it costs. It also offers a free trial — one where they don’t even ask for your credit card. It even offers “unlimited” backups at a low price. I love home pages like this one.
- If you want more info, it is easy to click any of the links to learn more. They have audio clips, animated tutorials, and text.
- The whole thing is simple and focused on a compelling value proposition — save your files for only $5 per month.
- My experience so far has been excellent. It was easy to get started and the system is doing what it said it would do. There were no download issues. Everything was easy.
I hope you are designed websites that convey what your clients (or you) offer in the same simple, elegant, powerful way as …
Don’t read your prospect’s mind
Here is an interesting observation:
Many times, prospects call me and ask me if my programs do X or Y (i.e., in the case of my Boxing Fitness site, do I provide Continuing Education Units? Or, is my Certification accepted in gyms in Great Britain). Usually the answer is “no,” so when I get these questions, I cringe. I fear I’m not going to get the sale.
But I just answer honestly, without trying to sell, and a funny thing happens:
Many people sign up any way!
The same thing happens when I sell larger projects. People ask tough questions about services I may not offer, or ask if I can reduce my price, and the correct answer is “no.” So I say, “Sorry, but no.” And people often buy any way.
So don’t assume that because someone is getting a negative answer that they won’t buy. Don’t assume that they need that feature. Just stand your ground and answer honestly. People respect that, and often still buy. Sometimes they just want to know.
There are other examples of reading the prospect’s mind that can get you into trouble. If you assume that a prospect wants a certain feature and build that into your proposal, …
The benefits of sticking to it
Today a client of mine emailed me with great news. He is starting to see results from the last 6 months of his marketing efforts. For instance, his sales pipeline is heating up thanks to an educational letter and follow up campaign we worked on — including 2 recently closed deals. He just spoke at an association that serves his target market and landed a client and a lead that way. Plus he is actively getting referrals from his existing customers, which now number about 70.
But 4-5 months ago, things didn’t look so rosey. It is only thanks to a consistent, focused commitment to marketing that he has achieved these results.
While you can see instant results by marketing, it takes time and persistence to build momentum.
Hopefully you have a plan and are sticking to it. Don’t get frustrated. Results come to those who persist.
Some positive thinking guru used to tell the story of a bunch of gold diggers who dug a big hole looking for gold and eventually gave up. Then someone else claimed the land and found a huge supply of gold after digging only one foot more. Keep digging!
Suggested guidelines for responding to RFPs
A former client sent me a request for proposals (RFP) the other day. I don’t know about you, but I cringe when I receive RFPs. I rarely win RFPs, for the following reasons:
- Generally firms send out RFPs even if they already have a preferred candidate in mind. They do so to appear fair and efficient to procurement or oversight bodies.
- Often the preferred candidate works with the firm to design the RFP, which makes my odds even lower (unless I am that preferred candidate).
- Sometimes firms issue an RFP when they have no intention of moving forward, but just want to collect some information.
- If I don’t have an established relationship with the decision-makers, my odds of winning are low — even lower than one divided by the number of vendors who respond.
- People generally hire me sole source, because they see my work or hear about me from trusted colleagues. So it is not worth the time to complete RFPs.
But now here is an RFP from a former client. Of course, that raises a red flag right there. My primary relationship with this client was with executives who have left the organization. So once again, I have some …
The sales funnel
Today’s post covers a basic principle in sales, but one that is always worth a refresher.
The “sales funnel” is a nice image for conveying the overall marketing and sales process. Imagine a funnel, with a wide top and a narrow bottom.
Your overall target market represents the top of the funnel.
Then gradually the funnel narrows as you have suspects, prospects (at various stages of hiring you), clients, and repeat clients.
The trick to an effective sales funnel is having it as wide as possible at all stages.
For instance, I get all sorts of inquiries thanks to my various websites. However, given the impersonal nature of the Internet, not all of these inquiries are serious. For instance, just last week the Training Director of a Fortune 500 cosmetics company contacted me to provide coaching to some of their top stars. I don’t have any previous relationships with this company, don’t know much about cosmetics sales (okay, I don’t know anyting about cosmetics sales), and am one of dozens of people the company is considering. So my odds of getting hired are relatively low. As a result, I need to have lots of inquiries like this coming my way to convert some …
The importance of non-judgment and non-attachment in sales and entrepreneurship
The last blog post talked about the importance of failure.
There are two mindsets that makes failure acceptable and bearable, and they are non-judgment and non-attachment.
Both of these mindsets mean that you can go all out to get your business going, or to make a sale — but you stay a bit detached. You don’t judge yourself. You don’t take things personally. You don’t wrap your ego up in how things go, and instead drive to the outcome.
If things work out, great! If they don’t, you observe what happened, learn, make adjustments, and try again.
Many people misinterpret non-attachment to mean that one is passive. That’s not the case. You still move forward powerfully and with full intent. You still give it your all. But you don’t add the junk that so many people add — like tying your sense of personal worth to your success or failure.
A friend and business partner and I recently invested lots of money in a business that didn’t quite work out. I mourned it for a while, and then moved on. He is still kicking himself about the result. What’s the point?
There is a Zen story about two monks crossing a river, when they meet …
The absolute importance of failure
A recent post to a blog entry asked about failure and what to do if you have never failed.
I have to confess that I am one of the biggest failures you will ever meet. And that’s a good thing from my point of view.
4 out of 5 businesses or ideas I have fail. (But 1 out of 5 do great; and I’ve learned how to test ideas at low cost).
I’ve failed trying to climb the corporate ladder — at at least four decent-sized companies. And I’ve failed as an employee in a variety of smaller ventures. I’ve been laid off once and fired another time. (But these failures have given me the confidence and desire to go out on my own).
I’ve failed in working with 2 out of 3 business partners. (But the 1 that has worked out has been fabulous!)
One out of 4 clients don’t continue to work with me. (But 3 out of 4 are intensely loyal!)
The vast majority of people who see me speak, read my articles and blogs, receive a direct mail letter, or see an online ad for my programs don’t respond. (But I learn from this and keep testing and improving to increase response).
Get …
Be honest — do you have the intensity required to be self-employed?
A colleague of mine had an interesting experience recently.
She is a stay-at-home mom with an online business. With all of her responsibilities, she was devoting maybe a day a week to her business. But she thought she was doing what it took to run a business. In fact, she loved to boast about her business and how exciting it all was. She spent more time playing tennis than on her business.
Her goal has been to get the business up to $250,000 in revenues, and it isn’t even close.
Well, recently, she got some tough coaching about the fact that there is a difference between wanting to have a successful business and actually doing what it takes to have a successful business. In her case, she has a great foundation to build her business, but need to find a way to put in the time. Her competitors are working full time or more on their businesses, so for her to have her business do well, she needs to do the same.
As it happens, she applied for and recently won a contest recently with a major company. The company is giving her business publicity, a free redesign of her website, and some consulting.
Now, …
How to know which ideas to pursue
A Sitepoint reader emailed me with an interesting question. He comes up with all sorts of great ideas and wants to know how to figure out which to pursue.
It’s an important question since we have limited time and money.
Here’s some advice:
1. If the idea is really good, you can find an angel to invest in it. By asking an angel for help, you vette your idea to see if it really is good and also build leverage to do more ideas.
2. Or, you can find sponsors to pay for the idea in exchange for advertising. Some book publishers write compilations by various experts and charge those experts up front for the books to be produced. The experts write a chapter of the book. So the publisher puts out no money, gets a great book, and the experts are happy because they get to be in a book. With a website, I know a company that gets sponsors before launching a site — at a charter rate of course.
3. There are only two types of ideas: Good ones and bad ones. The smartest businesspeople sort their ideas into those piles. Then, for the good ones, figure out which one can …
Aaah, the wonders of a clean desk
It is the little things that count.
I’m a slob when it comes to my office. Today, after two months of accumulated bills and documents, I cleaned my desk. Now it is clean, and the difference is remarkable.
Today was one of my most productive days. Plus, it felt serene.
Clean you desk! It might not get you more clients, but it will sure help you do better work for the clients you have.
Some say that success is all about taking care of the little things. Cleaning your desk is one of those. They don’t teach it at the business schools, and it may appear to be a stupid and trite piece of advice — but it sure worked for me today.
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