Selling Product on the Web
Want To Sell A Service On The Web?... Want Hundreds Of Leads Lined Up At Your Door?... Use These Simple Strategies To Easily Turn Challenges To Your Advantage
And Outsell Your Competitors!
I’ve noticed that,
lately, I’ve been receiving a lot of questions from those of you
selling a service (or thinking about selling a service) over the
Web, asking what you need to do differently than those people
marketing a physical product.
It’s a good question.
Because while almost ALL of the selling and traffic generation
techniques I teach work equally well for both product and service-based
business models, there are a few unique challenges faced by those
selling services that warrant special discussion…
| Challenge
#1: |
You
ARE the product! |
When you sell a service,
you ARE the product, whether you’re a Real Estate Agent… Doctor…
Lawyer… Bed & Breakfast Owner… Auto-mechanic… Caterer… Hair
Stylist… Fitness Trainer… Accountant… Investment Advisor… Childcare
Provider… Housekeeper… Dog Walker… Landscaper… or whatever!
You’re selling your
time with the promise of a particular result as opposed to a tangible
product.
| Challenge
#2: |
Your
time is limited! |
Unlike someone
selling a physical product that can be stored and shipped on demand,
you can only provide as many services as your time allows. And
assuming you pause to sleep and eat like the rest of us, this
means you are limited to an 8-hour day. (Okay, 12 to 16 hour days
if you love your work as much as I do!)
| Challenge
#3: |
You
must prove your ability to deliver measurable results, while
emphasizing flexibility. |
People will want to
see proof that you’ve delivered great results for other clients,
but they will also want to know that you are flexible enough to
meet their own unique needs.
So you must walk a
fine line, making sure that you keep confidential client information
confidential, while (a) proving that you’ve satisfied the needs
of other clients like them with great results AND (b) demonstrating
your ability to customize your service to meet their personal,
unique needs.
| Challenge
#4: |
You’re
using a "global" medium to attract "local"
business. |
Frequently, service-based
businesses rely on local clients. Sure, the owner of a bed &
breakfast in Seattle, Washington may be thrilled to be attracting
clients from Australia’s Gold Coast… But is the landscaper in
Seattle going to be equally receptive to securing a weekly hedge
trimming and lawn-mowing client from Australia? Probably not.
So service-based
sites that rely on local customers need to actively pursue sources
of local traffic.
Traffic Techniques, Web Design Tips, &
Sales Copy
Strategies For Selling A Service On The Web...
| Strategy
#1: |
Establish
Your Credibility! |
When you sell
a service, you are typically selling a relationship with yourself.
And this requires that you spend more time and effort establishing
your credibility and developing a rapport with your visitors than
is typically required on a site selling a physical product.
For example,
a site that sells a product like gift baskets might include some
brief "About Us" information that gives details about
who the web site owners are, why they started their business,
and how long they’ve been online. However, the majority of the
web site would focus on establishing the value of the actual
product – the gift baskets – and providing detailed information
about guarantees, delivery procedures, etc…
Including
reams of misplaced information about the web site owners could
actually hurt sales more than help because, in this case, visitors’
chief focus should be directed to the value of the product.
When you’re
selling a service, however, you ARE the product. So establishing
your credibility – essentially establishing your value – is critical
to closing the sale. You need to not only establish the benefits
of the service you’re offering, you need to establish the
value of YOU providing this service.
There are
a few different ways you can accomplish this…
| A. |
Include
a good, professional picture of yourself. |
And no,
the picture of you in your Hawaiian-print shorts and "Kiss
the Chef" hat from last year’s summer barbecue won’t do.
Giving your visitors a professional image to associate you with
will go a long way to establishing your credibility.
| B. |
Provide
a list of your credentials. |
However,
don’t just give point after point of accomplishments; be sure
to state exactly how each of your credentials is going to translate
into a benefit for your clients. Don’t make the critical
mistake of assuming that visitors to your site can make this
leap on their own. Clearly spell out the benefits you offer
in your sales copy.
For example,
if you are a real estate agent with certification in housing
inspection, then you shouldn't just tell your visitors "I’m
a certified housing inspector." You should tell them:
"Not only can I find the best home in the best location
for you and your family, as a certified housing inspector,
I can give you an accurate assessment of the home’s structural
soundness and let you know about any potential problems to
make sure you avoid getting stuck with costly repairs in the
years to come!"
Doesn’t
that sound better than, "I’m a certified housing inspector"?
Make the benefit obvious!
| C.
|
Provide
evidence that other clients have been satisfied with your
services. |
Depending
on the nature of the service you provide, you may choose to
do this in a few different ways. Testimonials from clients are
a great way to establish your credibility. An online portfolio
of your work might be another option (e.g. landscapers might
include pictures of well-manicured properties they designed
and maintain).
However,
if the confidentiality of your clients is important, then you
may need to approach this a bit differently by including more
general descriptions of problems you’ve encountered and steps
you've taken to solve them, with no names or clues that could
give away identities.
If privacy
is important to your clients, then visitors to your site should
be able to understand why you can’t reveal names and exact details.
But again, don’t assume they'll know! Explain!
| Strategy
#2: |
Be
Specific About What Exactly You’re Offering! |
We’ve already
talked a bit about this, but this is such a common mistake
I see web site owners making – whether they sell a service OR
a product – that I think it warrants further explanation.
You can never
assume that providing information about what you’ve done for other
clients will enable visitors to your site to make that leap and
picture what you’ll be able to do for their businesses.
You need to be very, very specific about what, exactly, you’re
offering:
- Look
at other similar service providers… Do you offer the same
services? More? Less? What makes you different from your competitors?
- Do you
specialize in anything?
- What
kind of guarantee do you offer?
- How will
your services be delivered?
Too often,
web site owners fail to provide their visitors with enough information.
Sales copy with a detailed breakdown of the services you provide,
with the benefits you offer clearly explained, will be one of
the most critical aspects of your site.
| Strategy
#3: |
Demonstrate
Flexibility! |
As I mentioned
earlier, people will not only want to see proof that you’ve delivered
great results for other clients, they will want to know that you
are prepared to customize your service to meet their own unique
needs.
So here, again,
thorough sales copy that clearly explains how you’re willing to
customize your services will be very important. Do your
clients typically fall into a few different categories? Can you
talk about each group, and explain how you adapt and change to
meet their individual needs?
For example,
in a recent site review we did in the "Secrets
To Their Success" Private Web Site, we recommended that
the web site owner of a martial arts school break his sales copy
down from his existing summary description of his classes into
more detailed copy that explains the key differences between his
child, teen, and adult classes.
We showed
him how, by focusing on these client groups separately, he could
more closely target their unique needs (and therefore attract
more customers!) by emphasizing the benefits that apply directly
to each.
| Strategy
#4: |
Make
It Easy For Leads To Contact You! |
Here’s another
obvious one. But I bring it up because I’m continually shocked
by how difficult some sites make it for visitors to contact them.
If you’re selling a service over the Web, then you are generating
leads – your goal is to compel visitors to contact you.
But just as
someone selling a product over the Web needs to make a seamless
transition between their sales copy and their order form, you
need to make a seamless transition between your sales copy and
the point of contact.
Make it easy
for your visitors to contact you!
Provide an
online form… your e-mail address… your phone number… your fax
number… your physical mailing address… and any other relevant
information (like the best times to call you). And make sure
this information is highly visible and easily accessible from
every page of your web site.
Why not invite
a few honest friends to check out your site and time them to see
how long it takes for them to find your contact information? What’s
obvious to you may NOT be obvious to the rest of the world.
| Strategy
#5: |
Network
& Get Listed In Local Directories! |
As I mentioned
earlier, if you’re selling a service, then the location of your
clients is frequently important. So while almost all of the traffic
techniques used to drive visitors to product-based sites can be
applied to service-based sites, I would like to mention a few
techniques that those of you who need "local" traffic
will find useful…
Traffic
Tip #1 – Network with other local businesses.
If you want
local traffic, start making personal connections with other
local business owners – preferably those with sites of their
own. Look for ways to position your service and your web site
as a resource to their customers, and then request a link on
their site or get permission to leave your business cards (printed
with your URL, of course!) in their lobby or next to their cash
register.
Even consider
rewarding local business owners for sending traffic and leads
your way by offering them a special gift, a discount off your
service, or even a portion of the profits.
Traffic
Tip #2 – Get your site listed in local online directories.
Here’s a
severely neglected source of traffic for any local business
– whether you sell a product or a service. There are plenty
of local online directories that list only 2 or 3 businesses
in categories that should be quite popular. With consumers becoming
more comfortable searching for information online, it only makes
sense that they’re turning to these local directories (to hire
local services!) with increasing frequency.
Why not
take advantage of the fact that few businesses are pursuing
this valuable source of traffic? Look up local online directories
in your area and request a listing!
Traffic
Tip #3 – Take advantage of sites like eLance.com.
Depending on the type of service you offer, professional services
marketplaces like eLance.com
and FreeLance.com
may be a great source of clients and leads. Post your qualifications
and bid on posted jobs, using your web site to help "close
the deal" once you've entered into a one-on-one discussion
with a potential client.
| Strategy
#6: |
Encourage
Referrals & Repeat Customers! |
Here's another
technique you should be using, no matter whether you're selling
a product or service. Always, always, always follow up with existing
clients! Are they happy with the job you did for them? Is there
anything else you can do for them? Do they know anyone else who
might benefit from your service? E-mail has made following up
with your existing clients extremely easy and cost-effective,
so there is no excuse for not taking advantage of this source
of easy extra income!
Don't be afraid
to remind previous customers that you're there. And don't be afraid
to ask for referrals. If you've done a good job for someone, they'll
likely be more than happy to refer their friends and business
associates to you. But if you don't ask, they'll rarely think
to do it! Don't leave this to chance.
| Quick
Tip: Don’t forget that while you may sell a service as
your main revenue stream, you may also supplement your income
by offering products that are complementary to your service
through your web site. |
Final
Thoughts:
I get a lot
of e-mail from people who think that selling a service over the
Web must require an entirely different approach than selling a
product. They think they will need to use an entirely different
set of tools and techniques... that their web site design will
be dramatically different... and that to drive visitors to their
sites, they'll need to use some strange, newfangled strategies.
This simply isn't the case.
The only real
difference between selling a service versus a product over the
Web is your focus:
When you
sell a physical product, every aspect of your site design and
sales copy focuses on how the product is going to solve
visitors' needs and benefit them.
When you
sell a service over the Web, the focus is on how YOU are
going to solve visitors' needs and benefit them.
Once you've
wrapped your head around this concept, everything else should
fall into place. Sales copy strategies... traffic generation techniques...
web site design strategies... all of the techniques and strategies
I teach can be transferred directly to a service-based web site
to dramatically increase the leads you attract, the deals you
close, and your overall online income!
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