We get plenty of emails from those who genuinely believe
that you can't start an Internet business to sell a site - that it must require
a completely different approach from selling something online. They think they
should use a completely different group of tools and techniques - that their
website design is likely to be dramatically different... and that to drive
visitors for their sites, they'll need to make use of some strange, newfangled
strategies.
This simply isn't the case!
You CAN market your service online in the same way easily as
marketing a product. Really the only difference between starting an Internet
business to sell a service versus something on the Internet is your focus:
Whenever you sell an actual product, every aspect of your
site design and salescopy centers on how the item will probably solve
visitors'needs and benefit them.
Once you sell a site on the Web, the focus is on what YOU
will solve visitors'needs and benefit them.
Those challenges aside, anything else may be the same. Here
are some simple strategies you can use to begin an Internet business and
see it here overcome the unique challenges of marketing an on line service business... so
you may get MORE online leads!
Challenge #1: You ARE the merchandise
Once you sell a service, you ARE the merchandise, whether
you're a property agent... doctor... lawyer... bed and breakfast owner... auto
mechanic... caterer... hair stylist... fitness trainer... accountant...
investment advisor... childcare provider... housekeeper... dog walker...
landscaper... whatever!
You're selling your time with the promise of a specific
result, instead of selling a tangible product.
Solution: Concentrate on Credibility
Establishing your credibility - essentially establishing
your value - is important to closing the sale when marketing your service to
have online leads. Not just do you really need to establish the advantages of
the service you're offering, you need to determine the value of YOU providing
this service.
You will find various ways you can accomplish this...
Add 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 specialist
image to associate you with will go a long way to establishing your
credibility.
Provide your credentials. Ensure you state precisely how
each of your credentials is going to translate right into a BENEFIT for your
clients. As an example, if you are a real estate agent with certification in
housing inspection, then you definitely shouldn't just tell your visitors
" I'm an avowed housing inspector." You should tell them: "Not
only will I find a very good home in the very best place for you and your
household, as a certified housing inspector, I can give you a precise
assessment of the home's structural soundness and let you know about any
potential problems to ensure you avoid getting stuck with costly repairs in the
years into the future!"
Challenge #2: Prove your ability to supply measurable
results, while emphasizing flexibility
People will want to see proof that you've delivered great
results for other clients, but they'll also wish to know that you're flexible
enough to generally meet their very own unique needs.
Solution: Show the method that you satisfied past clients
with mixed needs
Be sure that you keep confidential client information
confidential, while:
Proving that you've satisfied the needs of other clients
like them with great results. There are always a few other ways to complete
this. Including testimonials from satisfied clients is one. And including an on
the web portfolio of your projects is another (e.g., landscapers might include
pictures of well-manicured properties they designed and maintain). Just make
fully sure your salescopy provides a detailed breakdown of the services you
provide, with the benefits you offer clearly explained. Would you offer exactly
the same services as similar service providers? More? Less? What makes you
different from your competitors? Do you specialize in anything? What sort of
guarantee can you offer? How will your services be delivered? These details are
one of the very critical areas of your site.
Demonstrating your power to customize your service to meet
up their personal, unique needs. As stated earlier, people won't only wish to
see proof that you've delivered great results for other clients, they may wish
to know you're ready to customize your service to meet their needs. So here, again,
thorough salescopy that clearly explains how you're prepared to customize your
services is likely to be very important. Do your clients typically fall into
several different categories? Is it possible to talk about each group, and
explain the manner in which you adapt and change to meet their individual
needs?
Challenge #3: You're using a global medium to attract local
business
Frequently, service-based businesses rely on local clients.
Sure, the owner of a sleep and breakfast in Seattle might be thrilled to be
attracting online leads from Australia's Gold Coast... but may be the
landscaper in Seattle likely to be equally receptive to securing a regular
hedge-trimming and lawn-mowing client from Australia? Probably not.
Solution: Actively pursue sources of local traffic
Virtually all the traffic techniques used to drive visitors
to product-based Internet business sites may also be applied to service-based
sites. But here certainly are a few techniques which are useful if you want
local traffic...
Network with other local businesses. If you like local
traffic, start making personal connections with other local business owners - preferably
those with sites of the own. Look for methods to position your service and your
website as a source for their customers, and then request a link on the site or
get permission to leave your company cards (printed along with your URL, of
course!) in their lobby or next with their cash register.
Get your website listed in local online directories. There
are many of local online directories that list only two or three businesses in
categories that needs to be quite popular. With consumers becoming convenient
trying to find information online, it only is sensible that they're embracing
these local directories (to hire local services!) with increasing frequency.
Why don't you make the most of the truth that few businesses are pursuing this
valuable supply of traffic? Research local online directories locally and
request a listing!
Once you've wrapped your mind around these challenges, the
rest must be easy. Every one of the other strategies to start and successfully
market an Internet business are exactly the same: creating compelling
salescopy... generating qualified traffic... designing a web site that sells...
these could all be transferred directly to a service-based website.
Of course there IS one other challenge that's unique to
selling a site online (or off): your own time is limited!
You will find only so several hours in one day you can
devote to fulfilling the needs of your clients. When you've reached a maximum
client load, you might want to take into account alternative methods of
expanding your business... whether it's creating partnerships with other
service providers, writing and selling an eBook on a topic highly relevant to your
industry... as well as recommending other businesses'products being an
affiliate.
Meanwhile, start an Internet business to dramatically
increase the internet leads you attract, the deals you close, and your overall
online service income!
