Landscape Management Magazine February 2013 – Written by Lawn Care Marketing Expert
Your website is your most important salesman. In fact, making sales is the ONLY reason to have a website. Here are 6 great ways to give your website the sales tools it needs to Always Be Closing…
Professional Design – Hopefully, no one reading this would ever let a member of their team show up at prospective client’s home or business wearing cutoff jeans, flip flops or a tank top. Like it or not our image projects an idea of how we operate. If your website looks sloppy, hard to use, or is just a glorified business card. It says something about your business. Make it professional and project the image you want to want to portray in your market.
Certifications, Licenses, Awards, Memberships – In a sense every salesman presents a resume of qualifications to a prospect. Letting the world know that your business is licensed, insured, a member of important trade organizations and even an award winner shows that you are serious about how you do business and that you strive to be (or are) the leader in your industry. Companies that aren’t in it for the long haul, don’t go to the trouble.
A Strong Guarantee – Giving a salesman the ability to guarantee your work is the ultimate counter to any objection a consumer would have to using your services. If you currently don’t advertise a guarantee, are you not going to fix a job when a client is unhappy? If you are, then you already have a guarantee. The only thing you’re not doing is telling people that you have a guarantee. Advertise it. Make it public. Let people know that they’re not going to make a bad decision if they choose you. They’re going to be happy with your service, no matter what.
Public Recognition in Local Newspaper, TV or other Media – Salesmen selling services for popular or publicly recognizes companies have an easier time selling and can charge a premium for their services. Maybe you’ve been featured on the local news or other media; this recognition adds a lot of credibility to your business. It lets people know that you have a reputation, your trusted and the leader in your market.
Positive Reviews & Testimonials from Lots of Satisfied Customers – 72% of consumers said that online reviews are as trustworthy as personal recommendations. 52% of them said that positive online reviews about a local business make them more likely to give it a try. Lots of positive reviews and testimonials from real customers, prove you have a reputation for high quality service and plenty of happy clients to prove it. This tells prospects that choosing your company is a safe bet. They also serve to diffuse the inevitable negative review you will receive from competitors and former customers that can’t be satisfied.
Photos of Successful Projects, Your Staff & Fleet – A salesman that can demonstrate that you have successfully completed hundreds of different projects, just like what your prospects need, have an easier time getting that contract. Before and after photos of your work go a long way to demonstrate that fact. Showing that you have a large staff and a fleet of trucks, demonstrates you run a real business, you’ve been doing this for a long time, you have the resources to deliver and you’re not going anywhere.
Your website is a salesman, and just like a salesman it should get better and better over time. So don’t just set it up and forget about it. Continually update it, add new content to it, improve it and focus on converting visitors to customers. That’s why we have websites in the first place.
Follow @LawnCareMktg