With the development of technology, the distance between salespeople and customers seems to have grown into quite a void. With most customers already halfway through their buying journey before they enter into a face-to-face discussion with a salesperson. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t have an influence on the initial stages of a buyer’s journey especially if they are using Google as their adviser. Let’s look at how we can master the online sales process to boost our profits.
First, we need to look at what the stages are in the buying process. They are prospecting, connecting, qualifying, demonstrating value, closing, and following up.
Now let’s look at how this works in the online environment.
1. Prospecting
This is where you look for leads. You do this by ensuring your website is search engine optimised. You should not only ensure your website is optimised for general topics but also ensure you feature your product keywords in your content. Next, you need to use targeted ads to attract potential leads to your website.
2. Building rapport
Now that we have the lead on our site, we need to ensure you make a great first impression. Your rapport with your potential client is affected by the download speed of your site, the consistency of the branding, and the ease of navigation on your website. If your site is slow to load people will leave. If your site has an inconsistent brand, your clients will struggle to build trust within your brand. If your client struggles to navigate throughout your site they will leave. Therefore it is important to put a lot of thought and effort into creating a great website and look in to employing someone with the right skills if you are not able to do it yourself.
3. Qualifying and informing your client
How is your information laid out on your website? Is it easy to find out what your products does and the needs it fulfils? By organising your information in a structured manner you will make it easier for your customers to navigate your site. This will help them to find information about your service or product and it will help them to qualify whether your product is a good fit for them. Ensure that all your terms and conditions are clear and easy to find. You could also install a chatbot onto your website so that your client can get answers to frequently asked questions or be forwarded to a consultant. You could also offer your customer a taster of your service by giving them a gift for their email address. This will let you into their private space where you can continue to build a connection between you and them.
4. Closing the deal
After all the research your client has done, they have decided you are their choice. You need to make sure that your call-to-action buttons are visible and easy to click on in a mobile environment. If you have an e-commerce site, then you need to ensure the check-out process runs smoothly and that there are no surprise additional payments in the final cost. You should also make sure all your contact information is visible on all the pages on your website.
5. Following up
Making a sale should not be the end goal, but building a relationship with your customer which could develop into more sales and word-of-mouth promotion should be. When you have made the sale, you can ask for your customer’s email address so that you can send emails that are informative and valuable to your customer and which they can share with their network through email or on social media.
By mastering these five steps, you will be well on your way to improving your online sales processes.
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