Your website works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It has a global reach. It's responsive. It can tell if prospects are viewing on a computer or a mobile device. (More than half of all global viewing today is mobile). Your website should be able to deliver any information, images and content your prospects need to get their questions answered, make comparisons, and, ultimately, make a decision.
While sales teams are the cornerstone of any business, they are human with their own limitations. Your sales teams can't be working at all hours of the day, but your website can.
When your website is dressed (designed) for success, it will be visually on brand. The content will be in the brand voice and like any good sales person, the message, content and resources should be focused on the site visitor. After all, no one likes a sales person who only talks about themselves.
With a pristine and professional website design, the first impression of your website can keep visitors engaged and excited about finding answers and possibilities. But you only have about 10 seconds or less to give prospects what they are searching for before they log off. Don't waste precious seconds. Make the initial content on your main pages count.
When you make a great first impression, respond to a visitor's needs and make it easy for them to work with you, you're well on your way to earning trust.
Your website has the ability to build and maintain trust throughout the buying cycle. 80% of B2B buyers noted the importance of credible product/service details and information. You can deliver this information by providing examples of past projects, case studies, a logo wall of your clients, and positive testimonials from past/current clients.
By the way, not only is your website great at building trust with visitors, but if it's designed, built and optimized well, you will also earn the trust of search engines. That trust enables your website to rank better. When was the last time your top sales person had a first or second page ranking on Google?
B2B buyers are adopting consumer behavior when looking for B2B goods. When they need a product or have a challenge to solve, they search the web. When they search, they don't look for your sales person's or even your company's contact information. They search for and find options to consider. They are looking for the best solutions and solution providers. If they find your website, most buyers will spend time educating themselves with the information available to them. In fact, up to 70% of product/service information is found online, not through sales reps. 67% of B2B buyers will research products or services using your website before contacting a sales person.
I think you know the answer. They want to complete their research and compare solutions. They don't want to be inundated with phone calls, emails, requests, or mail. If you align your website to the buyers journey, you'll have a better chance of getting them to engage. So, equip your #1 sales rep with the information it needs to help your prospects learn about you and establish a trusted relationship by uploading the same tools you give your sales team: videos, presentations, catalogs, business briefs, white papers, product information, case studies, testimonials, frequently asked questions, pricing, and demos.
Your website must establish trust, build brand awareness, introduce, educate and inform your buyers. That's a lot, but it's what prospects want. When they feel fully equipped and prepared to confidently engage in the purchasing process, then they will reach out to a sales rep.
Companies invest time and money in training their sales team. The average annual expenditure on sales training is roughly 2% of revenue. With that investment, you expect a consistent message and strong product or service positioning and, ultimately, a decent return on your investment.
A website doesn't require training or re-training. Your website will retain 100% of the information you provide, no training needed! If a new product is launched or the pricing changes, your number one sales rep just needs to be updated. You can align your website and content to the buyers' journey and deliver exactly the message and resources potential buyers need at each stage. A website can build awareness, establish trust, present products, and services effectively, and equip a visitor with anything else they may need—including how to contact a sales rep when he or she is ready to buy. No training needed.
Most people, including sales reps, may speak 1, maybe 2 languages if you're lucky. Based on research, English accounts for 33% of the top ten languages of internet users in the world.
But, as we shared earlier, if your company is focused on the visitor and what they need, language can be a differentiator. Ask your sales team how many languages they speak on demand. Could they learn a new language? Perhaps, but not as fast as your # 1 sales rep.
Consider this. Your website can present your brand, company, products or services in any language you choose. It's as easy as translating and localizing your content, images and resources to the countries you want to market and sell to.
Your sales people should be socializing with prospects, customers, clients and members of your company. Are they sharing links from your website? What about links to articles, press releases, news and events? Your #1 sales rep enables this for your team and those visitors that are on your sites and social media channels. In fact, 83% of all marketers actively pursue social media marketing initiatives.
You can ask your sales people to share, but your #1 sales rep can include a button for every social network your company uses. With a click of a button, your website can be shared instantaneously through different platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, etc. Your #1 sales rep also presents social feeds on the site, making it easier for a visitor to view the content without leaving. How convenient!
When your buyer comes in contact with a sales rep, they expect to be informed about relevant information. Your website is a resource to help your sales team be more prepared.
Prospects and customers are more receptive when a sales person has relevant and helpful insights that can benefit them. With a content management system in place to use on your website, your marketing team can add, update, or create new, relevant and timely information as needed. With regular updates on what clients want, your website will remain fresh and provide relevant content to prospects the moment they arrive at your landing page.
The best sales people seem to have exactly what you want or need when you ask. They respond quickly and provide what you ask for in a timely manner. They answer your questions or find someone who can. Your #1 sales rep is capable of doing the same.
When website visitors need information on a specific product or service, they can search and apply filters based on what they are looking for, and, violá, the results are presented. People have questions while they search. Your #1 sales rep is equipped with FAQs, or better yet a chat feature or form to submit questions.
65% of buyers indicated that B2B content had a significant impact on their purchase decision. During their buying journeys, they may visit your website looking for product or service details, technical requirements, support, pricing or information about implementing programs. Your website can ensure they find it.
Sales people often work together when it comes to sharing content. Your #1 sales rep can be the most helpful and resourceful sales team member if you design and build it with this in mind.
Great sales people are always looking to close, and they will ask probing questions to understand what's going to get them there. Who they are working with? What does the prospect need? What challenges are causing them headaches?
Your # 1 sales rep has the ability to do the same. Like your sales team, your website can present offers, provide incentives, and invite visitors to demo or trial in order to get to know them. B2B websites that are effective are loaded with interactive features such as forms, surveys, chat, collateral, downloads, videos, training and more. You should also have strong calls to action, or as we like to call them, "Always Be Closing" forms, on your website.
So, the next time you're looking to hire a new sales rep, take the time to make sure your #1 rep is working hard enough first. It will never ask for a raise. It most certainly won't complain about the last bonus or commission. And it doesn't need an expense account to wine and dine clients. It's the kind of sales team member every company needs.
Find out if your #1 sales rep is working hard enough: Let's talk over coffee. We specialize in enabling your sales team and developing and optimizing your #1 rep — your website.