Selling From The Internet

Selling From The Internet
Getting the most from your Internet presence
November 1996

For the past few years most of us who have created Internet websites have done so with the hope (and expectation) that we'll post our information to the Internet, sit back, and wait for the phone to start ringing. Got any idea why your phone hasn't started ringing yet?

I stumbled on a few techniques that I'd like to share with you. Oh, by the way, my phone rings about 20 times a week because of our Internet site.

Before I give you my answer, let me backup a few years. We built one of the first commercial Internet websites for Damar Group with the hope of selling more training classes and laying the groundwork for a distribution system for our Training Express(tm) brand computer learning guides.

We did the same things as everyone else who had a computer, modem, and a bit of nerve...we hacked out a website using HTML, the structural language of websites. We put up cool graphics, typed hundreds of pages of information, and advertised the site in almost a thousand different search engines. W e did everything but beg people to “hit our site.”

And for a year and a half we made little more than the cost of developing the site. We earned a slight profit. For all the work we did on the website, we could have made thousands of cold calls and probably a lot more money selling our services and products traditionally: in person and over the phone.

That's when I began asking “Why use the Internet?” Did it really add enough profit to the business given all the work that it required? And, why wasn't our site receiving more visitors each week?

I took a good hard look at the really popular websites: PC Magazine, Yahoo, NY Times, C|NET, and many others. I spent many lunches and evenings talking to other Internet users about what they liked, which sites they returned to, and why--why everything!

I realized that it's impossible to sell services on the Internet. Alright, we do sell training and consulting services to people who first found us on the Internet...but they didn't buy from us based on our website. The website was just a “hook” to get them to ask for more information, and an opportunity for us to learn more about their needs either over the phone or in person.

And I think it's darn near impossible to sell products on the Internet. The exception so far seems to be “catalog” type product sales such as L.L. Bean, and other well-known retailers. Website visitors who already know the company well or have a high degree of trust in the products being sold may buy electronically. But, for most of us, we're better off using the Internet for marketing rather than selling.

Now, here's three suggestions that I found very helpful (and profitable!).

1) Create a “playground” on your website.

Let me say that again, create a playground. Build a place where visitors feel comfortable, an environment that encourages learning. And most of all, build a site that has enough depth of content so visitors will want to return again and again to see what's new, important, and beneficial. to them.

Always focus on “them.” It doesn't matter if your site impresses you. Are you going to buy your own products? Make your site impress your niche market audience. And not with lots of bells and whistles, prospects are too savvy for that...make your site deep with information that will help them. If you help them, you'll be building trust with them, and they will seek your advice and assistance even more.

2) Gather information about your prospects. Of the over 25,000 hits we get each week, about 20 people complete one of our many online forms and ask for more information about our training materials and Internet connectivity products. Almost no one asks for information about individual training classes--only about our corporate training programs. But that's ok, because one of our niche markets is corporate training (the other two are trainers who buy learning guides and organizations who do business on the Internet).

We use the results of these online forms to respond to the inquiries via phone and in-person meetings. So, our website has been generating about 20 sales leads a week since we built the online forms.

3) Don't expect to sell on the Internet. Sell from the Internet. Use your Internet skills and the website you've developed to generate leads for your salespeople. Most prospects, and just about all consumers, aren't comfortable with buying via their computer. Go with the flow. For now, use your website for what it's able to provide--soon enough we'll all be shopping on the ‘net. And then, buyers look out, because you'll be ready for ‘em.

David Stephen Murphy is President and CEO of Damar Group, Ltd. which presents computer training classes, publishes computer learning guides, and helps organizations do business on the Internet. The website is http://dgl.com, and Mr. Murphy may be reached at dave@dgl.com or 410.567.5366.

updated October 22, 1996
http://dgl.com/tbm/tbm9611.html