Everyoneknows that you need to have a website to compete in business thesedays, right?
Youmight ask, Is that true, even for a contractor?
Ofcourse it is. Especially if you are marketing to homeowners. If you are doing work with General Contractors, then you can still use yourwebsite as a marketing tool to get work with GC’s that give youbetter paying jobs.
Inany case, it is vital to any business these days to have a website.And most of you probably already do. However, there is a differencebetween having a website, and having a website that actually makesyou money.
Ican’t get over the companies that spend thousands of dollarsdesigning a fancy website that turns out to be an oversized businesscard. Getting them no sales, costing them tons of money, andaccomplishing nothing.
Thegood news for you is that if you don’t have a website up andrunning right now, it is dirt cheap to get it done. In fact you canprobably hire a high school kid to get your site done for you and hecould do just as good a job as the computer programmers that havebeen doing it for 10 years.
However,having a fancy site is not what is important when it comes to gettingmore sales, or closing the right kind of deals.
Whatis important is using direct response marketing techniques whendesigning your website. This is something you can’t buy from thehigh school kid or a career computer programmer. No matter how muchexperience a web designer has, if they don’t understand what weknow about direct response marketing, then you are wasting your timeand money. Most of them know nothing about it.
Thismanual will educate you on the 13 critical points you need tounderstand and implement into your website to get maximum resultsfrom minimum cost. Lets get started!
CriticalPoint #1. Your Website Needs a Purpose!
FirstI need to ask you a question:
Whydo you have a website?
Isit to show off your company to friends and family?
Isit so you can feel good about yourself when you log onto the internetand you see your company there?
Ithink we’d both agree, your bank account balance is more importantthat a fancy website that you can show off to your friends.
Soyou need to decide what is the purpose of your website? Do you wantit to generate highly qualified leads, do you want to educate people?Do you want to capture email addresses? Do you want to sell products?You can even have your website set appointments with prospects foryou.
Iwould highly suggest that you use your website to do one thing.Capture the contact information for qualified leads.
Bynow you should know what type of lead you want. You know what yourperfect job looks like. My recommendation is that you decide tocapture these interested prospects contact information.
However,you decide what your websites purpose is, and build everything aroundit.
Makethis your top priority, then nurture them and market to them throughdirect mail, fax broadcasting, email courses
Secret2: Your Website Needs a headline.
Thisshould come as no surprise to you if you have read the other manuals. Most websites are nothing more than oversized inadequate businesscards. If you bore your visitor they will leave your site. Thesurest way to draw them in is to grab their attention with a greatheadline.
Bynow you should have created your unique selling proposition. Youshould have also identified at least one niche, if not multipledifferent niches. You may choose to buy several domain names, adifferent one for every different niche.
SoWhat makes a good headline for a website?
Ifyour headline conveys a benefit of interest to your key reader, thenyou have a much better chance at getting them to stay on your websitefor just a moment longer. (No guarantee that they stay and read thewhole thing, but at least you get them for a moment longer.) If youuse a weak headline your website is history. The reader closes thewindow in the blink of an eye.
Oneway to write good headlines is to brain storm them. Sit down andwrite 10 or 15 headlines. By doing this, you may uncover the diamondthat really works for you.
Headlinedesign:
Don’tuse a fancy fonts. Don’t use crazy colors. Use as simple of adesign as possible. Times Roman Font is the tried and true font ofall time. It is easy to read. Make sure your readers can see clearly,make it big enough to capture their eye right off the bat.
Simpleand Direct is the best.
Secret3: Opening paragraph
Youmust keep your reader interested. The Headline’s job is to makeyour reader interested enough to read the next sentence. That iswhere your opening paragraph comes into play.
Theopen paragraph must also be interesting. Make it captivating. Startwith a story, or meaningful questions. Or a bold statement.
Don’ttalk about you and your company. They don’t care about you, theycare about whatever problem or issue is on their mind.
Youmust try to tap into that problem or issue. If you know most peoplego to your website looking for a painting contractor to paint acouple of rooms in their home, then speak to that prospect.
Talkto them about the difficulties of finding a good painter. Explain tothem the damage a bad painter can do to their home or job. Give thema check list of qualifications to ask every painter they talk to.
Ispend a lot of time on the opening paragraph and headlines of mymarketing pieces and websites. It is critical that you get thisright.
Youjust don’t have a lot of time with your prospects, they won’tstand for being bored.
Getbold and outrageous if you have to, but make sure you don’t losetheir attention.
Secret4. Testimonials
Againthis should come as no surprise to you if you have read and studiedthe other manuals.
Testimonialsare an extremely important marketing tool. You want to load yourwebsite up with as many testimonials you can. You really can’toveruse testimonials.
Onething you want to make sure you do with testimonials is have themeach deal with a certain topic or concern your audience has.
Ifyou know many of your clients are concerned about having a contractorstart the work but not finish it for 2 or 3 weeks longer than theypromised, use a couple testimonials that say:
“ABCConstruction was on time when they started and they even finished thejob earlier than we expected. They did a great job, and it was donefast!”
Usetestimonials on the home page, but also in your emails you send out,the letters you use to market to them and everything else you do.
Alsouse pictures on your website along with the testimonials. This isextremely powerful. People are skeptical. If you can use picturesalong with the testimonials, then you are going to be even morebelievable.
Remember,you can’t over use testimonials. Just make sure you have a systemto collect them from every satisfied customer, EVERY TIME!
Itsalso best to make sure they sign the form saying that they are okaywith you using their name in your marketing, etc.
Secret5: Capture Data
Aswe talked previously, your marketing dollars need to be focused onthe people that are interested prospects.
Thebest way to do this is through lead generation advertising. Just torecap, Lead Generation advertising is the advertising you do to makeyour prospect raise his or her hand and say
“Hey,I’m interested in that, can I have some more information?”
Thisis what we are looking for from your website as well. So it iscritical that you capture information from your interested prospectsas effectively as possible.
Youdo this by giving them something of value for free.
Itdoesn’t have to cost you anything. In fact it shouldn’t cost youanything. It should be information.
Over80% of all people go on the web to look for information. To educatethemselves on a particular topic. So you need to use this to youradvantage.
Ifthey are coming to your website they are doing it for one reason.They want more information about you and your company, or whateveryou offered them to get them there.
Youmay send out your direct mailers directing them to a website to get afree report instantly.
Thisis the way to capture the interested prospects. Just the way I run mybusiness. I offer a free report of value, and the only way to getthat free report is to give me your contact information.
Anothergreat way to capture data, is by offering a “Home Improvement”email course or “Keep your Lawn and Garden Looking Great” emailcourse.
Theseemail courses can be 4 or 5 weeks long, you write an email each weektelling your prospects how to do whatever it is they are interestedin learning.
Itdoesn’t even need to be the same service that you provide. Youcould be teaching them how to keep their garden looking great, eventhough you aren’t a gardening contractor. If you explain to themwhy you are qualified to teach them, then they won’t have a problemwith it.
Maybeyour partner company “xyz gardening” has been in the business for29 years and he’s the one writing the email course. You can offerseveral different courses, but make sure you don’t get toocomplicated.
Atfirst I would start with 1 free report, and 1 email course.
Justkeep it simple and start to capture the data!
Secret6. Using Audio and Video
Thisis another great way to keep people at your website a little longer.Putting audio and video on the internet has become easy andmainstream these days. With more and more people being connectedthrough high speed internet connections
Peoplelike to be involved with multiple media. Meaning that it ismore interesting to a person to see movement, hear sound and readthan just one of those items alone.
Agood way to use audio is to have your voice and picture on the homepage. As soon as someone comes to the website your voice startstalking. You welcome them to your website and then you can just startreading the home page, or say something of interest to them. Usuallyit’s a good idea for them to be able to turn off the sound if theywant to.
Anothergreat use of audio and video is to put them on as testimonials.Videotape a job you have done and then capture the owner of the homeor project on film.
Getthem to give you a testimonial while you are filming them on video.
Thisis a great way to use audio and video.
Secret7. The Ego Meter
Thisis more of a copywriting technique than anything. But it is vitalthat you use good copywriting on your website as well as in yourdirect mail and other marketing materials.
Partof quality copywriting is focusing on your reader not yourself.
Forsome reason websites tend to be even more self centered than otheradvertising mediums. The home page talks about “Me, Me, Me, or Us,Us, Us”
Theyeven have a whole page dedicated to “About Us”.
Now,some people do want to know that you are reputable company thatstands behind their product or service, etc. I’m not saying youshouldn’t discuss this, just make sure you don’t focus on you,but you focus on the prospect.
Noone cares about you. They are interested in getting what they wanttaken care of. If they have a problem they want it solved. If theyare looking at putting in a new swimming pool they want to know howto make the best decision.
Somake your website “Them” oriented. Let your prospect know all thebenefits of doing business with you.
Secret8.Using Multiple Websites
Thisis really a great way to SUPER NICHE your prospects.
Ifyou want to do remodeling work for high end home owners you cancreate a website specifically for that niche. Then you can haveanother site for the rest of your regular business.
Thereason this is so effective is that the more you can match yourmessage to the market the more responsive the market will be.
Forexample if I were to say “Attention Contractors!” That’s apretty broad statement. But if I say “Attention CaliforniaResidential Landscaping contractors who specialize in high endhomes.” That will certainly get the attention of the guys thatqualify for that statement. Do you get it?
That’sthe benefit of using Multiple websites for your different niches. Ifyou are going to pursue 3 or 4 specific niches (which you may need todo depending on the size of each niche) then you may find itworthwhile to create several different web pages. Most of the contentcan be the same, testimonials can be the same if you want, so itdoesn’t have to be too much work for each additional site.
Secret9: Using a Non-Branded Website
Firstlet me define what I mean by non-branded website. A Non-Brandedwebsite is a site that you own and operate but your prospects don’tknow it. It has nothing to do with your company. No company nameslogos, etc. You want it to be completely separate from you. Why?
Becausestudies have shown the a consumer is 3 times as likely to believesomething coming from a unbiased third party, than they do fromcompany trying to sell them something.
Isn’tthis deceiving?
Itcan be if you do it incorrectly. What I am suggesting you use thenon-branded site for is only consumer education.
Pushyour prospects to the website using a non-branded direct mail piece.It could be a flyer that is a consumer education bulletin on findingthe right contractor to paint or remodel or carpet your home andsaving money on it.
Youtell them to visit your website for a free report. Once they havedone this you obviously have started to create a list of hotprospects that are interested in whatever service you provide. So youcan then mail to this list your own mailing piece. Now you have agood high quality list!
Secret10. Getting Traffic To Your Website Through Joint Venture Marketing
Thisis one easy and cheap way to start getting more and more traffic toyour site.
Thefirst thing to do is identify other websites or vendors who dobusiness with the same clientele that you want to be doing businesswith.
Youthen must approach them about some kind of Joint Venture. It can beas easy as them putting a link on their website and you paying amonthly fee for it, or you can arrange to share lists, and give themlimited access to your customers and vice versa.
Anothercreative way to do joint venture marketing is to offer the otherparty a monetary reward for every lead that comes to you or every jobyou do from his leads. This way he is compensated for any qualityleads he sends your way and you don’t have to pay anything if youdon’t get anything out of the relationship.
Itis important to make sure you match your target niche with that ofyour joint venture partner. If you want to be doing work forhomeowners who are extremely wealthy, then you don’t want a list ofpeople who own a tiny home and have trouble paying the bills.
Itsnot that complicated, but it does require some work on your part. Theeasiest way to get started is to identify who is doing business rightnow with the target market that you want to be doing business with.Then approach them, get to know them. Make sure you really do matchwith their customers.
Ifyou do, then make a list of everything you can offer to them. Andwhat benefits you want to gain from the deal.
Youdo need to make sure that they are getting a great deal otherwise youare dead in the water.
Youmust make it worth their while, and if it is you’ll start to gettons of great leads without the hassle of drumming them up yourself.
Secret11. Explain Your Guarantee’s in Vivid Detail!
Youcan really gain a lot of credibility by having great guarantees. Yourguarantees will set you apart from your competition if you let them.
Wehave already discussed in great detail how to create your guarantees,so I won’t re-hash that. Suffice it to say that if your prospectdoesn’t know about your guarantee, it does you no good.
Soall you really need to do is make a HUGE deal out of your outrageousguarantee.
Ifyou don’t have room for the whole thing on your home page, make alarge attention grabbing link that says
“CHECKOUT THE MOST OUTRAGEOUSLY BOLD AND GUTSY GUARANTEE IN THE INDUSTRY!CLICK HERE TO LEARN ALL ABOUT IT!”
Thenhave a page for them to read about how wonderful you guarantee is.
Makesure you advertise it!
Secret12. Set Up Appointments Online!
Thismay seem obvious now that you are reading it. But you might besurprised how few contractors actually give their prospects theopportunity to schedule a consultation or appointment right on thewebsite.
Likewe discussed earlier, people like to get answers now! Nobody has anypatience anymore. We are in an instant gratification society, sobenefit from it.
Ifyou have someone on your website that wants to meet with you and youhave the capability of allowing them to schedule a time right thereon your website that you can allow them to schedule when it works forthem, imagine the power of this technique!
Certainlythere are some considerations you need to take into account, but itdoesn’t change the fact that you’ve given your prospect what theywant, instant gratification.
Theywant you to come out, and now they have scheduled a time for that tohappen.
Oncethey input the time, you get notified. If that time doesn’t workyou call him back and reschedule, and even if it does work, you callhim back and make sure he is a qualified prospect.
Thisis a very powerful addition to your website!
Secret13. An Irresistible Offer
Againthis is something that you have probably already heard previously inthis toolkit. But it is a vital element to your website making youmoney.
Youhave to give your prospects something they absolutely can’t refusein return for what you want.
Wantyou want is probably pretty simple. You want contact info, or anappointment, or you want them to call you so you can get anappointment or close the sale.
Sowhat do you give away in return for that? A high value item that yourprospect desperately wants. We discussed previously email courses on“Doing It Yourself” consumer advisories, free reports etc.
Thebest way to beef up an offer is to give them more. So instead of justgiving them a free report, give them a “Toolkit” that includes afree report, and audio cd.
Youcan beef it up still by having a free report, audio cd and even aDVD.
Thenyou can add more value by giving them a coupon for cost savings ifthey are one of the first 39 to order your free toolkit.
Itsas simple as that. Find out what your prospect wants and give it tothem. But make sure they return what you want as well!
Iknow that these 13 secrets will dramatically improve the performanceof your website.
Startslow implement a few of them, and eventually you’ll have the mostprofitable website in the industry!
