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Negotiate some kind of recurring deal
This may sound completely contrary, but try to negotiate some kind of recurring payment deal for regular support!
If you don’t do this, this puts the burden of the site on the developer for an infinite amount of time. Someday, you will have to choose between supporting your site or putting food on the table. You’ll lose every time. If you make sure your developer can be there to support you, you can adjust the site to meet your growing needs.
Otherwise, you’ll likely find a website misrepresenting your business, and no one around to fix it.
Use your website in face-to-face meetings to boost sales
This is your bread and butter. If you’re not doing this, you’re not going to get a return on your investment. Plain and simple.
How many times do you have to explain yourself and what your business does on a daily basis? What if you could improve or perhaps even eliminate that time?
Your website can help you do that. Don’t ever expect your prospects or clients to open it voluntarily until you train them to do so. When in a meeting, open up your site to the appropriate page and use it as a visual for what you’re talking about.
Then, when they are ready to move forward, use the site to capture the order using a form on your site.
It’ll seem slow at first, but this is the first step to training your network to use your website.
Remember, you should be doing this no matter how much you’re paying for your site.
Give your network a reason to visit your site
As you’re going out doing business and networking give prospects a reason to visit. If they express a need that you solve tell them how visiting your site will help them solve that need.
If you have a blog, mention a specific post. But promise to send it to them later and actually do so!
When you do this you’re using your website to get permission to follow up with the prospect. Huzzah!
Your network will want to visit for other reasons, such as:
- Placing an order
- Scope you out to learn if you will fit their needs
Feed data from the site to your business
Your website must be able to do more than present information to prospects and customers, it must also be able to collect data and feed it to your business.
You can do this with a “Request Quote,” “Place Order,” or even an “Ask a Question” form that when filled out send you an email with everything the customer or prospect typed into it. You can then follow up with them and process the order.