Are You Missing These Ten Sales-Influencing Elements On Your Website's Home Page?

by Tom "Bald Dog" Varjan, Organisational Provocateur

"Good design is a form of respect - on the part of the producer for the person who will eventually spend hard earned cash on the product, use the product, own the product." ~ David R. Brown, Editor of Gain Former President of Art Center College of Design

For a start I ask you one simple question. Have you ever worked with a web designer who, one year after launching your website, called you back and asked you if your website has earned you even one cent?

Some 97% of professional service websites fail to qualify as client acquisition machines because they are missing some key elements. The problem is that most professional firms heavily invest in design and no budget is left for filling the site with valuable content and, more importantly, with copy that actually sells. Many people look at content as mere filler. They believe that if they have great Flash animation other fiendish graphic elements on their sites, then prospective clients will gallop to them with lucrative projects.

Well, that hardly happens.

So, let's discuss ten vital ingredients that are necessary on the landing page of a professional service business. There is one more thing I have to mention here. I don't know any more about web design then the average goat does. The only thing I know is how to write copy that brings in clients. So, if you need design, although I make suggestions to clients, based on what I've seen work and what I've seen bomb, I'm definitely not a designer, and should not be mistaken for one. In this article I focus on copy.

So, when it comes to graphics, you have three options:

1. Lots of graphics and little content


2. Some graphics and some content


3. Little graphics and lots of content

Personally, I prefer #2 and #3. The reason for that is that words are clear in meaning. Pictures are not. Imagine a doctor dressed in green with gloves and a scalpel in his hand. What is he about to perform? Surgery or autopsy? On the surface there is not much difference between the two procedures. Something a picture alone couldn't show. But the patient does care about what the doctor is preparing for, because it has a huge impact on the him. The patient may have only 1% chance of survival, so the difference between surgery and autopsy is that tiny 1%. But until and unless the patient kicks the bucket, regardless of how little chance of survival she has, the procedure is called surgery.

So, let's see what we need on a great professional service landing page

1. A Kick-Arse Headline

And here is something you may want to consider if you want your headline to sop your visitors in their tracks. And good headline has to fulfil three criteria

1. It's a question


2. It presents a problem


3. It raises curiosity

If you have two out of three, you're on track. Remember, the headline alone can make as much as 2,100% difference in readership.

For example: "Rat Catchers: Are You Disappointed With Support From Your Union?

2. Outlining Your Target Market

In this section you outline your target market in as much detail as space allows. The more specific you are the better.

For Example: The British Columbia Rat Catchers and Vermin Chasers Association (BCRCVCA) offers professional representation and a structured continuing education platform for all professionals who work with vermin, such as rat catchers, mouse tamers, squirrel skinners and running coaches for rabbits.

3. Stating The Target Market's Biggest Problem

This is the key here. Unless you tell me about my problem, that is, reminding me of the problem I'm, already having, I don't care about your solution. Why. Because the solution is yours, but the problem is mine.

For example: "If you're like most rat catchers in British Columbia, after the evisceration of the RCUBC (Catchers Union of BC) and the imprisonment of their greedy leaders, you've been virtually been thrown out onto the streets and being left to your own devices. You have been left open and vulnerable without any professional representation and opportunity to advance your skills. If you are new in the industry, it means you can technically never earn the distinguished title of CRC (Chartered Rat Catcher).

4. Explaining Long-Term Possible Consequences

In this section you tell your readers about the long-term implications of not taking action on your offer. You don't want to go into scaremongering, but it's your duty to honestly outline what can happen.

For example: "Due to long union disputes, the recent years have been extremely hard for rat catchers. You may be a hard-working and honest professional, but you find it harder and harder to find recognition and respect in your profession. Lots of your colleagues have left the industry, which means that at one point the government may decide to import some cheap labour to take over our honourable profession at slave's wages. Actually talks have already started in several countries where underskilled workers are willing to come to BC - invited by the government - and take the industry out of our hands and we can lose what we have worked for over the years."

5. How Come The Problem Hasn't Been Solved

Here you're actually challenging readers why their problems still exist and why they haven't solved it yet. And there some answers here.

• They don't know what to do


• They don't know how to do it


• They don't want to solve the problem right now

And the key is not about convincing everyone that they need your services, but to allow them to decide which group they belong to.

For example: "Professionals who work with vermin fall into several smaller groups. They all have heavy schedules both for client work and continuing education. After several mutations, 11 new species of rats have come to the marketplace in the last five years. This forces rat catchers to intensify their learning activities to stay current and no one has paid attention to uniting these professionals into a strong professional body. Not until now.

6. Stating the Solution

By now your readers understand that they have a problem. All right, the ignorant ones will push their heads into the sand, but some will listen. And that's the main thing. You don't need everyone. You need people who are already convinced about the problem and are ready and willing to take the next step.

For example: "Accounting is a reputable profession because of its professional representation. So is engineering and management consulting. And so was rat catching while it was represented by a truly professional union. However, times are changing and the profession needs a new type of representation in British Columbia."

7. Stating Possibilities

Here you tell your visitors what is waiting for them if they take action. They know they have a problem and now they have the solution. Now you can take them to the next level and see if they can associate with the possibilities you bring in.

For example: "Do you still remember the days when you were belonging to a cohesive group of professionals and felt the well-deserved trust and respect from the public? Do you still remember the days when you were on a perpetual professional development path that made you proud beyond imagination? Well, these are the days The British Columbia Rat Catchers and Vermin Chasers Association (BCRCVCA) is planning to bring back but with a the turbo chargers on. We've set out to re-position the profession, so we will be trusted and respected again just as any other reputable profession.

8. Stipulating What Your Visitors Get

Basically here you just specify what visitors can expect if they take your Most Wanted Action. We'll talk more about the Most Wanted Action towards the end if this article.

For example: " Under proper professional representation, rat catchers can earn as much as 37% more than non-associated rat catchers. Also we work hard on the branding of the association and the associated businesses. We are constantly raising awareness of the importance of our profession and increase the value we're providing for our members."

9. Credibility

Here you talk about the credibility of the people who make the offer.

For example: "The Chief Executive Officer of the British Columbia Rat Catchers and Vermin Chasers Association (BCRCVCA) Fred Tigernuts is an award-winning rat skinner. He's been a rat catcher since 1972 and was also a union representative for the Toronto chapter between 1981 and 1989. He wrote his Ph.D. thesis on the evolutionary brain development of the Purple-Bellied Rocky Mountain Giant Rat. His passion is legendary both for the profession and helping members to achieve fulfilling careers. He's successfully negotiated union disputes all over North America."

10. Finally, Provide A Call-To-Action

This is where you have to ask visitors to take some kind of action. But let's think first about this action. They don't know you from sacks of potatoes, so they don't trust you either. It's as obvious as a ham sandwich. So, don't even ask them to buy something. And here is a huge difference between selling products and services. Here is a comparison. Many men pick up hookers on the first sight, but not many men get married on the first sight. Although the example may sound a bit heretic, if you think about it deeper, you'll see what I mean. No one buys professional services on the first exposure. And it's you responsibility to make people return to your site. So, what kind of action can you expect them to take if you ask them? Well, something that doesn't cost them money.

For example: "Feel free to browse our website and read the articles. You can also participate in our webcasts at non-member rates. Also, make sure you download our free special report entitled The 21st Century Rat Catcher: Cheap Labour or Respected Professional?" The report discusses the key factors that differentiate the two types of rat catchers, the minimum-wage labourer from the respected professional.

Most Wanted Response (MWR)

This is critical. Your website is utterly useless unless it asks visitors to take some kind of action. In this example your free special report is you MWR. So, the key is to write in such a way that leads the right people to the download of the report where you have 10 plus pages to build and sell your case.

Summary

Hopefully this short article has helped you to understand the structure of a landing page for a professional service website. Services are bought differently from products. When we buy services, we buy experiences. We buy highly customised intellectual property. And this alone makes the buying process drastically different.

Actually buying professional services are like buying toilet paper. Just think about it... Toilet paper come in identical packages but with a broad price range Why? The one difference is on the package: 1, 2, or 3. They mean the number of plies in the sheet. At the cheap end you have one ply, and at the more expensive end you have three plies. So, what is the difference? Simple. Loo paper at the high end actually wipes, whereas loo paper at the low end just spreads. And by the time you realise you made the wrong purchase, it's too late.

So, next time when you want to revamp your website, don't automatically go for getting it re-designed. It's easy, fairly quick and fairly cheap. But if you want to make a big difference to your target market, then you're better off to get it re-written or at least polishing the copy.