In the Sales 1.0 era, prospects had to talk to those of us in Sales in order to get information about our products and services. Today, they check out our websites first, quickly forming a first impression. And, if we’ve done our jobs well, our websites become their “go to” resource throughout the buying cycle and often beyond.
As prospects turn to online media as their primary source of information, sales leaders practicing Sales 2.0 are realizing that their colleagues in Marketing are critical to their success– including those responsible for website design and content. In short, Sales is recognizing that Marketing has a great deal of influence over who ends up in their pipeline and who ends up in someone else’s. And that brings us to four reasons why sales leaders should work with Marketing to create the best possible website for engaging, tracking and analyzing customers and their activity on your website.
1. Your website can help generate prospects and keep them engaged.
Prospects are drawn to your website from a variety of sources. Email campaigns. Social media. Search engines and such. A “2.0 website” can deliver up content and messaging specific to your buyers based on who they are, where they’ve come from, and what they are interested in. In an age when we’re all struggling with information overload, we can help our customers early and throughout the sales cycle by serving up pertinent, easily-accessible, progressive information that is specific to their situation and stage in the buying cycle.
2. Website analytics reveal what your prospects are interested in.
2.0 websites provide analytics that show what pages prospects are viewing and what they’re downloading. Armed with this information, sales teams can see what a prospect cares about, and get right to the point when following up by phone or online.
3. A 2.0 website can show when and how your prospect is engaged – and how qualified they are to buy.
Your 2.0 website analytics can also tell you how long visitors stay on your site – an indication of their level of interest. This engagement level can then become part of your lead scoring and qualification process. These same analytics also show how a visitor chooses to engage and consume information. For example, if your prospect views videos or listens to your podcasts but doesn’t download any white papers, you might use video or audio in your follow-up communication rather that text.
4. Sales 2.0 website + marketing automation system + CRM integration = increased sales productivity.
When your sales team has to check multiple systems or sites for prospect and customer data, they’re wasting time that could be spent communicating with buyers. 2.0 websites that integrate their analytics with the systems where your sales reps live deliver Sales 2.0 efficiency that leads to better results.
Want to see an example of a 2.0 website? Check out phoneworks.com, our new website that launched just last month. We’re using application/problem-based segmentation, targeted content, progressive profiles, lead scoring and qualification, thanks to our partnership with Clickability. Compared to one month before the launch, we are seeing the following impressive results so far:
- 50%+ increase in unique and new visitors
- 73% increase in return visitors
I can hardly wait to see the increase in qualified leads and sales this will generate!
In what ways is your website part of your implementation of Sales – and Marketing – 2.0?
For more information and examples, check out the recorded webinar, “Is Your Website Keeping up with the Sales 2.0 Revolution?” in the Phone Works Learning Center.
