Mistake #7: Not Telling Your Website Visitor What to Do Next

How many times have you gone into a store, asked a sales clerk to explain all the features of a camera, computer or some other product, showed lots of interest and were ready, even eager, to buy — and the sales clerk never “asked for the order”?

He could have asked you in a number of ways, such as “How would you like to pay for this?” Instead, he waited for you to say, “I’ll take it!” But you didn’t. Instead, confused by his behavior, you walked out of the store thinking “I better go look at some other stores.”

This kind of scenario happens time and again. It seems amazing but studies show that 60% of salespeople do not ask for the order! If that’s the case with professional salespeople, imagine how many website owners make the same mistake.

Once you have someone exploring your website, it’s up to you to make it easy for them to transform from a visitor to a potential customer, and then from a potential customer to one who wants to buy what you offer. Otherwise, by default, most visitors will simply leave your site.

How to Avoid the Mistake of Not Telling the Visitor What to Do Next

It’s simpler than you may think. Tell them what to do next and exactly how to do it.  

Ask yourself what outcome you want to have happen. Depending on your business, their next step may be to buy a product or schedule an appointment on their first visit to your website.

More likely, though, the next step is to take an action that builds trust in you. This is especially true if you provide professional services. In this case, their next action could be to sign up for your newsletter or download a free special report. These types of next steps help establish trust and build a relationship with your visitors.

Be sure to describe how to take that next step. Make it easy for them.

In summary, ask for the order in the ways most appropriate for your type of business.

Mistake #6: You Waste the Most Valuable Eye-catching Content Space on Your Website Pages

You have to get your website visitor’s attention as soon as their eyes hit the page. They want to know in that very instant whether your website has what they’re looking for or if they should move on.

The page headline or title is the first place their eyes land in the content area. It occupies the most critical space on your page. This is the prime space to let your website visitors know what your product or service is.  

But countless websites put these words in this precious space: Welcome!  

Your home page headline is your promotional ad. A powerful, descriptive headline needs to fill this valuable space !  

It tells visitors right away what your website is about.  It’s the hook that gets your potential client to read on and explore your website further.

The space at the top of the content area is also critical on your sales, product and services pages.  You need effective headlines on each of these pages, too. 

The most effective promotional headlines address your potential client’s problems and offer solutions. Several types of headlines accomplish this, such as the How To headline, the Question headline and the Command headline. 

Here’s an example of a How To headline: How to Make Time in Your Busy Schedule to Train for a Marathon

Headlines define the focus of a page. They tell your website visitors what to expect. And they also make writing the rest of the page’s content much easier for you. 

To Avoid the Mistake of Wasting the Most Valuable, Eye-catching Content Space on Your Website Pages

To start, look at each of your web pages and ask yourself, Is this headline effective or am I wasting space?

To be effective, the headline needs to tell the visitor what the page is about. For promotional pages, such as your product or services page, the headline also needs to identify the problem that your offering solves. It needs to indicate the benefits of using your product or service.

If your headline is wasting space, replace it now with a benefits-rich title.

Mistake #5: You Don’t Understand the Difference Between the Features and Benefits of Your Product or Service

The benefits of what you offer are what your your clients really buy. Many website owners fail to describe the benefits of their product or service simply because they don’t understand the difference between a feature and a benefit.

Here’s how to tell one from the other. A feature is a quality or characteristic of your product or service. For example, my car is fuel efficient. Fuel efficiency is one of its characteristics.

In comparison, a benefit is the emotional content of the feature of your product or service. It is what grabs your attention and causes you to want the feature. So what benefit of fuel efficiency made me want to buy my car? I can drive more miles on a tank of gas, which saves me money. That’s a huge benefit to me right now with the ongoing increase in gas prices. 

How to Avoid the Mistake of Not Knowing the Difference Between the Features and Benefits of Your Product or Service.

These two steps will help you distinguish between the features and benefits of what you offer.

1. Write down all the characteristics and qualities of what you offer. These are the details, facts or specifications.

2. Identify how these features benefit your potential client. Do they save money? Do they save time? Do they provide the same quality for less money than the competitor’s product? Do they give him a sense of power? Do they make her feel organized and in control of her schedule?

Once you have identified the benefits that your potential clients seek, be sure to weave them into your website content! This is what your potential customers are looking for.