Greater Conversion -- Three Things Everyone Should Do to Get More Sales

Many more people want to buy your product or service, but they don’t end up doing it! That’s because many companies are stuck in the print marketing mindset, and don’t realize that there are a couple simple things that they can do online to increase their conversion rates. In this article, I’ll outline three easy to implement changes that will take those extra sales right to the bank!

1) Product / Service Image Size
Chances are you’ve got images that represent or depict your product or service -- that’s a common sense way to add familiarity to what you have or do! An eye tracking study has shown that small images are oftentimes overlooked and that medium sized images (210x230 pixels) provide near a 150% increase in the amount of time spent looking at the image. The same study has shown that people tend to focus their attention on photographs that contain a human face. Medium sized pictures with faces in them retain interest longer!

2) Linking Images
The same study showed that people click on pictures, even when there is no indication that the picture is a link. For those images of products, link the image to the product page where they can buy your product! For those images depicting services, link the image to the related service information page or a contact page! Always link your images to the next step of your conversion process!

3) Call to Action
Visitors that are interested in your product or service may not know what to do to get it. Or they may be interested enough to purchase or subscribe, but only if it’s easy -- otherwise they’re not interested. This often overlooked scenario is easily overcome by a call to action link on every page. The call to action could be as simple as "Find out more about XYZ Widget Model 3 here!" It could be a Buy Now button underneath an image. The most important part of content written for sales is to make that call to action. You’ll quickly see that doing so will have you smiling all the way to the bank! Always have your visitors do something!

After you’ve implemented these three simple changes into your website, sit back and watch your stats increase. You’ll find that getting more conversions is a very pleasing scenario! As one last word of advice, other eye tracking studies (and possibly the same one I’ve referenced throughout this article) have confirmed that many people let their eyes wander below a picture when there’s text below it. Use that to your advantage by placing "Buy Now" buttons underneath your images. Good luck!

Explode Your Sales With Good Communication

These are simple and effective methods to increase your sales. You may think that you know what your customer wants, but do you really? Instead of assuming that you know, why not listen to the customer and ask questions to find out what it is that they REALLY want.

1. Give your customers benefits, not features. Your customers don't want to know the ins and outs immediately of your products, they want to know how it benefits them! Save the details of the product for a secondary page that's NOT on your home page. You can give some main selling points, but keep the minor details off the home page and just list benefits.

For example, let's say you've got a strategy to get your clients out of debt. Don't tell them step-by-step how it works on the front page, be vague and leave the small print for another page. Instead tell them how they can imagine a life with riches and being debt free! That's a benefit, not a feature!

2. Keep in communication with potential buyers. I read somewhere that it takes at least 7 views of your products to get interested parties to buy them. They're obviously interested if they've gotten to your site and requested information, why not keep them informed about your news and updates to the site? You just may have a future customer.

It's also a good practice to use a "bookmark this page" and "tell a friend about this page" tool so you can get potential buyers for the future. Even if they're immediately not buying it doesn't mean they won't be back!

3. Encourage your site visitors to ask questions. Some people may think they're bothering you or wasting your time to ask you a question. Extend your open arms to each and every surfer that comes into your site and encourage them to ask about your site!

However if you see the same question coming up over and over again, it will benefit you and the client both if you create a "Frequently Asked Questions" page. People usually want immediate answers to their questions and it saves you the tedious same responses over and over again.

4. Make the buying experience easier. Don't ask for information that you don't need. Instead, ask for the bare minimum information from the customer so they can "get in, and get out". And then later on, you can send them a quick thank you note and a follow up to see how they liked your website.

Don't make your customer jump through hoops to buy your products. They'll only get frustrated and put it off for later - and later may never come!

By keeping these lines of communication open with your site visitors and potential customers, you'll find you gain more trust and credibility with them and in turn, more sales!

10 Low-Cost Sales Boosters You Don't Want To Overlook

You don't have to spend a fortune to boost your sales! Take a look at these 10 quick and easy ways to send your profits to the moon without digging into you advertising budget.

1. Test and Evaluate
Have you ever wondered just how much of your advertising budget should go toward experimenting with the latest marketing strategies? Marketing gurus say... spend 20 percent looking for new and improved marketing methods, while the remaining 80 percent uses the "tried and true" marketing strategies to keep the profits flowing.

2. Capture Attention on your Website
Use headlines that leap out and grab the reader's attention to moment they open your Web page. Hey, they're just like you... if their attention isn't caught immediately, they 're ready to surf on the more exciting things!

3. Use the Best-Kept Marketing Secret - Postcards
Postcards are quick and easy to read, not to mention the fact that you can shave off a great deal of wasted advertising expenses by targeting your market. Hey, they're cheap and convenient for you, and they get read more than other types of advertising materials... a winner all the way around!

4. Let Customers Sell You
Some things sound better coming from someone else. Yes, it's hard to brag your business up as effectively as a satisfied customer. Testimonials are evidence that you deliver what you promise. Paste them across ads, your Website, and any other sales copy you happen to distribute.

5. Just Ask
Great salesmen take the time to listen to the questions the customer has, identify their wants and needs, then ask for the sale. That's right, they're not afraid to just ask them to buy! Sometimes customers just need that little bit of pressure to cement the deal.

6. Raise the Value
Sometime value is only in they eyes of the beholder. You can raise the perceived value of your products by pointing out benefits that consumers may have overlooked. While you're at it, raise the price. Yeah, we all know that more valuable items have higher price tags! Don't be surprised if your profits skyrocket.

7. Make it Easy to Decide
Have you ever had a hard time deciding what to buy? Uh-huh, you don't always come to a conclusion immediately. Every time a customer walks out of the store without making a decision, you take a big chance on losing the sale. Keep the options to a minimum to maximize the sales numbers.

8. Break it Down
Got a big ticket item? Break the price into bite sizes for more appeal. Yeah, 90 cents a day sounds much cheaper than $325!

9. Create Bonuses
An unexpected bonus with a purchase makes it seem like you got a lot more for your money. Keep customers smiling when they walk away from the cash register, and they'll keep coming back for more.

10. Handle Customer Complaints With a Little TLC
Don't waste time getting to the bottom of the problem. Customers want to feel they are being heard, or they wouldn't take the time to complain to you. Are you afraid that you'll be losing profit, if you have to bend too far backwards to accommodate them? Think of it this way... an unhappy customer you turn into a happy customer will become a loyal customer. Yeah, it'll pay in the long run.