If you’re running a business, you already know that having an online presence is essential. But what kind of website should you have? A brochure website or a sales-ready website? It’s important to understand the difference so you can make the most informed decision for your business.
A brochure website is designed to showcase your products and services. They are visually attractive and often provide basic information about the company. They aren’t designed, however, to generate leads or convert visitors into customers. In other words, they’re just like a paper brochure, but in digital form.
On the other hand, a lead-generating, sales-ready business website is specifically designed to attract new visitors, capture qualified leads by providing relevant content and contact forms, and nurture those buyers through the stages of the buyer journey, helping you close more deals. This type of website focuses on supporting a sales funnel that will turn those leads into customers and increase revenue for your business.
The Problem With Brochure Sites
While brochure sites do provide legitimacy to businesses and can help customers find you, the problem is that they don’t generate leads or convert visitors into customers. This type of site makes it difficult to capture visitors’ information and turn them into qualified leads, let alone nurture those leads through the sales funnel. Plus, measuring ROI is virtually impossible with brochure sites. Search engine optimization (SEO) suffers due to a lack of content added and updated regularly and missing calls to action.
The 5 Traits Of A Sales-Ready Website
Sales-ready websites make it possible for businesses to effectively leverage their web presence to generate leads and close more deals. For starters, lead-gen websites feature relevant sales enablement content that can be updated regularly – this helps with SEO and keeps visitors engaged. Additionally, contact forms are often included on the site to capture leads quickly and easily. B2B websites also take advantage of technologies like chatbots and automated email drip campaigns which help nurture leads through the sales funnel. Finally, lead generation websites provide an easy way for ideal customers to connect with your sales team, like integrated calendar booking – no need to search for contact info! All these elements work together to ensure customers find you online and convert into qualified leads.
1. A Sales-Ready Website Communicates Value And Benefits
Sales-ready websites feature a clear and concise value proposition that explains what benefits a company provides, who it’s for, and how they do it better than anyone else. This value proposition should be prominently featured on the website’s homepage so visitors can quickly understand what the company does and how it can help them.
2. A Sales-Ready Website Prioritizes Calls To Action
Sales-ready websites feature prominently placed calls to action that encourage visitors to take the next step in the buying cycle. This could include signing up for a newsletter, downloading an ebook, or scheduling a consultation. By having relevant CTAs for every stage of the buyer’s journey, businesses can ensure they’re providing their customers with helpful content and enticing them to move further down the sales funnel.
3. A Sales-Ready Website Provides Social Proof Like Testimonials And Case Studies
Social proof is an incredibly powerful tool for businesses as it helps establish credibility and trust with customers. Testimonials and case studies are two of the most effective ways to provide this type of social proof.
Testimonials allow customers to tell their own stories about how a product or service has positively impacted their lives or businesses. This can be extremely convincing for potential customers, as they can get a firsthand account of what working with your business is like.
Case studies, on the other hand, provide more in-depth accounts of how specific clients have benefited from your company’s offerings. This type of content allows readers to see the tangible results that come from working with you and paints a clear picture of the value you bring to the table.
4. A Sales-Ready Website Offers Sales Enablement Content To Help Solve Problems
Sales enablement content is one of the most effective tools for businesses to attract and engage potential customers. Whether it’s a blog post, an ebook, or a white paper, offering valuable content to your site visitors for free can help you build trust and establish authority in your industry. Not only does this type of content provide useful information to your target audience, but it also gives them an incentive to stay on your website longer and return again in the future.
Today B2B buyers are completing 70-90% of the buying process on their own, before reaching out to a salesperson. This means they are doing all of this research online. By ensuring all of your sales enablement is readily available, you are helping educate your buyers and help move them toward a purchase.
Additionally, if the content is high-quality and relevant to their needs, they may even share it with others who will benefit from it as well. Providing sales content is an excellent way to demonstrate that you care about helping people solve their problems—and if done right, it can generate qualified leads for your business.
5. A Lead Generation Website Captures Important Customer Information
Unlike a brochure site, which simply provides basic information about the company and its products or services, a sales-ready website offers visitors the opportunity to take actionable steps toward becoming customers. By incorporating contact forms, newsletter signups, surveys, or quizzes into your website design, you can capture valuable information from potential leads that can then be passed along to your sales team for follow-up. You can even give visitors the ability to schedule meetings directly with your sales team right from the site. Now that’s customer service!
Why Choose A Sales-Ready Website?
When it comes to generating leads, a sales-ready website is the way to go. Not only will you be able to capture valuable information from potential customers and guide them further down your sales funnel, but you’ll also be able to provide relevant content such as blogs and videos that can help educate and inform your target audience about your products or services.
You’ll also be able to track the performance of each of your campaigns in order to determine what’s working and what isn’t. Plus, with a successful website, you can establish yourself as an authority in your industry and create a more professional image for your business.
An Investment In The Future Of Your Business.
If you want to turn your website into a lead-generating powerhouse, you’re going to have to invest both time and money. But it’s worth it – a well-optimized, sales-ready website can be one of the best salespeople for your business.
The cost of a lead-generating website will depend on the scope of the project and any additional features or integrations that are required. You’ll need to factor in development costs, hosting fees, design fees, content creation costs, SEO services, and more.
So, what is the right budget for your sales-ready website? The short answer is: it depends. Try out our free website cost calculator to see what investment you might need for your business.
With the right strategy and investment, you can make sure that your website becomes an effective tool for driving qualified leads and increasing sales.
If you want to learn more about turning your site into the top salesperson in your company, request a free audit and consultation with our sales strategist.
