5 Tips to Making a Successful Website

2010 To-Do List

It is the end of the year. 2001 is a decade behind us now. So what have we learned about good website selling to take us into the next year and decade?

Here are what I consider the 5 most important things to consider for your Sales Flow in 2010:

5. Creating a Sales Flow

If people don't feel comfortable with you, your product or your process (including overall tone) then you will not win. Comfort comes from offering and being exactly what your customers want and expect. Any surprises (sometimes even good ones) can jerk people out of the Sales Flow and into the line of your hovering competitors. Flow is a result of the Dream-Reality-Trade cycle and small details lining up.

Put Simply: Offer products that people fall in-love with in a way that is consistent and professional

4. Customers before Technology

Your business survives and thrives on solving the needs of other people. In turn you have your needs served. If you get this backwards then you will be headed for trouble (or at least limited income). There is a terrible tendency to think of technology before customers and what will make them happy (remember that when customers are happy they give you cash). If you find yourself deciding that you need Flash Animations, Forms, e-Commerce Carts, Databases etc. then check that you have truly developed a strategy that integrates these tools usefully and are not just "gearing-up" so you can say you have a clever website. If you build a shopping cart will your customers actually want to buy from it?

Put Simply: Develop a clear and simple strategy based on solving customer need and then find the techniques that help you put this into action

3. Honesty & Integrity

This should always go without saying but in reality a great percentage of people, both business owners and customers alike, are very selfish in their approach to the world around them. If you want to take more than you give then you have probably lost sight of the truth of win-win. The old saying is "those who live by the sword die by the sword". The laws of nature are unchangeable so anything you try to do to "beat the system", "tilt the odds" or "use others" will ultimately do you more damage than it is worth. Remember that the hare ultimately loses to the tortoise so long-term should be your strategy mantra.

Put Simply: Treat everyone you deal with in the way in which you would like to be treated and resist the urge to speed up the progress of nature by trying to outwit others

2. Time

Time is something most of us feel we have in short supply. In a sense this is right because there are only 24 hours in a day (we need to sleep 8 away) and 29,200 days in a life well lived. But see it this way: everything you rush or simply skip-over is something not done that will cause you problems later. Something to do with a stitch in time saving nine. Too many people want to skip the time element in creating things that they want in their lives. If you don't put in the time on your dreams and desires they will not work out properly. Delegating and outsourcing are wonderful things but only if you are truly captain of the ship.

Put Simply: Spend plenty of time making your website a magical place (and no I don't mean pictures of fairies) for your real customers and develop a superb strategy

1. Passion

If you have passion and allow it to flow through your business then you can make a host of mistakes and still win. Passion is the #1 thing that moves people. I also call passion "Love" and we all know love is a great motivator. If you worry about time then look at your passion. If you worry about money then look at your passion. If you don't know how to sell something then look to your passion. If you don't know what to write on a web page then lay out some of your passion. Do you get me?

Put Simply: Share your passion for what you do. Forget all the corporate gobbldigook-speak and hyperbole and get down in the mud with your customers and have fun. They'll be with you on that.