The "No Nonsense" Guide To Increasing Your Online Sales

Millions of people enter the Internet business arena every day... hundreds of thousands of websites go up each week... millions of dollars are spent every hour. It's scary how fast 'net commerce is growing, but what's even scarier is the "entry requirements" of any online business. Quite simply, there aren't any! Anyone with a computer connected to the 'net can trade online. Anyone can hook up to a secure credit card processor and start accepting your hard earned cash. And even more importantly, anyone can run away with it. This scary fact is what gnaws away at the mind of a skeptical consumer, and without an element of trust established in their minds, they'll leave empty handed which will leave you, in turn, empty pocketed. I've personally visited many sites where the product looks like a real winner, but I haven't dared to part with my hard earned cash due to the insecurity the site offers. Don't make the same mistake.. here's how: 1) GIVE FULL COMPANY CONTACT INFORMATION. Devote a section of your website to "company information" and give a list of your main staff and who handles what. Give a telephone number, email address, mailing address, and full contact info. You could even include photographs and biographies of each team member. It may not seem obvious what the purpose of your mug shot is, but by doing so it brings the globality of the 'net much closer (i.e. they can actually "see" who they're dealing with) which helps add reassurance to the customer. I've seen sales double with just this one tactic alone. 2) BUILD YOUR TRUST ON THE TRUST OF OTHERS People may not initially trust you, but who they will trust are established organizations such as the Better Business Bureau or i-Cop who's job it is to monitor the activity and business practices of their members. By joining these, you have to conform to their standards and as a result, assure the minds of your customers. Here are a few sites to visit: http://www.netcheck.com http://www.better-internet-bureau.org http://www.i-cop.org Example: You can check out my personal profile and testimonials at: http://netcheck.com/perfectbusiness.shtml Displaying these membership icons can help prove you're a serious business, and not some fly-by-night scam artist out to grab every dime they can get their grubby hands on. 3) PROVIDE SURE-FIRE POLICIES AND CONDITIONS Write your own "Privacy Policy" reassuring the visitor on how you use their information. Inform them that their personal info is completely safe and secure, and that NO info will be sold to third-parties or used as spam. When shopping online, I like to see the following: * Anti-spam policy * Secure credit card processing policy * Privacy statement * Terms and conditions It makes the business feel much more established and professional. And let's face it, that's the kind of company that you want to do business with, isn't it? 4) IMAGE IS EVERYTHING WHEN IT COMES TO BUSINESS Still using that free Geocities business page? Oh please. Get yourself a professional image. You'll need your own domain name, a web hosting solution, and a nice site design to even begin to impress your customers. People say to me "Ray, why isn't my website selling?" My response is usually "Well, would YOU trust a site like yours?". It needs to be professional, visually appealing, and full of the info consumers need to see. If it screams "scam", then your consumers will think "scam". It's common sense really. Start treating your Internet business as a proper business and actually devote the EFFORT required into making it appealing. 5) EASY ORDERING OPTIONS ARE A MUST IN THIS GLOBAL MARKET I've lost count at the amount of times I've pulled out my credit card to purchase a product online, then realized that the company only ships to one country... or they don't accept my payment method altogether. Make your customer feel at ease. Include full ordering and shipping information BEFORE they purchase, so they know exactly what's going on every step of the way. I love ordering from Amazon because they go out of their way to ensure the smoothest and easiest ordering experience possible. Compare yourself to Amazon... just how easy is it to order from you? Do you accept all major credit cards, and international check payments too? They're my five points of successfully establishing your credibility. The rest just comes as common sense. Treat your customers as you'd except to be treated too and in turn, they'll never query your credibility or need to worry about buying from you again.