John Singh

Tuning Up your Sales Team.

Not sure if your sales organization is up to snuff? Here are twelve keys to help ensure that your team is focused on the right things every day.

Many cars today tell the driver when it is time to perform maintenance. Even better, some tell the driver that maintenance is needed in 1,000 miles with updates along the way. It would be great if as a business executive or small business owner, you had this kind of technology at your fingertips. Unfortunately, managing a sales organization will always be a manual effort. Sure, CRMs and contact managers help, but there is no technology that replaces the leadership associated with sales management. Not sure where to dig into your sales organization? Here are twelve areas that will show just how game ready you are.

1. Business Objective. In your capacity, I’ll bet you can cite the objectives of the business easy as pie, but do the key members of the sales team know them? Better yet, do they know the current one(s)? Business objectives change. It is important that those affected by the change are in the know. The business objectives serve as the foundation of the company’s sales architecture which is the overall selling system framework. If the foundation changes without reviewing the selling framework, there is a high risk of not achieving the objective. It is the equivalent of constructing a building with the wrong materials, or worse, in the wrong place.
    
2. Differentiation. Some argue that differentiation is the job of the marketing team. I see this as a shared responsibility between sales and marketing. The bottom line is whether or not your company is successfully winning business at your desired prices. That reminds me of a great line “If you nail together two things that have never been nailed together before, someone will buy it!” The target for differentiation is always moving. What is unique today is passé tomorrow. However, sales people can differentiate themselves above and beyond the product by being a valued resource to their clients. This is critical in a competitive or commodity marketplace. One of my favorite questions to ask sales people is why someone should buy from them. The goal is to see what value they see that they bring to their clientele.
    
3. Ideal Client Profile. Hopefully, you already have one of these. This is the document that clearly defines the attributes of your ideal client. Think in terms of size, buying circumstance, budget, buying habits, etc. This is a profile which each member of the sales team should memorize and be held accountable for knowing. Their pursuit of new business should be aligned with this profile. As the objectives of the business change, this profile may change. Be sure that it still meets the needs of the business.
    
4. Messaging Consistency. You spend time and money investing in a new campaign. Your sales people position the company using this new message, but the print material and website still convey the old information. Not good! The outbound message to the market must be consistent. If the sales people say it, the corporate presentation should reinforce it. The printed collateral material and website should help position the message. In essence, the entire approach should be aligned.
    
5. Intellectual Capital. What is that, you say? These are your referenceable clients. Other than your employees, they are your most valuable asset. This asset is critical for your sales team to help them win business. How are you growing your portfolio of referenceable clients? How are you ensuring that your largest client is not over-utilized by the sales team for these purposes? Do you have clients who can speak to everything your firm does, coming from multiple buying circumstances? The use of references can serve as a key competitive advantage for your sales team. It is important that the portfolio be ever-growing and well-managed.
    
6. Sales Performance. How are the members of the team performing relative to their assigned goal? While you may be tempted to measure only revenue performance relative to quota, this is not always the best approach for longer-term buying processes. In those circumstances, review of performance in the buying process itself is an important area for study. That said, the rule of thumb is to look to upgrade the bottom 20% of the sales team. Recruiting is an ongoing initiative of any healthy sales organization.
    
7. Pipeline Analysis. There are various opinions on how large a sales pipeline should be to ensure it yields enough to meet the business objective. The challenge is that a strict quantitative value minimizes the importance of a qualitative one. I’ve seen sales people with a pipeline of twice their goal finish the year at 150% of quota. I’ve also seen sales people with a pipeline of five times their annual goal miss the target. Quantitative studies aside, the best approach is to conduct formal, periodic pipeline reviews so that you and your executive team can dig into the pipeline to see what prospects are real. Quality supersedes quantity. Pipeline reviews are very helpful for executive teams with respect to learning of market trends and competitive intelligence.
    
8. Ideal Sales Person Profile. Hopefully, you have one of these too. This tool defines the attributes of the ideal sales person for your firm. You need this if you are going to upgrade the bottom 20% of your sales team. This profile changes, however, as the business changes and matures. Think in terms of the Blackberry. About seven years ago, their sales people had to create demand in a minimally competitive market. Today, the Blackberry is a staple in business, but buyers have product choices outside of the Blackberry brand. The skill set required to be successful in their business initially is very different than today. Don’t have a profile? See my article titled “The Sales Marriage” to learn how to formulate your ideal sales person profile.
    
9. Revenue Accelerator Program (RAP). Again, you are probably asking yourself what this term means. I could have just written “new hire training.” That doesn’t convey the importance of getting sales people to a productive level as quickly as possible. Every time a sales person is hired in your company, there is a cost to the business. Thus, the development of a program that is focused on reducing the time for a sales person to generate revenue is critical. To effectively formulate your RAP, ask yourself what the sales person needs to know to effectively sell your product and when do they need to know this information. Some err by using the fire hose approach. “Teach them everything in their first week and tell them to go sell!” The fundamental question is, how quickly is there a return on the investment for this hire?
    
10. Skill Development. Many think that sales talent is born; not developed. Oh, if that were only the case. Companies need to invest in their sales team development just as professional sports teams practice their craft every single day. Sales is a profession, one of the few professions in which ongoing training is not required to continue to perform in the role. However, it is critical to success. One of the biggest disconnects between executives and sales people is when the sales team is criticized for not “selling the value.” When the executives are asked when and how they trained the sales team on demonstrating this value, a blank look appears on their faces. Sales people will perform based on how they are trained and how they are compensated.
     
11. Compensation. Does your compensation plan drive the sales behaviors you feel assist in meeting the business objective? It all comes back to the business objective. The blessing and curse of sales people is that they use their compensation plan as a job description. If you pay them for doing one thing, but expect another, you will be disappointed. This is also a very sensitive area. The plan must change as the business objective changes. However, if the plan changes too frequently, the sales team will grow distrustful and look to leave. Approach this with true circumspection.
     
12. Metrics. The beauty of sales is that just about everything can be measured. Some like sales for that very reason. It is incumbent on the executive team to create metrics with desired goals such that every aspect of the company’s sales architecture can be measured and analyzed. This is a great way to use your CRM. They are designed to track what needs to be measured. I suggest analyzing performance of team members, product lines, and the sales organization in total. Who sells the most of what product? Who sells the highest margin deals? What product is not selling as expected? Which sales person has the shortest buying cycle? Which sales person has the longest buying cycle?

Review of these twelve areas will ensure that your sales organization is finely tuned and ready to conquer the selling world.

Thank You Lee for this wonderful article.

Lee B. Salz is President of Sales Dodo and author of "Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager." He specializes in helping companies and their sales organizations adapt and thrive in the ever-changing world of business. Lee is available for keynote speaking, business consulting, and sales training.

Speed Of Implementation Contest.

What's your excuse for not making a ton of money apart from the fundamental fact that you are too lazy to make things happen...

John Singh

10 Characteristics of TOP SALES & BUSINESS Professionals

In analysing people who are most successful at persuading, convincing or selling others on their ideas, products or services, I've found 10 characteristics that appear to be common among them. Read through this list and see how many apply to you now. If you don't find these characteristics in your current bag of traits, consider adopting them in order to hear "yes" more often in your life.

1. A Burning Desire to Prove Something to Someone
A professional in any type of business has a strong reason for wanting to succeed. My reason was to prove myself to myself. I quit university after 90 days, knowing that formal education wasn't for me. My parents had high hopes for me and were quite disappointed. My dad told me, "Your mother and I will always love you, even though you'll never amount to anything." That was my first motivational talk, and it kindled my desire to become the best and prove something to my myself and of course my parents. What are you trying to prove? And to whom? You must know why you've chosen your particular business.

2. An Interest in Others
You must truly be interested in other people and in making those people's lives better if you are to succeed in business. You must learn how to draw others out, making them feel important and getting to know them well enough to determine how you can help.

3. Confidence and Strength
Professionals radiate confidence and strength in the way they walk and talk and in their overall presence. They have good posture. They wear their clothing well. They use positive body language. If you're not sure this is you, ask someone you trust to evaluate you and provide some suggestions for improvement.

4. Empathy
You must balance your own personal ego and need for success with warmth and sincerity. Your sincere interest in the happiness of the people you come in contact with creates bonds of trust that allow you to serve not only your prospects, but their friends, relatives and acquaintances that'll be referred to you.

5. A Focus on Goals
If you're serious about your business, you've set your goals and put them in writing. You know exactly what you're striving for and when you expect to accomplish it. Knowing how your future will look helps keep you focused on doing what's productive each day.

6. Persistence
Professionals plan their time most effectively to take steps toward achieving their goals. They rely on proven systems for planning their time and have learned effective time-management strategies.

7. Enthusiasm Through Difficult Situations
The past can't be changed and the future can't be controlled, so you must live for today, doing the best you can to make each day a day of accomplishment and fulfillment. When you encounter a difficult situation that's draining your enthusiasm, lay it out clearly in your mind or on paper. Then step back from it and let your emotions shift to normal. Then take another look at the situation with a clear head. You'll be pleasantly surprised in most cases that it really isn't as bad as you thought.

8. A Positive Attitude
Keep yourself in a positive shell and avoid jealousy, gossip, anger and negative thinking. Don't allow negativity to steal your energy or tempt you to stray from your chosen course.

9. An Understanding that People Come Before Money
Successful businesspeople love others and use money instead of loving money and using people. They understand the old adage that you have to spend money to make money, and that persuasion is a people business. They invest wisely in things for the good of the people they serve.

10. An Investment in Their Minds
Business professionals are lifelong learners. Congratulations! I know you have this trait simply because you're reading this article. Set a goal to be a lifelong learner, and you'll never have a dull moment. Plus, you'll achieve tremendous success in whatever you set your mind to studying!

John Singh

mail@johnsingh.com

Keys to Sales Success.

Hi guys, here are some sales laws that I have learnt over the years that I wanted to share with all you aspiring sales professionals.

Law #1: Keep your mouth shut and your ears open. This is crucial in the first few minutes of any sales interaction. Remember:

1. Don't talk about yourself.
2. Don't talk about your products.
3. Don't talk about your services.
4. And above all, don't recite your sales pitch!

Obviously, you want to introduce yourself. You want to tell your prospect your name and the purpose of your visit (or phone call), but what you don't want to do is ramble on about your product or service. After all, at this point, what could you possibly talk about? You have no idea if what you're offering is of any use to your prospect.

Law #2: Sell with questions, not answers. Remember this: Nobody cares how great you are until they understand how great you think they are.

Forget about trying to "sell" your product or service and focus instead on why your prospect wants to buy. To do this, you need to get fascinated with your prospect; you need to ask questions (lots and lots of them) with no hidden agenda or ulterior motives.

Many years ago, I was selling mortgages. It didn't take me long to figure out that it wasn't my job to sell the mortgage-it was my job to sell the dream of owning a home.

I noticed right away that whenever people sensed I was attempting to "sell" them a mortgage, their walls of defense immediately went up and they did everything in their power to get as far away from me as they could.

So instead, I made it my job to sell the dream and once they started to see the see the dream for themselves they wanted to know how they could fulfill that dream and the mortgage was a byproduct of fulfilling their dream/t. I didn't have do any "selling" of the mortgage.

Back then, I didn't know anything about sales, but I knew enough about human nature to understand that sales resistance is an oxymoron: The act of selling creates the resistance! Which leads us to the next principle:

Law #3: Pretend you're on a first date with your prospect. Get curious about them. Ask about the products and services they're already using. Are they happy? Is what they're using now too expensive, not reliable enough, too slow? Find out what they really want. Remember, you're not conducting an impersonal survey here, so don't ask questions just for the sake of asking them. Instead, ask questions that will provide you with information about what your customers really need.

When you learn what your customers need and you stop trying to convince or persuade them to do something they may not want to do, you'll find them trusting you as a valued advisor and wanting to do more business with you as a result.

Law #4: Speak to your prospect just as you speak to your family or friends. There's never any time that you should switch into "sales mode" with ham-handed persuasion clichés and tag lines. Affected speech patterns, exaggerated tones, and slow, hypnotic sounding "sales inductions" are never acceptable in today's professional selling environments. Speak normally, (and of course, appropriately) just as you would when you're around your friends and loved ones.

Law #5: Pay close attention to what your prospect isn't saying. Is your prospect rushed? Does he or she seem agitated or upset? If so, ask "Is this a good time to talk? If it's not, perhaps we can meet another day." Most salespeople are so concerned with what they're going to say next that they forget there's another human being involved in the conversation.

Law #6: If you're asked a question, answer it briefly and then move on. Remember: This isn't about you; it's about whether you're right for them.

Law #7: Only after you've correctly assessed the needs of your prospect do you mention anything about what you're offering. Know whom you're speaking with before figuring out what it is you want to say.

Law #8: Refrain from delivering a three-hour product seminar. Don't ramble on and on about things that have no bearing on anything your prospect has said. Pick a handful of things you think could help with your prospect's particular situation, and tell him or her about it. (And if possible, reiterate the benefits in his own words, not yours.)

Law #9: Ask the prospect if there are any barriers to them taking the next logical step. After having gone through the first eight steps, you should have a good understanding of your prospect's needs in relation to your product or service. Knowing this, and having established a mutual feeling of trust and rapport, you're now ready to bridge the gap between your prospect's needs and what it is you're offering. You're now ready for:

Law #10: Invite your prospect to take some kind of action. This principle obliterates the need for any "closing techniques" because the ball is placed on the prospect's court. A sales close keeps the ball in your court and all the focus on you, the salesperson. But you don't want the focus on you. You don't want the prospect to be reminded that he or she is dealing with a "salesperson." You're not a salesperson, you're a human being offering a particular product or service. And if you can get your prospect to understand that, you're well on your way to becoming an outstanding salesperson.

John Singh

Sales Excellence Video

Hi friends,

I came across this video which I think has some of the best sales techniques and lessons I've come across and it is presented by no other than Brian Tracy. So if you are serious about reaching your maximum potential in sales, go ahead and watch this program... The program has been divided into three parts:


http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid686960737/bclid686981040/bctid687029431

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid686960737/bclid686981040/bctid686943777

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid686960737/bclid686981040/bctid686966305

I hope you’ve found this valuable.
Keep shining…

John Singh

Top 10 Sales Tips

The following tips are tried and true … proven to be effective for companies across a wide diversity of industries and in many different geographic areas. Often, the key to success is being flexible and open-minded about trying something new. If you already have these tips in your arsenal of tricks, then consider this a refresher, akin to spring training in which the baseball pros reinforce and perfect already existing skills. Here it goes:

1. Don’t do the bulk of your business prospecting during prime business hours. Often the call that is placed at 8AM or 6PM will be received by a decision-maker that has more time to talk. And don’t under-estimate the value of leaving voice mail messages at night. These will be the very first messages that your prospect will hear in the morning, thereby increasing the odds of them placing a returned call.
    
2. If you want to present products and services that are of value to the prospect and that meet their needs, you have to ASK questions. Ask the right questions and the prospect will tell you what they want and how they need to be sold.
    
3. Too many sales reps launch into a conversation by discussing the features of their products and services. Features never sold anyone. The only thing that a prospect cares about is what these features will do for them. In other words, speak in terms of benefits and your prospect will be more pre-disposed to listening to your presentation.
    
4. There’s no magic bullet. Prospecting takes time and if your sales pipeline isn’t always filled with prospects in various stages of being worked, then you are in for a future sales slump.
    
5. Don’t underestimate the power of faxes. In these days of email, faxes have taken a back seat. Because of that, faxes get noticed. Carefully position faxes as part of your prospecting efforts.
    
6. Follow-up and follow-through are keys to prospecting success. Just like gardening, if you don’t water the seeds, the garden will languish. And so it is with prospecting… if you don’t remain in contact, you will never break through.
    
7. Give a prospect something for nothing. An article that would be of interest and value, information that you received online etc. and transferred to the prospect with a note "just thought you might be interested in this" indicates that you are thinking of them and wish to be a resource.
    
8. Periodically tape-record a random sampling of your cold calls. Listen to the tape and assess your tone and voice. How did you sound? Would you want to speak with a person who sounds like you? What about your words? Were they clear and benefits oriented. Taping gives you the opportunity to self-correct your presentation.
    
9. Pace yourself. Prospecting is a very time-consuming and arduous task. Allocate a specific amount of time each day (week?) and keep to the schedule. It is always easy to put something ahead of the prospecting activity but make an appointment with yourself and don’t break it.
    
10. Last but definitely not least, maintain a good sense of humor. Make the prospect smile and you’re halfway there!

I wish you all the success in your sales career and if you have any questions or would like more tricks and techniques or advice on sales, feel free to write to me on mail@johnsingh.com

John Singh

The Power of Clarity.

Clarity accounts for probably 80% of success and happiness. Lack of clarity is probably more responsible for frustration and underachievement than any other single factor. That's why we say that "Success is goals, and all else is commentary." People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine. This is true everywhere and under all circumstances. The Three Keys to High Achievement You could even say that the three keys to high achievement are, "Clarity, Clarity, Clarity," with regard to your goals. Your success in life will be largely determined by how clear you are about what it is you really, really want. Write and Rewrite Your Goals The more you write and rewrite your goals and the more you think about them, the clearer you will become about them. The clearer you are about what you want, the more likely you are to do more and more of the things that are consistent with achieving them. Meanwhile, you will do fewer and fewer of the things that don't help to get the things you really want. The Seven Step Process for Achieving Goals Here, once more, is the simple, seven-step process that you can use to achieve your goals faster and easier than ever before. First, decide exactly what you want in each area of your life. Be specific! Second, write it down, clearly and in detail; Third, set a specific deadline. If it is a large goal, break it down into sub-deadlines and write them down in order; Fourth, make a list of everything you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal. As you think of new items, add them to your list; Fifth, organize the items on your list into a plan by placing them in the proper sequence and priority; Sixth, take action immediately on the most important thing you can do on your plan. This is very important! Seventh, do something every day that moves you toward the attainment of one or more of your important goals. Maintain the momentum! Join the Top 3% Fewer than three percent of adults have written goals and plans that they work on every single day. When you sit down and write out your goals, you move yourself into the top 3% of people in our society. And you will soon start to get the same results that they do. Review Your Goals Daily Study and review your goals every day to be sure they are still your most important goals. You will find yourself adding goals to your list as time passes. You will also find yourself deleting goals that are no longer as important as you once thought. Whatever your goals are, plan them out thoroughly, on paper, and work on them every single day. This is the key to peak performance and maximum achievement. Action Exercises Here is how you can apply this law immediately: First, make a list of ten goals that you would like to achieve in the coming year. Write them down in the present tense, as though a year has passed and you have already accomplished them. Second, from your list of ten goals, ask yourself, "What one goal, if I were to accomplish it, would have the greatest positive impact on my life?" Whatever it is, put a circle around this goal and move it to a separate sheet of paper. Third, practice the seven-step method described above on this goal. Set a deadline, make a plan, and put it into action and work on it every day. Make this goal your major definite purpose for the weeks and months ahead. Get ready for some amazing changes in your life. John Singh

Financial Independece

More than eighty percent of self-made millionaires began with nothing or in many cases, less than nothing.

More than eighty percent of self-made millionaires began with nothing or in many cases, less than nothing. I can certainly relate to that because when I was growing up and right into my early 30s, I never had any extra money with which to start a fortune. It seemed to me that there was always enough, if not more than enough bills, to absorb every penny I earned. I was always in debt. Be Ready for Your Opportunity And even if a great business opportunity did come along, I wouldn't have been able to do anything with it. As I began studying financial success and self-made millionaires, I noticed that almost everyone around me was in pretty much the same boat. The idea of becoming really wealthy was a distant dream with very little possibility of coming true. You may be in the same situation, with more bills than money or assets. Look at the Numbers The statistics are a little scary. Of 100 people who reach retirement age, according to insurance industry statistics, only one will be wealthy. Four out of the hundred will be financially independent; fifteen will have some savings put aside. And the other 80 will be dependent on pensions, still working or broke - this after a lifetime of well-paid work in the most affluent society in human history. Now why does this happen? Why People Retire Poor There are two main reasons why people retire poor. First, they never decide to retire rich. They wish and hope and pray, but they never make a firm, unequivocal decision that they're going to do it. Second, even if they do decide to retire rich, they procrastinate until it's too late. They always have some good reason for putting it off. Start With Desire and Decision If you sincerely want to beat the odds, to achieve financial independence and retire wealthy, there are four critical steps that you must take, all starting with the letter D. The first step is desire. You must want it badly enough to make an unshakable commitment and to be willing to make sacrifices. The second D is decision. You must make a decision right now to do whatever is necessary, to be willing to pay any price, go any distance, to achieve your goal. Practice Determination and Discipline The third D is determination, which is to keep at it until you succeed in spite of all the problems and obstacles you will experience. And the fourth D is discipline - the discipline to master yourself to develop the habits necessary for achieving financial independence. Those are the four Ds. Desire, Decision, Determination and Discipline. And you can measure how successful you're going to be in the future by measuring how well you&'re doing in each of those on a scale of one to ten. Action Exercises Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action: First, make a decision, right now, that you are going to be financially independent, no matter what obstacles you face in the short term. Then write it down, make a plan and start to work on it every single day. Second, resolve in advance that you will persist in the face of every setback or obstacle you face. You will never give up. You will keep on moving forward until you finally achieve your goal. John Singh

Relax & Recharge

Regular relaxation is essential for a long life and personal effectiveness.

Regular relaxation is essential for a long life and personal effectiveness. Here are some techniques for relaxing physically that are used by the most successful and highest paid people in America. Take Time Off Every Week First of all, work only five or six days per week, and rest completely on the seventh day. Every single study in this area shows that you will be far more productive in the five or six days that you work if you take one or two days off completely than you ever would be if you worked straight through for seven days. Get Your Mind Busy Elsewhere During this time off, do not catch up on reports, organize your desk, prepare proposals, or do anything else that requires mental effort. Simply let your mind relax completely, and get busy doing things with your family and friends. Maybe work around the house, go for a walk, engage in physical exercise, watch television, go to a movie, or play with your children. Whatever you do, discipline yourself to shut your mental gears off completely for at least one 24-hour period every seven days. Get Away on Mini-Vacations Second, take one three-day vacation every three months, and during that time, refrain from doing any work. Do not attempt to catch up on even a few small things. If you do, you keep your mental gears in motion, and you end up neither resting nor properly doing work of any quality. Take Big Chunks of Down Time Third, take at least two full weeks off each year during which you do nothing that is work-related. You can either work or relax; you cannot do both. If you attempt to do a little work while you are on vacation, you never give your mental and emotional batteries a chance to recharge. You'll come back from your vacation just as tired as you were when you left. Give Yourself a Break Today If you are involved in a difficult relationship, or situation at work that is emotionally draining, discipline yourself to take a complete break from it at least one day per week. Put the concern out of your mind. Refuse to think about it. Don't continually discuss it, make telephone calls about it or mull it over in your mind. You cannot perform at your best mentally if you are emotionally preoccupied with a person or situation. You have to give yourself a break. Go For a Walk in Nature Since a change is as good as a rest, going for a nice long walk is a wonderful way to relax emotionally and mentally. As you put your physical body into motion, your thoughts and feelings seem to relax all by themselves. Eat Lighter Foods Also, remember that the process of digestion consumes an enormous amount of physical energy. Therefore, if you eat lighter foods, you will feel better and more refreshed afterward. If you eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain products, your digestive system will require far less energy to process them. Be Good to Yourself Since your diet has such an impact on your level of physical energy, and through it your levels of mental and emotional energy, the more fastidious you are about what you put into your mouth, the better you will feel and the more productive you will be. We know now that foods high in fat, sugar, or salt are not good for your body. The lighter the foods you eat, the more energy you have. Action Exercises Here are three things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action: First, plan your weeks in advance and build in at least one day when you will relax from work completely. Discipline yourself to keep this date. Second, reserve, book and pay for your three day vacations several months in advance. Once you've paid the money, you are much more likely to go rather than put it off. Third, decide that you will not work at all during your vacations. When you work, work. And when you rest, rest 100% of the time. This is very important.

How Profitable is your website?

Looking at your site’s conversion rate seems to be a forgotten measure of a successful Web strategy. Instead, it’s more common to hear “we need more traffic”.

The conversion rate of a Web site is simply the ratio of the number of visitors who complete an action to the number of visitors who view the site. For example, if you had 30 sales out of 500 visitors your conversion rate would be 6% = 30/500.

If you actually had a conversion rate of 6%, you should be happy. The reality is most sites will have a conversion rate of less than 0.5%. This means you need 200 visitors to generate one sale.

Before ramping up an online marketing assault, it makes sense to improve your conversion rate first. An average pay-per-click visitor might cost you around two dollars. Working with the scenario above, if you wanted 10 sales you need to invest $4,000 in pay-per-click advertising.

If you could improve your Web site conversion rate from 0.5% to 2% you would only need to invest $1,000 to achieve the same result. Likewise, for the $4,000 investment you’d yield 40 sales instead of 10.

Let’s say your objective for the year was to achieve 10 sales per week:

Scenario A (0.5% Web site conversion rate)

520 sales = 104,000 visitors * 0.5% conversion rate
104,000 visitors * $2 ppc cost = $208,000 investment

Scenario B (2% Web site conversion rate)

520 sales = 26,000 visitors * 2% conversion rate
26,000 visitors * $2 ppc cost = $52,000 investment

The difference in investment between scenario A & B to achieve 520 sales is $156,000

There’s lot of assumptions in this example, and every Web site business is different, but principle of conversion is universal. The bottom line is; if your conversion rate is low, it’s an expensive exercise to increase sales just by driving more traffic to your web site.

Investing to improve your conversion rate through quality Web design & strategy creates leverage and a significant return on investment.

Feel free to email me at mail@johnsingh.com for any questions are advice...

John Singh