Boost Your Sales: Website Design & the Power of Human Connection

Hello and welcome to the show. Currently at my desk. It's a four house so expect to hear the usual interruptions then the goal of this show is free business education in case this is your first time off tuning into the podcast. So please run what done share, promote and talk about it so that your friends and family members in Nigeria and abroad can benefit from the questions that we tackle over here. How can they do that just by subscribing Spotify, YouTube,

Apple or any player of their choice and you in particular, dear listener, if you have any sales and marketing questions then bring them to me. Call SMS and WhatsApp on 08064662140. Today on the show, we are going to be doing the second part of the two parter that we started yesterday. So yesterday we looked at the question of whether a website can sell on your behalf and I answered the question by saying it's a capital and oh, the website cannot sell on your behalf and selling is not something that can be done passively.

So what the website can do is to make it easier for people to make a purchase. If you think that splitting hairs, then just listen to yesterday's episode. Hopefully I explained it a little bit better. So today we're going to look at the website architecture that is needed to get more people to make a purchase or to make it easier for people to make a purchase or to buy from you. But please, as you're listening to this episode, remember part of what I was saying yesterday,

that selling is active. It's an active process, and selling is always necessary. Even if you're trying to hook up your website to make selling unnecessary, you still should be looking for ways to insert yourself into the sales process or to insert some kind of human into the sales process, because that is how we are going to maintain customer relationships for the long haul. So even those of you who are trying to hook up your website so that people can buy easily on the website, you are not going to be able to maintain customer relationships for the long haul without significant and deliberate human contact that is engaging in selling processes such as need analysis, customer service rules, customer satisfaction rules, you know,

all those sorts of things. So we have to insert that into the process because that is what is going to be able to make us maximize our CLV, of course, CLV customer lifetime value. Because remember, the goal of sales is not just that we get a sale now that we get naira and Cobo now. Well, the goal is to make sure that people do business with us again next month, next year, next quarter, next, whatever. I keep coming back and doing business again and again.

And then also to bring their friends, their family members and their associates get some referral business. So that is the goal. Traditionally, when we engage in sales, we're trying to maximize the amount of money that we're going to get from this particular person over the course of a lifetime. If we leave it to the website, people will opt in and they will opt out whenever it suits them. And the sad part is we will never know exactly why or what is going on.

What if there's been a human being in the loop? And if you have been trying to be deliberate about these sorts of processes, let's say like for instance, the customer satisfaction process. If nothing else, going through the database calling people that have bought from you and having that simple conversation. I noticed you bought 3 times for us last year. We really appreciate your business. Hope there's been no problem with any of the purchases or by the way, when you bought this,

this and that and that was any problem in particular that you are trying to solve. You know, those simple kind of conversations. At the very least, if you have those kinds of relationships with people who have bought from you over on the website, you'll be able to figure out, you know, why people are opting in, why people are buying or why people are leaving. So please, yes, you can get the website to do a lot of the heavy lifting.

But if you want to make lots of money over the long haul, if you want to increase the average order value, that is how much people, how much money people are spending with you each time they do business with you. And if you want to get referrals, then selling and active processes will always be necessary. All right, for those of you who are going to say Amazon, please just refer to the last episode and then listen to everything in context.

So today we're supposed to look at the website architecture that you need to get more people to buy from you on the website. Now, when we say architecture, what do we mean? We just mean parts of the website that when they work together, they make it easy to facilitate online purchases. So when we say architecture, we're just meaning, we just mean the different parts of the website. So we, you know, mean things like product pages, navigation and then the checkout processes.

So there are other things you can be paying attention to when it comes to the website. But for me, from a sales perspective, I think these are just the main thing shadow we should be paying attention to. So the product pages for those of you who sell products, I guess if you sell the service, service pages, I don't know what it's called, but let's just limit ourselves now to people who sell products. So for the product pages, of course you need to have compelling imagery and compelling videos.

But of course, talk to your website personal, talk to the tech person because website speed is an issue. You don't want to use picture formats that are too large or take too long to load because it actually does make a difference whether it takes your website, you know, half a second to open or you know, .85 seconds to open. It really matters because the longer your website takes, you know, the easier it is going to be for people to bounce Because in today's day and age, people are used to websites just opening, you know, sharp, sharp.

So be mindful of these sorts of things. And back in my event days, for those of us who are in photography and video, it was a constant battle that we always had on our hands. You know how you're going to upload the video, what resolution are you going to use? Is there any new technology that makes it easier for photos and videos to pre render so that when somebody clicks, the website will open quickly? So yeah, for those watching photo and video, these were some of the battles that we used to face back in the day.

So be mindful of this sort of thing. Product pages, make sure pictures on point, make sure videos on point, photos and videos appealing enough to want people to hang around that to figure out what is this, you know, should I click? How can I learn some more? Then there's also descriptions. Your descriptions of the product also has to be on point, please. When you're describing, well, of course you know you're supposed to put all the features there,

but from a sales point of view, we don't talk about features too much. We also have to talk about benefits. So if you're going to say this Bluetooth speaker has 50,000 AMH batteries, something something something and you just leave it at that for the average person, 50,000 AMH means neither here nor there, but as you say, 50,000 AMH battery. And so this means if you're taking this for a 12 hour beach party, you have enough power to last the whole beach party and by the time you get home, you still be able to play it for another 4 hours.

You know something like that. Talking in terms of benefits, it'll help people to understand all the technical, you know, gish bound that you're putting up on the on the website. So that's as far as descriptions, then pricing. People have different opinions when it comes to putting pricing on the website, but this is where I look at it. Instead of wasting time arguing and quarrelling amongst ourselves, which is better to put pricing or not to put pricing, just realise that pricing can be a qualification tool.

Qualification is a process that we go through in sales to try and figure out whether this particular person that I'm talking to, is this person a good lead? Is this person a good prospect? Is this person a good? Is there a possibility that this person might end up buying? So instead of arguing which is best and which is not, just be deliberate about whether you want to use pricing as a qualification tool. So if you want to use pricing as a qualification tool, then please put your pricing on the website and make it very clear so that people who are scared by the money should see it and should bounce so that anybody who calls you or who continues from the website already knows that you guys are, you know,

premium price or expensive or whatever. So just decide upfront. And then some people prefer to do the qualification themselves, as in I won't put the pricing information on the website so that by the time the person clicks on the e-mail to know more or to something like that, I get to have a conversation with the person. Maybe I might be able to toast them to get a sale or something, something or something. So those are just the two different philosophies, Abby.

No, it's more like 1 philosophy about putting pricing on website. It's not about which is more effective or which is not. It's about what do you want to do? Do you want to chase away time wasters or are you trying to have conversations with as many people as possible? If you want to have conversations with as many people as possible, then don't put the price. If you want to chase away time wasters, excuse me, then put the price.

I'll make it easy to find so that people who don't like it, they will go and they will not disturb you so that if anybody is sending you an e-mail, the person already knows you guys are expensive and they're OK with the price. Then OK reviews and ratings. That would also be good on the site because you help. These are proxies that help people figure out what is moving, what is not moving, what is quality, what is not quality,

you know, blah, blah, blah. Then also have people who have been giving you reviews on Google and people giving testimonials and stuff like that. Will be nice to also put those on the site because they can help convince people or people who have certain questions about things. Yeah, testimonials address a whole lot basically. So it's nice to have those sort of things there. Then let's see what else and call to action. Now, unfortunately, too many people make websites like brochures.

You just throw up information there and just leave it hanging. And that's not the point of a website. Remember, we're trying to get people to buy something or we're trying to get people to engage in conversation with us. So there has to be some sort of call to action that is clear on the website. So for Amazon, the clear call to action is add to cart. You know, add to cart is all over the page because that's what I want you to do.

I want you to click on that thing and add it to the basket. And then of course, by the time you get to basket, what's the next step? Add to cart? What's the next step? Is it process AB payments or so Anyway, those of you who buy online, you understand what I mean. But you have to make sure that the call to action is clear. What do you want the person to do next? So is it add to cart? Is it buy? Some people have a button that just says buy now or do you want to make enquiries?

So whatever it is, your call to action should be clear. Then navigation, that's also another thing. Some websites are just too complex. Too many tabs, too many this, too many that and then you get lost. So the simpler you can make the navigation the better. That is why for me, even though I don't have a website now, I'm telling you guys straight upfront, when I have my website, my website is going to be the simplest website you've ever seen.

There's only going to be 3 buttons once you get to the website, there'll be 3 buttons for people who are interested in the podcast, there'll be 1 button for people who are interested in my public speaking, there's going to be another button. And for people who are interested in coaching, consulting and all that, there's going to be another button. So my own navigation, I mean, I've already decided now no matter what the website professional wants to tell me will be, look, this website has got to be the simplest website anybody has ever seen.

Three buttons only. I don't want people getting lost because you clicked on this menu, you clicked on another menu and then, oh, where was I? But I was interested in this and no, no, no, no, no, no, for my own website. It will be 3, I've decided, and that's what I'm going to tell them. I don't care what best practices for my own website. Three buttons only. So you guys also have to come up with these decisions for yourself because we leave it to these website boys and website girls.

They're going to build the biggest, the fanciest with plenty of transitions and with plenty of tabs and plenty of links and plenty of that. You know, because they feel like they have to justify all the hundreds of thousands and millions, you know, that we're paying them. And then the thing looks pretty, but then it's complicated and people can get lost on it. So navigation, keep it simple, clear menus, simple categories,

then let's see what else? OK, check out process. So just make sure that your checkout process is very, very simple because for some people it's it's too clunky. In fact, back to our brother in the space Amazon. I hear that because I haven't shopped there in a very long time in years, but I hear that now would say it's like a one click thing. To be honest, I don't even know how it works. I should even ask my wife so so I can understand, but I hear it's a very simple process now.

Once you click AutoCAD, everything is just there. And the last time I shopped on Amazon, that's back when I was still in uni, back when I was still doing my masters, you would click on proceed to check out, then from proceed to check out. It will show you review order, then from review order you will now enter in your card details and then stuff like that. So I hear that Amazon has even done away with all those things so that once you click out to cart and everything is in cart from cart, you only click on one button, ma'am, and then payment everything done.

So the simpler the better. So make sure you have a simple, a simple card, simple review. Let's see what else. Sure, everything is supposed to flow simply. Now, of course, you have to make sure that security has to be on point because of the new processes. Now for Amazon, if what I had is correct, that is now one click, you know security is going to be a problem. Are you sure that somebody's not committing a fraud on your system because the payment process is so quick like that?

What is to say that maybe when my wife is sleeping, I can't just go onto a computer, log on real quick, quick. And then since payment doesn't have to be validated, I can now use my wife's account, you know, really buy one or two things and then take it and then send it to my side chick, you know, So there's going to be opportunities for fraud. So I'm sure people, good people at Amazon are thinking about these sorts of things.

How do we prevent fraud, people buying on other people's accounts, you know, things like that. But anyway, for those of you who want to go the website route, these are some of the things that you need to look into. But let me see the main thing, OK, before we get to what I think, the main thing is visual appeal. We can't run away from visual appeal. So your website has to look nice. Seven of my website is going to be the simplest website you've ever seen.

I know, Sha, I have to tell the website boys or the website girls that look when we designed this thing, it has to look nice. It has to look refined. It has to look sophisticated. Even though there's only going to be 3 buttons. But the main domain, domain, domain domain thing, please is apart from all these things you've said, website performance. You got to check your load times. You'll be surprised how long some people's websites take to load at the marketing thing,

women in marketing thing we did with Avon. That was last year. How did it go again? OK, I gave, I gave them some websites speak Google. What's it called again? There's some Google tool that you can check how fast your website is loading. You'd be surprised. Some people's website are taking like 4 seconds to load. I mean really 4 seconds to load. And then it was embarrassing actually, because the place that we're hosting the event, some people decided to check their own website.

And I think it was one point, something seconds, I can't remember, 1.6 something, 1.7 something. So yeah, you know, it was quite a laugh. It was hilarious. And then I think for Radio Nigeria, Radio Nigeria's website opened in less than a second. So it just turned out to be funny shot like, oh, you guys are supposed to be tech people. Radio Nigeria, the site is loading in less than a second. But you guys, your own site is loading in 1.6 something or 1.7

something. So test the website speeds, make sure it loads fast because people are impatient these days online. People just run away quickly. And then let's see what else, OK. And then basically you have to be responsive. So for order is paste, you know, ba ba ba shop, shop shop acknowledgement, e-mail receipt, what else some people now have? What do you call this thing, this feature where you can check the status of your order, where you check, you see that all the order is in the warehouse.

OK, The order is now in a Papa. The order has left a Papa. The order is now in in Utako. The order is now with, with the dispatch rider. It should be with you in three hours. You know, so some people have those sorts of things, whether it's through e-mail updates or without checking on the websites. So yeah, I'll say that that is just some of the website architecture that you need to pay attention to make it easier for people to buy from you.

But Please remember what I said about maximizing the cost of my lifetime value, opportunities for upselling, opportunities for cross selling, building relationships, getting referrals. You know, all that soft touch website cannot do soft touch for us. So make sure that there are humans involved in the process injected into the sales process strategically. Even if you don't want human beings in the beginning, at least on the back end after the sale is done, you should have customer service processes and customer satisfaction processes where there are people calling in every now and then.

Thank you for the order. I just checked. I can see based from the status that you received the order yesterday. I hope all is good, nothing was broken. I hope you like your this, I hope you enjoyed your that, you know, blah blah blah. We need to inject human beings into the process. So yes, we want to make money and we want to make money easily, but we should also try and see how we can make money effectively. This idea of trying to remove human beings from the process completely is not entirely a good idea.

Yes, some of you say Amazon, but you know I keep saying that. Look, I'm talking to people who were in SME space. One small, 1 medium scale, one self-employed. We're trying to get things going. We only have, you know, like 5 employees, 10 employees, 15. You know, we're at this stage where some of these things matter. Eventually you'll become a behemoth like Coca-Cola. I mean, think about Coca-Cola. Thousands, millions of employees.

You know, at that stage, you know, there's a limit to how much humanity you can inject into the process or how much personalization can go into the process. So when we become a boheme of yes, we worry about that. But for now, that we're young and we're still small, I beg the human element is how we are going to grow. Don't put too much faith in the online stuff, the passive stuff, the bots, the, you know, let everything sell on my behalf.

Let's not put too much faith in there. So that's all for today, folks. Remember, if you've got any sales or marketing questions, then bring them to me. You can call SMS or WhatsApp on 08064662140. Thank you very much for your time and attention. I'll catch you, dear listener, at the next episode.