Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/873536
34 FEDA News & Views on every page of your website and encourage prospects to call you. There is no better time for your salespeople to be speaking with prospects because they can use your website as a presenta- tion tool. Optimize Your Forms for Leads and Sales Are your web forms helping or hurt- ing your lead-generation efforts? You may have more than enough traffi c to achieve your sales goals, but your forms may be getting in the way. Most online forms are too long, too hidden or too boring to generate leads—but you need them to fi ll your sales pipeline. Follow these tips to boost your leads by fi xing your forms: -Use a simple and clean design. Make your forms appear easy to complete by leveraging 'white space' to improve leg- ibility, remove all unnecessary elements and ensure your fi eld labels are under- standable. -Remove unnecessary fi elds. Are your online lead-generation forms as long and daunting as a tax return? If so, short- en them. The more fi elds your forms include, the less likely prospects will be to fi ll them out. Ask only for basic con- tact information that allows your sales- people to make an intelligent and easy follow-up. -Fix your buttons. No one wants to 'submit.' Label your buttons so they rep- resent the action the prospect wants to take. Use phrases like Order Now, Sign Up, Get Started, Begin Free Trial, Request a Quote, Please Contact Me, etc. Also, use large buttons with contrasting colors so the button pops off the page. -Get creative (use the 'Mad Libs' approach). Try offering your lead-gener- ation form in a narrative format, present- ing input fi elds to people as blanks with- in sentences. It is a fun and interesting way for prospects to take the next step. -Get creative (ask a question). Replace your fi eld labels with complete ques- tions such as 'How much do you want to buy?' instead of 'Quantity.' It makes your form friendlier and easier to understand. -Shorten your checkout process. If you sell products online, look for opportuni- ties to simplify your checkout process. Cut the number of clicks required to complete the sale. Communicate ship- ping costs early. Offer a progress meter to let people know where they are in the process. In addition, offer alternative (offl ine) ways to order. Have a Process in Place to Ensure Immediate Follow-up How long does it take your salespeo- ple to follow up on online lead inqui- ries? If the follow-up is not immediate, you are leaving money on the table. Assign salespeople to follow up online leads and make sure the inquiries get to them as soon as possible. Also, don't let leads languish in someone's inbox. Look for technology solutions to shorten the follow-up time. Tie your website forms into a customer relationship manage- ment (CRM) system like SalesForce.com or SugarCRM to streamline your lead management and follow-up process. You want to make sure your salespeople talk to the prospect when they are still on your website. About the Author Bob Stefano is a B2B online market- ing strategist and president of SVM E-Marketing Solutions. He is also a pro- fessional speaker with more than 20 years of experience helping industrial and B2B companies leverage online marketing to produce bottom-line results. To learn more, visit his website svmsolutions.com. How to Triple Your Online Sales Leads Make a Call to Action Do you want to turn your website into a lead-generation machine? Then stop relying on your 'Contact Us' page. Rather, offer visitors easy access to con- tact information on every page of your website in a consistent location. I like to see calls to action offered in the top right section of every page. You will be amazed by how many more prospects will reach out to you if you invite them to do so. Appeal to Prospects at Every Stage of the Buying Cycle Only 10 percent of your website visi- tors are ready to buy. The other 90 per- cent are kicking tires. Offer a variety of calls to action that appeal to prospects at every stage of the buying process. This will help you generate leads for near-term business, as well as build a marketing database to nurture future opportunities. Additional calls to action can include 'Request a Quote' form, 'Ask the Experts' form for pre-sales questions, online chat to reach out to salespeople, registrations for seminars, webinars or events. You can also get visitors to regis- ter to access white papers, presentations and articles. Offer free samples, free con- sultations and subscribe to your e-mail newsletter. Prominently Display Your Phone Number According to my research, people are at least as likely, if not more likely, to pick up the phone and call when they are browsing a company's website. To boost the number of inquiries you receive, don't make your visitors hunt for your phone number. Make your phone num- ber one of the prominent calls to action By Bob DeStefano, the author of Old Dog, New Clicks bdestefano@svmsolutions.com ation form in a narrative format, present- ation form in a narrative format, present- Lead generation consistently ranks as a top priority for B2B companies. However, most handicap their online lead-generation efforts by relying on their website's 'Contact Us' page as the sole method for prospects to take action. To turn your website into a money-maker, put the following proven recommendations into action. I have seen many companies more than triple their sales leads with these tips.