Great Tips

Does this look familiar: "I can sell hundreds of juicers a day
just from one web site, use an online payment service to collect
the cash, and hire someone to ship them for me. And if a
customer has a problem, he can send me an e-mail about it. And I
can do it all from this little room in my basement. No one has to
know where I am or what my phone number is. I am safely
anonymous."


Now that thinking may work for some small home-based
entrepreneurs, but, overall, it is not a good way to do
business. Why? How can customers get questions answered if they
want to speak to someone, or if they want to complain, or even
offer praise? What if a customer wants to send you a personal
letter? How can they do all that if you remain masked and
anonymous on the Internet?


This is a list of three MUST DOs to sell better and more on the
internet - no matter what you sell!


1: Provide Your Physical Address –The idea that the Internet 
would all but exterminate the old "brick- and-mortar" places
to do business was deflated years ago. If you are in business,
you need a physical location where your customers can go, and
you must tell them how to get there. A P.O. box address
is not enough. You must give your actual street address and
provide driving directions on at least one of your web site pages.


2: Provide Your Telephone Numbers – How else can your
customers contact you, your salespeople, or your service staff
if they have questions about their vehicles? Keep in mind, too,
that not all your customers feel comfortable in conducting
business over the Internet. Many would prefer to hear a human
voice on the other end of the phone. Include your local and 800
numbers. You should also include a fax number for those
instances where a customer needs to send a document that they
cannot email. Don't include your phone number or fax number in
text form on your website. Put these into graphics. Text will be
picked up by spammers and you will receive more unwanted faxes
and phone solicitations.


3: Provide Your E-mail Address – A basic "info@" e-mail
address is good for general inquiries about your dealership.
However, if you provide it you must have someone check it
regularly and respond to or forward items that come in. Keep in
mind also that each one of your salespeople should have his or
her own e-mail address, as should the people in F&I, customer
relations, and parts and service. Of course, those addresses
should be on their appropriate pages in your web site. Two
things to consider when you include e-mail addresses on your web
site: Don't use single word email addresses, spammers who use
dictionary broadcasts of emails will find you. Don't use
"Mail to" links in your website, spammers who use spiders to
find email addresses will gather these and send you extra
messages you really don't want.


Never forget: even with a presence on the Internet, you are
still doing business with people who want your product and need
to know how to reach and visit you. Having your basic business
contact information displayed prominently on your web site shows
your potential customers that you are open, available, and ready
to serve. And this will help you increase your sales!