When done right, your website can serve as a 24/7, always-on salesperson, managing information requests, qualifying leads, and converting leads to customers. When you create great content and add tools to automate repetitive sales tasks, your website can take over some of the heavy lifting, saving your human salespeople for where they’re needed in the field.

Here are five tips for turning your website into the newest member of your sales force.

Conduct research

Your best existing customers – the customers you enjoy working with, those who pay you on time, and those who refer you to others – are the types of prospects you want to attract. Talk with those existing customers, asking them what language (keywords) they used to find you, what problem you’re solving for them, what made them choose you, etc.; their responses will help you optimize your website with the right keywords and user experience to draw in more of your target audience.

Become a thought leader

Your content must be valuable – whether it’s blogs, a DIY checklist, an ebook, or a how-to video, you must offer content that educates your customers and prospects. Don’t be pushy and salesy, especially with prospects. If you manufacture rubber bands, for example, don’t make your blogs all about you. Write about where you can visit the world’s largest rubber band ball or invite people to tell you their most interesting uses for rubber bands. Informational pieces about rubber bands will establish you as an expert in your industry and people will think of you when they need rubber bands.

Have specific calls-to-action

Make it easy for visitors to get information from you. Offer blog/newsletter subscriptions or webinars, ebooks, etc. as educational content in exchange for their email addresses. If they download your ebook “100 Uses for Rubber Bands You’ve Never Considered,” they’re possibly considering a rubber band purchase. Other features, like “You may also be interested in…” or “People who bought [this item] also bought…” can drive even more purchases.

Automate the follow-up process

Numerous online tools can help you automate the way you follow up on leads. These tools can be as simple as email marketing platforms like Constant Contact or MailChimp or more feature-heavy inbound marketing platforms like Marketo or HubSpot. These tools automatically nurture leads through the sales funnel until they’re qualified enough to warrant a personal call or email from your salespeople.

Connect your website and ERP system

Connecting your website and ERP keeps your inventory updated in real-time, allowing customers to see what’s available, what’s out of stock, and what’s on order – no more phone calls to your sales reps to deal with inventory questions, so sales can go out in the field and do what they do best: sell!

As with any software solution, choosing the product and vendor that are a good fit for your business is critical. For more information about how Sniperdyne can help you select the right ERP platform, contact us today!