Earlier this month, I went to a day of training provided by the local chapter of the American Marketing Association. My favorite speaker was Brian Massey out of Austin, TX. He calls himself the Conversion Scientist -- as in a person who helps other companies "convert" website visitors into qualified leads or customers. What I liked about him is that in coming and giving the talk and giving away information, he took a dose of his own medicine. One of the points in his talk is that people are afraid to give away the knowledge that makes their companies unique, and yet he says it's exactly in giving away information about your subject expertise that builds credibility.
Brian also shared that he categorizes websites into four different kinds that companies tend to have. Most of us are stuck in "brochure site" mode. (Initial Call has slightly bridged the gap by beginning this blog but I can see that I have a lot of work in front of me if we want to morph into something else.) Brochure sites aren't terrible, and they are common in professional services companies. However, he stressed that people want information, and INFORMATION is what keeps them coming back. This has renewed my interest in continuing to share meeting statistics, inside sales best practices, the true cost of various kinds of leads, etc. Brian analyzes company websites as part of his service offering if you'd like to discuss that with him. The presentation was about 40 minutes and you can listen to an audio version of his presentation. Enjoy!"
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