Does that sound like a strange title of a blog post from a website developer?  Granted, there is some sarcasm in my words.  Here’s a list of reasons some business owners shared with me about why they do not need a website:

a.    I am about to retire.
b.    We are changing our name.
c.    Our business is being sold.
d.    The company will not be in business much longer
e.    I only give my website out to my customers.
f.    That’s handled out of our Corporate office (click).
g.    I am a manufacturer’s rep…I work for dealers/distributors only.
h.    We are a wholesaler…we work directly with only retailers.

All of these reasons, while the business owner may really believe they have some relation to a lack of need to consider a website, all suffer from the same flaw: they are illogical.  If the business owner woke up, went to work, and opened their office….in short, if they answered their phone…then they should – at a minimum – consider how a website could help them grow their business.

As a business owner, does it not stand to reason that one should be open-minded to any opportunity that exists that might enable expansion of business or provide expansion or additional stability to the client base, regardless of what extraneous circumstances might be going on with the business?

After all, you are still in business, right?

At least for now.

Just as with any business, an important aspect of what I do is sales.  And as a part of what I do to market my business every day, I make cold-calls.  In some weeks, I may place as many as 500 cold calls to a wide-variety of businesses.  I prefer to operate in this “business to business” environment, because it is what I have known for the majority of my life.  Yet, there is one thing about this B2B relationship that baffles me.

Isn’t there a mutual respect accorded among  business people?  When I call you to offer what I clearly feel is a valuable solution to help you grow your business; I am doing so in a manner of the utmost professionalism.  Yet I am often met with rudeness.  Granted, it is often a  person who is of the opinion  that  a website would be a waste of time and money.  But even still, is there not a more professional and cordial way to handle this situation?  When a potential customer calls and asks for a product that you do not offer, do you tell them they are stupid for asking?  Or if you are backlogged with work for several weeks, do you tell a caller to quit wasting your time because you do not need their business?  Of course you don’t.  So why  treat a fellow business owner in that way simply because you may think you are not interested in the service they have to offer?

I understand that a cold solicitation is an interruption and sometimes a distraction. But simply asking for a 2 minute explanation to understand what the call is all about is preferable to rudeness. Even if we put professionalism aside for a moment, how about doing what makes good business sense?  What if I am, in addition to being a website developer who is cold-calling your business, also a potential customer?  What if I am presently in need of the products or service that you offer, and you choose to treat me with disrespect?  And moreover, if I am insulted by the way you treat me, does it not stand to reason that I might tell other friends, family, and associates that they should not patronize your business?  What kind of impact could that have on your bottom-line?

I am never dishonest, but there are some times when I truly am a potential customer of a business I am calling.  And I make it a habit to always endeavor to do business with people who do business with me.  So when the opportunity presents itself to tell the business owner that I am also a potential customer, I often times hear the very tone of their voice change.  I guess it is just sad but true that a business owner might react so quickly, without thinking, until they are presented with the possibility that there might be some immediate business on the other end of the phone.

So perhaps, in the end, there is a very basic lesson to learn in all of this.  In the spirit of the writing, “everything I need to know I learned in kindergarten,” we should ask ourselves, “can’t we all just play nice?”  Having an effective online presence  is, after all, a wise business practice and so is demonstrating a respectful degree of professionalism.

Dear Reader:

Your opinion is important to me, so much so that I’ve designed a contest to encourage you to share it with me. I want to ask you, ‘what’s on your mind?’

As a business owner, how much do you value the Internet?

How do you think a website can help your business?

If you already have a site, what’s working well about it and what needs improvement?

If you don’t have a website what’s your reasoning for not having one?

What other questions do you have for me?

What specifically would you like to know about websites and Internet marketing?

Has the online world changed the way you do business?

Do you think you are fully taking advantage of the growing online audience that’s looking for a business like yours?

Every question posed here as a comment or in answer to one of my questions gets an entry into a drawing, which I’ll pull on Aug. 26; one entry per business please.  The winner will receive $377 off the price of a new website or $377 in web consulting if you’ve already purchased a website from me.

How much does a house cost? A new truck? A new piece of machinery? It depends, doesn’t it?

No doubt, these are all significant financial decisions, and the final price tag is something that affects the kind of item a consumer might decide on. But in all of these cases, the answer to the “cost” question depends on a lot of different things – mostly what the consumer wants included in the item. And more than likely, the first response to the “cost” question must be “well, how much do you want to spend?” or “what price range is in your budget?”.

Yet, when a website developer answers the “cost” question by asking what is in a potential customer’s budget, the potential customer invariably thinks the website developer is asking because he intends to gouge the customer for as much as possible. Why?

And consider this. If a consumer were to find a realtor that would answer the “how much does it cost” question without asking you for any more information, what would the consumer think when he told him a price that was more than he thought he could afford? What if this was you? If the realtor said, “well I can sell you a house that costs $300,000” and you knew it was about twice what you wanted to spend? You would probably respond with something like, “Well, that’s too expensive. Can you help me find a house around $150,000?” What you would NOT think is, “Wow…that realtor was trying to take advantage of me. I better go find another realtor that is willing to sell me a less expensive house.”

Here’s the difference in how most business owners look at the website in comparison to how most consumers look at the other financial decisions previously mentioned: when one goes to buy the house, he is a consumer who has already decided that he will likely make a purchase of some kind. With the website, however, many business owners ask the “cost” question with the intent of factoring the answer into whether or not he will continue considering. This is where the shift must occur. Some even ask how much something costs for the main purpose of saying “no thank you, that’s too much.” What they really ought to be asking at this point is, “What do you think a website can do to increase my business?” Followed by a discussion about what they want and need in a website and how much it will cost to create it, based on their desires. Eventually, like all other business purchases, a decision can be made on a cost/value basis.

You must first embrace the fact that you must have a website to continue to do business. Only after you have accepted this fact will you then be able to approach the decisions about a website from the proper perspective, only then will you be able to discuss the feature and benefits you want in a website in an effective way, and only then will a developer be able to provide you with the high-level of service - like what you receive from the realtor - and help you make the correct decisions about a website that will function for your business while also falling within the confines of your pocketbook.

Is developing a website for your business really an expense? Perhaps it’s not. If designed, maintained, and promoted properly, a website can actually make you money. In fact, you should expect it to.

Frequently, I am faced with the objection of a website being cost-prohibitive for a small business. Especially when a small business may already be struggling to make ends meet and cover already existing expenses, often times it is difficult to imagine spending money on developing a web presence. Arguably, however, a business owner in this predicament may be examining their situation from the wrong perspective.

As we see more and more people going to the web to not only explore options for doing business but also for ways to do business more easily, it is apparent that the Internet is not just a passing fad. In fact, the Internet itself is already an indispensible component of today’s economy.

In fact, it’s not unrealistic to consider the possibility that one of the reasons cash is tight and business is slow might be because you are missing out on bringing in your share of online business. If you are not selling where customers are buying…if you are not promoting and advertising where customers are researching…then they are likely buying from someone else.

So how do you bridge the gap? First of all, know that a website actually increases revenue and more than pays for its investment. The reality is, time and time again, companies that have chosen to invest in a website have proven this to be true. Now, go out and find a web solution provider that you can trust…one that you know has your best interests in mind and one who will be there for you long after the sale. You want not only a website developer, but a partner in your Internet marketing…someone who is invested in your success.

Don’t be intimidated by the Internet. Embrace it. Your business might just depend on it.

Remember the days when a business was not considered “credible” unless they had a FAX number? In today’s Internet business economy you could be losing credibility just by the online signatures you leave.

I spend a lot of time telling you how to promote your business online and help customers find you through the search engines, but what about the people that may already know about you or find out about you through a more traditional method?

For many of your potential customers, the first thing they look for on your business card or in your ad is a website. The customer who is checking out at the cash register in the lobby of your restaurant may pick up your card, hoping to consult your menu from home at a later time to help plan a special event. Yet, when they get home and realize there is no website on the card, you have taken yourself out of the competition for their business. The person reading your ad in the yellow pages hopes to consult your website before deciding if they will call you to fix their plumbing problem. Again, no website in your ad, and you are out of the running.

And what about an email address? For many consumers and businesses, email has replaced snail mail and fax machines as a main method of communication…sometimes as important, or even more important, than the telephone. Email is a timesaver, so if you don’t have one, what does that say about your customer service? Not having an email address makes it difficult for many people to reach you, and they may not be willing to make the extra effort to pick up the telephone even if your phone number is right in front of them. Sometimes even having an email address is not always enough. Business that use free email services are sometimes not taken seriously. Which email address sounds more credible and stable: “joe@joeselectrical.com” or the guy at “electrician@hotmail.com?”

Times have changed. Everything is faster these days, particularly when it comes to making buying decisions. Sometimes we have less than 60 seconds to make a good online impression. What does your website and email address say about your business? Speed has raised the bar. Having a fax number is no longer an indication of stability and credibility.

Your website and email address is your electronic signature. How do you stack up with the competition? Do you make it easy for new customers to contact you and buy from you? Do you deserve their trust? Does your business look like it has kept up with the times?

As I travel around, speaking to business owners about the power of web presence, I am not often surprised by what I hear. However, one thing that always seems to catch me off guard is the comment, “We had a website and we let it go.”

Usually, this is offered as an explanation as to why they do not have a website, but even more bizarrely, as justification as to why they do not need one now. This is simply nuts and here’s why.

If you once had a website, then you probably understood the benefits of a powerful web presence, and made the decision in favor of it. But what happened? Obviously it did not perform as expected or customers and prospects would, right now, be able to find you online.

Why didn’t it deliver results? Perhaps it was an ineffective design or poorly maintained. Perhaps no one could find it because it was not effectively marketed. In any event, it was not because websites do not work.

Imagine this:

You mistakenly print a competitor’s name and address on a marketing flyer and distribute throughout the tri-state area. While customers flood to your competitor’s store, you wonder why your flyer isn’t working. Do you blame the concept of a marketing flyer, and decide that using marketing flyers is not an effective way to advertise your company? Do flyers simply not work? Of course not! It was the way you used the tool that was flawed, not the tool itself.

So, why does the fact that you once utilized a website incorrectly lead to the conclusion that websites don’t work?

What can you do? Well, you can find a website developer with a proven track record of building and marketing successful websites for small businesses. Do your research and, the second time; use the right tool in the right way! Websites work. The Internet is here to stay. Don’t dismiss the effectiveness of this powerful tool simply because your first attempt did not work. Wise business owners make the time to understand mistakes so that they can adjust and respond more effectively. Be the wise business owner you know you are. Build a website that works and you’ll be very pleased that you did.

I am often asked, “Why do you belong to social networking sites? Aren’t those for kids?” In reality, Social Networking sites can actually be very useful tools to build and promote your business, and today I want to talk about just one example of how.

It has been my practice, since October of last year, to dedicate time and effort into developing an informative and useful blog – the one you are reading - focused on the topics of Internet marketing and website development. The main objective has been the promotion of my website development and Internet marketing business. To do so, however, requires a strict focus of attention to offering useful and powerful information to my readers. After you begin writing this kind of information, though, you need to actually find the people who will read it. Everyday, I am searching for ways to promote the blog and increase my audience.

Recently, a fellow blogger by the name of Tom Volkar set me on the trail of a powerful Facebook application called Blog It. Facebook is a social networking site as I referenced above, and different people and companies develop all sorts of “applications” that can be added to your Facebook account to do a wide variety of different things. This particular application, Blog It, actually helps to promote my blog. Here’s how:

Once I installed the Blog It application into my Facebook account (please feel free to connect with me in Facebook by going to the About page of this blog and clicking on the Facebook badge), I linked Blog It to my actual blog. I now had a way of connecting all of my Facebook “friends” to my blog. Every time I post to my blog using the Blog It application, all of my 96 friends are notified that a new blog post has been added. It’s that simple.

And the technical support available from Six Apart through the Facebook / Blog It Discussion Group is incredible. I give kudos specifically to Bryan Tighe at Six Apart for monitoring this discussion board and responding very quickly to everyone’s questions and concerns.

This is just one example of the potential power of the increasingly popular social networking sites, and one way you can begin to employ that power. Social Networking on the web….not just for kids anymore!

Have you ever wondered what decisions your receptionist might be making for you?

Your initial reaction may be to say; “My receptionist doesn’t make any decisions for me. I make my own decisions.” But perhaps you should not be so sure. I call small businesses every day to promote my services, and one of the most troubling responses I get is “No, my boss wouldn’t be interested in a website.”

First, ask yourself these questions:

Is having a dynamic and results-producing website something that I do intend for sometime in the future?

Do I intend to ever sell products online?

Do I intend to ever offer access to my services online?

Do I intend to ever use the power of the Internet to reach tens of thousands of customer that no longer use the yellow pages?

If the answer is no, then you should do some research on the power of web presence. I think it will surprise you. Every day, more and more businesses get “on line,” and at some point soon, businesses will not be able to survive without a web presence.

But if you answered yes to the above questions, then how will your receptionist ever know when that time has finally come? How will she know when it is time to let the gate open and allow the website developer access to you?

It is entirely too easy for the receptionist to say “no” to a salesperson. Perhaps she remembers that you quickly dismissed several calls from website developers in the past by possibly grunted something like “I don’t have time for that right now.” But she does not necessarily understand the reasons why you may have made that comment, and may not understand that, at some point, you do intend to get a website.

And what if the guy on the other end of the phone, tomorrow morning, is the right guy? What if he is the quickest, easiest, most affordable and most effective way to get online? That’s what I offer, and I could be calling. But you never get to hear about it or talk to me because of your receptionist’s unrefined and less than strategic screening process?

We all understand that it is the receptionist’s job to minimize distractions and unnecessary interruptions for the people working in his/her office, and to do her job effectively, she must limit access to her co-workers. However, there is a fine line that should not be crossed when it comes to allowing the true decision-makers to make the important decisions about the business, and too many Gatekeepers cross that line and exercise control that is not theirs to exercise, only because they have not been adequately informed.

If you think this might be happening, a conversation with your receptionist might be in order. If you feel you do not have the time to investigate it or to instruct your receptionist…I wonder how many important decisions are never even making it to your desk?

Dealer Depot is a brand new client, and after just 60 days their new website has delivered for them in a big way. They are a wholesale supplier of building materials, and their office and warehouse are located in the small town of Monongahela, in Southwestern Pennsylvania. When I first met with them they had a site that wasn’t working for them because it was not developed by a professional. Their website offered limited information, was not properly optimized, and was seldom if ever visited by the search engines.

In the middle of February, they hired us and three days later, we had a site up and running which had a more professional look and feel. By the end of the first week, we had begun adding product listings to the site, and by the end of 30 days, a complete and comprehensive site was published. Web site optimization was complete within 3 additional days, and by the end of the 35^th day from start date, a fully functional and optimized site was submitted to the Search Engines.

And less than 60 days from the day we started, I received a call yesterday from Dealer Depot who was calling to inform me that they had just acquired 2 new customers from the West Coast. They wanted to know how and why? I told them that the details are not important, but the “why” is because you hired Power On The Web to develop your site and manage the Internet marketing and online promotion of it.

So, how fast can we get a professional website up and running? Sooner than you might think. How quickly can we get businesses positive and measurable results, with our web solution? Sometimes within weeks. So, what are you waiting for? Call Clem for a no obligation walk-through today at 724-263-6611.