What’s On Your Mind?

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.

Who Makes Your Business Decisions?

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?