Selling Online – Do You Push Or Pull

Selling Online – Do you push or pull?

Are your online sales and marketing channels set up to pull customers in

or are you still trying to push yourself on prospects?

The Basics of Online Business

I’m sure you would be hard pressed to find a supplier in the

Canadian electronics industry that does not have a website.

But you would think that in the 15 or so years since the Internet

hit mainstream, industry participants would have gotten a better

grasp on how to leverage to power of the ‘net to fill their sales

funnels. However, judging from job ads that still demand that

sales people know how to cold call as well as the misuse of websites and

pay-per-click advertising, you’d be hard pressed to think otherwise.

Build It And They Will Come. Right?

Part of the problem stems from the belief that if you build a website, people will

buy from you. That may have worked 10 years ago, but not anymore. So, before

any discussion of Internet marketing, search engines and site design takes place,

you really need to go back to first principles.

You need to understand “the why” and “the how” people buy. If you do not

understand this, you waste time and money attempting to drive online sales or

generate sales. If you get your sale and marketing departments get their collective

heads around this, your cup will runneth over.

Do you know why customers buy?

Regardless of what you sell and to whom you sell it to, there is a basic reason why

people make a purchase decision. People buy a product or service because they

have a problem that needs solving. Customers don't buy pin connectors, embedded

systems or semiconductors. They buy a solution to a problem that these items

provide. When people are looking for a solution to a problem, they want the

benefits your product provides, they don't really care about your logo, your years

in business or all your awards.

To give you a quick perspective, take a look at your company’s website and answer

the question. How does it solve my customers’ problems? Or more importantly, do

you know what your customers’ problems are?

The Internet, the world’s greatest problem solving machine

So, if people have a problem they want to solve, they look for a solution. This

much we have established already. Now, let's see how this relates to your

company’s sales process. Regardless of the product, all customers go through a

purchasing process.

Left: typical Google

search returns for

"connectors."

After people identify

a problem, they

search for and

explore possible

avenues for solving

this problem. During

the searching

process, they refine,

evaluate and redefine

the buying criteria for

the decision to

purchase and narrow

the field of choice to

the “best few”

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electrically conductive

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Consultant N'Gai Croal from

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Intel Corp.

SAE 2011 Hybrid Vehicle Technologies

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Alan Soltis, Automotive

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alternatives.

Depending on whose research about online behavior you read, upwards of 85% of

this research starts (and ends online). Once prospects reach a decision and choose,

they take action by making a purchase.

Ask Yourself, “So What Does This Mean For Me?”

This is where the whole concept of pushing and pulling prospects comes into play.

Taking into account the basic fact that people do business with people and

companies they trust – as well as that people need information before they make a

purchase – have your sales and marketing people worked together to set the

company up to attract customers by positioning the firm as a trusted source of

information?

Not a hawker of silicon chips, or a peddler of cables, but a provider of solutions.

This is what pulls customers in. Keep on trying just to sell connectors and LEDs,

and you are trying to push your product on people.

So before you go running off to spend more money with Google on pay-per-click

advertising or redesigning your logo, examine how your website facilitates each

step of the purchasing process, especially how it educates and informs your

prospective customers about the various ways they can go about solving their

problems.

Josh Kerbel is Managing Director of Sales Funnel, a digital marketing agency that

specializes in lead generation and prospect management systems. To get a copy of

the free white paper, 8 Steps to Internet Marketing Success, please send an email

to [email protected]

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