Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Why not reduce the # of required fields? Studies show that the more information required, the more people resist filling out the form. Why not simply: firstname and email? Your first email to them could ask for more information from them (company size, country, etc.).

Asking for seven kinds of information is killing your response rate.

All you need is a name, an e-mail address, and possibly a phone number IF the respondent prefers to speak with one of your team on the phone.

All of this talk about company, comments, and country is irrelevant. If you're offering IT support, WHERE your customer is should make no difference to the way you offer your service.

If you have varying tiers of pricing, offer some of the cheaper options on your site and via e-mail, with a request for people to contact you if they need your wider scope of services.

On your site outline the wider scope but ask people to call for pricing IF they're looking for your higher end services.

People that don't get in touch probably won't buy from you anyway, so avoid them and focus on the ones who are more inclined to do business with you.

For these kinds of calls or e-mail interactions, have your sales team work from set scripts that they know off by heart and be sure to give those sales people the authority to offer customers more favorable terms IF those customers are looking as if they're going to buy but are still a little hesitant. Also offer a free, limited time trial offer through which people can try your services before they buy them. You take credit card details as a security procedure and you don't charge them until the day after their limited time, risk free trial has ended. Then you bill monthly and your services become a continuity sale.

Offer rock solid, no questions asked get out of the service guarantees and STICK TO THEM.

These points will help increase your buy-in rates and also give your sales team more confidence. Confident sales people instill confidence in potential buyers and confident buyers SPEND MONEY.

It's all about making the customer feel that they are in control of the purchase by giving them the right tools and options to make the best decision for themselves, which is working with you as a top class supplier of IT solutions.

You then become the logical choice in the minds of your buyers for those services. This perception then bumps up your authority, which then leads to greater word of mouth recommendation from your clients to other people who are looking for the same kinds of services, vendor experiences, and value.

I hope this helps.

Gary Bloomer
Princeton, NJ, USA