Why Your Website Can NOT Be a Client Machine and How It CAN
As you get lost in the marketing madness and information overload of the Internet, you’ll come across the idea of “getting clients from the web”.
You’ll hear phrases like “client machine” or “cash machine” and wonder if this is really possible.
The answer is yes and no. It’s both possible and impossible. The truth is hidden in the specifics of what they are talking about.
In this article, I will show you how it can be true and how it’s not really true and thus giving you a deeper sense of what it takes to get your site to be a super tool for “helping you get clients.”
How your site can NOT be a client machine.
Your website can NOT be a client machine simply because “a website” by itself doesn’t come with traffic. Without traffic, you can’t get clients from your site. It can’t be a machine.
A website is not like an ad in the paper, which has a subscriber base (traffic), and it’s not like a vitamin store on a busy highway that has passersby (traffic). It’s just out in the middle of nowhere on the Web – no traffic.
No traffic, no visitors, no clients.
There’s more to it.
Even if you had a good website and had traffic, you still need to convince potential clients in a live discussion to hire you as their coach. People won’t shell out hundreds of dollars by clicking a “buy now button” on your website. They will want to talk to you first.
And thus, you’ll need selling skills. So even if you had traffic and a site, you still need to get on the phone to get people to say “yes.”
No selling skills, no clients.
When marketers use the phrase “client machine,” …
When marketers refer to websites as being “client machines” or “cash machines”, they are referring to websites as part of a bigger strategy.
The strategy will include things like:
- Traffic building – getting people to your site
- Market selection – positioning yourself effectively/branding
- Credibility building – gaining trust (like #2, lots of this stuff overlaps)
- Selling – Converting visitors into buyers
If you want clients from your site …
If you want “a strategy that uses your website to help you get clients”, here’s how I suggest you do it.
- Consider various markets that have grave challenges for which they are already spending money.
- Talk to people in the market and see if they’ll invest in coaching.
- Find hangouts of these people online and let them know you exist.
- Create a professional, trust-building website that engages these people.
- Invite visitors of your site to stay in touch. Grow a positive relationship with them.
- Offer coaching to them through your site, emails, networks, events, and articles.
- Develop your selling skills for when these people reach out to you for support.
Simply put, you are getting in front of people who really need the support and giving those people an easy way to learn about and engage in coaching with you.
Key points to keep in mind when seeking clients through your site.
- Realize your site is a medium for communication. It is a PART of a bigger strategy for getting clients.
- Your choice of ideal client and what you will say to them is a strategy for positioning your coaching to be enticing.
- How you will get in front of these clients to drive them to your site will require a strategy as well.
- Developing good sales skills to get people to say “yes” when it comes to the moment of buying is a selling strategy.
And so you see, there’s much more going on than just a website. However, discount it not, a well-made website will do a lot to get people from complete strangers to just-about-ready-to-buy leads.
In summary, remember that your website will only work if it’s part of a bigger strategy for getting clients. Think “client machine strategies” instead of “client machine websites” and you’ll be well on your way to more clients.
Let me ask you …
Are there any Aha! moments popping up for you? Can you pinpoint places where your site is NOT a client machine? What are some areas you may need to focus on?
I’d love to hear what you think! Comment below.