I recently tried to find someone to clean my filthy oven. I did what I usually do – searched Google, weeded out the directories, visited a website and made an enquiry. Sometime 24 hours later, I got a blunt reply with a price and a note that it couldn’t be done for about seven weeks.
A lot of conversations I have about websites and marketing (and the dreaded SEO) tend to point to people simply wanting more sales enquiries. It’s understandable; it’s one of the hardest things to generate for any business.
But what always fascinates me is the process that comes next: The sales process. It’s so often set up for the seller’s convenience, not for the buyer’s.
Why work (or spend) hard getting someone’s attention, only to ignore them when you get it, or possibly worse, speak in a language that doesn’t create engagement?
Doesn’t it make sense to get that bit ready first so you can jump when opportunity knocks?