As a sales representative, it’s key to have everything at your disposal that will help you make the case to potential buyers. A functional website is one of those all-important tools.
Why is this? Your brand’s website showcases the value of the products you sell, while actually jumpstarting the customer journey and making your tasks much easier.
As promising leads go through the site and express interest by clicking on links, and trying to find where to buy the products they want, a salesperson can capture that data and build a relationship that produces a sale.
Sales reps are often left out when it comes to building “marketing” channels like a website, but there is good reason to speak up. If your brand’s current website just doesn’t cut it in terms of sales-enabling features, it might be a good idea to request that a new one is built.
Here are 4 huge issues that should prompt salespeople to ask for a new website.
1. A Lack of Interactive Features that Demonstrate Product Value
Today’s building materials customers are savvy. They want to understand what they’re getting before spending their hard-earned money on one brand.
That’s a perfect opportunity to use interactive web features that show off product benefits. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 77% of marketers agree that interactive content has “reusable” value in terms of repeat visitors and multiple exposures.
As a salesperson, you should insist your building materials brand implement these features and make them as useful and informative as possible. As a result, more customers will feel confident that your products are right for them.
One such interactive tool is a cost estimator. Cost estimators, at first glance, are simple forms built into a website that allows users to enter details about their project, size, dimensions, and other details. After the data is plugged in, the estimator calculates the cost of the project.
A salesperson can use cost estimators to show exact prices — or even reveal opportunities for savings — while allaying customer fears about costs. This makes it easier for web users to focus on the most relevant product benefits, rather than what they’re spending.
Another important tool is a product visualizer. These special elements make use of 3D images (or in some cases, even mobile AR technology) to help customers see your products in action.
For example, you’ll be able to show prospects a rendering of how your products will look in their homes, and will fit in with existing decor.
If your brand implements visualizers, you can share completed projects, putting the pieces together for any customer you speak to. You’ll increase their comfort and confidence and the end result and make it much easier for them to buy.
Not having a cost estimator or a product visualizer is a great excuse for requesting a new website. Those elements will pre-frame and pique the interest of customers, while enabling you to show, rather than tell, as you interact with them.
2. No Premium Dealer Locator that Generates Leads
When customers come to your brand’s site and make a decision to buy, they need to know which location to visit.
There might be a simple web page that does nothing more than list locations. Once customers find a dealer, however, they’re gone…and there’s no way for sales to follow up with them.
Eliminate this problem by asking for a premium lead-generating dealer locator solution like Bullseye.
Bullseye generates effective locator pages that customers find useful. Locator pages reduce frustration by providing instant connections to local dealers, and allowing customers to submit their contact information as they make inquiries about products.
That gives you the chance to follow up with leads via email. You’ll be able to send valuable content, answer questions, and suggest the exact product lines and items that would be best for particular projects.
Easily direct homeowners to lead-capturing dealer and contractor locators. When it comes to architects, an advanced locator allows you to route that lead directly to your in-house sales department. Bullseye’s seamless integrations with leading customer relationship management (CRM) tools, like HubSpot, and Salesforce will make the whole process a snap.
Bullseye allows you to monitor lead conversion rates. By promoting high-performing and responsive dealers and contractors, an advanced locator can drive more sales for both the local partners and the manufacturer. If a locator technology like Bullseye isn’t delivering high-quality web leads to you every day, it might be time to ask for a digital overhaul.
3. Not Enough Lead Magnets
Besides the locator page, other parts of your company’s website are ripe for lead generation. A perfect example is right after they’ve read an in-depth blog post or watched a video on your site, and they want more information.
Is your building materials brand asking for those users’ names and email addresses in exchange for even more helpful info? If not, your company’s website is seriously lacking…and likely costing you sales opportunities.
Consider asking the marketing team or management for more downloadable “lead magnet” content for the website. These content pieces make it remarkably easy to transition into productive follow ups with potential customers.
For example, if your brand is a maker of interior wall paneling, and there’s a great blog post on the site discussing the advantages of medium-density fiberboard (MDF) over wood panels, it makes sense to allow users to download a brochure if they want to learn more.
Then, once the customer has qualified themselves as a lead, you can reach out and have a productive conversation with them. It’s a simple, but powerful way to make more sales!
Some types of lead magnets you might ask for include:
- Digital brochures with customer testimonials
- Longer catalogs describing use cases for certain product lines
- E-books that explain how to use your products
- Informative video content about specific, popular projects
Whatever your customers tend to find useful should be tested as a lead magnet. There should be more of this content, not less. You’ll want to appeal to as many customer segments as possible.
By approaching your company leaders about this — and insisting on a continual process for producing this kind of customer-facing material — you’ll discover an increase in the deals you’re able to close over time.
4. An Absence of Local SEO
Customers often seek out info that’s relevant to them, based on where they live. Up to 97% of people who use online search will look for a local business, according to 99firms. If your building product brand isn’t attracting locally-minded searchers to your website, you’re missing out on sales.
One of the best ways to address this on a new site is to have lots of local, search-optimized content. Sales reps should ask for a website that’s locally search optimized, because it creates an essential point of connection with customers.
Content using local SEO keywords, for example, can enable building materials sales reps to discuss which local dealers and contractors carry specific products, as well as popular local trends and events surrounding home improvement.
Bullseye makes local SEO easy. It can quickly generate lots of Google-friendly SEO content that references specific local dealers. This will raise the chances of your brand being found by searchers, and enable you to use content as a point of leverage when talking to leads.
Another important part of local SEO in 2022 and beyond, is having Google My Business (GMB) profiles set up, with accurate name, address, and phone number (NAP) data across all locations. This is another area in which Bullseye shines: the software integrates seamlessly with GMB and enables automatic updates of location data.
This ensures more local leads will find accurate dealer and location listings most convenient for them as they search online. That’s yet another barrier gone in terms of building relationships with interested prospects.
To Boost Your Sales Performance, Request a New Website With These Features
Whatever makes a user’s decision to buy easier is an essential aid to sales. Building material manufacturers can support sales reps much better with a new website that leverages helpful customer-facing features.
Interactive content, local SEO, and lead magnets will all help you close more deals. Sales reps should be confident when asking for them in a new site. However, the most important feature will be the dealer locator technology your brand implements.
For a host of reasons, the best choice is Bullseye.
Bullseye builds trust with customers by creating a great user experience, captures lead contact information, and makes it a snap to integrate local SEO to ensure your brand is found in more searches. It does all this while furnishing useful tools and content you can use to build bridges with customers.
If you want to see how useful Bullseye can be to you as a sales tool — and see the proof that it will help you in your role — schedule a free assessment today of your brand’s current locator solution.
