Selling services on-line is not impossible, but it is tough! On the other hand, the web is a fabulous way for service providers to make contact with people who need what you provide. Services, as I define them, can be anything from a carpet-cleaning firm to a landscape company to an attorney to a consultant to an auto service agency to anyone else whose main income is not derived from product sales.

NON-WEB ADVERTISING
The first thing to do is to add your web address to everything under your control. Add it to your business cards, stationery, brochures, vehicles, company logos, advertising gimmicks, clothing, newspaper-magazine-radio-tv-cable ads, and you might consider the possibly of including a tattoo for those times in the gym. If they can’t find you, they can’t find you!

The purpose of a website is to obtain business, so let’s look at what your prospective customer wants to know about you and your services, and then make sure your website gives these things to the viewer. We start with inspiring confidence.

INSPIRE CONFIDENCE
Start with pictures of you and your staff in action along with a description of what is going on. These photo-ops should tie directly to the service you want your viewer to buy. For example: post a picture of an attorney hard at work at a paper-filled desk, or stage a picture of him/her in front of a judge/jury, and include a short bio of the attorney’s expertise. A picture of a carpet cleaner hard at work with your expensive high-tech machine in the foreground would be great if accompanied by a list of the training programs the technician had to attend to become an expert! A fabulous photo of a gorgeous garden with your staff actually using tools and a caption saying, “We did it!” Use your imagination! For consultants, a photo of you in action around a table with papers strewn from here to there with the suggestion that results are being generated could work, or maybe a photo of you standing in front of a training group with the appearance of action. Again, a bio of the expert is appropriate.

To inspire confidence it is just as important to identify the services you do not provide. For example, a cosmetician could post an article that points out the dangers (if there are any) of tattooed lip color – with pictures, and with an inspiring disclaimer from the firm. Remember, a brief outline of what is going on should accompany any pictures, with the idea of inspiring confidence in the viewer. Remember that line … “Inspire Confidence.”

PROVIDE INFORMATION
Don’t give away the family secrets, but do provide information that your viewer can use to determine whether he/she really needs your services or if the project is a do-it-yourself one. This knowledge benefits you, as you probably would have told the prospect the same thing in a face-to-face meeting. This way, you can use that time-slot for other things. You might title that page: “How to determine whether you REALLY need our services!”

PROVIDE PREFERENCES
No matter what the service, your prospect has selection preferences. Time-of-day, location, spot-removal or not, desired results from a list, and similar alternatives to standard service are examples. Provide these options in an easy-to-implement page that feeds back to you for follow up. You could even use your web page as a pricing tool! List the services, total the price!

OFFER PERKS
Yes, attorneys and physicians can offer perks! The perk could be free research, discounted first visit, or something else, but you can do it. One great idea is to offer a discount on a book or other publication from your industry that talks about the subject of your service. Coupons for auto repair, landscaping and similar services are valuable give-away items for websites. Another idea is to provide a perk for referring others. For example, a Chiropractor could offer one free adjustment for the verified names of two new clients. Another major perk is to offer discounted services from others through you (at a profit to you), a method called ‘affiliate marketing’, but since this is a major topic in itself, we’ll save that discussion for another time.

SECRET SITE
A password-protected page could be offered for potential clients where they can obtain FREE information for which they would normally pay. For example, a consultant or attorney could offer a checklist for determining action that could save the client money. To obtain that information, the prospective client would have to attend a workshop or seminar put on by the service provider – a fantastic way to get new clients!

The whole idea of a website for service providers is to get prospects to contact you so you can turn them into customers. Your website should not be a ‘selling’ site, it should be an ‘information’ site. Anything other than this is a waste of your time and money! So … What’s keeping you from success?