10 Makeover Tips For A Better Website - Companion eBook to The Extreme Website Makeover Webinar for ACT! Certified Consultants

1. 10 Makeover Tips for a Better Website A Guide for ACT! Certified Consultants

3. Ditch The Brochure For many years all a website had to be was an online brochure. It had your address and logo on it, your phone number, maybe your hours of operation. If you got really fancy, you could have a page or two about products and services, and a contact form. Now it's not easy to get away with that - today your website needs to be informative, interactive, constantly changing, and professional! There is no more sound strategic marketing investment for your company than a good website. It's the equivalent of hiring a part-time marketing assistant, except that it also helps with sales and is available 24 hours a day. By integrating social media, news feeds, and high-impact content provided by the ACT! Product Marketing Team, you can have a website that attracts and captivates sales leads (both new prospects and current ACT! customers), and provides support and resources to existing users. 1

5. Put Yourself in Your Customer's Shoes Remember we said we were going to talk about customers? They're the ones in charge of your website, not you. Huh? The most important thing to understand about the web is that it is about me , not you. That is, me the customer , me the prospect, me the blogger who landed on your website researching companies like you. I don't care about your products or services. I care about whether your products or services can do something for me. I don't care what you say about yourself. I care whether you strike me as a consultant that is capable, confident, and reputable. I don't care about the back story of your website - the trouble you've had with vendors, the limited budget, the struggle to keep it up to date. I care whether I can find the information I'm looking for and whether that information leads me to be able to make a decision about my own needs. It is harsh, but it is human nature. It is how the web works. And by being relentlessly obsessed to pleasing me, you will become successful yourself. 3 Photo credit : http://stylebinge.freedomblogging.com/category/my-life-in-shoes/

6. Give People What They Want Okay, now that you know that I am the most important visitor to your website, let's talk about pleasing me . The hard part is that there isn't just one type of "me." There are many types of me's. For example, we have Joe GonnaloveAct , an entrepreneur whose business is growing fast and has just heard about CRM, and is wondering how software like ACT! can make his life easier. You also have Jane Actuserforyears , who is using an older version of ACT! and would really like to understand what makes ACT! 2010 different - and why you're the best consultant to help her make the upgrade. Finally, you have Greg Yourfavoritecustomer , who has your website bookmarked and relies on you for the latest ACT! release information, product support, and industry news. How do you keep all of these people happy? Figure out what makes them different and give them what they want! 4 Photo credit : http://www.getinlinegames.com/solutions.php

9. Photo Credit -http://thecrmconnection.com/ Put Things Where People Can Find Them Now that you know what you're providing the various "me's," let's talk about adding these assets to your site in a way that's attractive and professional. Special resources are usually linked to with a prominent button called a "Call to Action." Calls to action are usually placed in the top 1/3 of your website design so that people can see them, and, well, click on them! You need unique calls to action for Joe, Jane, or Greg, and you should try to arrange them in such a way that your site doesn't looked cluttered and that all elements have a place. That may sound tricky, but with modern web design you have a lot of flexibility about where things can go and should be able to fit multiple resources on your page without the user feeling overwhelmed. 6

10. Show Who You Are One very important resource you will not find on the ACT! Partner Site is information about, well, you . This is something that only you are specially qualified to say, yet this information is one of the most important things you can put on your website. We're not talking about the typical business profile - "XYZ Corporation offers leading edge best-of-breed CRM solutions to clients through the Z area." We're talking about simple, human definitions of what you do and profiles of you and your staff. We're talking about the actual people behind your business. Remember that Joe GonnaloveAct has never met you before and can find dozens of companies at the click of a mouse. So, what makes you different? Being in his backyard is a start. Do you have a unique personality or way of doing business that makes you different than other consultants? Are you a better fit for people in specific industries? What is it that sets you apart from the rest? Make sure that you proclaim who you are LOUD and clear. It's what makes your website stick out in living color amongst a monochrome crowd. 7 Photo credit : http://www.miprofessionals.com.au/TeleSeminars.aspx

15. Frederick Greenhalgh Internet Marketing Manager [email_address] Who We Are Candi Huber Design Manager [email_address] Kyle Pouliot Inbound Marketing Specialist [email_address] Stephanie Spangler Sr. Product Marketing Manager, ACT! by Sage [email_address] Candace Farina Product Marketing Manager, ACT! by Sage [email_address] This guide was written by web design and internet marketing specialists at Hall Web Services, a Sage Preferred Vendor, with support from the ACT! Product Marketing Team.