Choosing a Web Site Designer

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CHOOSING A WEB SITE DESIGNER

INTRODUCTION

Dear Friends,

Just about every business is "getting on the Internet" right now. There are literally thousands of "Web Design" companies that will offer you Training Videos, Training Seminars, Web Pages, Internet Services, Classified Ads, and Email promotions. There are probably a lot of high-quality web designers in your area, but there may be that won't be able to meet your needs. This report will give you the figures to decide which ones to use.

INHOUSE OR NOT

The typical aproach to doing business on the web is to create a web site, get involved in marketing it, and hope to make money. If you are ready to go full steam ahead, this can be effective. Be prepared, however, to spend lots of money before you make any back.

A typical expenditure on web site development only, (not including advertising) is about $700-$3000. Advertising costs range in the thousdands of dollars per month.

An alternative aproach to creating a web sales center is to use a turnkey system. At the low end, many cyber-malls offer promotion and web site design all in one package. These can be very cost effective. You may get a decent web site FOR FREE when you buy advertising with a cyber-mall. Several consultants online also offer turnkey web development and promotion.

The advantages of this method is that your initial response may be much faster. Advertising may already be in place for your web site before it's up. You can test the market very inexpensively before you devote more time and resources to the deal. If you are new to the web, a turnkey

At least one consulting group, Universal Solutions, has a turnkey system that can easily and inexpensively put your business online, but that is expansive enough to generate real sales. Some of their clients generate upwards of five hundred sales leads per week using their system. They have a three step plan that will help you test market your product on the internet, promote your web site, and create an internet client base. You can visit their web site at: http://www.uni-sol.com

Many companies, however, may choose to develop the web site themselves, or with some help from an outside source. If you are in this category, read on.

SO YOU DECIDED TO DO IT YOURSELF. WHAT NOW?

Part One: What You Can Expect from the Internet

Many consultants won't tell you what to expect. Some of them don't really know. Some of them have very little experience with FEEDBACK from their customers, so they don't really have a good idea of how well their services work. Here's what you can realistically expect to get from the Internet if you use the very top consultants and are willing to invest a little money:

- A fair to excellent source of high-quality mail and telemarketing leads. - Network (Multi-Level) marketing for your product or service

- A Network of business partners to create a "world wide" or "nation wide" brokerage - Strong online supplements for your telemarketing campaign. - A terrific Online Business Card to impress your partners, investors, or clients.

Can you make millions of dollars online? Yes. You have to shift your focus and change your paradigm of doing business a little bit to do it. You really want a consultant who has already proven their success on the Internet. "Proving Success" does not mean getting paid a lot of money or making a really expensive web site. Proven Success means that their clients make money from the web site. That is the key difference you are looking for.

Part Two: Setting Goals

Decide what kind of results you want on the Internet. How much are you willing to pay? To give you an example, you can get a web page for free (if you don't mind having someone else's advertisements on the page.) It isn't going to make your business look very professional, but it may attract a handful of clients. On the other hand, you can spend up to several million dollars on a web page and get absolutely no return on the whole thing.

Set some clear goals:

- Is making money an important reason you want to use the internet?

- How much money do you want to make using the internet? - How much are you willing to spend?

- Are you interested in direct marketing, networking, image, or all of the above?

The consultant or Web Designer may have some ideas about this for you. After you meet with the representative of their company, revise your goals based on the new ideas that they may present you. Shop around and ask several firms for a quote or estimate.

Part Three: Finding a Potential Consultant

Online is a great place to start.

Remember that you may need to talk to several companies or individuals to find the right one for your business. Don't get snared by someone who offers you a cheap deal. There are certainly college students, housewives, etc. who can make a web page, but success takes a lot more than making a web page. Knowing what goes into it is critical. Understanding advertising on the Internet is also critical.

Most decent web designers can help you do the following:

- Create online supplements for your telemarketing campaign. (ie Instead of faxing or mailing the customer a brochure, agreement, or sales sheet, they can get it online during or right after the sales call)

- Create an Online Business Card to impress your partners, investors, or customer.

However, the following three areas will require that your consultant understands a lot more than HTML (web page) code. They will need a working knowledge of business, direct marketing, and your industry. Here are the high-profit building areas that require more talent:

- Generating high-quality mail and telemarketing leads with a web page

- Network (Multi-Level) marketing for your product or service

- Creating a network of business partners

The next section discusses how to find consultants to help you do these things.

Part Four: Interviewing Consultants

There are really two different types of consultants you are looking for. The skills have some crossover, and if you are lucky, you can find one who will do both. However, you may not really need both. Here are the key attributes to look for:

Identifying a good Internet direct marketing consultant

1. Does he/she ask about your business and your business goals before trying to sell you a web site? If not, don't consider them for direct marketing.

2. Does the consultant offer you a "discount rate" on a web site? (A typical company web site for advertising purposes should cost a minimum of 2k. If it doesn't, the company can't POSSIBLY afford to do the job you want. If you just want a simple site " to "keep up with the Joneses" then a discount rate is fine, but otherwise, this is a bad sign.)

Ask the following questions (if your consultant doesn't volunteer the information first:)

1. "What web sites have you created that get good direct marketing leads on the Internet? How many leads do they bring in? Can I get a referral letter from that business? Can you show me some of the leads?" For confidentiality reasons, they may not be able or willing to show you the leads or give you an exact count, but you can always ask.

2. Will you provide the content of the web site? Will you advise me on what content to put in my web site? How much more will that cost? Successful web sites have a lot more than just fluff. They have valuable free information or entertainment value that attract your clients! This part is called "content". Your web site may cost you a lot more if your designer has to come up with the information.

3. Can we get on the Internet and see some of your work right now? Get the consultant to take you on a tour of his/her company's handiwork. This will help you get a feel for what sort of project you are buying. Don't be fooled by nifty graphics and hi-tech looks. Look at his pages and evaluate (a) how entertaining and interesting and (b) how convincing they would be to your customers or competitors.

4. Who will own the web page when it is done? Who will own the leads that we get from the web page? Will I have to pay you for each lead? It's not necessarily bad if they want to be paid per lead... In fact, it can encourage optimum performance. But make sure you enter into an agreement before the process is started and make sure the rates are competitive with your existing lead sources. (Take into account how saturated your existing lead sources are.)

5. How will you optimize my graphics and HTML to make my page load fast? You may not understand the answer. But if they: (a) tell you Don't worry, that's not important, (b) change the subject, or (c) look dumb and say nothing, start worrying! This is a very important skill if you are selling online!

6. How will you effectively promote my web site? You can buy advertising space from heavy hitters on the web, but expect to pay upwards of 10k for a minimal ad. A good consultant will be able to help you get lots of very effective free advertising space before you resort to buying a plug on "Netscape" or Yahoo". Excellent companies also have experience in sneaky ways to maximize your profits with bulk Email, direct mail/web mixed advertising, etc.

Identifying a good internet Marketing/Brokerage Consultant

In this case, you want someone who can help you write good copy, promote, and do bulk mailing in the Internet. A technology consultant with good sales posture, convincing dialogue, and excellent people skills is your target. Experience is always important. And you NEED someone who will take the time to understand your business.

Key things to look for:

(1) The consultant ask you lots of questions about your business. He or she is curious to understand how you make your money, who your clients are, and how you personally are involved. This is critical to them helping you build a marketing network.

(2) The consultant's sales people are effective, memorable, and professional. If the sales representative of their company is ineffective, don't bother to meet with the consultant. Remember that they will be representing you on the Internet. The same general style that their sales force uses may carry over to your new marketing campaign.

(3) They give you references or talk about Internet marketing campaigns, etc. that they have created. Experience and confidence will help you build your brokerage/network to sell your product or service.

Summary

There ARE people making lots of money on the web right now. If you play your cards right, you can be one of them!

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