Contact Us for More Information
The other day I had a discussion with the owner of a mid-sized IT consulting firm. At one point I asked him about the firm's website and pointed out that, in my opinion, there wasn't enough information on it. He said, "Anyone, who is interested, can contact us for more information."
Then I asked him why they didn't put this "more information" on the website? He said what so many people mistakenly believe is to be true: Nobody would read it anyway.
Now my contention is that if your stuff is so dumb, dull and boring that no one is interested in reading about anyway, then why don't you quietly slit your wrists and bleed to death without ever annoying anyone with your services which you yourself don't like that much anyway?
So, how many people contact you for “more information” on a monthly basis? – I asked.
IT Manager: About 100-120
Tom: And how much time does it take to provide the “more information” for them?
IT Manager: About 15-25 minutes per caller.
Tom: So, on a monthly basis this is between 1,500 minutes, that is, 25 hours (100 callers times 15 minutes) and 3,000 minutes, that is, 50 hours (120 callers times 25 minutes)
IT Manager: Yeah, roughly.
Tom: What is your average billing rate doing IT consulting work?
IT Manager: We can average it to $135 an hour.
Tom: So, every month you sacrifice between $202,500 (1,500 hours times $135) and $405,000 (3,000 hours times $135) potential revenue just because you insist on personally dispensing the kind of information that could be made available on your website on a self-serving basis. That's between $2.4 million and $4.8 million on an annual basis.
IT Manager: _________ [Big gulp and bulging eyes staring at the piece of paper with the calculations]
Tom: Would this money make any difference to your firm?
This is important. People don’t call you for more information because they are worried that there is a hard-nosed hyped- and psyched-up “used car” salesperson at the other end of the line from whom there is no escape.
Prospective clients know that many professional firms’ only “marketing strategy” is hoping and praying, and when people show up doing their best to take their money. This is why it’s vital to make every possible piece of pertinent information available without the need for contacting your firm.
And as a side effect, you also benefit from this approach by being able to do more client work.
Thoughts?
Then I asked him why they didn't put this "more information" on the website? He said what so many people mistakenly believe is to be true: Nobody would read it anyway.
Now my contention is that if your stuff is so dumb, dull and boring that no one is interested in reading about anyway, then why don't you quietly slit your wrists and bleed to death without ever annoying anyone with your services which you yourself don't like that much anyway?
So, how many people contact you for “more information” on a monthly basis? – I asked.
IT Manager: About 100-120
Tom: And how much time does it take to provide the “more information” for them?
IT Manager: About 15-25 minutes per caller.
Tom: So, on a monthly basis this is between 1,500 minutes, that is, 25 hours (100 callers times 15 minutes) and 3,000 minutes, that is, 50 hours (120 callers times 25 minutes)
IT Manager: Yeah, roughly.
Tom: What is your average billing rate doing IT consulting work?
IT Manager: We can average it to $135 an hour.
Tom: So, every month you sacrifice between $202,500 (1,500 hours times $135) and $405,000 (3,000 hours times $135) potential revenue just because you insist on personally dispensing the kind of information that could be made available on your website on a self-serving basis. That's between $2.4 million and $4.8 million on an annual basis.
IT Manager: _________ [Big gulp and bulging eyes staring at the piece of paper with the calculations]
Tom: Would this money make any difference to your firm?
This is important. People don’t call you for more information because they are worried that there is a hard-nosed hyped- and psyched-up “used car” salesperson at the other end of the line from whom there is no escape.
Prospective clients know that many professional firms’ only “marketing strategy” is hoping and praying, and when people show up doing their best to take their money. This is why it’s vital to make every possible piece of pertinent information available without the need for contacting your firm.
And as a side effect, you also benefit from this approach by being able to do more client work.
Thoughts?
posted by Bald Dog @ Sunday, July 16, 2006
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