The Tribune

By D’Arcy Rahming

Brendon Burchard is a best-selling author who was in a serious car accident. In that moment, as he faced death, he realised he had not lived up to his true potential. He asked himself three questions: Did I live? Did I love? Did I matter? From this simple formula he was able to build a multi-million dollar business, inspiring people while teaching them how to create information products. He used the following web strategy, and teaches the seven essential web pages any business needs.

First is the the ‘lead capture’ page. It is often called the ‘opt in’ page or the ‘squeeze’ page because it allows you to “squeeze” out the leads’ names and e-mail addresses.

I’ve used these with some success in my business, and I find that Bahamians don’t mind giving out their phone numbers. However, the prime goal is to get their e-mail address and give them something free in exchange.

This free give away is usually called a ‘value page’. You are delivering what you promised, such as a video or special report. Video seems to be the rage nowadays, as they are less expensive to produce and can be done with quality. The important point is that this freebie must solve a problem or make life easier for the person in order for them to give their e-mail address.

A crucial page is the ‘sales page’. The basic message is that if you liked the free report or video, you will like what is being sold. I personally have used this method to sell books, online videos, membership sites, Dvds, appointments, classes and equipment. A sales page must clarify what you are selling, and address many of the reasons why people do not buy.

Then there is the ‘checkout page’. Whatever you do, only have one offer on the page so it is not confusing. Also make sure you have some kind of guarantee.

This is followed by the ‘Upsell/ Downsell’ page. For example, I will sell a book and then, before the person checks out, I will make them aware I have other books for sale or some DVDs. The same is true if they do not want to buy an expensive item, should that be your main offer. They might be interested in a patch or some kind of sticker. Hey, a sale is a sale.

The ‘Thank you Page’ serves as a reminder of what they got when they receive it, as well as any customer service information that you might have if they have a question. Then, if you are doing an online delivery, you must have a ‘delivery page’. For offline sales you should have some kind of receipt or confirmation to direct them to what you are offering. If your website is lacking any of these, it is probably not optimised to sell.

• NB: D’Arcy Rahming holds an MBA from the prestigious Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. A lecturer at the College of the Bahamas, Mr Rahming has clients in general insurance, retail, the health and medical fields, sports federations and financial services. He is also treasurer of the Bahamas Olympic Committee. To contact him he can be reached at DArcyRahmingsr@gmail.com.