Your web site is like a fight of stairs into your business. Once you’ve got prospects to your home page - your online front door - you want to move them to action. If you miss a step or two, prospects will fall and won’t make it in the door to your business. If you put the last step first and your first step last, prospects won’t find the steps you want them to take.

There is a hierarchy of information and elements you need to present to prospects to make it easy for them to become customers and clients. This is not what most small business owners provide on their web sites. Most sites lead with a boring description of services and credentials. This tends to push prospects away.

Before you build your web site or start to fix a site that isn’t attracting as many clients as you’d like, take a minute to clarify the objectives of your site. Marketing objectives for web sites for most independent professionals and small business owners should be:

a. Lead Generation - Build your list of qualified prospects who are interested in your products and services but not quite ready to make a purchase. First time visitors to the site need to be able to quickly identity if they are in the right place and determine whether you can help them. Make it easy for prospects to qualify themselves.

b. Establish Credibility- If people found your site by searching the web, you have a lot of work to do to prove that you can help them and deliver on what the site promises.

c. Sell Your Products and Services - Of course you will want to include information about your products and services, but if you rush this step, you’ll lose prospects before you’ve created the context that will move them to a purchase.

PUTTING YOUR STEPS IN SEQUENCE Now that you know what you want your web site to do, define the key elements that should be on your home page. Put these in the correct sequence and more prospects will do what you want. You’ll generate more leads and more sales. Here’s how.

1. FEATURE YOUR MARKETING MESSAGE - At the top of your home page include a one sentence marketing message that describes what you actually do and the problems you solve. For example, “Helping service professionals and small business owners attract more clients” or “Helping you create the ultimate personalized trip to Britain”.

2. COLLECT LEADS - Place the sign-up for your free newsletter, ebook, or catalogue at the top of your web page. The right hand top corner is the optimal position. Above the sign-up form don’t just say “Enter your email here for complimentary information”. Make an offer, one that will motivate your prospects to give you their contact information. For example, “Sign Up for Britain’s best travel secrets.” As an incentive on my site I offer a free marketing guide to motivate people to subscribe to my newsletter, with the result that 12-15% of site visitors sign up for my ezine.

3. USE QUALIFYING QUESTIONS - Don’t start with a description of your services or products. Below your marketing message, lead with qualifying questions, that will help prospects understand the problems you solve, engage your visitors’ attention and create a perception of need.

For example, if you sell ergonomic chairs, you could ask, “Does your back ache at the end of a day at your desk?” Or if you sell customized travel services to Britain you could ask, “Are you interested in a customized, hassle f*ree va*cation in the British Isles?