Live sales help

Using one of a number of available software packages available, you can set up a dedicated chat box on your site for those occasions when a visitor needs that bit of extra information to help close the sale.

Whenever you’re online, the software detects your presence and indicates on the site that an advisor is available. Obviously there’ll be times when you don’t want to be disturbed, all that’s required then is to change your status.

A similar function could be carried out by the likes of ICQ, Windows Messenger and the like, but you’d end up a multi-millionaire with a string of fake degrees, a mortgage and several personal loans. Not to mention the potential for various exotic physical enhancements, ahem...

Filter sales traffic

You’ll want to filter the traffic to only those people who are on your site and are a genuine sales prospect. And the best way to do that is via a dedicate chat box on your site.

A number of providers are now in this area, including HumanClick and LivePerson . Some offer a free version of their software or a time limited trial to try out before you buy. Mostly, all you are required to do is paste code into the page where you which to place the chat button. When a visitor requests a chat, a two-way dialogue box appears on both screens.

For the tech-heads, what you are doing is renting the use of the software from an Application Service Provider (ASP). The software sits on their servers, so there are no problems over web hosting limitations. The actual chat takes place via the web browser thanks to Java scripting.

Predictably, the Americans* have been doing this for a while now as it makes for a more personal and less clinical feel to the web.

Curve ball questions

But, more importantly, even with the best will in the world, there will always be scenarios that haven’t occurred to you to answer on your site. While we strive to address the usual permutations and issues that our customers are likely to throw at us, there’s always a curve ball waiting to catch you out. [I think that’s enough of the bat and ball metaphors, thanks. Ed.]

This is where live help with a real person comes into its own. Being able to get an answer in real time while on your site, can be the difference between making a sale there and then or losing out while the customer cools awaiting your email reply.

The site visitor is, after all, the person you wish to convert.into a paying customer. In the fast moving world of the net, where choice is seemingly endless, going that extra mile is what distinguishes your company from the rest of the herd.

Put yourself in the buyer’s perspective. For example, you’re on the net looking for a JLX super deluxe widget. A search pulls up ten companies in the UK selling the aforementioned widget and you visit each in turn and find there’s nothing between them on price. But what is concerning you slightly is the compatibility of the JLX super deluxe widget with your existing kit that, while not brand new, is still fairly standard machinery in your field of business.

Definitive answers

You look for guidance on this question on nine of the sites without success despite trawling all their FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions). On the tenth site, you notice a live help box, request a chat and get a definitive answer in a matter of seconds.

Who are you going to buy the JLX super deluxe widget from?

Maybe the above was a trite example. But you get the idea. Like customers with individual circumstances, or kit configurations for that matter, your business is unique in many ways too. So only you can decide what’s practical and suitable for your company.

At the end of the day, you may find a few more online sales bagged for what amounts to not a lot of effort.

* Many American businesses have gone a step further and provide help via an avatar, an animated 3D person who appears on the screen. It is either a real person at the back end or, increasingly, sophisticated software that draws answers from a FAQ database. To be strictly accurate, the Yanks nicked the idea from Ananova, the animated news babe.