A Quick and Easy Sale? Who Needs Them?
by
Bob
Osgoodby
Those with a "brick and mortar" business, quickly learn that there
are two types of people they will do business with. Those who can afford
to pay for the goods and services, and those who can't. Now that seems
simple enough.
Someone who leaves the store without buying, because they couldn't
pay now, will seldom be seen again. Sure, some go to an ATM, withdraw the
cash and return, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Others
will write a check, but there are people who can't afford, at this moment,
to write a check either. If you can't close a sale when they are ready to
buy, they have time to cool off, and you will most likely lose the
opportunity.
The same holds true on the web. If you can't close when someone has
made up their mind to buy, you will probably lose the sale. Now there are
several methods of accepting payment on the web. One is to have them send
you a check or money order. They have to write out the check or get a
money order, and time passes - in other words you have lost the immediacy
of the moment.
Many people buy on impulse, and if you provide a convenient way for
them to pay for the purchase, you have a better chance of making the sale.
This can take several forms on the web, and let's talk about just two.
Many online business barely make expenses when starting out. As you
get known, it will increase, but after awhile will level out. You are
losing the impulse purchases. Once you install online checks, your
business should immediately increase.
Obviously the online check submission has an effect. But, you can
then expect your business to level off again, even though it will be at a
higher level than before. Realize that people will not submit a check
online if they are tight on funds.
It is then time to take the next step. Acquire merchant status and
be able to accept credit cards. People can now make the purchase knowing
they have 30 days to make payment. If they were financially tight at that
point, they could make a minimum payment, but still have the advantage of
making their purchase now. At that point, your business should take a huge
jump.
If you are doing business on the web, and selling either a product
or a service, and feel you just can't afford to get a merchant account, it
is costing you lost sales. Sure, it costs about a 700 - 800 dollars to
become fully operational with online checks and a merchant account, but
you will recover that very quickly.
But I have to have a "secure site" to accept these you might think,
and you are right. You can do this in one of two ways that make sense. You
can contract with a company for web space that provides web space and get
a "secure site" from them, but this requires a knowledge of HTML coding,
and can also get to be expensive.
A second way is to find a web site that currently has a "secure
site" and make a deal with them. Many will be amenable to renting you a
page on their secure server, which will return the credit card
transactions to you, for a minimal amount. You can then use the free web
pages you get from your ISP (Internet Service Provider) for the majority
of your web site.
There are many ways to "skin the cat" and if you find one that
works for you, you won't be among the "wannabes" who say "Who Needs It."
