Buddy Web Design

Selling Kwikweb Websites is not easy nor is it difficult. Selling Kwikweb Websites successfully requires that you implement timeless proven selling principles.

Before we start let's ask ourselves first what does it mean to successfully sell a Kwikweb Website? What defines success?

South Africa has just seen very stringent lockdown restrictions being lifted. The ban on international travel has still to be lifted. We have clients in Mozambique whose tourism businesses have come to a complete standstill because of the South African border with Mozambique being closed. Our economy will take years to recover. To be able to survive and perhaps sell a few websites during these times could be seen as successful. There was a month in the earlier years of us selling Kwikwap websites in which Francois sold 20 websites in one month. That is a website per day. We still maintain that it should be possible to sell at least one website per day if you do the right things. Doing the right things is what the subject of this blog entry is about.

As mentioned in one of our recent previous blog entries we did find that people who never before considered a website a necessity changing their mind during these trying times, people whose way of doing business changed as well as people who realised that they will need to up their marketing efforts in order to survive lockdown and the crashed economy. As I type this blog I am reminded that we will be experiencing load shedding for at least 2 and a half hours today. 

What does this all mean for the person selling Kwikwap websites?

It actually means nothing. 

What does it mean for the person selling a bar of soap?

It actually means nothing.

The difference between a bar of soap and a website is however quite substantial. You need more technical knowledge to be able to successfully sell a Kwikwap Website than to sell a bar of soap. You need to understand for example what CMS means. (Content Management Software) . You need to realise that Kwikwap websites come with a very easy user-friendly CMS system. Having a website is no longer a luxury. Having a website that gets you results, that the average business owner can update themselves with or without ongoing support, now that's is something that one can start considering as a luxury. There are some Kwikweb web design consultants that are now also selling WordPress websites but that's generally for clients who do not wish to manage the website themselves. They can be taught how to upload the products and change prices but the next thing they might want to know how to incorporate Google search console or they might be looking at getting a bulk email and sms system. With Kwikwap all these things can be taught easily and ongoing support and assistance for the more difficult once-off changes to a website is always available.

You will need to understand what SEO means. (Search Engine Optimisation) . You need to know how search results will be monitored, how you can improve your search results by off-site SEO and on-site SEO practices.

So yes you do need to know a little technical detail about a Kwikwap Website and how a search engine like Google functions. You will need to know the bigger environment of Kwikwap websites, that clients are protected by a client charter for example and that their Kwikwap consultants will be replaced if their consultants are run over by a bus. New Kwikwap consultants can expect ongoing support from their recruiting agents and Kwikwap License holders. Initially, when Kwikwap started it took a very short amount of time to show a person the very basic software. As the years progressed and the Kwikweb software improved, new modules and features being added it unfortunately also meant that it takes longer to show a person how the Kwikwap Software works. Where initially it was envisaged that clients manage their whole websites, including the look and feel of their websites it has turned out that Kwikwap consultants now manage the design functionality on behalf of clients. Some Kwikweb consultants, including very successful Kwikweb consultants, also manage the whole content loading process. We at Buddy Web Design take our lead from clients' needs in this respect.

Why do we say that Coronavirus and a poor economy mean nothing when it comes to selling Kwikwap websites? Because it does not. In order to sell Kwikwap websites successfully, you need to be constantly engaged in the right kind of sales activities. Sales have been a numbers game and it always will be. In order to sell websites, especially when you start out and have no clients giving you referrals you will need to contact as many as possible potential clients a day. This principle applies whether you are selling Kwikweb websites or whether you are selling a bar of soap.

We have been selling Kwikweb websites for more than 13 years now. This makes it easier for us to survive tough economic times because we have clients asking for a second or third website or we have friends who refer their friends to us for our web design services.

I recently started training new Kwikweb consultants. We were paid for two hours' worth of training but we only gave a little over an hour. The reason being that the new consultants will receive further training once they have an actual potential new web design client. We can talk and talk for hours, enabling persons to build the most beautiful websites but if these persons do not engage in sufficient sales activity then all those hours will be in vain.

The reason our minds wandered to these sales activities this morning is that we also need more web design clients and we need to be practicing what we preach. This blog might attract a new web design client or web design sales, representative via Google search in the far distant future. We always blog with this is mind. Blogging on our own website and keeping content fresh is the epitome of practicing what we preach when it comes to your own website. Of course, you need to have your own website when selling websites. Initially, you can use the main Kwikweb website when just starting out but in the long run you will need to get your own website just like any other business owner needs a website. (I would not buy a website from someone who does not have his own website.)

Kwikweb websites come with a mailing facility. We use our own tools and upload potential web design clients as we go along to our monthly mailing list. Sometimes we get a web design client after two years of receiving our monthly newsletter.

This blog entry will be shared on Facebook. We do get business from doing so. There is a plethora of business leads for potential web design clients on Facebook.

We will also be using Gumtree to offer web design services, sometimes calling it web design courses. Our product is ideal for the person wanting to learn how to build websites themselves or how to manage the content of their own websites.

One very important consideration when trying to successfully grow any business is time management. A website can save you time. I will for example share this blog entry with the current mentioned new web design consultants. I will share this blog entry with the main Kwikweb office for their input. Improving the Kiwkweb offering and growing our web design businesses are a shared concern.

Kwikweb have recently added online payments by Yoco with their Ecommerce module. Kwikweb has over the years and continue to do so vastly improved its product offering. Kwikweb clients can rest assured that Kwikweb stays abreast of the latest technological advances. It is important to know what makes Kwikweb better than the rest when selling Kwikweb websites. That way you can sell with confidence. Our best consultants normally start off with being clients themselves. Only after experiencing how powerful the software do they have the confidence to sell Kwikweb websites themselves. It perhaps should be a requirement to get your own Kwikweb website when selling websites.

A good place to start when selling something like insurance is with your close family and friends. The same applies when selling websites. Kwikweb does offer ongoing support for new consultants joining. I may, however, mean that you share some of your fees as you learn to build professional websites by using software like Photoshop for graphics and as you learn CSS Stylesheet coding. Unfortunately the more coding you do the more nerdy you will become and the less of a salesman you will be. One possible answer to this very real problem is to outsource certain functions.

Traditionally web design companies outsource web design sales for just this reason. Various combinations are possible.

I mentioned time before in this blog. I need to manage my time carefully as well and ensure that enough of it goes into sales or I have to outsource the sales functions. Writing this blog is eating away my time. I should have perhaps left it for a Friday afternoon or for tonight but once I get started with writing it is difficult to stop. Kwikweb offers people with various talents the opportunity to become professionals. I should look into combing my writing talent with Kwikweb websites just as a photographer or a graphic designer can look into combing their skills with Kwikweb Websites.

The second best skill to combine with a Kwikweb website is selling skills. The people who make the most money by selling Kwikwap websites are the best salespeople. Some of them do not even know how to build a website using Kwikwap but have people who do that for them. From morning to night they keep their sales hat on applying the secrets of selling as it implies to the web design world. There is a great little book called the secrets of selling, written by a person with a background in software sales. The book retails for under a R150 rand. Great salespeople keep on developing and honing their sales skills. I always thought having selling skills is something you either have or you don't have. Trough my involvement with Kwikwap or Kwikweb websites I have learned that it is a skill that can be learned. It becomes difficult when you have to design and code to keep your sales hat on. It is probably best to team up with others and to either focus on design, training and client service whilst someone does the sales for you, or for you to do the sales while others do the actual designing and coding work. Kwikwap clients are protected by a client charter. Whilst that is another value-added service that can be mentioned when doing sales it does imply that Kwikweb clients are entitled to a minimum service. After the initial training Kwikwap clients are entitled to free telephonic support within reason.

The best skill, however, is ABC (Always be caring - never do harm). Yes, you need to be engaged in a lot of sales activity. (Our own lack of sales activity has prompted me to start writing this blog for myself but with two recent new Kwikwap consultants in mind.) I have been doing this work for 13 years. I always try my best for clients and I am excited about the product which I am selling. It shows on my own private and business social media accounts. I get a lot of my business these days from referrals. People are more likely to refer people to you if they know that person who is being referred will get proper and professional service from a specialist. ( I am also an accountant and I have to focus to present the right image on social media when trying to get new clients, be it web design or accounting clients. ) You can be caring by being honest with people. When you are not sure about an answer tell people that you are not sure. Tell people that you are new in the industry but tell them that you work with professionals who have been doing this full time for 15 years, that you are backed by a Licensee and technical team. Remember we sell an affordable website that can be delivered within 24-48 hours. It's a simple product which many businesses need. If people require complex custom design it is better to contact Head Office before a quote is delivered. We do have skilled in-house WordPress web designers who can deliver WordPress websites. The main advantage of WordPress over Kwikwap websites is the responsiveness of WordPress websites. For most small to medium businesses, Kwikwap is good enough. There are advantages over WordPress using Kwikwap namely affordability, turnaround time, user-friendliness, receiving ongoing support. We have found that people stuck on a specific look and feel, not being able to look past that feature, not being concerned about SEO or being able to manage the content of their own website are the ones ending up with A WordPress website. On average at double the cost of a Kwikwap website.

This video above is proof that I have been saying and doing the same thing for years. Consistency is a timeless ingredient for any business and can be viewed as one of the most effective selling "activities".

As mentioned earlier the prompt of this blog entry is the lack of my own selling activities. I have recently become busier with accounting work, not investing enough time in sales activities.

I will be implementing a combination of sales activities during this week. This will include:

• Scanning the local newspaper looking for people without a website who is engaging in marketing activities. (Then doing that good old thing called cold calling)
• Visiting / Phoning new businesses in my area which has opened up one being a local restaurant. ( A while back I wrote a blog about the benefits of Kwikwap websites for restaurants. I will read my own blog and consider industry-specific modules and applications which can benefit the restaurant industry e.g. SMS System, Specials and Promotion module. For certain prospects more effort will result in higher conversions.
• This blog entry can be seen as part of my marketing efforts - it does produce results over time + it will save me time when training new consultants. ( I not only believe in the Kwikwap product, but I also make use of the built-in Kwikwap tools. )
• I have already scheduled two posts on social media for Monday. This very blog entry will also be shared on Facebook. 
• I will also put more effort into recruiting new Kwikwap Consultants or Sales Representatives to do sales on my behalf. I need to look into ways of making it easier for people to sell Kwikwap websites on my behalf. (Perhaps design a bullet point flyer which sales reps can share on Facebook, the flyer listing 10 benefits of getting a Kwikwap website)
• I will be delivering on promises to clients who have already paid/ordered a website - engaging in the ABC principle. ( Always be caring)
• Get into my car and drive to places and talk to people face to face about their websites or internet presence
• Read a book on selling secrets / study some available online resources and get my salesmen hat on when doing sales. People will thank me later when I sell them a Kwikwap website.
• Prospecting - I am going to phone 10 friends/clients and ask them to give me the telephone number of someone who might be interested in a website. Everybody knows someone who has recently started a new venture, someone who might have lost his job and is now forced to start their own business.
• Do check-ups on current clients, proactively contacting clients, and asking them for help. Often you do not even need to ask for references.
• Check up on my own time management. Plan and schedule my own time better, ensuring I get paid for the hours I work. Ensure that we are in agreement ( clients and myself as to the basis for my remuneration, estimates, and terms ). Also ensure that I reward myself at the end of the week with a Friday night braai, not doing it in the middle of the week.
• Do two free adverts on Gumtree
• Consider advertising in the cheap local newspaper
• Consider some Google, Facebook and Gumtree adverts myself.

Writing this blog is time-consuming. I need to measure my sales activity by e.g. then number of people phoned. If you phone 20 qualified leads and you do not get 2/3 interested sales and one done deal then something serious is wrong. My biggest success and or business accelerator will be however If I can recruit a good professional salesman. I am already gearing up to build a website that will require coding skills. At the end of this day, I will be a tired nerd. Very difficult to wake up on Monday to be a bubbly salesperson. This is my biggest challenge for this week and for next week. To find a good salesperson. I will consider businesses that have closed down because of the Coronavirus and find someone who is not a loser in life and therefore unemployed. I have wasted many, many hours working with the wrong people. People who expect instant results without effort.