When building a relationship, listening is more important than talking.

A website can reveal a great deal about your business, even answer questions about whom you have done work for in the past. It is a great place to put testimonials, and quotes from current and past customers. The web is also a good place to sell your products or services. There have been many articles about how the web has been disappointing for the number of sales as compared to regular sales venues such as a retail location. Even though this may be true, it is still an excellent forum for putting in your sales pitch in a manner that the customer can better understand. To promote yourself and also look extremely professional, you can toot your own horn and explain what a good job you are doing. In doing the promotion, make sure the customer can cut through the extraneous materials and get to the heart of the matter.

I hate going to websites that spend their whole time giving me the hype and the giant sales pitch. I usually go to a site to get more information about a company, see who the players are, what kind of business they do, where they are located, and how they can help my business. If a site is obviously only there to pitch me, I usually go on to the next company that gives me the information I want. People go to sites for information and advice; they will not read the hype. Put your support materials online and drive them to the site.

Flashy may be good for some websites but when you re doing business, you need to get to the point. Give out information freely, do not expect anyone to add their email address to your list before you give something out. Otherwise, more often than not they will leave your site.

Bette Daoust, Ph.D. has been networking with others since leaving high school years ago. Realizing that no one really cared about what she did in life unless she had someone to tell and excite. She decided to find the best ways to get people’s attention, be creative in how she presented herself and products, getting people to know who she was, and being visible all the time. Her friends and colleagues have often dubbed her the “Networking Queen”. Blueprint for Networking Success: 150 ways to promote yourself is the first in this series. Blueprint for Branding Yourself: Another 150 ways to promote yourself is planned for release in 2005. For more information visit http://www.BlueprintBooks.com

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