How to make your website better at generating leads

If you look at your marketing as one big funnel, your website is right at the bottom because everything you does feeds into it.

So, the success of your various marketing activities really does rely on how good your website is at converting ‘traffic’ into leads.

That’s why your website is the most important marketing tool you have in your arsenal.

But sadly, most HR consultants I speak to struggle with their website, wishing it was better.

That’s why in this article I want to strip it right back to basics, helping you to understand the ‘formula’ to the perfect site.

Prospects are fickle creatures. They land on your website, get a feel for what you’re about and if they don’t like what they see or feel they disappear, never to be seen again.

The behavioural economist and Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman explains in his book Thinking Fast and Slow that our brains have two models of thinking.

System 1 operates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort and no sense of voluntary control. This system is typically controlled by emotions and 'gut-feel'.

System 2 is engaged when we are required to pay more conscious attention to information presented. This system kicks in when we have to concentrate on something.

When we make decisions, like looking for a new HR consultant, we often do this using our emotions (system 1), rather than our brain (system 2).

That’s because the average person doesn’t really know what makes a great HR consultant. We may look at qualifications and the obvious stuff, but really, how can the uneducated buyer know who is a good HR consultant? They don’t know what you know.

This is actually a problem you need to tackle in your marketing, but we’ll come on to that in a bit.

That’s why when someone lands on your website, you need to ensure that they engage pretty quickly on an emotional level. Because that’s the system they’ll be using.

You might think that this sounds tricky, but actually it’s far easier to appeal to someone’s emotions than it is if they switch to system 2. Because when we start using our brain, we automatically become more suspicious and sceptical.

 

How can you make sure you get the emotional appeal of your website right?

You must first understand exactly who your target market is and what makes them tick.

I’m a big fan of persona workshops for that reason. I’m always a little hesitant when I offer this advice because I’ve known some business owners to think that this is a marketing la-di-da thing.

But what persona workshops force you to do is focus on the prospect.

And if you use your persona profile to drive your future marketing campaigns, then they become a lot more client centric, which makes them more successful.

Once you’ve done a persona workshop, you will then have a better understanding of their fears, wants and needs. You can then start addressing them on the website.

Persona workshops and emotional influence are such massive pieces, they deserve their very own dedicated articles which I’ll be covering soon. Check back at the learning hub for updates.

But for the purposes of this article, here’s a few ways you can immediately appeal to your prospect’s emotions:

1. Hero statement

This is the big headline people see as soon as they land on your website. My rule of thumb is that this statement should always:

• Address who the prospect is, or their industry
• Address a problem, or how they are feeling
• Pitch yourself as the solution

2. Real images that reflect the audience

Real images, not stocks, are a great way of making an impact visually quickly and easily. You must think about who your target audience is and take images of them in their work environments, with their teams etc.  

If they see themselves in the images, they’ll instantly feel more connected to your website.

3. Client story

We grew up on stories. Stories are incredibly powerful. And if a prospect can read a story about someone just like them explaining who they are, the HR problems they faced and how you were able to fix them, the prospect will relate to this and will feel like you can do the same for them.

For this reason, I advise you to put your client’s story in a prominent position on your home page.

4. Niche your services

 A lot of HR consultants I work with are scared of niching their services. I understand why, of course. But I feel like they approach creating niches with the wrong mindset.

Niching isn’t about limiting who you can work with, it’s about making your marketing easier and more effective.

Marketing to a niche is 10000 x easier than it is marketing to a general audience in your area because it gives you a powerful USP.

Targeting a specific industry and individual also helps you to connect with them on an emotional level. 

This doesn’t limit your HR consultancy at all, because you can of course niche your services to multiple verticals and industries. I just advise that you have different landing pages or websites for each industry.

It might sound like more work, but this work pays off. The HR consultancy that niches its services will grow much more quickly than one that doesn’t.

In a fierce market, you need to stand out. And if you want your website to be better at generating more leads, your prospect needs to understand what your USPs are and how they benefit them very quickly. 

There’s two parts to this:

Part 1: Creating a USP

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a tough question to answer – why would I pick your HR consultancy above all of your competitors?

Most HR consultants can’t answer this, or they come up with very generic USPs which aren’t USPs at all. Even I struggle to answer this working alongside some of my clients straight away, but we get there in the end.

A true USP is something that another HR consultancy can’t steal and what makes you the ‘no brainer’ choice – because people are making emotional decisions remember.

For HR consultants, you have two main ways to differentiate yourself. Either through convenience factors or the most powerful way, you and your team.

Part 2: Communicating this USP

When you list what your USPs are, you should then back them up with the benefit to the prospect.

I’ve merged USPs, features and benefits here a little, but for the purposes of the home page I think you should focus on what your USPs are first, then explain the benefits of them.

For instance:

USP could be: I’ve been working with accountants like you for 20 years.

Benefit: You won’t have to worry about HR again, I’ve handled every HR problem an accountant could ever face, and more – you can relax. 

Probably a weak one to use as an example, but you get the idea. But notice how I made it about them, by using the words ‘you’ and ‘you’ll’. Rather than ‘we’.

Typically, I like to present your USPs and benefits in a list, with the title: “Why you’ll love working with me.”

When I work with clients, I have my very own checklist that I use as a working document to help make sure their site contains all of the ingredients.

Here’s images of it for you to look at. You can also download a copy here.

Use this as a checklist to see what your site is missing:

In the final section of this article, we’re going to be looking at how you then ask a visitor on your website to become a lead / prospect.

There are two you should focus on:

1. Book a time to speak with you

Calendly.com is such a fantastic tool and I’ve used it for years. You can embed your Calendar link directly on the website and people can book an appointment to speak with you at their convenience.

Encouraging prospects to have a free, no obligation friendly chat with you is the quickest and easiest way to turn 'traffic' into leads.

You could brand this conversation to be about a particular problem, or you could simply offer free HR advice. The decision is yours and it depends on what industry you’re targeting and the unique HR problems they could be facing.

You should embed your calendar link on every page, have a pop up, and include a link in your navigation too.

2. Data capture

Now you must remember that there are two types of people visiting your website.

The first are people who have already shopped around and decided to progress things with you by getting in touch. If you look at the stats, this makes up a very small percentage of people visiting your site.

The second are people who are still in that research phase. These people make up a much larger percentage.

These people aren’t that likely to want to speak with you straight away, but we don’t want them to leave your site without taking any action.

Which is why you’re going to offer them a free resource or downloadable guide that they’ll find really helpful in return for their contact details. In other articles I refer to this as an ‘ethical bribe’. Because you’re asking for them to complete a form and give permission to contact them in the future.

That way, you can keep in touch and build a relationship with them and one day, when they need a HR consultant, you’ll be the first one they think of.