May, 2013

Web marketers quite rightly spend a lot of time and energy creating effective home pages. But don't forget that your Check Out page/Order Form/ is where the rubber really hits the road.

You see, the order form is the place where the prospect has to actually sign on the dotted line and make a commitment.

Whether you're asking someone to order your product and pay with a credit card number, request a free White Paper, register for a Webinar, or act in any other way, it's important to handle all the details of the order form properly!

Here are nine ways to make sure that your order form (whether posted on your Web site or printed on card-stock in a direct mail package) is a winner.

1. You don't have to call it an "Order Form."

When a life insurance salesperson passes over the contract for your signature, she doesn't say "Please sign this contract." Instead, she hands you a pen and says "Let me just get your OK on this." 

Why? Because any (good) salesperson wants to keep you from focusing on the fact that you're making a commitment. So don't (necessarily) call your order form by that name. Go with something else less threatening, like:

• FREE Guide Request Card
• Information Request Form
• Software Request Action Card
• Free Software Evaluation Form

Don't just roll in with your data fields: Name, Title, Company, etc. Warm things up with a simple line like: "We'd like to get to know you better." A line like this softens the tone at a crucial moment.

3. Make a "limited-time" offer.

If you want to spur action, let prospects know that they can't dawdle. Push them along with lines like:

• Offer must expire on July 15, 2013 and will not be repeated
• This limited-time offer good until July 15, 2013 only
• Don't miss this FREE offer which must end on July 15, 2013

Response rates plummet the more you ask probing questions. Typical questions you'd love to ask but should consider avoiding include:

• How many people are in your department?
• What's your budget?
• When do you plan on making a purchase of a new system?
• What solution are you currently using?

5. Include your guarantee on the Order Form/at Check Out.

Since you want to reassure the prospect at the moment he/she is deciding to act, reprint your fabulous guarantee right on the Check Out page or order form. The guarantee will reduce resistance.

6. Pre-check the "Yes" box.

If you're going to include a little box for checking next to the "Yes" line, pre-check it. For example:

/X/ Yes. I want to receive your free White Paper, etc.

7. In the first line (after the "Yes") restate the benefits.

That way, if the order form is one of the first things prospects read, they'll understand the offer fully. Examples:

  WRONG:

/X/Yes. Please send me your FREE Information Kit.

  RIGHT:

/X/Yes. I want to find out more about how United Management Solutions can solve some of the toughest supply chain problems I face. So send me your FREE Information Kit titled Eight Ways To Slash Supply Chain Costs without risk or obligation.

8. Make sure you include your phone number, fax number, and email address.

You can say: "For faster action, call 1-800-123-1234," etc. You never know how people want to respond so include all response options on the order form or at Check Out.

9. Make the details completely clear.

Obvious but often overlooked! You don't want the prospect to have to work to fill in your order form. So make price, quantity, tax, etc. very clear and lay it all out attractively and cleanly.

The take-away message this month? Your Check Out page/Order Form is extremely important since that's where the prospect has to take action. As always, handle all the little details properly and you'll watch sales grow!

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Feel free to get in touch any time if you want me to write a money-making email, home page, landing page, letter, or anything else for you. Even an order form. My fees are affordable and the results I get speak for themselves.   

Let's go to work!