Sometimes I come across positively delightful tidbits as I trawl the web, and this one, the “coming soon” page for Hosteeo, totally got me.
Nice look and feel? Check.
Mystery? Check.
Sense of being privy to something secret? Check.
Provides me with a way of finding out that secret? Check again.
All in all, a pretty effective way of getting my email address - but more importantly, my attention. Thanks to Chris Spooner for finding this gem.
My uncle is an interesting guy and the ultimate salesman: when he was in his 20s he peddled “designer” handbags, clothes and shoes that he had designed himself. He had no product development background, zero experience with the materials - but boy could he make a sale. From there he moved on to found one of Quebec City’s largest restaurants (now closed down), run a construction firm, and start a TV set-top box reselling business, which he now continues to operate even in retirement.
If my uncle lived by any mantra, it was definitely “never, ever take no for an answer”.
This approach can definitely deliver the numbers that salespeople are often interested in. From cold calls to random knocks at the door to the retail storefront, everyone in sales knows to probe a little deeper after the first “no”. But how do we make sure that persistence doesn’t turn into an annoying experience?
One of the problems, as I see it, is that many companies just assume that “regular” persistent sales tactics will work just as well in a virtual environment (like the web). This is how pop-ups work, as well as their v2.0 brethren, those annoying little flashy ads that drop down and obscure half the screen (which have even, apparently, made it into our inbox). Or rather, this is how these ads don’t work.
A case in point is my Wells Fargo welcome page. Read more…