SIP sales from websites get mixed reviews
Butch Johnson (www.sipsproducts.com) was an early leader using the internet for generating sales. It worked for him several years ago, and it's working even better now.
"I couldn't do business without the web," said Johnson. "Between 80% and 85% of our new leads come in from the web. Our overall hits are down, because when some of the search engines add fees for listing your company, I simply don't pay. But our serious hits are way up. It's gotten to where I do scattered trade shows as a way to meet people who first contacted us on the web."
Johnson believes that creating a position from which you share good information is a key requirement for effective web presence; trying to sell directly off the web is less effective. So Johnson's electronic newsletter, which he sends out 10 times a year, features broad information, not just information on SIPs. For example, his latest newsletter contains key facts from an article called "Building Envelope," available on the web through www.energyusernews.com. The article stimulated a lot of calls about windows in SIP houses, plus one probable sale yesterday.
"A fellow who read the latest newsletter a couple of days ago made the 8-hour round trip yesterday from Winston-Salem in order to talk, drop off his plans, and do some serious planning. We get 4 to 5 jobs off every issue of the newsletter. People out there in the late planning stages are ready to make deals, but if you aren't in front of them on a regular basis, it won't happen."
At W.H.Porter's website, homebuyer leads are "way high" according to Chris Kreple, a project manager with the SIP manufacturer. While they haven't determined exactly how many of those leads turn into sales, Kreple estimates 1 in 25 would be a reasonable estimate.
But not everyone finds the web turns many leads into contracts. Debbie McMahon, office manager for Premier Building Systems, is one of those. "We get a lot of leads from the web, but not a lot of sales; about 70% to 80% of our initial sales come through trade shows." At Enercept, Annette Nielsen in sales support says that "sales off the internet don't strike me as being that impressive."