An interesting conversation I had with a prospective CEO client occurred when I gently tried to tell him that his website was doing his company more harm than good. His response: “Why do I even need a website – isn’t that what I pay my salespeople for?” This was surprising because prospects who visited the company’s website had a hard time figuring out what they did.

Granted, most company leaders are more open-minded when it comes to their online technology, but some are more open than others. My intention is to persuade you that your website can be a significant part of your revenue growth plan. And, my hope is that you have people on your team who understand the power of the internet and know how to harness it to generate more revenue.

Websites have gained in importance because of the changes in B2B buying behavior. As I talk about several times in this book, prospects are doing more of their research online before interacting with a company. Depending on the industry, this pre-research phase can represent 20-80 percent of the total buying cycle.

The relevant point is that few prospects are going to buy anything without first checking out your website. And all other things being equal, the competitor with the best website wins.

If you have strong visitor traffic numbers and products or services that visitors find of value, consider incorporating an eCommerce platform into your website. Like I said with website development, use a solid and proven platform like WooCommerce or Shopify instead of building this yourself.