Well, this is certainly turning into a summer to remember, isn't it? The paddling pools are out, the fans are working overtime and I think most of us have reached the point where we're dreaming about rain! 

 

Here in Northamptonshire, we're also seeing the impact of the exceptionally dry weather, with drought conditions affecting much of England. Our gardens are looking decidedly crispy, farmers are having a tough time and we're all becoming rather obsessed with the weather forecast. 

 

And it got me thinking... 

 

Your garden isn't the only thing that can dry up when there's no water... Your sales can dry up too. 

 

Now, before you think I've finally lost the plot, have heatstroke and started comparing websites to watering cans, bear with me. There is actually a connection! 

 

Think about your garden for a moment. When it gets plenty of rain, everything has what it needs to grow. The plants thrive, the grass stays green and things generally look healthy. But when the rain stops for weeks on end, things start to change. Growth slows down. Plants become stressed and eventually, without enough water, things start to wither. 

 

Your sales pipeline can be surprisingly similar. 

 

You might have had a steady stream of enquiries coming in. Perhaps you've relied on word of mouth and recommendations for years, and that's worked really well for you. But what happens when those referrals slow down? Where are your next customers coming from? 

 

For many businesses, the answer should be their website. And that's where things can get a little bit worrying. 

 

I speak to a lot of business owners who have a website that they've had for several years. It might have been perfectly adequate when it was first built, but their business has changed since then. 

 

 

The problem is that it's very easy to become blind to your own website as you look at it regularly. You know what you do. You know what all the terminology means. You know why you're good at what you do.  

 

 

They might find you through Google, click through to your website and make a decision about whether you're worth contacting in a matter of seconds. If the website is confusing, dated, slow, difficult to navigate or simply doesn't communicate the value of what you offer, they're likely to move on. And you may never know that you've lost them. 

 

This is something I think is really important. 

 

A good website isn't simply about having something that looks nice. Of course, it needs to look professional. Your website is often the first impression someone has of your business, so you want it to reflect the quality of what you do. However, there's much more to it than that. 

 

 

Whatever that next step is, your website should be guiding people towards it. 

 

Here's a little exercise you can do today. 

 

Go onto your website and imagine you've never seen it before. Don't look at it as the business owner. Look at it as a potential customer. 

 

If the answer to some of those questions is "no" or "maybe", then there could be customers slipping through the net. 

 

And that's a shame, particularly when you've put so much time and effort into building your business. 

 

The good news is that you don't need to completely overhaul everything tomorrow. Sometimes a few well-thought-out changes can make a surprisingly big difference. 

 

 

The important thing is to stop thinking of your website as something you simply have and start thinking of it as something that should be working for you. 

 

Because while you're busy doing what you do best, your website should be out there attracting potential customers, building trust and helping turn visitors into enquiries. 

 

The rain will come eventually. Hopefully!  

 

But you don't need to leave your sales to chance in quite the same way. If your website isn't bringing in the enquiries you'd like, it might be time to take a closer look at what's going on.  

 

If you'd like a second pair of eyes, I'd be very happy to help. 

 

After spending 15 years working as a business coach and marketing strategist, I know that a website isn't just about pretty pictures and clever words. It needs to fit into the bigger picture of your business and, ultimately, help your business grow. 

 

I'm Kirsty from it’seeze Northampton, and if your website is looking a little more parched than productive, let's see if we can get some flow back into those sales! 

 

Because the weather might be beyond our control, but your website doesn't have to be. ☀️💧 

 

Until next time ...