How many customers could you be losing with confusing forms and difficult ordering processes? You may not realize it's confusing, difficult, or even full of errors until one potential customer makes a complaint. While one may complain, others won't even bother to seek out the answer to the problem and move on to another website.



Different people like to purchase in different ways. Some like personal contact and will email you orders or have no problems filling out a form to be contacted for payment information. Others do not like to be contacted, and prefer to order in privacy without being bothered. You need to be sure you offer both options.

The same goes for contact information. Some customers will prefer contacting you by email, while others may want to call you. Make sure you have full contact information available.

Now if you are using a rep website, you may think you do not have much control over ordering and contact options. Realize you do, and this is where a personal website can come in. Before you start, take a look at the options you're company rep site offers. Can customer order directly with you getting credit, or is there an option to contact you? Remember, some customers like to talk to someone in person before ordering! Give clear instructions on how to order on your website, or even devote a full page to ordering. An example of an ordering information page: http://www.soy-wax-candles.com/ordering.html

To give you a perfect example of how to offer both ordering options, see Anita's website - Easy Bake Greetings - http://www.EasyBakeGreetings.com You'll notice she has all her products listed on her website with instructions to order directly from her rep website OR to contact her to order. Near the top of the page is a link to her rep website where people can order directly, but also near the top is her contact information page. Giving the most options possible is going to ensure she misses no sales from those getting frustrated or not wanting to bother with certain options.

To assure your ordering process is not difficult, contact several close friends and family members to do a check of your site. If you need to walk them through the ordering process, then it's too complicated. Make sure each guest can complete the process without your help, because like we mentioned, some will not ask for help but instead move on to your competitor.