Whether you are selling goldfish, heavy machinery or housekeeping services, if you are selling on the web, you won't sell anything unless you sell yourself.

You first have to sell your visitor on your company before they will buy your product on the Internet, regardless of how wonderful your product or service is. Internet customers need to have confidence in your company BEFORE they can consider the quality of your services or products. So...how do your sell your company?

1. Be believable. Build your customer's confidence from the start with a professional, consistent business image, beginning with your website.
2. Make it easy to reach you: Be sure your customers can contact you by email, by phone, by fax. Provide your street address. Customers need to know who you are and where you are located.
3. Be available: You may not be able to take phone calls 24 hours a day, but you can provide instant response to emails with an auto responder. Email response is the most effective way to gain potential customer's trust. But be sure to follow up right away with a individual answer for the customer's email. They want to be assured that you will be there down the line if they encounter a problem or have questions.
4. Give a guarantee. By offering a guarantee on your product or service, the customer knows he has "nothing to lose" by doing business with you over the Internet.
5. Provide security and privacy. If you are offering a product for sale online, be certain that your website and host are secure and explain to your visitor how he can be assured of that security. If you are taking information from your visitor, provide access to your policies on reselling of this information to third parties.