Why Hide?

Ok,  I am going to vent again on this one…

Have you come across those websites where the company gives little to no info about who they are and what they actually do?  And I don’t mean a “directory” site that is just meant to give links to related companies.  I mean an actual company doing business but for some reason seems to be hiding.  It’s like they want to use their site to bring in business without disclosing any real info about them.  What’s the deal with that?

I come across this all the time with real estate and hard money lending websites.  They claim to be doing big business yet there are no company bios, no pictures, no videos, maybe an office address and a really vague “About Us” page.

Again, what’s up with that?  Is it because they aren’t really doing business? Or they just don’t realize that stuff is necessary on a company’s website? Whatever the reason, it comes off as a little shady.

It makes a website visitor and potential customer feel good to see that the company is run by real people that are actually doing business.  Simply, it makes them want to work with you.

I’ll use our main site as an example.  (Yes, I know it is self-serving to do so but my point is still good 🙂

For those interested in making your company look credible in the eyes of your website visitors, here are some key things to have:

Company Bios with Pictures

In real estate, people want to do business with actual people…and preferably people they know and trust.  Might as well cut to chase and tell them about yourselves, right?

http://www.hardmoneybankers.com/bios

Contact Us

It sounds pretty basic but some people even skip that part nowadays.  I understand that people want to be contacted via email or the web because it saves time but I think a phone number is still a necessity in this business.

http://www.hardmoneybankers.com/contact-us

Closed Transactions

Nothing says you’re really doing business like pics and a write up of your closed deals.

http://www.hardmoneybankers.com/recentlyfundedoutput/beltsville-maryland-hard-money-loan

Video

People love some web videos don’t they?  It’s as close to “real life” as you can get on the Internet.  Make sure to shoot videos of what your company is up to.  And it doesn’t have to be a Spielberg masterpiece.  Even a 30 second video from your Iphone is better than nothing.

http://www.youtube.com/hardmoneybankers

Testimonials

This is an oldie but goodie.  It’s always good for potential customers to hear what other customers are saying about you.

http://www.hardmoneybankers.com/testimonials/

Jeff Shiller coined the term “credibility scrollbar” to refer to the things I mentioned above and that’s exactly what it is.  It let’s your website visitors know you are real people doing good business.  And that’s exactly what they came to see.  Why not give it to them?

-Chris