It’s Wednesday morning, 10:06 a.m. My husband and I are lost on the way to our first trapeze lesson. The address we’re aiming for has suddenly shifted, as I’ve entered the wrong one into the magical mappy app on my iPhone. We walk a block back to where we’ve parked the car, now quite late and reprogram our destination. We miss the destination twice.
That can’t be it, right? Let’s circle around and check again, see if we aren’t doing something wrong.
Nope. That’s it.
“That place looks like it didn’t have air conditioning,” Matt says.
“That place looks like it didn’t have FLOORS,” I retort.
We hightailed it out of there and didn’t look back, stunned that anyone had ever actually completed a trapeze lesson with this company. The company’s website is well-organized and lovely. There was no indication that we would be directed to a death trap for our lesson.
When people hire you, they are taking a leap of faith.
The leap of faith is usually not quite so literal as leaping from a trapeze platform, but it’s there nonetheless.
Faith that you’ll deliver, that you’ll do what you say you’re going to do, and that you’ll both end up satisfied by the experience. Falling down pieces and “No trespassing” signs make it much harder for your clients to leap. The red flags probably aren’t quite so obvious as a crooked house manned by a swarm of angry raccoons, but they’ll still keep people from hiring you.
Let’s make absolutely sure your virtual business presence is free of eyesores and red flags that have slipped under your entrepreneurial radar.
Red flag #1: unclear directions.
Unclear directions make it difficult to give money to your business or know the next steps to take toward working together. If hiring you is not easy or obvious, and a client doesn’t know exactly what to expect when she calls or e-mails you, she’s much less likely to do it. People like to know what’s going to happen next, and they’d prefer that it not be entering a falling-down building without floorboards.
Add a ‘process’ or ‘what to expect’ page to your website to let clients know exactly what they can expect from your time together. If you’re feeling tricky, make sure they’ll absolutely read it by putting this information on your pricing page — before the numbers. 
Red flag #2: harshing the casual browser’s mellow.
Policies, rules, and HARSH WORDS WRITTEN IN ALL CAPS — even in tiny print — are the internet equivalent of posting a “No Trespassing” sign. They’re huge turnoffs, particularly for casual browsers who are looking to find out more about you. Don’t get me wrong — policies and rules are great to have — but they deserve to be conveyed verbally and in writing with paying clients, not people who are hearing of your business for the first time.
Remove harsh words, policies, and other rules in the name of laying out a virtual Welcome mat. Save the policy reviews and rules for paying clients.
Red flag #3: abandoned bits.
An abandoned blog is much like an abandoned house. It’s just sitting there, static, when it’s supposed to be moving and lively with regular content. If you truly have no desire to blog or can’t seem to keep up with it, delete your blog. This is the internet equivalent of tearing down the neighborhood eyesore and investing in grass seed for the next iteration of building on that lot.
The other option for your abandoned blog? Spruce it up. Add some virtual flower pots and a fresh coat of paint via regular attention and weekly posts. (Yep, weekly. You can do it!)
Red flag #4: hoping your client won’t notice _______.
Acknowledge the wibbly bits of your business in writing or on the phone before clients encounter them. If the trapeze company had shown us images of the inside of the trapeze house, making it clear that we would not be sacrificing safety or falling to our death, perhaps we could have found the courage to enter the building and take our lesson. If you know something is unpleasant, let clients know up front!
For example: wedding albums take at least 4 weeks to arrive, even though I know you’d rather have your new treasure at your doorstep in a day or two. (Friendly and loving, but setting expectations, yes?)
Another example: your credit card payment will show up as AWESOME*POSSUM, not Rudy Dee Photography. I made a bad business name choice when incorporating my company. (Funny, and doesn’t result in returned credit card transactions, yes?)
If you’ve been inadvertently driving clients away with one or more of these red flags, go ahead and schedule an hour to take the first steps toward righting your flagging wrongs.
In the comments, tell me about any red flags I’m missing — bonus points for personal tales! — and as always, if you heart this post, please share it on the Facebooks.
Are there seriously no comments on this post? It's KICK-ASS! Maybe everybody was in so much hurry to tear down their "No Trespassing" signs that they forgot to comment. Which is what I'm going to do, right this minu–[bye!]
Exactly. Yes, you were all putting up raccoon barricades and tearing down No Trespassing signs. Love it!
Nice reminders!
Mental notes made, actual notes made… this is tonight’s to-do list.
Awesome!
excellent points expressed in such creative style, LOVE it! (says right-brained Rita!)
Glad you enjoyed it!
And this is why I have a huge girl business crush on Brand Camp! AWESOME post
GREAT post!!! I think a huge thing is to have others check out your site. It can give you huge insight into what you’re potential clients are seeing that you might not notice after your eyes go blurry from looking at your site so much. An especially helpful friend gave me so much incredible input, the most important pointing out how many barriers I was putting up to getting them to book a session. I hate hitting people with tons of email and policies when they get in touch, so I thought it was helpful to have a questionnaire right there for them from the start but it was just way too much. Instead, I condensed all of my info into just ONE simple form that they submit after we’ve actually discussed things initially. It was a huge eye opener and it made me start going over things more to see where else I was putting up entry barriers and No Trespassing signs rather than being welcoming!
Yes, exactly! Fresh eyes are ALWAYS helpful!
Thanks so much for this info! I’m still working on my brand and my website so I needed it! I added a what to expect section on my investment page.
Way to take action, that’s AWESOME!
Come on, Kristin…where’s your sense of adventure!
If you’re interested in traveling for your trapeze lesson, there’s an awesome place in Eugene, OR that teaches gymnastics & circus arts, but it would be a bit of a commute for you to go cross-country just for a trapeze lesson. Although, there is a VD donuts in Eugene, so that alone could be worth the trip!
Where is this place? I live in Eugene. And donuts?
Bounce Gymnastics…it’s on 3rd & something behind the railroad tracks, near REI. I live about 30 minutes south of Eugene & don’t get up there very often, but my daughter and I did a mom-&-me gymnastics class at Bounce this summer. And VooDoo Donuts (originally from Portland) is somewhere in downtown. I’ve driven by once, but never stopped in. My husband is a high school band teacher & his students had a “Homer Simpson donut” custom made there as a gift for him after a big show they did.
Yay, VD *and* trapeze! A bit far, I’ll agree, but if I’m ever out there…
So many good tips! I thought I was pretty good about being up front, but I just went and edited a bit more to go along with #2. Thank you!! And I’m glad you avoided the rabid raccoons.
Always happy to help in avoiding raccoons, lol…
Good article! To go along with the house metaphor there’s one more bit that needs to be paid attention to — the house numbers. Half the websites I go to don’t state what city they’re in, and don’t list the phone number. I don’t want to have to hunt to find out if you’re actually close enough to me to be worth contacting, and if I manage to figure that out I don’t want to have to leave your website to google your name to find your phone number on some random yellow pages website. The house numbers need to come first, actually — if they can’t contact you easily you don’t need to worry about them being turned off by the red flags.
Yes! This drives me crazy when I look at a website and have no idea where the person is from!
Yes, good points!! Unless it’s a 100% virtual business, you’re gonna need an address.
O.M.G. I was laughing so hard at the photo you took I had tears streaming down my face. Thanks for the laugh and good insight.
Yay! Happy to oblige.
Thank you! Great information.
You're welcome!
This is fantastic! I’m going to go add a “What to Expect” section to my sight now. I currently have “Q&A” but maybe the new name will be helpful in getting people to read it.
I’ve heard another school of thought which is if you give people too much information up front, they’ll have no reason to contact you. I’d be interested to know how you feel about this.
This was an amazing article! I loved it and the picture of the place where you two went…I would've left too
Glad you enjoyed it!
thanks for as always awesome tips! Just finished working on fixing #1 and my house numbers:)