Should You Fire Your Web Site? If your Web site isn't doing its job--selling--why are you keeping it on your sales team?

Ask yourself this: If your Web site were one of your salespeople, would you keep that employee on your team? In other words, is your Web site doing its job--selling?

Almost every viable business today has a Web site that serves a number of purposes. Even a basic Web presence ensures a visitor that the company is for real and still in business. At larger companies, the marketing or Web department controls the messaging, content, look and feel. Support may have a section to offload customer service. Highly integrated businesses may even tie distribution and the supply chain to the site, allowing customers to check their orders.

It doesn't matter if you're the only "salesperson" or you have a dedicated sales team; brochures, product sheets and a shopping cart system aren't enough to build any online or offline business. You want your Web site to engage, enroll and compel customers. You want it to qualify prospects, present solutions and close sales. You want it to grab a visitor's attention, create some interest, build desire and get the visitor to take some action. You know--the stuff that salespeople do.