Bob Angus from Verisign on how to make more money selling SSL

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By: James Koole on March 19th, 2009
Posted in: Events
Tags: WebhostingDay 2009
Comments: 1

It seems like ages ago, but yesterday morning Bob Angus, Product Marketng Manager for Verisign, took to the podium to talk about how to maximize sales of Verisign SSL Certificates. His presentation was titled, “11 Simple Things You Can Do Next Week to Make More Money Selling SSL.”

Bob brought 11 basic tactics that aren’t tough to implement but that will pay off with a measureable increase in sales and more money in your pockets. Bob pulled together his list from the experience that Verisign has after years of selling SSL Certificates through their partners.

Some of the great ideas that Bob brought included making sure you have the Verisign seal displayed on your page. That seal tells customers that you care about and value their security. If you don’t show that you are concerned about security, then why would the customer think it was important?

He also suggests giving a cheat sheet to your sales people. It can be as basic as a couple of case studies that they can offer, or some stats that illustrate the value of using SSL Certificates. It’s not rocket science, and it works.

Next up was to default to selling a 3-year term. That advice works on the domain side as well. Why sell one year domain or SSL terms when customers are already there with their credit card out, willing to make a purchase?

Bob also suggests taking advantage of any upsell opportunities. When customers choose a cheaper SSL Certificate, be sure to try to sell them on something better (and more expensive). If you take the time to explain the difference (and the value), you’ll be surprised at the result. Again, the customer is already in the mood to buy.

A couple of more quick ones:

Sell with keywords not tech terms. Use SSL v.s Secure Sockets Layer. Try out some Google searches to see which keywords bring the most results. Bob talked about things like the Google Keyword Tool which can provide a lot of help in bringing the right kind of people to your website.

While you’re doing SEO, make sure your website is working well for you. Make sure you’ve got a sitemap, and that Google is able to get in there and properly index your pages. Use a custom 404 page to get people back on track if they hit a dead link. And optimize your search results by using 301 redirects, not 302.

On the search front, make sure your own site search works well. Bob showed the Verisign search page which provides results and links to products even if the search comes back with nothing.

He also talked about the value of a testimonial. Give prospective customers a quote from someone like them who speaks to the value that SSL Certificates offer. A case study is even better.

All in all, Bob provided tons of great information for anyone offering SSL Certificates. Verisign offers more of this kind of valuable stuff through a number of blogs. I’d recommend reading them as they all provide great insights on the technology behind Verisign Certificates as well as how to market them to your customers.