1. Offer options and make it easy to choose. You likely have several products and services. Don't make your prospect do the work. Provide a range of choices. You may just suggest something that they weren't initially thinking about, but decide they need. At Cat's Eye, we prime the thinking with an array of services we can provide and a simple check-off box for easy selection.

2. Ask the right questions. Changing your words slightly can make a huge difference. You've heard the story of the drugstore owner in the 1920s whose sales of eggs exploded when he changed his question from, "Do you want a milkshake with or without an egg?" (most customers said "without") to, "Do you want one egg or two?" (Most said, "one.") On our website contact page, we have check-off boxes for, "I need a blog" and "I need a website and a blog." We do not ask, "Do you need a blog?"

3. Leave room for an open-ended response. Sometimes your prospect will just have a question. Or they will need to explain a unique problem they are having. Give them the space to do that with an "I have a question" check-off box and a larger field for more details. If you use WordPress, you also have plugins that allow your prospects to fill out a more detailed questionnaire. More on that in another Hotspots issue.