I spend part of my week consulting with a large company on its Internet marketing strategy. This particular company is currently in the process of merging with another company in the same industry…

As you might imagine, for all the exciting possibilities promised by the merger, a lot of people are uncertain about their future in the merged entity. Will they keep their current jobs after the merger? Will they even have a job after the merger?

These questions are being asked at all levels. In fact, there is every likelihood that those at the very top will be shuffled around and may not retain their current positions.

Yet, while the staff and management may speculate about their future, they still need to get on with their jobs. In particular, the same senior leaders and managers who may not have the same roles (if any roles) in a few months’ time must continue to lead and manage right now.

I attended a recent management briefing where the question was raised as to what someone should do to best demonstrate that they should keep their jobs after the merger. The CEO said that, for those in leadership positions, now is the time to demonstrate their ability to lead. He acknowledged that this would be difficult, given the personal uncertainty faced by these very same people, but added the following:

“True leaders are those who lead when their own future is uncertain.”

The CEO went on to explain that the essence of a leader is someone who can rally people behind them, give them hope, and empower them to continue moving forward… when the leader is, in fact, the person who is most vulnerable in an uncertain future.

I agree. It’s all very well to lead people when you have nothing to lose… it’s all very well to lead people when the only “lives” at stake are theirs… it’s all very well to lead people when you equally face uncertain times… but what if you have the most to lose?

Can you still lead in that situation? That is the real test.

Being able to lead when you have the most to lose - that is true leadership.

You’ve probably heard the argument — that you’re better off increasing your conversion rate than increasing the level of traffic to your website.

It makes a lot of sense — all things being equal, you’ll achieve more sales and profits by increasing your conversion rate by, say, 1% than by increasing your traffic by 1%.

But you’ll notice that I said “all things being equal” and, in many if not most, cases all things are NOT equal.

You also need to consider the cost (time, money, resources and missed opportunities) involved in increasing your traffic versus increasing your conversion rate.

Now we often assume that it’s more costly to generate more traffic than to increase the conversion rate (through better copy, web layout, the offer being made and a slew of other factors).

But it’s always dangerous to “assume” anything. There is a cost involved in tweaking, and tweaking, and tweaking your website, just as there’s a cost involved in paying for pay-per-click advertising, writing articles, distributing press releases, paying for search engine optimization consulting, and so on.

And there may come a point at which the cost/benefit of further website modifications is actually worse than the cost/benefit involved in generating more traffic.

Bottom line — assume nothing, track and test everything, and think in terms of cost vs benefit.

As you probably know, there’s a big difference between BEING online and SELLING online.

One of my web design clients runs a business that falls into the first category and is now considering moving into the second.

But she’s a little nervous - there happen to be numerous online competitors offering very similar products to her.

In fact, if I didn’t her better I’d say she sold a commodity - one that is subject to price wars and that’s difficult to make a lot of money from.

But I do know her better. And I know that she sells much more than her product. She sells:

1. Speedy delivery.
2. Unique training and ancillary products.
3. Excellent customer service - she really goes the extra mile for her customers.
4. Indepth knowledge of her product.
5. Personality and passion.

While some may be able to match my client’s speedy delivery… I really can’t see anyone else being able to compete with her in terms of 2,3,4 and 5. Certainly not all!

In fact, these “value adds” are what will allow my client to stand out, charge more and get more customers online.

So what’s the take-out for you? Well, take a look at what you’re selling on the Net. Are you value adding? Are you offering 1-5 in the list above on top of whatever product or service you sell? Or any other value-adds that I haven’t listed (there are probably many possibilities)?

If so, you’re well positioned to avoid commoditization and build and maintain a successful, profitable Internet based business.