Cash Award: 5 Feedback/Reviews Awarded $5 Each. No Awards Remaining.
“We facilitate strong connections between professionals through free email consultations.”
Target Audience: Mid to senior level professionals.
Website URL: https://www.paretocentral.com/
Feedback sought:
- Visit https://www.paretocentral.com. Spend 15 seconds on the site. What do you think the site is about?
- Now go back to the site and comment on various elements of the site. What do you find bothersome? What do you like?
- Would you post a “request for free consultation”? Please provide reasons.
- How do you think the site compares to other similar sites/competitors?
- Please share any additional feedback/comments you might have.
About ParetoCentral:
ParetoCentral.com facilitates strong connections between professionals through free email consultations. Any member can post a request for confidential email consultation and other members will respond with their expert advice and qualifications.
A member posting a request for free email consultation (Client) gets immediate access to experienced professionals (Consultants) who can help them solve a specific problem that requires immediate attention. Consultant-seeking clients can range from large companies seeking substantial ongoing support to individuals on the lookout for help with a single project.
A referral fee of $25 is invoiced to the Client after posting and is payable only if the Client is satisfied.
For the Consultant, he or she will get a valuable “feedback score” from Clients which will increase the consultant’s reputation as a trusted and valued resource. The free email consultation could lead to a paid project, full-time employment or a recommendation for future business.
Cash Award: 5 Feedback/Reviews Awarded $5 Each. No Awards Remaining.
Answers based on feedback sought:
1) ParetoCentral is a site used to connect professionals through email consultations. The site is to assist those who do not want to pay big fees for consulting advice.
2) After visiting ParetoCentral.com, I noticed the following things: I liked the testimonials section. That creates credibility to your brand.
I do not like the big orange button, which comes before the testimonials section. I think this $25 referral fee needs to be on a different page, probably most appropriately on a “Pricing†page, and not on your homepage. I think whatever interest you create with “free consultations†you negate with posting a $25 referral fee here. I would recommend you remove this from your homepage.
The 2 sections: “Latest Free Consultation Projects†and “Latest Consulting Solutions†sections are not bad, but I don’t care for the way you display them. You show a partial post for 3 different categories. I think you should employ a scrolling box here much like your testimonial section, and have only 1 full one displayed at a time, in an appealing color. I think you need some visual distinction between your different sections on your homepage.
Also I would remove the Google Ads from your homepage. Your homepage is already overloaded with information, and these ads “cheapen†the experience, and do not set your website apart from competitors at a more premium service. If you must use Google Ad words, I suggest using this in a blog section or a forum. Ask yourself this question: Do you really make that much more money from revenue using Google Ad words than you would from a recurring client using your services?
3) Would a post a request for a free consulation? At the moment, I do not need free consultation, but I would be able to provide free consultation. Reasons: I can assist with important marketing help as a consultant.
4) Compare the site to similar ones/competitors – Off the top of my head, I do not know who your competitors are, but I would say that you might have the competitive advantage as offering free advice. I think you have a really good service and can be competitive. I think you need to brand yourself and develop a marketing strategy that is employed by your website. I think you need more visual appeal to your homepage, and less information overload.
5) Additional comments – Your homepage says many times about connecting professionals. I think the appropriate word here is “networking.†Have you considered using this word, because it is networking between professionals (clients and consultants)?
I would strongly encourage you to consider using a heat map to see where your visitors are clicking on your homepage, and consider a better place for your big orange button with the $25 on it.
Also, after registering for free, I was very confused by this message in the dashboard: To turn it on, you have to do the following:
Post a “Request for Free Consultation” using your member-id. Else, have another person post a “Request For Free Consultation” and have that person email to us stating that you asked him/her to do so. (Email:feedback@ParetoCentral.com)
I do not understand why I would need another person to post a request on my behalf. Why would I need a 3rd party to do this on my behalf? It sounds more complicated than it really has to be.
*Visit https://www.paretocentral.com. Spend 15 seconds on the site. What do you think the site is about?
I have never been to your site before. Spending first few minutes in the site gave me the impression that it is some sort of social networking platform for professionals.
*Now go back to the site and comment on various elements of the site. What do you find bothersome? What do you like?
I like the cleanliness in your site. There are not too many things going on and “Post Your Consultation” seems to be the focus. Testimonials are also fantastic.That being said, the rest of the text is hard to read. I am assuming your homepage is the main landing page of the site. You should redesign it to hightlight a few key elements of your site in big letters and some pictures. At least the part that is above the fold should be able to “hook” a typical visitor that falls within your “target audience” category within a few seconds. Maintaining clutter-free cleanliness that you currently have with a redone “above the fold” part on homepage that really summarizes the key points of your site is the way to go. Think of this section as a salesman for your site. What would you have it say?
You might find this extremely helpful : The Anatomy of a Perfect Landing Page
* Would you post a “request for free consultation� Please provide reasons.
Yes I would. It seems to me that the service you are providing would be quite valuable to a lot of people. However, it is not quite clear to me what is the distinction between “free” and “paid” consultation. In other words, at what point will someone have to pay, if any? Also, what exactly is a referral fee?
* How do you think the site compares to other similar sites/competitors?
If you gave some examples, it would have been easier for me to compare. In general, I think you should really focus on tweaking and improving the look and feel of your site to clearly convey exactly what the site does. Adding some case studies and white papers that shows how someone was helped or detailing a process from start to finish and summarizing it would also help a lot.
* Please share any additional feedback/comments you might have.
I suggest having a clear “How It Works” section that outlines how your site works, how consultants can get involved and how service-seekers can take advantage of these consultants would help clarify a lot of questions others might have.
1. Just viewing the site for 15 seconds, http://www.paretocentral.com is a third party that offers consultation as a service to professionals who need expert advice.
2. Now when I go back to the site, I do not find anything bothersome about it. It is a very clean site, and has lots of good content well placed. I like the testimonials from businesses listed and the side by side listing of examples for the latest consultation requests and solutions that were provided.
I also like that you do not have to search the site for where to sign up for a consultation request, because it is presented clearly in the center of the page. That is something I could appreciate.
3. Although I am not currently in the need for a free consultation, if I were, I would definitely request it. I believe I would receive a very professional consultation that could easily provide me with a useful solution.
4. I personally have not seen other sites like this one, but I think it could definitely compete well with others. The site overall is well put together and could attract many people to want to sign up, when looking for help.
5. Additional Comments:
First, I think the area where the “quick search” is placed on the page should be different. I would put that at the top, instead of the bottom. At the bottom, it could easily be missed, I almost missed it myself. If someone is trying to search your site database, it should be clearly visible, and at the bottom is not a good place for it.
I also would place the “featured article” somewhere closer to the top. It does not have to be at the very top, but further up the page would be better so that those who are inquiring about your services can learn a little more, before committing to a consultation request.
1) I think it helps business professionals reach others, to help answer business questions through email.
2) I feel that the text on the home page is too small, and it isn’t eye-catching enough. Within the frame that it is for business professionals, it is still too bland, in my opinion. Perhaps more concise text would help. The bar on the top is quite useful and nicely organized.
Also, the bar on the bottom is not obvious enough. Considering how important some of the links are, like “contact us,” it seems to be underdeveloped in comparison to the words on the bottom. (I thought they were links, but apparently not.)
3) I do not need a free consultation, but I would request one if I needed to. The link to find how to do so is quite easily found, I like that.
4) I have not seen another site like this, but I believe that it has the potential to be competitive with similar sites, provided a few changes are made.
5) Make the “quick search” higher up on the page, it’s rather hard to find. Make the “post a consulting solution (it’s free!)” button higher up as well, since free things always attract users. I would suggest also having a short description of how your website exactly works somewhere on your homepage, or a link to it on your homepage.
Visit https://www.paretocentral.com. Spend 15 seconds on the site. What do you think the site is about?
I thought it was a professional consulting site. A site to where you can get professionals connected with other professionals.
Now go back to the site and comment on various elements of the site. What do you find bothersome? What do you like?
I was first bothered by the words on the page being so small. People with eye sight problems would have problems reading it. I don’t think the site is colorful enough or is exciting to look at. I also thought the placing of “quick search” and “join our mailing list” ws to low. You would have to scroll down to find those links. I think it would be more helpful if they were higher on the page.
I really like the testimonials. I believe that every business site should have testimonials. I like that the the website is easy to navigate.
Would you post a “request for free consultation� Please provide reasons.
No I would not post a request for a free consultation. Only because I have no reason for one. If I ever did need one I would be interested in going to your site.
How do you think the site compares to other similar sites/competitors?
I have not seen many of these sites. I think this site compares good with others. I just feel it needs to have bigger words and a little bit more colorful. With a few changes it would be perfect!!
Please share any additional feedback/comments you might have.
I think the site overall is a good site and easy to understand. I think it could be better with a few changes in which I mentioned above.
1.) This website aids professionals with free consultations from experts from a given field. I think this portion is to small. The thing that stands out the most is the big orange banner on the page. If this is your “mission statement” then it should be larger.
2.) I like the testimonial section of the website. People like to read about the success of others.
3.) I like how the colors are not be wild or busy. Your appealing to professionals so the color choices seem fine. I don’t like how small the print is so small.
4.) I liked the portion of the quick search and mailing list but I thought they should be higher up on the page. The free consultation and register button should be higher also. It seems all the attention grabber are so on the page. It would help to have a section on how the service works on the tool bar at the top of the page.
5.) I have never seen a website of the like so it seems it will do good. A free consultation from an expert is wonderful. For me the bottom half of the website was the best. It grabbed me in to want to register and seek advice.
•The site looks like it dealings with consulting jobs. Someone would post what type of job they need and then a consultant that has the requirements needed would post a solution.
•I am not sure if I like the layout of the webpage and really don’t like the big yellow button to clink to post your consulting needs. I just think that it is in the wrong place and should be in the blue area with the other tabs. I am also confused on the yellow button, free to post but a $25 Referral fee and then down a little bit, the consultant can post a solution to the post for free. So not exactly sure why the Referral fee.
I am also not a fan of all the sales adds on the website. They can be rather confusing a person and they might click on them thinking it is part of the website information
I like all the information that is listed under the tabs, and the FAQ’s was able to answer some questions and the articles has a lot of good information for both the person needing help and the consultant.
•Not sure if I would post a request because I am still a little unclear the referral fee. They talk about it in the FAQ, but its still a little vague and I would not want to be hit with a bill for referral fees without realizing it.
If the website was a little bit more clear, I would post a request. I think this is a good site for some small business owners who do not have the funds needed to hire a consultant when issues occur.
•I really do not know of any type of website like this one. I know that they have ones that someone would post a job and the amount of money they are willing to pay and the consultant gets paid for their expertise. If I was to compare these 2 sites, I would say that you might not get a lot of consultants willing to post without getting some type of compensation.
•I think you might have a great idea here and you might get more business if the consultants got some type of perk (free pd membership, etc) for offering solutions or by referring friends who might be able to help
$5 awarded to zeke2100.
$5 awarded to phellman.
$5 awarded to Kay2010.
$5 awarded to Sierra12346.
$5 awarded to mikib.
**Visit https://www.paretocentral.com. Spend 15 seconds on the site. What do you think the site is about?
I thought the site was about offering an affordable, quick email consultation from an expert.
**Now go back to the site and comment on various elements of the site. What do you find bothersome? What do you like?
The front page does not look as professional as it could. The big yellow button is noticeable, but does not seem to fit the image that the site is trying to achieve. Adding an image or two would be helpful in brightening up the page and breaking up the content. There are images in public domain that would work very well.
Nothing immediately captures the eye of the reader so the reader will want to stay on the site and read more. Placing the featured article at the top would help capture the interest of the readers.
It was not clear to me what the costs were and I am not sure what happens if I express interest. Have I hired someone, if so, what are the costs? How long does it take to hear back from the consultants? It seems rather vague and complicated. These areas need to be clearer for the reader.
The “consultants needed” and the “consultants solutions” might be put in different sections so that the two are not confused. Having a thumbnail image and short bio about the consultants might add trustworthiness to the site.
I am note sure what all of the keywords are doing at the bottom. It does see to add to the site.
I think the site is a very good beginning. It just needs to be brightened up and explained so the readers have confidence in doing business with the site.
I like the that the verification code was straight forward and easy to read.
**Would you post a “request for free consultation� Please provide reasons.
I think the concept is very good. Small business would find it very helpful. I currently do not need the services offered on this site; however, I would keep it in mind for future reference.
**How do you think the site compares to other similar sites/competitors?
I think the site is a very good beginning. It just needs to be tweaked to make the site clearer and have some images added for interest.
**Please share any additional feedback/comments you might have.
To give your visitors a reason to return more frequently, you may want to update your articles and blogs more frequently.