Archive | November, 2018

(You Just Don’t Know It Yet)

Think you don’t have anything to share? Think again. Your life experiences along with what you’re learning can make great content. All you need to do is take notice of it, seize it before you lose it, and transform it into an article, blog post or video.

For example, what mistake did you, one of your clients or one of your colleagues recently make that others can learn from? Everyone likes to hear about other people’s boo-boos, and it’s always cheaper and less painful to learn from others’ mistakes rather than our own. So keep your eyes and ears open and you’ll find a ton of content with this idea alone.

While you’re looking for mistakes, keep your eyes open for success stories. What did they accomplish and how did they do it? By learning from the success of others we can find vital clues on how to create our own successes.

Sometimes the real story isn’t in the success but in the challenge they overcame to reach that success. If you or someone else discovered a new way to break through an obstacle, it’s guaranteed that other people will want to hear about it, too.

Has someone given you a terrific piece of advice? How did you use it and what happened? Or have you discovered a new tool with a benefit too good not to share with others? Then you’ve got great content in the making.

Maybe you’ve got a unique solution to a problem others are having. This kind of content is so good you can sell it. Or perhaps you’ve got a story about something that didn’t work at all – others will want to know to steer clear of it.

The real trick to creating great content is simple – look for it. As you read, work, interact with others and go about your day, always keep a lookout for things to share on social media. Keep a notebook in your pocket and jot the ideas down and you’ll find they rapidly multiply into more than you can even use. You’ll never be stuck for great content again because you’ll see it truly is all around you.

As you can imagine, people who sell products face to face can lose sales by making all too common mistakes. And marketing online isn’t all that different from going belly to belly with a customer. You, too, can make similar mistakes that might already be costing you dearly.

What are the consequences of just one mistake? If you sell a $47 product and you fix one mistake that creates one more sale per day, you’ve just given your business a $17,155 per year gross raise. Not bad. Don’t fix the mistake and you’ll continue to make $17,155 LESS than you could have.

Here are 12 mistakes sales people make, and the corresponding Internet marketing mistake committed by hapless online marketers everywhere. Score yourself and see how many mistakes you are currently guilty of making:

1. Multitasking. The sales person is making a presentation when s/he gets a voice message, a call, a text, or an interruption of any kind. That’s bad enough – what happens when the sales person decides to actually check that message or take that call? More often than not they’ve just lost the sale.

The lesson for online marketers: Don’t allow distractions of any kind inside your sales process. When you’re promoting a product, don’t place anything else on that sales page or in that email that distracts your prospect from buying your product.

2. Not paying attention. The advantage of selling in person is you can see how the prospect is reacting to the sales message. If the sales person misses clues, they may also miss the sale.

The lesson for online marketers: Listen to your audience. You can do this by ASKING what they want, reading what they say in the comments on your blog, or better yet – interacting with them in a forum or live chat on your website.

3. Not knowing your customers. This goes beyond listening – this is knowing the real reason why they buy. For example, a sales person selling a weight loss plan will be told by a customer that they want to be healthier, but the REAL reason that customer is looking at the plan is because she’s afraid she’ll lose her spouse if she doesn’t lose the weight.

The lesson for online marketers: Dig deeper. Find out the real motivations behind your customer’s actions. Get inside their head and walk a mile in their shoes. Create customer profiles just as though they were real people and find out what’s truly pushing their buttons and the real reasons they’ll buy your product or service.

4. Not knowing the product. Sales people can’t adequately present a product unless they know everything there is to know about the product and about the competition.

The lesson for online marketers: You’ll never be able to write truly compelling copy unless you know your product along with your features and benefits inside and out.

5. Not handling objections. The customer has a question or an objection the sales person can’t answer – what happens? Often the sale is lost right then and there. But if the sales person can handle objections, the sale is won.

The lesson for online marketers: As an online marketer, you’ve got to anticipate and handle objections before they even occur. What are the reasons your prospect is likely to hesitate? What are your customers’ fears? Worries? Objections? Bring them up and answer them right in your sales copy or sales video and your sales will increase.

6. Presenting features and forgetting benefits. No doubt you already know the importance of presenting benefits, not just features. For example, a feature of steak is nice marbling, the corresponding benefit is melt in your mouth tenderness. Relying on features only to make a sale seldom works because the customer’s senses and emotions are not involved.

The lesson for online marketers: This one’s easy – don’t assume your prospect will know the benefits of your features. Instead, clearly present the benefits of your product in such a way that the prospect can clearly imagine having those benefits for himself.

7. Not building in value. When a sales person can show that the price of the product is a mere pittance compared with the VALUE of the product, the sale is won. Sadly, many sales people do a lousy job of this.

For example, a $500 day at the spa might seem expensive, but if it means more energy, more health, a more youthful appearance, feeling terrific, feeling invigorated, being envied by your friends, having an amazing day you won’t forget, etc., the $500 can seem worth it.

The lesson for online marketers: Think of it as asking the prospect to pay pennies to get dollars – who will say no to that? Now find a way to present your product or service where the value is so much greater than the price, the prospect would be crazy to say no.

8. Focusing too much on price. Having a low price can certainly help make the sale, but if a sales person is focused exclusively on price, he’ll lose sales to both cheaper competitors and better sales people. A good sales person focuses on the benefits and is able to convey to the prospect that it’s wise to invest in the best and often a waste to buy the cheapest.

The lesson for online marketers: While you can make a lot of sales of $7 products, sometimes you can make even more sales if you increase the price. Remember, many people do believe that they get what they pay for. If you’re offering the moon for a fistful of quarters, you’ll lose sales because people will believe your product is only as good as your price is high.

9. Not asking for the sale. Countless sales are lost simply because the sales person is afraid to ask for the sale. Imagine you’re a sales person – you get a lead, you contact that lead several times before finally getting an appointment, you drive to their office, you wait in the lobby, you finally get to make your presentation, and you walk away empty handed, all because you didn’t ask for the sale. Does that sound far-fetched? The fact is it happens every minute of every day somewhere in the world.

The lesson for online marketers: ASK for the sale. Tell them to click the link and make the investment that’s going to make them happy for a long time to come. Tell them and then tell them again. It’s okay – they WANT you to guide them, so do it.

10. Not asking (again) for the sale. The sales person makes the presentation, asks for the sale, but the customer says no. Does that mean it’s over? Only if the sales person is new on the job. Seasoned pros know that you ask for the sale numerous times throughout the presentation. And if the customer still says no? Then you follow up later and see if they’re ready yet.

The lesson for online marketers: Be closing all the time. Write your copy as though it’s a done deal that the prospect will become a customer. Ask for the sale, ask for it again, and if they don’t buy, follow up by email. You never know when you’re going to either tell them the right thing or hit them at the right time to get that magical “yes.”

11. Not following up with the customer after the sale is made. The sales person is walking on air, she’s so happy she made the sale. Time to move on to the next prospect, right? Well, yes and no. While you always want to be looking for new customers, you also want to take care of and service your existing customers. Repeat business is far easier to get than the initial sale, but you’ve still got to earn it.

The lesson for online marketers: Follow up. Send a series of emails filled with tips on how to get the most out of the product. Continue to build the relationship and earn their trust and instead of a one time sale, you can get a customer for life.

12. Not following up even if a sale isn’t made. The sales person has begun to build a relationship with this prospect, but the prospect buys elsewhere. Now what? Should the sales person forget the prospect? 99% of them do. But whatever their product is, the customer may be dissatisfied with their purchase, or may want to purchase another product in the future.

Either way, it pays to stay in touch with that prospect even if they don’t buy. Sometimes staying in touch pays off in surprising ways, too. A prospect who didn’t think your product was right for her may think it’s perfect for a friend or colleague.

The lesson for online marketers: People visit your sales page and don’t buy. You follow up with them a dozen times and they still don’t buy your product. But that doesn’t mean they might not be a good prospect for a different product, or might even recommend you to a friend. Always leave the door open and continue to build the relationship.

So, what was your score? If you’re currently making 3 of these mistakes or less, pat yourself on the back because you’re doing far better than average. Now go fix those mistakes and close even more sales.

Making 4 to 6 mistakes? Don’t feel bad – you’re not alone. Choose one thing to correct and do it right now, then commit to fixing the rest within the next 14 days.

Committing more than 6 of these mistakes? It’s time to face facts – you need to make some major changes or you’re never going to become a full time online marketer. Sit down and write out a plan for rectifying your situation, then put it to work. And take heart – even the best marketers made some major mistakes in the beginning. The important thing is that you never give up, and that you not only learn, but you also implement what you learn as quickly as possible.

Hint: Do the Opposite and Success Will Be Yours!

Is the Internet easy money? A lot of people seem to think so, which might be why we see Internet businesses come and go faster than feathers in the wind. And sadly, while it takes a lot to succeed in business, it really takes very little effort to fail.

But you can turn the tables and give yourself a head start by NOT doing the following:

1. Bringing nothing new. You see what someone else is doing and you copy it. FAIL. Unless you do it faster, better, cheaper, stronger, more effectively, etc.; you won’t make a dent in the market. You’ve got to differentiate your business by either offering something new or something vastly improved.

2. Not prioritizing. If you’re obsessed with trivial things like getting your latest article perfected – rather than focusing on the big things like making sales – you’re going to fail. Decide what’s most important to making your business a success (aka: getting new customers and taking care of your current customers) and spend your time and resources on those activities.

3. Doing everything yourself. Sure, you’re lousy at building websites, but who wants to pay a pro, right? So you spend 4 weeks building a website that frankly looks like it was made by a junior high student doing just enough to get a barely passing “D” grade. Forget about it. Hire outsourcers to do the things you stink at, and focus your efforts on what you do well.

4. Pleasing everybody. You’ve got a product that everybody needs and wants, and you’re going to sell billions of them, right? Probably not. First of all, how do you reach a market of “everybody?” Second, when you try to appeal to everyone, you generally wind up appealing to no one. By targeting your product or service to a specific group of people you vastly increase your odds of success.

5. Not being obsessed. If you’re laid back, working now and then when you ‘feel’ like it, and wondering where the truck full of cash is hiding, then guess what: It’s not coming. You’ve got to put in long hours in the beginning of your business to make it succeed, and if don’t then you’ll never have a business – only a money sucking hobby that annoys your spouse and wastes what time you do spend on it.

6. Changing course repeatedly. Hey, you were going to write great content about fishing and promote fishing related affiliate products, but you just bought this great course on how to sell backlinks, so you’re going to do that instead, except there’s this other course on how to make a killing servicing the Forex community… STOP! Choose your business model and then strap on a pair of blinders so thick you can’t tell if it’s daytime or nighttime.

Once you’ve got those blinders on, the ONLY things that get through are methods and tools that help you on your present course. Anything that could divert you off course is totally, completely irrelevant and will be shunned and ignored to the full extent of your laser focused abilities.

7. Thinking the universe will do it for you. Yes, you’ve watched The Secret a dozen times and read all the latest books on manifesting your destiny. Now all you need to do is sit back and visualize your success 24/7, and it’ll happen because you’re just that kind of guy (or gal.) Get a grip. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to be because you MAKE it happen, not because the Universe owes you a debt of gratitude for you being, well, you.

8. Being a cautious genius. You’ve got a good idea of what to do, but there’s just a few more things you need to learn before you take that first real step because you’ve got to get it just right. After all, in school it was all the studying that got you the good grades, right?

Well guess what, this isn’t school and studying won’t even get you out the door. Yes, you need to know what you’re doing, but no, you don’t need to write your doctorate before you take action. There are times when you need to throw caution to the wind. If you’re procrastinating, if you’re scared, if you’re “not quite ready,” then it’s time to stop preparing and start DOING.

9. Clutching pennies so tightly they scream. You go with the $1 a month hosting because it saves you $9 a month. Then your website crashes the day of your first launch, and there’s no phone number or online chat to get a hold of anyone.

In fact, reading the fine print on your web hosting site, you discover that they only accept correspondence via carrier pigeon, and then only on the third Tuesday of the month. Yes, you need to watch expenses. No, you do not need to cut corners so badly you ruin your own business.

There is an exception and it’s this: If you happen to have a lot of money sitting around gathering dust, you can hire people to perform most of your online marketing tasks for you. You’ll still need to determine the course of your business and guide it in the right direction, but what you spend in money can save you in time.

Then again, having a lot of money to throw at a new venture is often it’s own recipe for failure, so beware and be careful if you plan to employ this method.

10. Screwing your customers. What’s important is making the sale, not making the customer happy, right? Wrong. Refunds, bad reviews and disastrous customer service will ruin your business faster than termites will eat tree houses in the tropics. Take care of your customers, give them more than they expect, thank them and then ask what else you can do for them. Remember: No customers = no business.

11. Failing terrifies the stuffing out of you. Maybe you shouldn’t do ____ because you might fail. (You fill in the blank.) Guess what – failure is GOOD. Without failure there is no success. The only person who has never failed is the person who has never attempted anything in their life. Do you want to be that person? No. Then expect that you will fail now and then, and when you do, you’re going to pick yourself right back up and keep going.

There you have it – 11 ways to fail or succeed. The choice, my friends, is up to you.