One Business Secret, Part 5

In the last few updates I revealed a simple formula for selling anything to anybody, at any time, in any country, online or offline, even if you HATE to sell!

Do you remember it? I called it “The One Secret”…

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THE ONE SECRET:
“98% of all human beings buy products or services emotionally and then justify those purchases logically.”
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Let’s continue…

One of the things that amazes me about people in business is that they are constantly trying to sell things to people that they don’t want and in a way that they don’t want to be sold!

Now, there are some things that you have to bring to people’s attention before they know they want them!

After all, that’s what the marketing is all about!

I’m not talking about that.

What I’m talking about is marketing something down people’s throats whether they need it or not!

I’m in business for the long run. I am not in it for short-term profits. I think, for the most part, you will all agree with me on this. I mean, it just does not make any sense to use high pressure sales tactics on people- even though they may buy from you today-they will regret ever dealing with you tomorrow.

In fact there is a lot of resistance on and off the net to high pressure sales tactics and hype.

If you’ve ever received junk email or “spam” you understand what I mean. Didn’t it make you a little annoyed…?

The fact is it’s just not necessary. All you have to do is develop products that have real value and/or utility and are useful or attractive. Selling it is simply a matter of bringing it to the attention of someone who has the desire and means to purchase it following our “98% rule”.

Most people today are very skeptical of high pressure sales environments and boiler room operations and have set up barriers so they cannot be sold that way. What barriers am I talking about? Answering machines with ID call screening (is it Mom calling or a salesperson? They want to know!). TV remote controls (A commercial? I’m changing the channel!). E-mail “filters”.

Everyone is skeptical about what you’re offering and has some kind of system that prevents your message from getting through to them. How do you get good results with these kinds of obstacles?

By injecting your unique personality into your business – in other words, by being yourself. If potential customers trust and believe in you, they will buy from you. But they can’t know or trust you if you’re putting up a barrier by not letting them get to know you. Being human in business is OK.

By taking action and asking for the order in a polite, non-threatening way, repeatably. The average person won’t give you an order for your product until the 3rd or 4th request. There are many marketers who say response starts to tail off after the 6th request for an order. How many people in business give up asking for the order even after the 1st try!

Imagine the profits lost each year because businesses give up too soon! You have to understand your customer. It’s not that they don’t want your product – it’s that they have so many things on their mind that sometimes they need reminding. Done pleasantly and with respect, this is a powerful way to generate sales without prospecting constantly for new customers.

By knowing how to generate a never ending flow of potential customers who know and already want what you’re selling. In marketing this is called targeted ‘lead generation’. It’s accomplished through offering something free, or at a very low cost to a specific segment of the market that has a high probability of an interest in your offer.

Lead generation is used to entice prospective customers to make an initial contact with you. Once they do, you send them the free information or sample chapter from your book or content and sell them more of your content in each successive contact. Dan Kennedy (http://www.dan-kennedy.com/) is the master of this kind of marketing.

Now I can’t tell you how to be yourself. Only you know what that means. The important thing to remember is that your unique personality must come through in order for your customers to get to know you as a person and ultimately trust you enough to order from you the first time, and then again and again.

Why I think this is so effective really doesn’t matter.

All I know is that it works. And that’s all that matters.

But if you want my opinion, it works because people are emotional and respond positively to other people who are not afraid to reveal a little bit of ‘themselves’ and enthusiasm for the product or service they are selling.

Next, you must not be afraid to take positive action to get what you want. Moving continuously towards your goals and business objectives despite obstacles is a rare trait. Those who move forward, despite obstacles, setbacks and distractions will succeed. GUARANTEED. This also means that to get what you want from others, your customers, you must not be afraid to ask them for their business continually.

Just be sure to ask in a pleasant, friendly way- the same way that you, yourself, would like to be asked. Fewer than 1 in 10,000 businesses do this the right way. Most are either too aggressive in their asking the customer for their order, or they don’t ask at all!

The good news is, asking for the order is very simple. All you have to do is ask! And don’t just ask once. Sometimes it takes asking 3, 4, 7 or even 10 times to get the order. This is huge secret that few businesses employ: They don’t know how to ask for the order. This has been my experience. Almost no one does this! And they are losing tons of money!

Constant communication with people who are interested in your product or service (and those who have already purchased from you) is the key to building your business successfully over the long haul.