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15, Mar 08
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a substance foreign to many people. Rarely a day passes when I do not get asked a few questions on the topic. So I decided to publish this article in the FAQ hopes it will help people to understand t...
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Basic Selling 101
By: Mark Walters
Most internet businesses do not realize that the basics of selling are born within everyone. They are primal, like hunting, defending, and survival instincts. This includes selling to people on the web.
Many home based businesses believe that if they 'build it they will come.' Instead, the 'pack' moves on, leaving the business owner wondering how the billions of web surfers can all miss their website.
It isn't that the business doesn't have a good website, or that the ad copy is poor, or that the SEO is out of date, if the website is not designed to sell, then people will not realize they are suppose to buy something.
I saw a great example a week ago. A teen boy, very good looking, wandered around the mall where I shopped, looking for a perfect pair of jeans. He went into one store where two young girls gushed over him, and did everything asked.
What a perfect lesson in marketing. Rule #1: Focus on the client. Neither of these girls wasted a moment telling my son how great the product was. They didn't worry about benefits or price. They did one thing, made him feel comfortable.
Rule #2: Solve a problem. This young man spent several hundred dollars before I wandered away. The jeans in this store were the same quality and price as the other stores carried.
However, he was a shy buyer. Or, maybe it wasn't cool to stand on a chair and flip through the jeans hanging on the wall display.
The young girls did this for him - they solved his problem.
Rule #3: Don't focus on the sale. These girls never focused on the sale. They never threw product at him. They talked to him, entertained him, and made life easier for him. He felt good in the store. Part of his shopping experience was to be entertained, so, without understanding the basic marketing principals, these girls did a world-class job of selling the store's product.
Rule #4 They did not oversell, or over promise.The retail world is shark infested waters that over promises and under delivers without ever feeling they are acting immorally. People have come to believe they are being lied to when they read testimonials, ad copy, or promises. These two girls promised nothing, and made few suggestions. Instead, they asked questions. The customer's answers created the focus for the 'sale' - not the store's policy.
Rule #5 Meet an emotional need. There are three needs, escapism, entertainment, excitement that lead to a sale. These two women let the young man escape the reality of his life for a few moments. There is no doubt that he was entertained, and the thrill of being treated like one of the men in a music video would have been exciting. Without a BS in business marketing, or even a course in selling, these two women did a better job than most CEOs could have.
Rule #6 Ask them to buy. One of the girls held up a pair of baggy pants and said, "This is the style you want to buy, right?" She didn't ask him if he wanted to buy. She didn't tell him that she thought he should buy this particular pair of pants. She affirmed that she understood his needs, and used the information he offered to find the perfect pair of pants for him.
This is the number one, over looked, selling mistake on the internet. Most websites do not worry about the customer. They have a single product for the buyer, take it or leave it.
Simply letting the buyer fill out a questionnaire, or poll, or even using an e-course, puts the power in the buyer's hands.
Their answers direct them to a buy-now page with a product that will solve their needs, and ad copy written especially for them.
Author: Mark Walters
Mark Walters is a third generation investor who guides others to financial independence through the Creating Wealth Club http://www.CreatingWealthClub.com
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