Saturday, August 19, 2006
One Stop Web Support Newsletter #37 On Its Way
The latest issue of One Stop Web Support Newsletter is scheduled to arrive early Sunday morning, August 20. This newsletter contains:
Jeff
The latest issue of One Stop Web Support Newsletter is scheduled to arrive early Sunday morning, August 20. This newsletter contains:
- Telling Your Stories to Make Your Sales
- Personal recommendation -
Website - "Clickin' It Rich"
Auction - "Insider Secrets of an eBay Millionaire" - Special guest corner: Discover the Profit Models That Can Dramatically Increase Your Income and Position Your Business for *Massive* Growth (part 3) By Derek Gehl
- Success quote by Gil Bailie
Jeff
Friday, August 18, 2006
Is a "Fishing for Customers" Mentality Strangling Your Sales?
Fishing can be fun. But if you apply its principles to your marketing, it could be strangling your sales. Let's look at fishing for a moment.
You come to the lake well-equipped with tools: bait, hooks, nets, rods and reels to bring 'em in. You bait the hook, toss it into the water and wait. Before long, some dumb fish is off and running with that tasty bit of bait and you're reeling away.
Let's see, that's maybe 200 pounds worth of highly intelligent human with state-of-the-art tools going against some dumb fish that weighs anywhere from a few ounces to a few pounds. Is this easy or what?
Unfortunately, many new business owners like to imagine selling to be this easy. They see their businesses as a type of fishing for customers. The wily business owner goes off to do battle with the elusive customer. The business owner brings what he hopes will be the right bait (the product) and the right tools (promotional strategies, effective sales copy, etc.) to reel the customer in.
But think for a moment what fishing involves.
The fisherman offers bit of worm or a shiny doodad. The fish, when it's reeled in, could well become supper. Not a very even trade, do you think?
So what happens if you apply a fishing mentality to business? You look at the products you sell as bait. You look for something that you hope will attract customers. But the focus is in on doing whatever it takes to CATCH THEIR MONEY. And that's the wrong focus.
Customers are not dumb fish. They won't bite blindly at any shiny little doodad you dangle in front of them. Remember the "bargain" that the fish was getting? The fish gets a worm or an inedible shiny thing. In return, the fish gives up its life. Customers want a slightly more equitable bargain than that.
So if we're not fishing for customers, what pattern should we follow? Think negotiating instead.
In fishing, you're hoping to pull fish out of the deep where they're hiding from you. In negotiating, you are face to face with the other person.
In fishing, the fish will bite at something worth far less than what they're giving up. In negotiating, your customers want something of equal or greater value than what they're giving. That's the only way a smarter-than-a fish customer will buy.
You have to provide something that your customers will consider more useful to them than the money they give up. That sounds like a money-losing proposition, doesn't it?
But it isn't if you know anything about negotiating. In negotiating, you give up something that is worth much more to your partner than it is to you.
Maybe you're selling some special knowledge the other person needs by packaging it in the form of an information product. Maybe you're selling a product that you know how to get a lot more inexpensively than your customer does. The difference between what you consider the product to be worth and what your customer considers your product to be worth is what allows you to make a profit.
When you look at products merely as bait and your promotion tools merely as ways to reel customers in, you lose sight of what your customer is looking for. You dangle your product and hope that that's what they're biting on today. And when you leave to chance something as important as what your customers want, you likely will dangle bait that doesn't interest them.
When you look at products from your customer's point of view, though, you will make more deals. If you get to know what your customers really wants instead of just what you hope they'll want, you can find those things your customers will value enough to do business with you.
Jeff
Fishing can be fun. But if you apply its principles to your marketing, it could be strangling your sales. Let's look at fishing for a moment.
You come to the lake well-equipped with tools: bait, hooks, nets, rods and reels to bring 'em in. You bait the hook, toss it into the water and wait. Before long, some dumb fish is off and running with that tasty bit of bait and you're reeling away.
Let's see, that's maybe 200 pounds worth of highly intelligent human with state-of-the-art tools going against some dumb fish that weighs anywhere from a few ounces to a few pounds. Is this easy or what?
Unfortunately, many new business owners like to imagine selling to be this easy. They see their businesses as a type of fishing for customers. The wily business owner goes off to do battle with the elusive customer. The business owner brings what he hopes will be the right bait (the product) and the right tools (promotional strategies, effective sales copy, etc.) to reel the customer in.
But think for a moment what fishing involves.
The fisherman offers bit of worm or a shiny doodad. The fish, when it's reeled in, could well become supper. Not a very even trade, do you think?
So what happens if you apply a fishing mentality to business? You look at the products you sell as bait. You look for something that you hope will attract customers. But the focus is in on doing whatever it takes to CATCH THEIR MONEY. And that's the wrong focus.
Customers are not dumb fish. They won't bite blindly at any shiny little doodad you dangle in front of them. Remember the "bargain" that the fish was getting? The fish gets a worm or an inedible shiny thing. In return, the fish gives up its life. Customers want a slightly more equitable bargain than that.
So if we're not fishing for customers, what pattern should we follow? Think negotiating instead.
In fishing, you're hoping to pull fish out of the deep where they're hiding from you. In negotiating, you are face to face with the other person.
In fishing, the fish will bite at something worth far less than what they're giving up. In negotiating, your customers want something of equal or greater value than what they're giving. That's the only way a smarter-than-a fish customer will buy.
You have to provide something that your customers will consider more useful to them than the money they give up. That sounds like a money-losing proposition, doesn't it?
But it isn't if you know anything about negotiating. In negotiating, you give up something that is worth much more to your partner than it is to you.
Maybe you're selling some special knowledge the other person needs by packaging it in the form of an information product. Maybe you're selling a product that you know how to get a lot more inexpensively than your customer does. The difference between what you consider the product to be worth and what your customer considers your product to be worth is what allows you to make a profit.
When you look at products merely as bait and your promotion tools merely as ways to reel customers in, you lose sight of what your customer is looking for. You dangle your product and hope that that's what they're biting on today. And when you leave to chance something as important as what your customers want, you likely will dangle bait that doesn't interest them.
When you look at products from your customer's point of view, though, you will make more deals. If you get to know what your customers really wants instead of just what you hope they'll want, you can find those things your customers will value enough to do business with you.
Jeff
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BlinkDel.icio.usDiggFurlGoogleSimpySpurlY! MyWebThursday, August 17, 2006
Another Great Report from Kevin Wilke
I got permission to give out the link to another great free report from Trafficology co-founder Kevin Wilke. Kevin's been on a kick lately where he's going above and beyond to give the new business owner a fighting chance of success.
He started what he calls his 10-in-90 program, a free training program that takes you step by step through all the essential steps of starting a business. Most of these essential steps are things that new business owners usually miss.
I know, I thought the same thing as you. With something free, you get what you pay for. But I've found this to be different. The way Kevin breaks down starting a business makes it easy to succeed. The goal of 10-in-90 is to help his students earn a total of $10 million dollars between them in 90 days. He just might achieve it.
Enough about 10-in-90, though. This post isn't really about the program, it's about Kevin's 9-page report. He's offering it free to anyone.
It focuses on the get-rich-quick myths about starting a business online. It reveals what the mythmakers really went through to become "overnight millionaires." And it shows ways to reduce the learning curve.
Yeah, you give him your email address to get the report, but he's been remarkably pitch-free in his 10-in-90 program. So I wouldn't expect to be bombarded with junk offers. And if giving him your address leads to being invited into a future 10-in-90 session, you've got something even better than his report.
Check out his report. It's a real eye-opener.
Jeff
I got permission to give out the link to another great free report from Trafficology co-founder Kevin Wilke. Kevin's been on a kick lately where he's going above and beyond to give the new business owner a fighting chance of success.
He started what he calls his 10-in-90 program, a free training program that takes you step by step through all the essential steps of starting a business. Most of these essential steps are things that new business owners usually miss.
I know, I thought the same thing as you. With something free, you get what you pay for. But I've found this to be different. The way Kevin breaks down starting a business makes it easy to succeed. The goal of 10-in-90 is to help his students earn a total of $10 million dollars between them in 90 days. He just might achieve it.
Enough about 10-in-90, though. This post isn't really about the program, it's about Kevin's 9-page report. He's offering it free to anyone.
It focuses on the get-rich-quick myths about starting a business online. It reveals what the mythmakers really went through to become "overnight millionaires." And it shows ways to reduce the learning curve.
Yeah, you give him your email address to get the report, but he's been remarkably pitch-free in his 10-in-90 program. So I wouldn't expect to be bombarded with junk offers. And if giving him your address leads to being invited into a future 10-in-90 session, you've got something even better than his report.
Check out his report. It's a real eye-opener.
Jeff
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Free Mark Joyner Training Call
I just learned that the "Godfather of Internet Marketing," Mark Joyner, will hold a free teleconference this Thursday evening to discuss viral marketing. I've heard him talk on viral marketing before, and what he says really is an eye-opener.
He is brilliant at making difficult concepts crystal clear and breaking complicated, but profitable, strategies that leave you feeling, "I can do that." Really. He is GOOD.
Register for this free training call where Mark Joyner says he will turn a viral marketing "dummy" into an instant Viral Marketing genius and show you how to create an unlimited amount of free web traffic... automatically!
Here's the link to register for his free "Viral Marketing For Dummies"
This is some very solid training on viral marketing. Just look at what all you'll learn:
Oh, and on this one-time call, Mark says you'll learn the exact step-by-step formula he used to sell millions worth of products with absolutely no ad costs.
This call will open your eyes...you'll know tactics 99.79% of the people teaching viral marketing don't even know themselves...and that, my friend, can make all the difference. Here's the link to register on once again.
Jeff
I just learned that the "Godfather of Internet Marketing," Mark Joyner, will hold a free teleconference this Thursday evening to discuss viral marketing. I've heard him talk on viral marketing before, and what he says really is an eye-opener.
He is brilliant at making difficult concepts crystal clear and breaking complicated, but profitable, strategies that leave you feeling, "I can do that." Really. He is GOOD.
Register for this free training call where Mark Joyner says he will turn a viral marketing "dummy" into an instant Viral Marketing genius and show you how to create an unlimited amount of free web traffic... automatically!
Here's the link to register for his free "Viral Marketing For Dummies"
This is some very solid training on viral marketing. Just look at what all you'll learn:
- What is the Ultimate Free Web Traffic Creation Technique?
- How can you perpetually drive an unlimited amount of pre-sold, ready to buy visitors directly
to your website...automatically?? - How did Mark Joyner create both the #36 & #198 most popular sites on the Internet in just 3 months... generating over 1 Million downloads?
- What is Mark's never before revealed marketing secret...the one thing that Mark knows that all other marketing experts are doing wrong?
- What behind the scenes traffic generating, profit-pulling secrets were used to create the top 2 online viral marketing systems?
- How did Mark build another viral marketing system that generates more visitors than ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger and even Harry Potter?
Oh, and on this one-time call, Mark says you'll learn the exact step-by-step formula he used to sell millions worth of products with absolutely no ad costs.
This call will open your eyes...you'll know tactics 99.79% of the people teaching viral marketing don't even know themselves...and that, my friend, can make all the difference. Here's the link to register on once again.
Jeff
Monday, August 14, 2006
Is Your Business Structured to Succeed?
Just thought I'd pass on a great free video that Kevin Wilke, one of the co-founders of Trafficology, agreed to let me post. It covers the basic structure that all successful online businesses have.
He does a great job in showing how simple the structure is and where most business owners go wrong in setting up their business. Enjoy! It's definitely worth 20 minutes of your time to watch. Jeff
Just thought I'd pass on a great free video that Kevin Wilke, one of the co-founders of Trafficology, agreed to let me post. It covers the basic structure that all successful online businesses have.
He does a great job in showing how simple the structure is and where most business owners go wrong in setting up their business. Enjoy! It's definitely worth 20 minutes of your time to watch. Jeff
© 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Jeff Baas, One Stop Web Support
