Whether you realize it or not, you will only make money if you sell. Now this doesn’t mean you have to be shilling inferior products, or come across like you’re selling snake oil. You are not a carnival barker, you are an Internet marketer.
Your first thought may be that there are lots of ways to make money without selling. If there are, I haven’t found one. What it comes down to is the definition of the word ’sell’. The only way you will ever get people to give you their money is if you convince them to do so. They have to feel like it is the right decision based on the information they have.
Doing what’s known as the ‘hard sell’ often turns more people away than it’s worth. This is because they are programmed to recognize this selling technique as one that scammers use. Trying to force people to buy may get you a few sales, but it will never bring in the lifelong customers that are the soul of any successful business.
The skill you need to master is that of the ’soft sell’. Which one of the following do you think is easier?
A. Begging, pleading, convincing, forcing or beating people down until they buy.
B. Presenting the facts and benefits of your offer in a way that people convince themselves.
If you said ‘B’, you’re right. It’s not just easier - it’s more effective. There are a few basic things you can do to help your potential customers convince themselves to buy from you.
Show what’s in it for them. People don’t care about the features of your product, they do care about its benefits. For example, people don’t buy sports cars because they have more horsepower, people buy them because they go really fast. It’s a thrill to drive them. You can still mention the horsepower, but sell the thrill.
Don’t be pushy and avoid hype. This can be tricky when you are enthusiastic about your product. Please, by all means, use that enthusiasm to bring your sales message to life. Get people excited. Just strike the right balance. If you come on too strong, then you are back to doing the hard sell.
Use a conversational tone that’s appropriate for your audience. The idea here is to build rapport with your visitors. Get your potential customers to think of you as one of them. Don’t talk above, or below, their level or it will turn them off. People feel more comfortable buying from someone they can relate to. It’s only natural that people feel this way about whomever they are doing business with.
A fellow Internet marketer has said, “People like to buy without feeling like they are being sold to”. That’s an excellent observation. Putting these soft sell techniques into action increases sales, and increases your lifelong customers. They see the benefit of buying from someone they like who doesn’t overhype their products. Not only is that common sense - it’s good business.
Here we are in the third official week of 2009, and the Internet Marketing launches are coming thick and strong!
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