Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Online Sales Lesson #1 – Effective Sales

Being an online marketer / entrepreneur requires that you to have a solid grasp of all the components / elements that make up your business. 

Up-selling, cross-selling, discounts, sales tweaks, etc. are all well and good but if you have no viable, effective methods of advertising, NO ONE is going to see or know your product / opportunity exists! This is why this lesson is so important!

Here’s the analogy I use for with my mentoring students ….  
Picture a massive traffic jam on the I-5 during rush hour … MILLIONS of cars bumper to bumper all trying to get somewhere but stuck in a sea of traffic, This is the internet -  Now, you’re out there advertising and trying to get people to notice you but so far, all you’re doing is shouting “I’m in the blue car” .. Really?  There are THOUSANDS of blue cars in this traffic jam! What makes YOUR blue car any different from all the others? How do I identify your blue car? Is there anything “unique” about it? Get my point? 

Tip #1 - Create a Facebook account.
Facebook is without fail, the most successful, and popular social media site on the internet! Millions of people use it religiously each and every day and if you’re not using its power to advertise, you’re leaving a LOT of money on the table for others (like me) to pick up! Facebook provides many FREE options to advertise with. A Facebook fan page has many options that businesses can use. For example, it has advertisement options which can be used to reach target customers. Parameters such as age, gender, hobbies, and such can be set in order to reach a select group of people when advertising. Some of these advertisement tools are paid features while some can be used for free. 

Tip #2 – Create a Twitter account.
A Twitter account can also be used to advertise your products and/or services. An excellent technique is to get a lot of followers. This way, your tweets will be read by more users. 

Tip #3 - Link ALL of your web, blog, and social media sites together
Visualize a spider’s web … Each web is unique unto itself, and a marvel of engineering! Each strand of the web is unique to itself, but also connected to the whole. Tap one strand and it sends vibrations across the entire web network & allows the spider to locate its prey like a GPS system. The internet is no different than the spider’s web. All strands individual but also connected to another.
If you have several websites and social media accounts, it’s important to link them together. How do you do this? In your main website for example, you can provide a link to all your other websites. And in your Facebook page, you can also provide a link to your Twitter page. This way, you customers will be able to connect to you in more ways than one. 

Tip #4 - Focus on your Target / Niche Market.
DO NOT waste your time, energy, and resources on advertising (Free, Safelists, etc,) methods that attempt to reach everyone. If you only need to reach a select group of people, you only need to advertise with them inmindDo your homework and STOP being LAZY!  If you are selling products for women for example, it may not be necessary to do extensive advertisement that would include male audiences and vise versa. Again, stop spinning your wheels on “free / junk” advertising – Trust me when I tell you money is not going to fall from the sky in exchange for doing NOTHING! Study, research, learn, experiment, etc. Most importantly, realize that you will eventually need to INVEST in your business, and yourself if you truly want success! 

Tip #5 - Advertise Price Comparisons.
When advertising your product/service using different forms of media, it’s a good idea to include a market price comparison. For example, you may include in the description that your product is priced lower than you competition. Of course, you should NEVER name competitor brands specifically! If you do, you could be setting yourself up for a MAJOR lawsuit. 

Tip #6 - Advertise Specification Comparisons.
Other than the price comparison, you may also include a specification comparison in the product description. You only need to list any differences that favor your product / opportunity. Example: If the laptop that you are selling has a battery capacity of 10 hours and your competitor's product only has 5, you may include that information in the product description. Something like "Our battery will last 5 hours longer than XYZ’s laptop."



OK … that’s enough for today & concludes my first post in a series on generating more sales with simple advertising adjustments. 

Lesson's 2 - 4 can be found here.

Until next time, this is your “Man in the Mountains” reminding you to ..



STAY POSITIVE..

STAY MOTIVATED...

STAY INSPIRED and …..

NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS!


EJ "Big Ed" Benko
Skype: Edward.Benko