3 Money Clutching Tactics for Turning Little Dollars into BIG Dollars Online!
In this article
- The Sale before the Sale…
- Viral Voodoo…
- How to make hay where most of your competition rolls over and goes
- to sleep…
- And more!
Dear Web Business Builder,
When I began my career in selling, I was about as green as a Chinese cabbage. Luckily, I also had a thick skin… and what I lacked in finesse I made up for in good old piss and vinegar …
Back in the Stone Age, believe it or not, we used to walk around cold calling on business people in the flesh. And, one day my unbridled enthusiasm for rejection almost got me ejected from a perfectly good prospect’s office. I had barged in without an appointment, and began delivering a sales talk.
That’s when it hit me I was losing plenty of excellent prospects because of my approach. I came to the realization there’s little point telling a sales story to someone who isn’t first sold on the importance of listening to it. Duh!
In the selling world, I solved this problem by abandoning my rude habit of “dropping in” on people and immediately trying to sell my service. Instead, I began to sell something entirely different …
After introducing my self in a way that somehow included the main unique benefit my company had to offer, I immediately went on to admit I didn’t know if what we had to offer was right for my prospect or not, and simply asked for an opportunity to explore their situation to see if it was. I went from cold calling, to warm approaching …
Sales resistance was considerably lessened, and I had a chance to figure out what my prospect’s really wanted. And in many cases, I was able to give it to them.
Soon I set my sites on larger clients that weren’t easily reached in the flesh, and began finding felicity with a phone. I found the same principle applied.
There was no point jabbering until I’d gotten permission. I used the same quick introduction technique, followed by an unusual question, “Am I calling you at a bad time?” This allowed my prospects to say what they loved to say “NO”, and I was in like Flynn.
Later I abandoned the practice of approaching people in person entirely, and began automating the whole front end of the sales cycle.
Why am I telling you this?
Well, because the first tip for turning little dollars into big dollars online is remarkably similar to what helped me to raise myself from failure to success in selling in those early years. And here it is …
Before selling the product, sell the appointment! Huh?
Allow me to explain. When I was selling telecom services, the first thing I sold was the consultation, which was in essence an opportunity for the prospect to explore their situation, and weigh their options. It was absolutely free, low key, and truly valuable to them.
Online, that means selling your prospects on allowing you to help them crystallize their thoughts about a given problem, before pitching them on your solution. And you do that by offering free information that does just that.
Think of it as a “consultation” in print. A Trojan horse that slips under the prospect’s “lead shield”… building tons of credibility and rapport for you… and most importantly selling your prospect on the importance of listening to your sales story.
Your “consultation” in print can be delivered as a discreet step in the sales process if you’re selling a high-ticket item, or as the front half of a single web page for a low-ticket item.
Either way, make a friend before you try to make a sale.
Figuratively walk around the desk and sit beside your prospect as a partner and advocate before you pitch!
Money Clutching Tactic #2
Viral Voodoo …
The people you involve in your online sales funnel are surrounded by other people, if not physically then virtually, who have similar aspirations, beliefs, interests, and financial capabilities.
Each one of your prospects can be leveraged by the number of their associates within their circle of influence …
The average family has two and half cars, but the average dealership sells them one car. Why? Because like most businesses, the concept of referral based marketing is foreign to them.
But the smart online marketer leverages the hard earned harvest of his or her lead generation efforts by a factor of 2, 3, 5, even 10 times or more over a period of time. How?
By going the extra mile to shower customers with love, and then asking for referrals. Sounds too simple, right? Let’s think about this for a moment …
Suppose you make just 10 sales this week. However you give great service, and obtain just 2 more qualified leads from those 10 new customers.
Now, realize that the referral is the most powerful kind of endorsement in the world. If someone thinks enough of what you do for them to forward a link to one of your product pages, or recommends your ezine, or whatever it is you ASK them to do, your closing ratio on that traffic is going to dwarf any other kind of traffic you’re generating.
But let’s be realistic, and assume just a 10% closing ratio on those referred leads.
How long do you think it would take to double your business? Here’s the math, assuming a $100 average sale for the sake of simplicity …
|
Week
|
Sales
|
Referrals
|
Dollars
|
|
1
|
10.0
|
2.0
|
$1,000.00
|
|
2
|
10.2
|
2.0
|
$1,020.00
|
|
3
|
10.7
|
2.1
|
$1,071.00
|
|
4
|
11.2
|
2.2
|
$1,124.55
|
|
5
|
11.8
|
2.4
|
$1,180.78
|
|
6
|
12.4
|
2.5
|
$1,239.82
|
|
7
|
13.0
|
2.6
|
$1,301.81
|
|
8
|
13.7
|
2.7
|
$1,366.90
|
|
9
|
14.4
|
2.9
|
$1,435.24
|
|
10
|
15.1
|
3.0
|
$1,507.00
|
|
11
|
15.8
|
3.2
|
$1,582.35
|
|
12
|
16.6
|
3.3
|
$1,661.47
|
|
13
|
17.4
|
3.5
|
$1,744.55
|
|
14
|
18.3
|
3.7
|
$1,831.77
|
|
15
|
19.2
|
3.8
|
$1,923.36
|
|
16
|
20.2
|
4.0
|
$2,019.53
|
|
17
|
21.2
|
4.2
|
$2,120.51
|
That’s right. 17 lousy weeks! You’ve doubled your money in about 4 months. Isn’t that exciting? And what did it cost you? Nada! Zilch! Nothin’!
I strongly recommend you take a calculator and do the math for yourself, using your own assumptions. You’ll be highly motivated to put this enormously powerful, yet under used idea to work.
Money Clutching Tactic #3
How to make hay where most of your competition
rolls over and goes to sleep …
This last idea is once again, very simple, yet incredibly powerful, and under used.
It’s the good old-fashioned impulse “add on” at the point of purchase.
You work like a banshee to entice those prospects of yours into the top of the sales funnel. Then you prod, nudge, and gently cajole them along, until finally a precious few allow you to lovingly close them on your offer, and then … At the point of maximum arousal, what do you do? Roll over and go to sleep?
I hope not, because this is the golden moment for you. It’s your chance to put the most powerful forces of human nature to work, and multiply your sales.
At the point of sale, your prospects have just made the ultimate commitment, haven’t they? They just took out their plastic and gave your product the ultimate thumbs up!
Now, if you make a complimentary offer at this crucial point of decision, aren’t the odds in favor of your prospects remaining consistent with their prior actions? If you said “YES”, go to the head of the class, because you’re right!
Why? Because the heavy lifting’s already been done. The agonizing act of “thinking” is behind them. The plastics out, and it’s time to let loose. Give them a chance!
Once they’ve ponyed up a hundred, what’s thirty more? Much less than $30 in isolation, right? This works so well online, it’s frightening. Think about it. There’s never been an easier way to give in to impulse. It’s just a click of the mouse!
There are several obvious places in your process flow were you can harness the amazing power of the impulse sale online.
You can put a page in between your sales copy, and your shopping cart, effectively giving your prospect a choice between basic and deluxe at the moment of decision. This works nicely, but test to make sure you’re not losing sales instead of gaining. Your copy needs to be crystal clear.
You can put your upsell on your shopping cart page itself, and entice your prospects to “add on” to their order, offering several options. Always be sure and run an A/B split test to be sure you’re getting increased ROI.
Or try one of my favorites. Make your upsell offer on your fulfillment page. With this option, you’re a sure winner.
So there you have it, three simple tactics for beefing up your conversion, traffic, and average sale. Use ‘em to turn little dollars into BIG DOLLARS online!
Until next time, Good Selling!
Daniel Levis
Editor, The Web Marketing Advisor
THE TOTAL PACKAGE
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