English Corpus

You’ve polished your sales page over and over againuntil it’s gleaming with benefits. You’re gettingplenty of traffic. And still - no sales.

What’s wrong?

It could be the recession (although that’s debatable).

With thousands of people losing their jobs each week,consumer confidence (and therefore consumer spending)is down.

But on the other hand, if thousands of people arelosing their jobs, there is without doubt a growingarmy of people out there who are looking to theInternet to make their living.

But let’s leave aside the recession, and look at twoother reasons you may not be getting sales:

(1) People very rarely buy the first time.

You must have heard the statistics - people have tosee your product an average of 7 times before they buyit. When I cast my mind back to the marketing eBooksI’ve purchased, in each case I saw those booksadvertised for months - on websites, in newsletters -before I bought them.

So if you want to make a sale, you must find a way tostay in contact with your visitors - and bring themback.

The easiest way to do this is to offer your visitors afree subscription to your newsletter.

Another way is to offer your visitors a freeautoresponder course that educates them about theproduct or service you are offering. Create a seriesof 5 emails about your service or product and put themon an autoresponder that provides automated follow-up.

Getresponse is a free service that allows you up to 20follow-ups (you specify the intervals between eachmessage):

http://www.getresponse.com/

The point here is that if your visitors leave yourwebsite without taking anything away (a free versionof your E-Book, an autoresponder course, yourNewsletter), you’ve probably lost them for good.

(2) Allow people to feel they already own it.

If you give your visitors the feeling of what it wouldbe like to own your product or service, they’re muchmore likely to buy.

Here’s a real-life example of this principle (a ratherdisturbing one).

It’s a well known fact that if a burglar can see intoyour house, they are much more likely to rob you thanif they can’t. Why?

Because by seeing into your house, the burglar hasalready ‘owned’ it psychologically.

If a burglar can’t see into your house, you are muchless likely to be robbed (you can’t psychologically’own’ what you can’t see).

Here’s another interesting fact. If your house hasbeen burgled, there’s a very high probability that thesame burglar will return - 6 or 8 weeks later. Why?

Again, it’s the same principle. The burglar has seenthe inside of your house - and has psychologically’owned’ it.

It’s because of this same principle that car salesmentry and get potential customers to sit in the new car.Once you’ve smelt the inside of that new car, you’remuch more likely to buy it. You’ve imagined owning it.

So give your visitors a free download of one or twochapters of your E-Book, or a free trial period ofyour service. Let them imagine what it would be liketo own it.

————————————————————
Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3
years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this
simple technique to build a successful online business. Click
here to find out more: http://ezine-writer.com/
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Every year or two a dating book arrives on the scene touting the idea that if you seem like you really want to go out with someone, you’re doomed.

People will find your eagerness a definite turn-off, or so we’re told.

So, what works? Instead of eagerness, you should play hard to get.

Can the same type of reverse psychology be effective in selling?

According to some contemporary sellers, negativity may be just the tonic for soothing your ailing sales numbers. But, how does it work?

Using a conventional, positive approach, we’d start a call this way:

“Hello, I’m Shirley with Wehavetheanswerpublishing and we’ve been able to help companies like yours to build sales and cut costs, and I’m confident we can be of assistance to you.”

Nice and upbeat, right?

Wrong, too upbeat, according to followers of the Dark Side in selling. They would have us do it this way:

“Hello, I’m Shirley with Wehavetheanswerpublishing and we’ve been able to help companies like yours to build sales and cut costs, and I’m not sure we can do the same for you, but it might be worth looking into.”

You have to admit, it has some offbeat appeal. There’s a realistic tone to it.

Who knows if we can help you? I don’t have a crystal ball! But we can give it a shot. No harm in trying, right?

I remember using a similar angle in college to snare reluctant dates.

“Let’s say we get together–what’s the worst thing that can happen? We like it, and we can’t stay away from each other, we just can’t leave each other alone. Then we’ll have a real problem, won’t we?”

It worked like a charm.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of http://www.Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. A frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide, Gary’s programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. Gary is headquartered in Glendale, California. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

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Anyone who is in business these days is probably considering the benefits of an Internet merchant account. After all, applying for a merchant account is fast, easy, and usually inexpensive, although some underwriters charge for the privilege of submitting an online application. A merchant account offers the means of accepting credit card payments from your customers, and this is a benefit that many entrepreneurs are finding to be increasingly valuable. Research shows that more and more consumers prefer to use a credit card when they go shopping, whether at the mall or online, so it makes sense for a business owner to provide this payment option in addition to cash, check, or debit methods of payment.

You can apply for an Internet merchant account from many banks and other financial institutions or professional lenders. But you really need to work with one that is scrupulous and affordable. Check the Better Business Bureau about any company for which you have little information. Even though you cannot get a clear-cut business rating from the BBB, you will be able to find out if there are complaints lodged against the company and how these were resolved. You might also want to ask for a reference or check the company’s Website for testimonials, although you may want to check these out, as well. When you settle on a company to work with, apply for the merchant account by following the guidelines. As with a personal credit account, you will probably get an answer within a few days. If approved, you can get busy setting up your Internet site to accept customers’ credit card payments.

The way an Internet merchant account works is that it provides you with a gateway to channel credit card payments from your Website through a processing system to be deposited into your specified account. The underwriter will collect transaction or percentage fees for this service, and you should negotiate these before applying for the merchant account. Once the service is in place, however, you should not expect any new fees to be added, although again, you need to clarify this with your account provider. Make sure your Internet site remains functionally interactive, and that any broken links or inoperative services are immediately repaired. Customers who find out-of-date information at your site are unlikely to return, and they may tell others about their negative perceptions, costing you additional customers.

Your Internet merchant account can escalate your profits and reduce costs because your site can function without constant human supervision or interaction. Of course, it is important to have a customer service representative available to respond to consumer problems, and sometimes the underwriter provides this service. Generally, your Website can operate without much help from you except periodic monitoring to be sure everything is working as it should.

Talk with your banker, colleagues, or associates about the advantages of a merchant account. Make a business plan to see how this service might fit in with future growth. Then consider applying for your company’s Internet merchant account.

Shane Penrod is the founder of www.merchant-account-quotes.com Specializing in allowing merchants the ability to shop and compare multiple quotes from national merchant account providers. For free quotes on merchant account rates and fees, please go to www.merchant-account-quotes.com

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