This issue is
sponsored by:
stwebvx.com
In
24 hours or less, we can have a guaranteed steady flow of fresh
prospects landing on your site. If we can guarantee 10,000 ,
50,000,
100,000 or even 500,000 visitors to your site, can you deliver the
sales?
Traffic hits starting at $12.
http://www.stwebfx.com/jt2/go.asp?LINK_ID=85
----
IN THIS ISSUE----
Smile For The day
------------------------------------
Article I
I'm
Guilty Until Proven Innocent
by
Jim Edwards
------------------------------------
Article II
Beginning, Middle and
End -
From Generating Leads to Closing the Sale
by Kevin Nunley
****Smile
For The Day****
Sponsored
by:
Berry Mountain Gifts
The
finest selection of Mother's Day gifts available anywhere
with a full money back guarantee.
http://www.berrymountain.net/berrymount/
Life
is like a ten-speed bike. Most of us have gears we never use.
****
Article I****
Sponsored
by:
Internet
Marketing News
Internet
Marketing News $99 special, to learn more go to:
http://internetmarketingnews.org/solo-ad.htm
I'm Guilty Until Proven Innocent
by Jim Edwards
No doubt about it.
"Spam" (unsolicited commercial email) threatens to paralyze
and ultimately destroy the email system as it currently exists on the
Internet.
Anyone with an email address can attest to the fact that the avalanche
of Spam has only increased in the last year and shows no sign of
stopping.
However, the current system many Internet Service Providers (ISP's) use
to deal with Spam may just destroy the Internet's email system long
before the spammers do.
Now, I won't deny that the weight of the Spam on any ISP's resources can
rate very significant.
It's been estimated that between 30-60% of all email now sent is Spam!
This means that 30-60% an ISP's system resources (bandwidth, hardware,
system maintenance) go towards delivering messages nobody wants to
receive.
Out of self-defense, many ISP's turn to third party services like
SpamCop, SPEWS (Spam Prevention Early Warning System), and SpamHaus to
help them identify sources of spam and block the messages before their
email systems get clogged.
No Trial - No Defense - Guilty!
In theory, it's a great system.
In practice, it creates a situation resembling a witch hunt where the
accused gets burned at the stake without a trial, let alone the ability
to face their accuser. Here's how the system works.
Let's say a business habitually sends legitimate email to its customers
or prospects who asked to receive the email.
As long as nobody complains, life proceeds as normal.
But then let's say one of those people forgets they opted in to the
business's email list and reports an email message as spam to one of the
services I mentioned above.
Result: the business gets blacklisted by one or more of these services
and ISP's in turn automatically block email (legitimate email) sent by
the business to its customers and opt-in subscribers.
To make matters even worse, nobody at these anti-spam services bothers
to let the business know they've been blacklisted.
When the business finally discovers their status and tries to contact
SpamCop, SPEWS or SpamHaus, the real fun begins.
If the business does discover which service(s) blacklisted them, they'll
find they can't call anyone on
the phone to discuss the problem.
They also discover these services are totally unregulated and there is
no higher court of appeals.
Any email responses from these services often contain a smug attitude of
assumed guilt that scoffs at your claims of innocence.
Also, don't bother asking for the opportunity to face your accuser in
order to prove your innocence because they get to hide behind a cloak of
anonymity.
Combining this attitude of assumed guilt with the inability to prove
your innocence creates a recipe for
disaster for every legitimate business.
Oh, by the way, while writing this article, I received 19 spam email
messages through an ISP monitored by all 3 anti-spam services.
Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
In the end, the current system only creates opportunity for abuse that
targets legitimate businesses while the real spammers just merrily keep
sending their flood of email.
--Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of
an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use free articles to
quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or
affiliate links...
-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Need MORE TRAFFIC
to your website or affiliate links? "Turn Words Into
Traffic" reveals the secrets for driving Thousands of NEW
visitors to your website or affiliate links... without
spending a dime on advertising! Click Here
http://affiliatefinder.net/cgi-bin/vp/hop.cgi?i=ezarticles
****
Article II***
Sponsored by: Evolution
In Health
Audio Tapes that will change your life
forever!
Stop Smoking Forever: Mastery Through Meditation.
By Jean Pierre Marques
Relaxation & Stress Reduction: Effective techniques for
relaxation and stress management.
By Jean Pierre Marques
http://www.evolutioninhealth.com
Beginning, Middle and End--From Generating Leads to Closing the
Sale
by Kevin Nunley
Every good story has an intriguing beginning, a motivating middle
and a decisive ending. So does every successful sale. As in a story, what happens in the beginning and middle always effects
the final outcome; determines whether your sales efforts will have a happy ending or a "to be continued..."
In order for your potential sale to conclude with happily ever after, you must know how go from A to B to C in the sales
process. Follow this guide to take your sale from beginning to middle to end:
In the Beginning
Before you can get the sale off to an electrifying start, you need to have a knowledge base of both your product/service and
your customers.
1. Questions to ask yourself about the product/service - What is your unique selling point? In other words, what makes this
product/service stand out from all the other products/services similar to it? Think of the USP as your sales crutch. Without it,
your sale will topple like a man with two broken legs.
You must also know how the product or service incites the prospects sense of need. Need is the most powerful motivation, so
make a list of all the reasons prospects might need the product
or service. Each prospect is different, so their needs will vary. Knowing all the possible needs the product/service can fill will
give you the selling advantage.
2. Questions to ask yourself about customers - Who are they? Who wants what you have to offer? College students? Soccer moms?
Three year olds? Knowing who your target demographic is will help
you narrow your selection of sales prospects. Different techniques work with different types of people, so before you
develop one set style, find out who your customers are.
Once you know a little about your product/service and prospects, its time to get down to business and start generating leads.
1. Referrals - Give your current customers a reason to send you referrals. Offer them a reward for each referral they bring to
your business, such as discounts or free gifts.
2. Direct Mail - One of the most effective techniques for lead generation, direct mail is relatively inexpensive and it gives
you control over cost as you can send as many or as few letters
as you wish.
3. Advertising - Try different advertisements in newspapers, magazines, classified sections, directories, the Internet, even
cable. Keep track of your results so you can narrow your list of effective marketing tactics and save money.
4. Publicity - Send a press release to local newspapers, trade magazines, any type of press that might be interested in your
business. Try to connect your business with something newsworthy to increase the chances that someone will run your story.
The Plot Thickens
Now that you have sales leads, what do you do with them? This is the hardest part of the sales process for even the most seasoned
of sales experts.
Your instinct will be to talk your prospect's ear off about all that your product/service can do for them. Granted, there should
be a certain amount of down home, hard selling, but customers
need to feel like you understand them and their needs. If you do all the talking, how can you let them know you are interested in
what they are looking for?
Ask questions about the customer and encourage them to do their share of the taking while you listen. Not only does this
technique give the customer a sense of your interest in their needs, it also gives you a chance to use those individual needs
to further the sale. According to Veteran salesman Tim Connor,
your prospects will tell you what you need to say in order to make close the sale. So listen carefully!
The End
The selling song and dance can only go on for so long before you have to ask, "So, should I put you down for an order," or "I
would like to have you as a client. When can we get started?"
Here are a few techniques to help you wrap it in your and the client's mutual favor:
1. Ask for the sale after the prospect has invested time and effort in your relationship or in the sale. The more time and
effort they invest in making their decision, the more likely they
are to buy. Customers don't like to waste time thinking about products or services unless they plan to incorporate them into
their lives, so the more time they spend with your, the more time will be wasted if they don't buy.
2. Get the prospect to agree to different ideas, concepts, and suggestions before you ask for the sale. These are called
incremental closes. Their purpose is to get the client to say yes to a number of mini-proposals before you present the big one.
Incremental closes pave the way for the final push.
3. Remove the risk. This is one of the fastest ways to overcome buyer resistance. Take the risk off their shoulders and put it on
your own. Stress the fact that they can buy risk-free and you will offer guarantee 30 days, 90 days, even a year. Make the sale
as painless as possible for the customer.
4. Ask for the sale. No matter which technique you use to sell, asking for the sale is always a good way to close. Why hint
around what you want. YOU WANT THE SALE so don't be afraid to let the customer know.
5. Once the customer lets you know they are ready to buy, act fast. Ring up the product, place the order, write up the
quotation, prepare the contract; do whatever you need to do to close the sale quickly. Don't give them time to rethink while you
doddle around with preparing for the close. Any delay gives your customer time to move on and your competitors time to move in.
Kevin Nunley provides marketing advice and copywriting. See his 10,000 marketing ideas and popular promotion packages at
http://DrNunley.com Reach Kevin at kevin@drnunley.com or
603-249-9519.
