Why Johnny Can't Sell

by Paul Myers

A TalkBiz News Report

Copyright !!"# !$! TalkBiz %igital& ''C

You may distribute this report freely, in PDF format only. You may not make any changes to it.

(ntro)u*tion
This report is made up of 4 articles that appeared in TalkBiz e!s, a free email ne!sletter for online business that "#$e published since December of %&&'. "#$e edited this to try and take out any references that !ould only make sense to regular subscribers, but " may ha$e missed some. "f so, please forgi$e the (continuity gaps.) *ther than remo$ing those references, $ery little has been changed from the original articles. +ome of you !ill probably be thinking that a report !ith information from a year ago is (out of date.) Fear not. This is about selling, not specific technologies. The art of selling is based on human moti$ations. ,hile the techni-ues may change, those moti$ations don#t. "f you like !hat you read here, you may !ant to subscribe to the ne!sletter this information is from. The link for that is at the end of the report. .s is my email address, in case you ha$e any comments. /n0oy1 Paul 2yers paul3talkbiz.com Publisher, TalkBiz

e!s

%is*lai+er
This report is pro$ided free of charge. ,hile the author has made e$ery effort to pro$ide authoritati$e information on the sub0ect, !e make no guarantees of specific results. 4se of this information is at your o!n risk. There is no intent here to offer ad$ice regarding legal, accounting or other professional ser$ices !hich may be regulated. "f you need professional ad$ice for a specific situation, !e recommend that you consult a licensed indi$idual !ho is kno!ledgeable in the appropriate field. This report is pro$ided for educational purposes only.

The Set#,p
*ne of the topics " keep coming back to in TalkBiz that is simple5 Most people can't do it. They don#t kno! ho!, or they#re afraid, or they think it#s e$il, or they don#t think their products are !orth the money, or or or... +imple fact5 "f you don#t sell something, you#re going to be broke and miserable and ha$e skinny kids. " can#t (fi6) !hate$er fears you may ha$e about selling. .nd if you think it#s e$il, you#$e got a !hole other set of problems. (Tell your grocer how evil he is next time you hit the checkout counter.) " can help !ith some of the other challenges people face in sales, though. 4nderstand5 This isn#t a full7blo!n sales training course. That#s much more than you can co$er in a short report like this. 8o!e$er, !hat you#ll find here !ill go a long !ay to helping you to sell a lot more. .nd it !ill sho! you one of the things that so many people talk about, but ne$er actually e6plain5 8o! to create an effecti$e sales process for your online business. 9et#s get started. e!s is the art of selling. The reason for

-Why .ou're Not Selling7 alternati$ely titled 7

-(/ .ou're %oing 0kay& .ou're Not Selling Well"#m going to tell you a little secret5 /$en if you ha$e a product out there online, there#s better than a &:; chance you ha$e no clue !hat you#re doing at selling. +eriously. .mong the people "#$e met or spoken to, and the sales pages "#$e seen online, !ell o$er &:; demonstrate so little understanding of sales that it#s almost embarrassing. Yes, some of them are making money. . fe! are making really good money, because they hired someone !ho understands sales to handle their processes. But most are 0ust ... !ell ... bad. <eally bad. .... ,ant an e6ample= http5>>!!!.dime7days.com>!pseo> That#s the link to the ,ordPress +/* $ideos that " posted here a !eek or so ago. " bought the rights to that product and did $ery little to change the copy. Fi6ed some spelling errors, basically. (Yes, I've been planning this issue for a while.) ?i$en the targeted nature of the thing and the -uality of the content, that product should ha$e con$erted at some!here bet!een @ and %A;. 2aybe higher, if it came !ith a !ritten instruction manual, rather than 0ust $ideos. "t rolled in at a !hopping %.';. That e6ample sho!s a couple of things you need to understand. The first being that, if a product is focused enough and meets the desires of a market, there !ill be some people !ho#ll buy no matter ho! bad the sales copy. The product is the thing. The second thing is that feature7based copy sucks. Forgi$e the yelling, but ...

FEATURES DON'T SELL!

"#ll try not to shout any more in this issue, but " make no promises. Benefits sell. ....

There ha$e been so many articles and arguments about !hat is a feature and !hat is a benefit that it might seem silly to try and distill it do!n to a scant %B !ords, but here you go. . replay of C2yers# 2arketing 2a6im,C first stated in TalkBiz e!s 4 years ago5 Benefits exist in the head and the hea t. E!e "thin# else is a feat$ e. Benefits are 7 let me emphasize this 7 ALL emotionally based. o e6ceptions. "gnore that fact at your financial peril. ....

Before !e go on, let#s look at some other reasons that so many people suck at selling. *ne $ery common reason is that the person belie$es there#s something !rong !ith selling. They think it#s a manipulati$e process, designed to take ad$antage of people by tugging at their emotions. That particular belief !as first introduced to the !orld $ia the southern e6it of a northbound bull. "t keeps itself ali$e by feeding on the feeling of righteousness it creates in the belie$er. C"t#s 0ust not fair to reach out and take control of someone#s mind like that1C +peaking for copy!riters e$ery!here... %&hen the hell did 'e ac($i e that )ind of po'e * and 'h" didn't an"one tell $s+!% To be sure, there are some $ery po!erful things a really !ell trained copy!riter can do !ith !ords. +ome of them can be used in !ays they shouldn#t. But, in the end, !e don#t make the decisions. The customer does. The problem here is that the people employing this perspecti$e ha$e a badly fla!ed assumption underlying their conclusions5 The idea that a buying decision is a binary choice. From a sloppy seller#s perspecti$e, that#s true. But not from the buyer#s. They ha$e tons of choices about ho! they use their resources. .s a salesman, you aren#t 0ust competing for the Yes> o decision, or e$en against other products in the same category.

,o$' e co-petin# 'ith e!e " possi.le option the p ospect has. That#s !hy e$en the $ery best sales process fails miserably !hen faced !ith random traffic. The product being offered doesn#t e$en start near the top of the prospect#s priority list. .ll the 9P tricks and C2ass DontrolC techni-ues and $erbal slickery are close to useless !hen dealing !ith someone !ho 0ust doesn#t care about !hat you#$e got. Barring impulse purchases, you#re really competing for a narro!er range of choices, !hich already includes gaining the benefits you#re offering. The higher those benefits are on the prospect#s list, and the closer your product is to matching the !ay they#re comfortable gaining those benefits, the better the chance you ha$e of making the sale. That#s !hy an effecti$e sales process Eremember that phraseF al!ays includes a means of targeting your market to people !ho already !ant the benefits you offer. "f you can sharpen their a!areness of the desire for those benefits, and follo! it up !ith a legitimate !ay to achie$e them, ho! is that a Bad Thing= +elling isn#t e$il. "t#s ho! people become a!are of a lot of things that get them a lot of !hat they !ant. Pestering people about things !hen you ha$e no idea !hether they !ant them or not= " don#t kno! that "#d say it#s e$il, but it#s certainly rude. Gery inefficient, too. Funny ho! gi$ing people !hat they !ant is both more polite and more profitable, innit= .... " ran into a real7!orld e6ample of the abo$e principle recently. " signed up for a ne!sletter Enot marketing basedF, and the page that came up after the subscription asked me !hat part of the topic !as most interesting to me. "t had three options. " picked one and !as presented !ith a !ell7!ritten endorsement for a rele$ant product, and a link to check it out for myself. " got the lady#s phone number and called her to see ho! that !as !orking. Turns out that she#s making H.A times as much on commissions since she s!itched from a Cone ad fits allC approach to the one " sa!. 2ore than double the profits, from the same number of $isitors. .ll she did to get that !as ask a simple -uestion. . $ery basic form of sales process, but an effecti$e one. Find the !ant, then fill it. ,hich brings up one of the really big reasons so many people can#t sell their products5 They#re offering something no7one !ants badly enough to pass something else up to get it. "f that#s you, change products

8ere#s another one5 Donfusion about !hat people really !ant from your product. Fact5 Gery fe! people buy lottery tickets e6pecting to !in. They buy lottery tickets because, to them, the chance of !inning symbolizes hope. ! "ollar an" a "ream. *ne of the great marketing slogans of our time. The guy !ho !rote that really understood his prospects. Pure genius. ,hat does your product really symbolize to your prospects= /mphasizing the !rong benefit can be as 0arring as hitting a sour note. 8it the right notes, in the right key, and the prospect e6periences a symphony of delightful e6pectation. Tune your message, or people !ill tune you out. .... Yet another ma0or cause of sales suckage5 Dopycatting. This happens !hen people think selling is a function of Ctechni-ues.C They see someone do a thing, assume Eoften !ronglyF that it !orks, and then try to do the same thing. ,orse, they try to do it better, !hich usually 0ust means C!ith a bigger hammer.C "f you don#t understand the conte6t of the usage, you#re almost guaranteed to get a clumsy imitation at best. You#re as likely to reduce your response as not. 4sing inappropriate techni-ues is one of the biggest reasons for people $ie!ing your messages as manipulati$e. You#re trying to e$oke a feeling that doesn#t e6ist, or that doesn#t fit the prospect#s sense of the message#s conte6t. ,hiff. C#teeeee7R/0E!C "nterestingly, the people !ho do this are also the ones !ho, after three !eeks of reading forums, are sure they kno! !hat marketing is all about. They blithely analyze Ctechni-ue,C usually assuming the !orst, and preach their certainties to anyone !ho#ll listen. They#re determined to pro$e to the !orld 0ust ho! smart they aren#t. .nd they succeed at that. But they don#t sell. There are others, but these are the CBiggies.C Despite them, a lot of the people in$ol$ed end up making enough money to keep going. .fter all, e$en the !orst salesletter !ill find a fe! acorns. "f you really !ant great con$ersion rates, you need to understand selling. ....

The first thing to remember5 /t's a.o$t people in a p ocess. ?ood salespeople understand the process. ?reat salespeople understand ho! real people e6perience that process. That#s the conte6t " referred to earlier. .nd this is !here Ieff ,alker#s product launch process fits in. E"t#s o$er, so rela6. There#s no pitch coming for it.F " practically demanded that my subscribers !atch !hat he !as doing, and pay attention to their o!n reactions to his approach. "n the salesletter for the product, Ieff described !hat most people do as Chope marketing.C They dri$e traffic to a direct response letter and hope their $isitors buy. The reason Ieff#s formula creates one market7busting day after another is simple5 "t creates a process that#s focused on people !ith an e6isting interest, and dri$en by a deep understanding of ho! people make buying decisions. "t combines techni-ue and psychology in !ays that are built to do one thing before all others5 Find the !ant, and T8/ fill it.

"n the process Ethere#s that !ord againF, it sharpens the person#s desire for the promised benefits, and deli$ers a legitimate !ay for the prospect to gain those benefits. "t does this using a number of different systems that are designed to fit !ith multiple learning styles. "t is the best sales process in use online to date. (#eeme" like a goo" i"ea at the time.) ,hy did " tell my readers to be a!are of their o!n reactions= +imple. "n many !ays, you are no different than your prospects. ,e all ha$e the same needs, !ants and desires. ,e 0ust ha$e different !ays of satisfying them. Paying attention to your o!n reactions and responses to a gi$en approach !ill make you more alert to the emotional impact of the !ords you use !ith others. "t !ill e$ol$e an a!areness of ho! those choices !ill be percei$ed and recei$ed. "t !ill help you to de$elop a stronger sense of empathy. There is no faster or surer !ay to de$elop the emotional understanding that makes a good salesperson than through empathy. "t makes learning the psychology and techni-ues of sales much easier. .nd it tends to short7circuit any leanings to!ard shady beha$ior. 4nless, of course, you#re one of the disturbing percentage of people !ho fall into the category of sociopath. For those folks, " recommend taking up high attrition rate acti$ities. 2aybe follo!ing polar bears !ith a pooper7scooper.

"#ll get more into this ne6t issue. "n the mean time, if you !ant to learn some specific steps to kick your online sales up, check out Paul 8anco6# latest book, CThe %:; Don$ersion <ate.C http5>>!!!.talkbiz.com>r>%:percent.php "n it, Paul tells you ho! to de$elop and refine your o!n sales process, !ith a lot of tips and shortcuts that he#s learned o$er his decade7plus e6perience in selling online. +erious sales mo0o. For those that ha$e been around a fe! months, you#ll remember Paul as the author of C+mall Dhanges, Big Profits.C That#s the one " belie$e should be re-uired reading for anyone !ho !ants to sell anything online. Ehttp5>>!!!.talkbizh-.com>bigprofitsF This one !ill help you sell 2*</ of anything. Juite possibly a lot more. ?rab a copy of CThe %:; Don$ersion <ate,C at5 http5>>!!!.talkbiz.com>r>%:percent.php 4ntil ne6t issue. +ame Bat7time, +ame Bat7channel... /n0oy1

-(nteresting Results. lot of you picked up a copy of CThe %:; Don$ersion <ateC after the last issue. 2ore of you, ob$iously, did not. "t !ould be $ery unusual to see a ma0ority of any group this size buy any single product. There are some $ery interesting things to note about the people !ho didn#t order it yet. +pecifically, ho! they !ent about *T ordering.

First, " should mention... the sales letter is con$erting at abo$e %:;, !hich isn#t surprising. ,hat might be surprising is that it#s doing so despite the fact that " pulled t!o $ery important parts of the process from the letter. "#ll get into !hat they are in a later issue. "#ll tell you !hy " did it right no!. .n effecti$e sales process consists of steps. Gery fe! of those steps are necessary, in the sense that sales stop completely !ithout them. 2ost are additi$e. /ach one, !hen properly implemented, increases sales. "f one of those is missing, you#ll still sell. You#ll 0ust sell less. That#s important to understand, if for no other reason than to kno! that you don#t ha$e to re$amp your entire sales system all at once to begin to see impro$ements. . lot of people are hesitant to start making changes to their business out of concern that they !on#t ha$e the time to do them all. ?ood ne!s5 You don#t ha$e to do them all. *ne little thing at a time can add to your sales. .nd that 0ust fuels the desire to add further changes and test more things. othing breeds like success. .... *ne of the reasons so many people don#t !ork on impro$ing their sales process is that they don#t understand ho! to do it. That#s !hat "#m going to co$er today, by !ay of an e6ample you#re directly in$ol$ed in. The process you#$e been looking at for the past fe! emails. You#re going to ha$e the benefit of seeing it through my eyes and your o!n. othing beats that for learning at the gut le$el. The first thing you need to do is measure the results of each step E!hich is easily done !ith common tracking systemsF and look at !hat you can do to impro$e the numbers. For instance, Erounding $ery slightly, for ease of e6ampleF5 ':; of the people !ho !ent to the sales letter clicked through to the order page. *f that ':;, %>B clicked the payment link. *f those, 4:; did not complete the order. The first stat seems fine, until you look at the ne6t one.

,hat happened here is that a lot of people hit the letter and scrolled immediately to the order page link to find out the price. +ome of those people !ent back and read the letter once they kne! it !asn#t out of their price range. *thers sa! the (budget7busting) sticker price and bailed. ($kay. I'm half ki""ing on that last one. %ut only half.) "t ne$er fails to amaze me ho! many people !ouldn#t spend KA: once to make an e6tra KA:: a month. *r e$en KA:::. *n the flip side, that#s !hat creates the edge for the people !ho !ill. +o, no complaints from my side of things. .... Based on the number !ho returned to read the description, and the number !ho left the site, it seems to be about an e$en split. That means that B:; of the people !ho hit the sales page didn#t think the potential for significant impro$ements in their con$ersion rates !as !orth KB:. *r they didn#t think anything this ine6pensi$e could deli$er. *r they didn#t ha$e KB: to spend. *r maybe they 0ust hate PayPal. The last t!o are easily ignored. They#re going to be a tiny minority of the people in this market, and there#s not much you can do if they 0ust don#t ha$e the money. The first one is ridiculous. o7one really belie$es that it#s not !orth KB: L or e$en KB:: 7 to impro$e their con$ersion rates the !ay this book suggests is possible. ,hich means it#s more likely that they don#t belie$e a product at this price can deli$er. *r perhaps they didn#t -uite grasp that getting such increases are !hat the book e6plains. .h. o! that is belie$able. That can be helped by testing different headlines, to ensure that the ma6imum number of people get a clear understanding of the basic proposition of the offer before they scroll to find the price. The Cdeli$er at this priceC -uestion can be settled by testing an increase in the price. Testing. .l!ays testing. Mno! your numbers. The numbers tell you !hat the real people reading your copy are doing. .nd that gi$es you hints at !hat they#re thinking, !hich tells you !here to make ad0ustments. This stuff is !ay easier than you#d think, listening to the testing gurus rattle on about sample size and confidence inter$als. Those things are important, but not important enough to let it scare you off of testing altogether. 8ere#s testing in a nutshell5 Dount. Dhange or add or remo$e something. Dount again. 2ore or less= 2ore= Meep it. 9ess= ?o back to the original and try something else. /asy, yes=

For the 4:; of people !ho clicked the payment link and didn#t complete the order, there are t!o main possibilities5 They didn#t ha$e a PayPal account and thought they couldn#t pay !ithout it, or they 0ust !eren#t sure they !ere doing the right thing. 2aybe they !eren#t comfortable !ith the security, or they !eren#t con$inced it !as !orth the money. . fair chunk of those people !ill ha$e been among the ones !ho scrolled immediately to find the price and almost ordered. The changes suggested earlier !ill help !ith their concerns. +ome of it !ill be because they skimmed, rather than reading the letter thoroughly. The fi6 for that is more engaging copy. EThat#s a huge topic for another time.F For some, it !ill be specific concerns or -uestions that !eren#t addressed properly. EThat#s co$ered pretty thoroughly in the book.F For some, it might be your personal credibility. 4nless you#re the author of the product, you handle that mostly through accessibility 7 easy contact information 7 and a strong guarantee. You test one thing at a time, and keep at it until you get a mi6 that produces better results. .gain, nothing complicated or difficult here. *ne step at a time. ....

For the folks !ho might not be a!are that they can order !ithout ha$ing a PayPal account, your 0ob is really easy. You put a link near the order button, along !ith some te6t that says something like5 +ecure Payments handled through PayPal. NDon#t ha$e a PayPal account= Dlick here.O "f they click on the CDon#t ha$e a PayPal account=C link, they go to a page that e6plains that they can order using a credit card, 0ust like e$ery!here else, by looking for the follo!ing te6t, and clicking on the !ord CDontinueC5 Don#t ha$e a PayPal account= 4se your credit card or bank account E!here a$ailableF. Dontinue 9ittle things like that can make a big difference. "n one campaign that " ran, adding a page like " 0ust described tripled my con$ersion rate. "t has ne$er reduced it. *b$iously " can#t guarantee !hat !ill happen !ith your tests, but the potential in it is certainly !orth the tiny effort, yah= .... There are other parts of the process that can be measured. 8o! many of the emails " sent got deli$ered= ,hat percentage of those people clicked through to the page= 8o! many successfully do!nloaded the product= "f there had been a back end offer, ho! many looked at it= 8o! many ordered= /tc.

Iust count. *ne thing that a lot of people assume !ill hurt your con$ersion rate is that e6tra page bet!een the sales letter and the payment step. ,e#re constantly being told that things ha$e to be as simple as possible, !ith as fe! steps as possible. 9istening to that ad$ice could be a $ery e6pensi$e mistake. "n this market, it#s G/<Y common for people to skip immediately to the price. 8a$ing the price on the order page, along !ith a summary of the offer, $ery likely resulted in some folks ordering !ho !ouldn#t ha$e bothered reading the !hole letter. You ha$e to test this stuff, folks. For those of you ne! to the idea, testing 0ust means, CTry it and see if it !orks.C .... "n the ne6t issue, "#m going to get into something that !ill probably irritate some of the old guard copy!riters and salespeople. 4ntil they finish reading it, any!ay. Basically, the traditional ."D. formula is obsolete. Depend on it too much and you#re going to be thro!ing money a!ay. . lot of it. "#ll e6plain the ne! formula. (The pros alrea"y know it, intuitively, but "on't seem to have put a name to it.) " call it ..D.D. "t#s e6actly !hat you think. .nd a !hole lot more. "n the issue after that, !e#ll get into the specific systems that form the frame!ork for your process. "#m not going to kid you. You can use all of this !ithout buying CThe %:; Don$ersion <ate.C Do it right, and it could help your sales significantly. Put it together !ith the stuff Paul 8anco6 co$ers in the book, and you#re likely to see much bigger impro$ements. Yes, CcouldC and Clikely.C You kno! the drill. " can#t guarantee you specific results. can. o7one

" can guarantee you that if you get the book, use the ideas, and don#t see results, it !on#t cost you anything but the time to test them out. ?et the details here5 http5>>!!!.talkbiz.com>r>%:percent.php .nd don#t miss the ne6t issue.

The %eath o/ a Salespit*h

Yes, !e#re still talking about selling. 9ast time, !e talked about testing. That issue seems to ha$e helped -uite a fe! people get a better grasp on ho! the process !orks. *b$iously it !as a basic lesson, but it ga$e the important points. The biggest take7a!ay from that issue is that you can benefit a lot from e$en basic testing. You don#t need to get hea$ily into statistical theory to make yourself a lot more money !ith it. Before that, !e got into a fe! of the most important reasons some people Emost, actuallyF don#t sell as much of their product as they should. o! !e get into the fun stuff. This is !here " aggra$ate a lot of sales coaches and copy!riters. .t least for the first part of the issue. " suspect most of them !ill agree !ith me by the time !e#re done. "f not, !ell... That#s a problem, but it#s not 2Y problem. .... 9ike the past fe! issues, this ties directly into !hat Paul 8anco6 talks about in his book, CThe %:; Don$ersion <ate.C .nd, 0ust like the last fe! issues, it !ill !ork !ithout you ha$ing to buy the book. 8a$ing the book !ill 0ust help you get a lot more out of it, 0ust like this issue !ill help you get more out of the book. They#re intended to !ork together. That#s the thing !ith processes. The more pieces you get right, the better the end result. " intend to make sure you ha$e as many of the pieces as possible. .... 9et#s start by dipping our toes into the pungent !aters of commercial heresy. "f you#$e been in sales for any time, you#re familiar !ith the traditional formula for a sales process. "t#s represented by a mnemonic acronym5 ."D.. The acronym stands for .ttention, "nterest, Desire and .ction. Those are the supposed steps to successful selling. +tick a fork in it. ."D.#s deceased. "t#s pushing up the daisies. "t#s rung do!n the curtain and 0oined the choir in$isibule. This is an /P formula1 "n order to learn the lesson properly, it#s best if !e ac-uaint you !ith the $ictim. The process this unfortunate acronym stood for !as simple. "n order to make the sale, you had to do four things, in order5

?et the prospect#s .TT/ T"* . Dapture or create " T/</+T on the part of the prospect. Build that interest into a strong D/+"</. ?et them to take .DT"* on that desire. +ounds good, right= " mean, it#s simple enough, and it really doesn#t tell the !hole story, but it#s good as a memory aid, right= 4mmm.... o. ot any more.

The formula is deeply fla!ed as it relates to selling in today#s !orld. 4sing it is one of the reasons so many people consider a % or H; con$ersion rate to be acceptable for most products. This formula is the root of a large chunk of the sales CpitchesC you see, e$en no!. "t#s also !hy so many folks hate salespeople. "ncluding a lot of salesfolk. 8ere#s the problem5 The steps are out of order, broken up in an unnatural fashion, and lead to all manner of rude and unpleasant beha$ior. For starters, the idea that you must get someone#s attention before you ha$e their interest simply isn#t anything like as effecti$e as it might once ha$e been. Trying to create interest on the part of another person leads to all sorts of pushy and manipulati$e tactics. There#s also the schism bet!een interest and desire. There are a lot of things a person can be interested in, but not desire enough to take action to get them. *r e$en !ant them. .ttempting to steer random strangers through this process is the root cause of interrupti$e beha$iors like cold7call telemarketing, unsolicited fa6 ads, door7to7door sales, and spam. Yeah. ."D. leads to spam. That should be enough reason to toss it on history#s dung heap. CBut !ait... There#s more1C The e6amples abo$e are the most blatant demonstrations of the process, taken literally and in its simplest form. "n less interrupti$e forms, ."D. influences other forms of ad$ertising in some not7so7ob$ious, but still negati$e, !ays. Donsider TG commercials. 4nlike the forms abo$e, these pay for the content they appear !ith. They#re not Ce$il,C but they#re often rendered far less producti$e than they might ha$e been !ithout the assumptions and tendencies created by studying and applying that old chestnut. ,hy do you think, for e6ample, commercials are so much louder than the programs during !hich they appear= ?otta get that old attention, right= .nd using the $olume control is easy. +ame !ith many of the CDrazy /ddieC type radio commercials. You#re going to listen !hether you#re interested or not. *r so they think. There#s a term for the tendency to tune out commercial messages. "t#s called (ad blindness.) That !orks for radio ads, too. "f you try to push through it, you#re 0ust going to annoy people. That#s probably not the goal of your marketing efforts...

8ere#s another e6ample. *ne that !ill be logically less clear, but should be intuiti$ely ob$ious to anyone but the person sending the !rong letter. . person gets t!o offers in their postal mailbo6. ,hat most people call C0unk mail.C *ne is a pre7appro$ed credit card offer and the other a flyer promoting a chain of campgrounds. ,hich are they most likely to be annoyed by= ,hich !ill they probably open !ith interest= "n most cases, the pre7appro$ed credit card offer !ill be more annoying, because it usually appears !ithout you ha$ing any interest in it or ha$ing done anything to prompt it. .nd, if you kno! ho! these things !ork, it is 0ust another reminder of ho! easy it is for people to get information on your pri$ate business these days. *n the flip side, if you got a flyer promoting camp sites, there#s a $ery high probability that you are an acti$e camper. That#s too narro! an interest to be sending printed mail !ith stamps on it to e$ery person in a city. 4nless you do your CcampingC in a shack in 2ontana, it#s probably not something you mind strangers kno!ing. There#s little chance that flyer !ill annoy you, and a $ery high degree of likelihood that you#ll open it. The first letter is classic ."D. in action. *r should that be, Cinaction=C ."D. isn#t 0ust rude and annoying. "t#s e6pensi$e. "t re-uires that you target large chunks of people !ith your ad, in the belief that enough of them !ill be tempted by your dazzling creati$e Ethat#s marketing7speak for Cad contentCF that you#ll be able to mo$e them along the process. This used to re-uire huge ad budgets. o! all it re-uires is cable TG.

.t this point, there#s so much broadcast and cable in$entory that air time is a$ailable for a fraction of !hat it once cost. The ma0or net!orks during popular sho!s are still relati$ely e6pensi$e, but that doesn#t need to stop you. .fter all, cable stations re7run 9a! and *rder close to H4 hours a day. This lo!ers the bar for ad standards and targeting, !hich means people are seeing more and more bad ads for products in !hich they#re less and less interested. Then there#s the "nternet. .gain, more places to run ads, so more and more obscure products are featured. .nd !eb7based ad$ertising is impacting the price of ads on TG. Blogs are diluting the market for air time on talk radio. /mail and !eb7based ads are competing !ith ne!spapers for customers. ,e ha$e more mediums for ad$ertising, and the prices to reach the customers in those mediums is dropping. The bar is lo!ered further. The gro!th of affiliate and DP. programs is creating e$en more pressure. 2ore places !ith more ads of less interest. <andom interrupti$e ad$ertising has become a social disease. *ne that does serious damage to our ability to concentrate. Fortunately, !e#re becoming immune.

Fortunately for us as consumers, any!ay. .s businesses, the 0ury#s still out on the !hole C?ood thing, bad thingC -uestion. "f your marketing department still belie$es in ."D., the $erdict is in. Death by lethal inattention. 1. The problem5 .DD. .ttention deficit disorder. ot only are !e becoming immune to most interrupti$e ad$ertising, !e#$e got more demands for our attention from non7 commercial sources than e$er before. ,e carry de$ices that make us a$ailable to anyone and e$eryone, any time and e$ery!here. ,hen " asked my subscribers !hether they preferred email or the !eb for this ne!sletter, " got some interesting Ealthough not surprisingF ans!ers. The number of people !ho said they preferred it on the !eb so they didn#t get distracted by incoming emails !as about the same as the number of people !ho preferred email because they get too easily distracted on the !eb. . huge chunk of the !orld#s population has lost a huge chunk of their ability to resist distraction. .d$ertising is, for the most part, the last thing that !ill tap into our already strained pool of mental resources. There are, as al!ays, e6ceptions. *ne of the e6ceptions is the impulse purchase. You kno! !hat " mean. You#re standing in line at the grocer#s and you see something cool in one of the displays. +o, you buy it. ,hy= "t looks cool, or you got a taste for candy, or... !hate$er. The key here is that the price is lo! enough that you don#t ha$e to 0ustify the e6pense in your mind. You act on a sudden... "mpulse. There#s a huge lesson there for salespeople. The lesson is e6plained by !hat " suggest as a ne! formula for your sales process. 9et#s use the same acronym for the solution as for the problem5 .DD. Attention 23 Distinction 23 Decision. The key here is to focus on getting the attention of people who alrea"y want the benefits you're offering, an" are looking in the same general place as your pro"uct to achieve those benefits. This is called Ctargeted ad$ertising.C Doing it in a !ay that beats the other kind of .DD and ad$ertising immunity is the trick. "t#s a hell of a trick, too. Do it !rong and you#ll feel 0ust like the magician !ho dropped the card he !as trying to palm. Do it right, and the results are indistinguishable from magic. Better if you learn to do it right.

The first thing you need to recognize is that there are ads to !hich none of us is immune. Those are ads for things !e already !ant, and !hich someho! reinforce our $isions of oursel$es. ,e#ll see those clearly, if the clutter isn#t too great. Donsider the a$id camper mentioned earlier. They probably $isit camping !eb sites, read outdoor li$ing magazines, and !atch !ildlife programs on TG. Their definitions of themsel$es in$ol$e acti$ities related to the outdoors. "f the ads are properly targeted, they#ll !atch them !ith great interest, e$en though they#ll probably say they hate commercials or ne$er read ad$ertising. ,hy= .ren#t they lying if they say that= o. o. o.

They really aren#t !atching TG commercials or reading ad$ertisements. They#re shopping. Think about that. "f you#re shopping for something, don#t you tend to try and talk yourself into buying it= /$en if it#s !indo! shopping, you#ll try. 4ntil some pushy salesperson comes along and tries to slick7talk you into something more e6pensi$e. You already ha$e an acti$e interest. They don#t need to do anything but stay out of the !ay until you ha$e -uestions. "f they#re really good, they can use that to get you looking at something that !ill do more of !hat you !ant, or do it more like you !ant it done. But they#ll defer to you for the decision. That#s a proper upsell. "f you buy it, you get more of !hat you !ant, and you#re happy. "f you don#t buy it, you#re more comfortable !ith the $alue you#re getting for !hat you#re spending. You feel like you#$e shopped intelligently, and you#re still happy. .ll they ha$e to do is present the offer in a !ay that lea$es the decision entirely in your hands. Besides... "f they e$er thought it !as any!here else, they#re deluded. .nd, to paraphrase Iudge Qiglar, (Deluded salespeople ha$e skinny kids.) 2ind you, there#s nothing ne! in the idea of looking for people !ho are already interested in !hat you#re selling. The slight change is focusing on finding people !ho !ant the benefits you offer and !ant them in a !ay that#s at least similar to the !ay yours deli$ers them. The B"? change is !hat happens !hen you take this formula as a !hole and apply it to each step of the process you de$elop. "t re-uires a change in focus that can really crank up your response and con$ersion rates. You see, you ha$e to keep in mind !hile planning your ad$ertising that you#re going to the ne6t step5 Distinction.

This step has only one purpose5 To demonstrate to your already interested prospect !hat makes your product different from, and superior to, other options they might choose to attain the benefits they#re seeking. You need to distinguish your product from the competition. You need to illustrate distinct ad$antages they#ll gain from your product that they can#t get, or can#t get as !ell, from other roads to the same goal. This ser$es not only to focus an e6isting interest on your product, but to, as 8anco6 describes it in this book, Cclose the e6its.C By ans!ering concerns as a by7product of comparison, you make the ad$antages the center of attention, and eliminate potential ob0ections !ithout their e$er coming to the fore. This is an e6cellent !ay to create compelling copy !ithout using pushy or manipulati$e tactics or highlighting ob0ections yourself. The specifics of making the necessary distinctions !ill be based on the product and competition, so !e !on#t get into those much. They#ll be ob$ious to any copy!riter or marketer !hile !orking on the process. ,ell, they should be. "f they#re not, you ha$en#t done your home!ork. 1. The second #D# stands for Decision. This isn#t al!ays as simple or direct as Casking for the order.C The decision process is a matter of closing the gap bet!een interest and commitment. That#s a function of a number of things. "f you#$e distinguished your product properly for a prospect !ho#s already interested, you#re a good chunk of the !ay there. .t the same time, you need to sharpen the prospect#s desire for the product, by reminding them of the pain it !ill remo$e, the pleasure it !ill bring, or both. ote that it#s important that these factors be real. You can sell using fear of possible problems but, unless there#s a real likelihood of those problems occurring, you#re setting yourself and your customers up for a battle. .nd if they realize that you#re playing on pure fear, they#re going to gi$e you !hat you deser$e. . scornful C o1C .ssuming you#$e created a strong position for your product and sharpened the desire for it, the ne6t step is to make sure they kno! that buying the product !ill bring about a desirable result. You need to make the price acceptable. You need to remo$e the risk, !hile simultaneously emphasizing the benefits. That contrast, if it#s clearly understood and felt by the prospect, is the big key. You can do this all in a short span, or stretch it out o$er a number of phases, all !ith an opportunity to order at the end of each phase.

*ne important thing to test here is !hich of the main benefits Eor combinations of benefitsF to emphasize for ma6imum con$ersions. .nother is "F testimonials help at this stage, and if so, !hich ones help the most. You#ll see, after enough tests, that some testimonials can actually bring up ob0ections that can hurt your results. 4nderstand5 This doesn#t ha$e to happen at one particular point in the sales process. You can present a Cclose,C and follo! up later !ith another segment of content that offers a different call to action. "f you#$e !atched any of the !ell7planned launches, you kno! that nearly e$ery step is a close, !ith the only thing held back being the actual order mechanism. The effecti$eness of this is clear !hen you hear about BA7page sales letters generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in orders in less time than anyone but a speed7reader could get through that much copy. ,ithholding the order mechanism is fine for a big launch, but it doesn#t ha$e to be part of your regular process. You can gi$e them as many opportunities to order as you do reasons to buy. That#s especially important in an e6tended online process, !hich can often be automated in !ays that the prospect !ill find useful. Iust keep offering useful benefits and let them lead themsel$es to the order. Pushing isn#t any!here near as effecti$e as it once !as, and it !asn#t e$er really that effecti$e. Paraphrasing yet another old salesman#s line5 Dlose easy, close often. .... .DD. "t#s a mnemonic for a different !ay of thinking about your sales process. .nd a reminder of 0ust ho! dangerous it is to try and manufacture interest in an age !hen people#s attention is t!isted and yanked in as many directions by as many distractions as e6ist today. "f you learn to think along these lines, and apply this formula in your marketing efforts, you#ll -uickly get the CfeelC for !hy and ho! this is so dramatically different than good old ."D.. "t looks $ery similar. The ingredients are -uite alike. The results= ot e$en close to the same. 9ook at your current marketing from this ne! perspecti$e. +ee if you don#t notice stumbling blocks that e6ist in your current process, and !ays you can impro$e it to increase your results. " think you#ll be -uite pleasantly surprised.

The 1le+ents o/ an 1//e*ti2e Sales Pro*ess

"n the last issue, " outlined the .DD formula as a set of organizing principles for a sales process. Please understand, that#s not a process by itself. "t#s shorthand for the things you need to do. Before !e go any further, let#s define the term5 Sales p ocess4 The se($ence of planned steps leadin# f o"o$ p ospect's expos$ e to "o$ fi st -essa#e to thei decision e#a din# "o$ desi ed action. Did " 0ust make things more confusing= Fear not. ,e can fi6 that. ....

First, remember that this is a se-uence. You need to do certain things in a specific order. That#s !here the .DD formula comes in. "#ll e6pand on that a bit later, but keep that in mind. You need to plan the sales process so that your se-uence pulls the prospect from one step to the ne6t. This takes a certain understanding of !hat the prospect is thinking, and !hat their real concerns and desires are. "f you address those properly, you significantly impro$e your chances of getting the desired result. The desired action can be anything. "t can be as simple as reading your ne6t message or subscribing to your list, all the !ay to spending money on your offering or buying your back end product. .nd yes, there can be multiple processes in each sales process. For e6ample, you may ha$e a process for getting people to sign up for a list or re-uest information on your product. That !ill re-uire a specific ordered se-uence for best results. You may ha$e a process for getting folks !ho don#t subscribe to take a look at your sales materials. You may ha$e a separate process for getting people !ho sign up for a list to place an order. You may ha$e a process that#s $ery short, in the sense that your prospects see a lead generation piece and go to a sales letter, !here they either buy or lea$e. You may take the abo$e system and add an opportunity in the sales copy for them to sign up, thus branching it, to allo! for people !ho#$e reached $arious stages of their buying process to take the steps they#re most comfortable !ith at the moment. /$ery desired action is preceded by a process. +ome are $ery simple, others may be more intricate. You need to keep the basic formula in mind as you de$elop each one.

"f you do that, the !hole thing gets a lot easier than " 0ust made it sound. <eally. Iust !atch. ....

. fe! issues back, " mentioned that " had remo$ed a significant piece of the sales process that Paul 8anco6 had de$eloped for his book, CThe %:; Don$ersion <ate.C Despite that, the con$ersions !ere running better than %:; on that product. The main part of the process that " remo$ed !as the opportunity for people to sign up for an autoresponder se-uence detailing more of !hat they#d learn in the book. There !ere a couple of reasons " remo$ed that. The first is simple5 " kne! " !as going to be pro$iding my readers !ith useful information on the product, and they !ere already subscribed. +ince " planned to make that information useful e$en for folks !ho didn#t buy the book, there !as no need for a separate list. The second isn#t as ob$ious. You see, the !ay Paul had the page set up, signing up for the list !ould ha$e taken them to a C,elcome page.C "t !ould ha$e mo$ed them off the original sales letter. That breaks the first process, !hich loses some of the momentum achie$ed to that point. *ne of the key factors in any sales process is to maintain your momentum. That means keeping the attention of the interested prospect for as long as they !ant to learn more. Don#t chase them a!ay and make them start o$er later. .... "n an en$ironment !here prospects !ere coming from lead generation ads or affiliate recommendations Ea subset of lead7generationF, " !ouldn#t !ant people to lea$e the page 0ust because they#d subscribed. "nstead, "#d ha$e used a script that puts the C,elcome messageC on the original page, in the same bo6 that contained the opt7in form. " !ould ha$e then encouraged them to continue reading. This does a couple of things that help. First, it lets the folks !ho !anted the free info get it, including those !ho are already !ell7disposed to!ard ordering. +ome of those people !ill order in the same $isit, in !hich case a good follo!7up se-uence !ill help them get more from the product. "t !ill also help to reduce refunds. The second thing is less ob$ious. +ome folks !ill sign up, kno!ing they#re not going to buy right then, but !ill continue reading the sales letter any!ay. Those people !ill better understand the material in the follo!7up se-uence, !hich !ill increase response rates from those emails. /ither !ay, you#re maintaining the feeling of rele$ance and continuity your prospect

e6periences. You#re gi$ing them as much information as they !ant at the time, !ithout any pressure or uncomfortable o$erload. These steps help to focus their interest, and to make it easier for you to distinguish your product from your competition !ithout acti$ating their sales resistance by being pushy. That lea$es them the feeling Eand the realityF of being shopping, rather than being sold. " kno!. "t sounds like "#m a$oiding selling. "f you think that, you missed the last issue. ?o back and re7read it. You#re selling all the time. This choice of steps lets them fit their buying process into your selling process. Despite !hat you may ha$e heard, it#s entirely possible to be strongly proacti$e !ithout being Eor lookingF pushy. .... The changes " made to the process are based on something $ery simple. "t#s the mindset that focuses you on the user e6perience, and keeping it !ithin their current interests, !hile al!ays mo$ing for!ard. "f they sign up, they#re mo$ing for!ard in at least one !ay. "f they don#t, but they keep reading, they#re mo$ing for!ard in another !ay. /ither !ay, they#re closer to taking the desired action. Planned steps. The only !ay it fails is if they bail. ?onna happen for some percentage of the people !ho look at your message. 4sually a big percentage. Your goal is to make that number smaller. +tep. +tep. +tep. ....

There#s a psychology to each step they take. " call it C$o!el mo$ement.C (&ey, I'm a guy. 'e make (okes like that.) <emember the !ay you learned your $o!els in grade school= +ame formula, !ith a slight ad0ustment. They need to go through ., /, ", *, 4... and sometimes ,hy. The letters represent5 .ttention /ngagement "n$ol$ement *!nership 4sage ... and sometimes e6plaining !hy. /asy to remember that !ay, yes=

.ttention has already been mostly co$ered. The thing you need to keep in mind for purposes of this part is that attention, like any other license, e6pires if not regularly rene!ed. /ach step in the process has to maintain or e6pand the prospect#s le$el of interest. From there, you need to engage them, getting them to picture the possibilities of your product for impro$ing their situation. To the degree that you can e$oke emotions that encourage them to keep reading, you#$e engaged them. This is largely a function of getting them to imagine already ha$ing the benefits. "n$ol$ement happens !hen they go from being engaged to taking the ne6t step. This can be as small as continuing to read your sales copy to something bigger, like going from an email to a $ideo, or filling out a sur$ey or asking for more details. *r placing an order. *!nership is the feeling that the ne6t step is the natural thing to do, and that they !ant to do it. "t in$ol$es a positi$e e6pectation regarding that step. ote that it is possible to push someone from in$ol$ement to taking the ne6t step !ithout a feeling of o!nership, but that usually creates some resistance in the prospect#s mind. "t can be done in small !ays, if the person has de$eloped a sense of trust in you, but anything more than that !ill usually result in fe!er people taking your desired action. This is the .i##est so$ ce of sales esistance* othe than lac) of inte est o an acti!e feelin# of dist $st o disli)e fo the selle . "f too many people !ho !ere other!ise interested say you#re being pushy, this is !here you made your mistake. <emember5 "t#s perfectly natural for people to resist something they don#t !ant to do. There#s something unnatural about someone acti$ely resisting something they !ant, and it#s usually the result of discomfort created by an outside force. "n this case, that !ould be you. 4sage occurs !hen your prospect begins e6tracting benefits from ha$ing taken the preceding step. Those can be in the form of more information, a subscription to an e7course, the purchase of the product, or any other step in your se-uence. ., /, ", *, and then 4. Go!el mo$ement.

But... &5,+ ,hy did they Eor should theyF take that last step= This is !here features come in. They#re the logical support that people need to 0ustify taking the desired course of action. But they#re not the only things that can be used to ans!er the -uestion C,hy=C <emember5 Benefits are emotional in nature. Features are e$erything else. They#re the measurable deli$ery system for benefits. /6ample5 You sell a product that relie$es gas. The features are the !ay it does the 0ob, and the 0ob itself. The benefits include pre$ention of pain and embarrassment. Features, in this case, 0ust make the promised benefits possible>belie$able. "n the e6ample of a gas relie$er, there are t!o possible e6planations>0ustifications that might be re-uired. The first is to the user of the product. That depends on their perception of the relati$e strength of the benefits $ersus the cost of the product. That#s all they need. The second is to those associated !ith the user of the product. "n this case, the benefits are e6actly the same. Features are, to those people, irrele$ant. ?i$en the relati$ely lo! cost of such products, there#s usually not a lot of 0ustification in$ol$ed. " think !e can all agree, that#s a good thing. ....

8o! about something in$ol$ing a different kind of gas= +ay, a hybrid car for your family. For you, the primary benefits might be the feeling of belonging that goes !ith en$ironmental responsibility, a sense of moral superiority, the desire to spend the sa$ings on other things, a fear of !aste, or any number of other desirable emotional outcomes. EThat is, by the !ay, another e6cellent definition of benefits5 Desirable emotional outcomes.F You might !ant>ha$e to use features to 0ustify the e6pense to someone else. Those features could be cost sa$ings, reduced emissions, additional safety mechanisms or something else. The only !ay the C,hy=C !orks for the person to !hom you#re e6plaining is if the features mentioned in$oke percei$ed emotional benefits for them !hich out!eigh the cost. The C,hy=C benefits may be the same for the other person, or they may be entirely different. ,hat matters isn#t !hich ones are higher in !hose priorities, but that each person !ho needs to okay the decision finds the balance in fa$or of making the purchase.

8ere#s something you must understand !hen selling5 )ost is almost never figure" in "ollars an" cents. It's figure" in terms of other choices that are exclu"e". "t#s important to recognize this. C,e don#t ha$e and can#t get the moneyC isn#t a priority decision. "t#s a statement of possibility. "f it#s true, no amount of honest salesmanship is going to o$ercome that. Gery fe! people ob0ect to spending money simply because it#s spending money. They ob0ect because of the options spending that money precludes. +pend !hate$er time you need to spend to understand this properly5 "t#s only really the money !hen there really isn#t the money. That#s important for a number of reasons. The one !e#re most interested in for purposes of this discussion is the psychological difference bet!een a choice and a decision. Most people -o!e on choices and hesitate on decisions. 9ogically, they#re the same thing. /motionally, they#re $ery different. . decision is often looked at as an unpleasant thing !e ha$e to do. . choice is usually seen as mo$ing to!ard the better of multiple options. Put another !ay, a choice feels like e6ercising a preference. . decision often feels like e6cluding one or more options. This is one of the more subtle benefits of making a distinction bet!een your product and the other options. "t tends to create a mindset of choosing 7 of shopping 7 that doesn#t bring up feelings of decision resistance. The more you make it feel like shopping, the easier it !ill be for your prospect to make a comfortable decision to buy. "t#s necessary to understand those psychological factors to construct an effecti$e process. o!, let#s get into the nuts and bolts of one process layout. .s !e do, keep in mind that the re-uired process for any gi$en product may be slightly different than !hat "#m outlining here. This !ill ser$e as a good base from !hich to start testing, and !ill usually be -uite satisfactory by itself. ,ith that in mind, lets look at a basic outline of a process. The indi$idual steps !ill be described only briefly. .nything in7depth !ould make this too long for e$en t!o issues of the ne!sletter. .lso, don#t make the common mistake of thinking this is a formula for a sales letter. ,hile a good sales letter !ill do most of these things, there#s more to good copy than 0ust these steps.

,hen you learn ho! to !rite effecti$e ad copy, you#ll understand ho! to fit each of the appropriate things into your lead generation and sales pieces. 8ere !e go... .... .ttention5 ?etting the attention of people !ho already !ant the benefits you#re offering, and are looking in the same general place as your product to achie$e those benefits. This is broken do!n into a number of steps. These are5 Define your prospect5 You should do this before you e$en start creating your product. 2ost people don#t, so don#t beat yourself up or !orry about it if you ha$en#t yet. You !ant to create specific profiles for each group of people !ho ha$e a high degree of likelihood to !ant the benefits your product offers, and !ho are looking for it in a !ay that#s similar to the !ay you deli$er it. ,hat do they !ant= ,ho are they= .re they largely in one specific profession, or group of professions= ,hat are they used to paying for the type of solution you offer= 8o! do they prefer to get it= ,hat age group, gender, etc= ,hat related interests are common to large numbers of them= Don#t limit yourself too narro!ly !hile !orking through this process. You may find that there are more groups that contain significant numbers of likely prospects than you might ha$e originally thought. *ften, you#ll find that multiple groups can be added simply by focusing your Cfirst contactC pieces 7 the ones used to generate leads and traffic 7 to each group indi$idually. .... 9ocate your prospect5 To do this, start by listing the things your prospects are likely to do online. Define their actions, and then use the search engines to find the people, forums, ne!s sites and other places they go online. The more closely related your product Eor first contact pieceF is to the topic co$ered at each site, the better a pool of prospects you#re likely to find. <esearch your prospect5 Double check your assumptions. Find out if there are important things your product doesn#t co$er that your prospects !ant co$ered. ,hat problems do they ha$e that you address= That you don#t address= 8o! can you impro$e your product to fi6 any gaps in demand= Juite often this !ill be no more complicated than adding a bit of te6t to the book or a fe! features to the soft!are. These Cmissing linksC can be the difference bet!een a big seller and a big flop. .lso, look at the language they use !hen discussing the problems you address. There are some things you !ant to !atch $ery closely. The first is the specific choice of !ords most commonly used, especially the CpainC !ords.

The second is !hich aspect of the problem to be fi6ed or benefit to be gained is the most po!erful emotionally. "t doesn#t matter ho! good your gas relief product is at remo$ing discomfort if their big goal is a$oiding embarrassment. You#ll !ant to hit all the notes for them, but focus your main emphasis on the things your prospects consider most pressing. +peak to them about their concerns, in their language. ,hich brings up the ne6t phase. .... +peak to your prospect5 4se !hat you#$e learned up to this point to create your sales and information pieces. ,hether they#re $ideos, emails, inter$ie!s, blog posts, a simple direct sales letter, a follo!7up se-uence... ,hate$er. 2ap it out. Mno! !here they#ll enter each stage of the process, and !hat le$el of interest they#re likely to ha$e at each point. 8o! much effort and commitment did it take them to get to that stage= .re they mildly interested, already engaged or acti$ely in$ol$ed= Do they see themsel$es o!ning it= "f so, ho! easy is it for them to buy= "f not, but they#re in$ol$ed, !hat branches can you add to let them mo$e further through the process to!ard that stage= There#s an art to this last part. You !ant to ha$e enough options for them to keep mo$ing for!ard, but not so many that they get confused or use them as e6cuses to put off a decision. .s a rule of thumb, you !ant the ma0ority of branching options to occur early in the process. You definitely don#t !ant a lot of distractions in the close. For most processes, that#s about t!o thirds of the !ay through the sales copy itself. "f they signed up for a follo!7up se-uence before going to the letter, and get more emails after putting off the decision, that#s fine. You don#t !ant to lea$e that as a door for them to e6it through by putting an opt7in form late in your sales copy. 4se the appropriate traffic techni-ues to get your message in front of your prospects. 2easure the results, and look for !ays to impro$e, based on feedback. That happens !hen... .... Your prospect ans!ers5 They do this by responding to your first contact pieces. ,hether it#s clicking through to an article or $ideo, commenting on your blog, ans!ering a sur$ey, sending you -uestions, reading your sales letter, or ordering your product. .ny action they take is an ans!er. "f they take no action, the ans!er is Cno.C "n that case, look at !hether the problem is your sales materials or your choice of media>markets. 2ake ad0ustments and keep measuring. ,atch !here they 0oin the process, and !here they lea$e it. <efine each step to make it more effecti$e in getting people to mo$e to the ne6t step. "f you look at the process de$elopment cycle this !ay, you#ll find that it#s a lot less intimidating. " kno! some people !hose process de$elopment system is doing a sur$ey and

asking people !hat they !ant, and then continuing to ask -uestions until their prospects ha$e de$eloped the entire process for them. "f you#re good at sur$eys and can generate a small, but consistent, flo! of traffic, you can use nothing but -uestions to get all the ans!ers you need fairly -uickly. *ne note on that5 Don#t include options for them to choose that you#re unable or un!illing to gi$e them if they ask. .n important thing to remember is that you don#t ha$e to stick !ith !hate$er process you de$elop at first. You can add things, remo$e them, make changes or toss out the !hole thing and start o$er. ,hate$er you do, get people reading. 2ake some sales !hile you collect feedback. You cannot create an effecti$e process !ithout a !ay for people to buy1 .... /6plain your benefit proposition5 "mmediately after getting them to take that first step and gi$e you their attention, you need to start e6plaining the benefits you offer. ,hat#s in it for them= The traditional direct response system for this is a sales letter. /$erything takes place in a small number of steps, -uickly leading to a yes or no choice. This is still effecti$e, and especially so in markets !here your prospects are educated on your product type. +till, it#s not nearly as effecti$e as a process that lets people choose their o!n !ay of making the decision. "t#s going to seem counter7intuiti$e to the traditional direct response marketer, since they#re usually taught that the more options you gi$e people, the less likely they are to buy. That#s true, as far as it goes. You really only !ant to gi$e people t!o options at a time, other than lea$ing and ignoring you. These are called positi$e options, as they mo$e the prospect for!ard in the process. ,hen this happens... .... Your prospect asks for more5 You may ha$e an opt7in form in the sales letter. That#s t!o positi$e options5 +ign7up and>or buy. +igning up allo!s you to present other options in future contacts. Your list is the means to present additional branches for your process, as needed. *r, if you pro$ide ongoing content, a means to introduce people to the first stages of other processes for other products. You can also gi$e a Cforced se-uenceC option. This is common enough. .n e6ample5 You offer a $ideo on your topic. ,hen someone finishes $ie!ing the $ideo, you might ask them to sign up for other $ideos and, after they do that, take them automatically to the sales letter or to some other part of your process. Basically, this turns one step into t!o.

You could change !hat they see !hen they sign up. You might take them to a thank you page that has a sur$ey, or that offers them a choice bet!een t!o or three related links, all mo$ing to!ard some rele$ant decision. This is an especially effecti$e techni-ue for affiliate marketers. .t e$ery point in this part of the process, you take the input from your prospect and feed it back, offering them more benefits, to increase the depth of engagement and in$ol$ement. *nce they#$e taken the step to asking for more information, you mo$e to the ne6t ma0or phase of the formula. .... Distinction5 Demonstrating to your already interested prospect !hat makes your product different from, and superior to, other options they might choose to attain the benefits they#re seeking. You can, and often should, start to mi6 your efforts at distinction in soon after they take the first step of in$ol$ement. These phases can o$erlap at the edges. ....

Define the need5 8o! you go about this depends on the nature of your product and the educational le$el of your market. "f your prospects ha$e a problem !ithout kno!ing the cause, you may need to e6plain to them !here the problem arises. "f they kno! the causes and potential solutions, you simply remind them and e6plain !hy your product is the best thing to help them sol$e it. ote5 For purposes of this article, "#m lumping acti$e problems and unfulfilled desires into the same category. /6plain the problems and priorities5 .t this point, you get into more detail on the problems, including things they may not ha$e considered. .n e6cellent techni-ue in this stage is to point out the order of importance. 8ere#s !here kno!ing !hat they really find most painful is useful. You might be surprised to find out ho! fe! of your competitors actually kno! !hat those priorities are, as your prospects see them. <emind them of the pain. 2ake it real and current for them. You !ant them acti$ely feeling a need to fi6 the problem. .... 9ist the alternati$es5 This one gi$es some people the heebie70eebies. +ome folks belie$e that mentioning your competitors# products by name amounts to ad$ertising for them. "f you ha$e a really clear ad$antage o$er your competition, and can e6plain that !ell, it#s not going to be as big a problem as you might think. This is especially true in a market !here the audience is !ell educated about their options. "f you#re not sure, or 0ust not comfortable !ith naming your competitors# products, stick !ith pointing out that some products ha$e certain limitations that yours doesn#t. The ob0ect here is to sho! ho! those limitations ha$e a specific effect that makes them less $aluable>effecti$e than your product.

Meep in mind that you need to be ob0ecti$e on the limitations, and discuss the effect they ha$e from the perspecti$e of your potential customers. You may think that some shortfall is a big deal but, if your prospects don#t, you probably don#t !ant to hammer on it too hard. "t#s useful to keep in mind that this differentiation can occur o$er a number of messages, in $arious formats. "t#s often seen as a bit o$erkill to hammer on too many differences all at one time. These can be sprinkled throughout the process, !here they#re rele$ant to the conte6t. .... +ummarize the differences5 .t this point, you !ant to briefly sum up the ad$antages your product offers o$er the competition, !hile emphasizing the positi$e benefits those ad$antages deli$er. 2223 Do Not Foc$s On Ne#ati!es. 6222 Don#t bash the competition. That#s not producti$e, it focuses your prospect on negati$es, and makes you look petty. one of those things are going to !ork to your ad$antage. Your summary should concentrate on the positi$es, and gi$e the comparison an almost Cby the !ayC feel. But !hat about places !here you may not hold up so !ell= That#s for the ne6t part. .... Bridge e6isting gaps5 This one#s not as clear cut as some of the others. .s you look at your competition, you may !ell see areas in !hich their products are stronger than yours. You can deal !ith these in a number of !ays. The first is to simply ignore them. "f they#re not big issues for your customers, they !on#t affect sales much, if at all. "f they#re bigger deals for the customer, you must address them. The most effecti$e !ay to do that is to correct the deficiency. *nce you do that, it#s ceases to be a concern. .nother !ay to deal !ith this is to add something to your product that closes that gap, or renders it a non7issue. This can be in the form of additional soft!are, a techni-ue that makes the missing part irrele$ant by using a different approach, etc. 2any of the techni-ues forin the Thud <eport EF for adding $alue to your products can also be used to bridge gaps in a lot of instances. "f the difference is really substantial, it may be because you#$e designed your product to be a lo!er cost, easier to use introduction to the market. "f so, point that out, along !ith the benefits that pro$ides, like ease of use, rapid deployment, or suitability for specific en$ironments. +ometimes, doing that means limiting your appeal to a smaller share of the market. That#s a better approach than trying to go head7to7head !ith a superior product in the same price range, especially in a !ell7informed market.

You !ant to ob0ecti$ely tip the balance of benefits offered to!ard your product, so it becomes the ob$ious choice. "f you aren#t sure you#re being ob0ecti$e, get the opinions of informed people in your market. Don#t kid yourself about this stuff. You can#t fool your prospects, at least not for long. This area EdistinctionF is !here you establish $alue, in order to a$oid price resistance. "t#s also !here you do most of !hat Paul 8anco6 calls Cclosing the doors.C This is a subtle thing. .gain, you !ant to keep it focused on the positi$e aspects of your product and the benefits they deli$er. .nd you don#t !ant to get hea$y7handed !ith it. "f it looks like you#re bashing the competition, or bragging pointlessly, you#re going to trigger your prospect#s defense mechanisms. That#s rarely a good thing. +omething to keep in mind... ,ith many consumer products, the direct competition might be irrele$ant. The competition you need to consider in those cases is, as al!ays, the complete range of options they could choose instead of your product. For those situations, the distinction you need to make is primarily benefit7focused. You need to directly compare ho! their life !ill be !ith your product as opposed to !ithout it. o! for the last stage... ....

Decision5 /ither accepting or re0ecting your re-uest that they take the desired action. This is the thing people generally tend to 0ump to too -uickly. That#s understandable, since it#s !here they see their payoff. "t becomes a problem if you#re more concerned about your payoff than establishing the $alue in the customer#s mind. /f "o$ hea too -an" people sa"in# that "o$' e 7$st afte thei -one"* this is p o.a.l" 'h". 2ind you, there#s no !ay to sell anything !ithout hearing a fe! people say that. There are people !ho use that as an argument for things that ha$e nothing to do !ith you. "f you hear it more than you should, though, go back and look at your process. Figure out !here you skipped steps in your rush to get a decision. Iust be careful that you don#t make the process too long for the decision you#re asking them to make. "t#s as easy to o$ersell as it is to undersell. H:7page sales letters for a K%: product, for e6ample, are o$erselling. Describing a ':7page book as Cmassi$eC E" got an email today that used that e6act bit of hypeF is o$erselling. Don#t o$erdo it.

Describe any bonuses or special terms5 This part is ob$ious. 2ake sure they kno! e$erything they#re getting. For bonuses, state the features, emphasize the benefits those features pro$ide, and go on. Don#t spend much time in differentiating them from others unless that#s a big factor in your market. .... +ummarize the benefits5 You !ant to hit the Chigh notesC here. Point out the ma0or benefits in brief detail, and 0ust touch on the secondary benefits as a reminder. Focus on the single o$erriding benefit throughout this stage. 4nderstand, e$ery product has a single main benefit to !hich all the features contribute. "n the case of automation soft!are, for e6ample, it might be Cmore money !ith less !ork.C That can also be described as, C2ore time for the things that matter.C . secondary benefit might be, CFreedom from boring routine tasks.C Throughout your process, you !ant to define !hat that main benefit is, and create a conte6t so that they kno! !hat you mean !hen you use the phrase you chose to describe it. Tie e$erything back into that main benefit. .... +olidify the distinctions5 "f you kno! they#re going to be making comparisons, a -uick reminder of !hat#s better about your product should be incorporated into the benefit summary. "f it#s not necessary to do direct comparisons, you may !ant to make a -uick e6ample of !hy buying your product is a better use of their money than something else in a similar $ein. .... <e7establish the $alue5 This is usually 0ust a -uick statement that calls the !hole benefit proposition into focus. "f you#re not a skilled !riter, you may !ant to skip this step. Doing it !rong can do more harm than good, as it can sound defensi$e. "f you#$e done things !ell up to this point, it#s not a critical a step. The best !ay to do this right is to create a picture in their mind that e$okes all the emotional benefits at one time. You don#t tell them the $alue so much as help them e6perience it in their imaginations. .... +tate the price5 *kay. This one is ob$ious. Be sure, !hile doing this, that you also state !hat they#ll get, along !ith any unusual terms or conditions. Things like delays in shipment, recurring billing, etc.

+tate the guarantee5 .lso ob$ious. The only time you !ant to emphasize this more than usual is if you ha$e an unusual guarantee. .... ?et them started5 .sk them to order. Don#t make this step flo!ery. 2y fa$orite !ay to do this is simply to tell them that they should get started today. 9ook, if they made it to the end of your process, there#s a pretty good chance they !ant !hat you#re offering. They already kno! it, so starting to sell at this point is 0ust asking them to go back to the first step. "t brings up all the things they !ere concerned about in the first place, and undoes a lot of !hat you#$e accomplished. ,hate$er !ords you choose, make them short. Don#t belabor the point. ?et them started. ....

<eaffirm the decision5 This occurs .FT/< they order. You !ant to make sure you remind them of the great things they#$e got coming as a result of ha$ing made their choice. E ot decision. Dhoice.F +ome pointers on !hat they should do first, for fastest results, is an e6cellent !ay to do this !ithout looking like you#re being defensi$e. .nother is to deli$er the first installment of your... .... C+tickC system5 This is a se-uence of unad$ertised bonuses or benefits. deli$ered o$er time. This adds to the con$iction that they#$e made a good choice, !ithout you e$er needing to say it. This can be as grand as some huge bonus, or as simple as additional tips and pointers, specially designed to get them to get the product in their hands and use it. <emember that most people !ho buy information or soft!are ne$er get around to using it. "f your product falls into that sort of category, you !ant to make sure they do something !ith it. That reduces refunds, !hich is nice, but it has a more significant effect. "t deli$ers the benefits you promised, !hich leads to real loyalty and a greater likelihood they#ll buy from you again in the future. That#s !hy they call it a CstickC system. ....

That#s it. .s you can see, looking at it as a !hole system before you#$e built your first process can seem a bit daunting. 9ook at each piece indi$idually, though, and it#s simple. " had considered doing a separate issue talking about !hat tools are a$ailable and !hat to use for each step, but it occurred to me... That#s not necessary. .ny tool can be used for any part of the process. The trick is to se-uence things so that your prospects get the right parts in the right order.

You#ll notice that the most comprehensi$e sales processes online ha$e lots of options for branching, !hile offline processes tend Eor seemF to be $ery linear. The key element that gi$es you that fle6ibility online is the use of email. That, as much as anything else, is !here the truth of the comment CThe money is in the listC comes from. The Cback endC sales process is 0ust another branch. +ort of C<inse and repeatC for salesmen. "t#s easy to get carried a!ay. You don#t need to do this in enormous detail if you#re looking for a K%: or KH: sale. You may find it useful to add some of the steps once you ha$e a solid back7 end offer in place, but e$en then it may not be in your best interests if your offer is percei$ed as an impulse purchase. You#ll ha$e to test and see !hat brings in the best o$erall results. You may find that some steps don#t seem to apply to your product or in your market. "n some cases, that may e$en be true. "f you get that idea, again, " suggest testing it both !ays. The goal of this article is to sho! you the process of building a process. To enable you to de$elop your o!n, and fit it to your products in a !ay that gi$es you the best results. Don#t toss this aside and forget it. There#s a ton of money in applying !hat you#$e 0ust read. .s " mentioned in the beginning, this !ill !ork e$en better if you apply it along !ith the techni-ues in Paul 8anco6#s CThe %:; Don$ersion <ate.C . solid process is the key to that result. ?et a copy of Paul#s book, read it, and see ho! much clearer things become for you. You can get that here5 http5>>!!!.talkbiz.com>r>%:percent.php " recommend that one highly <ead. 4se. Profit. /n0oy1 Paul 2yers paul3talkbiz.com P+5 +ee the ne6t page for some $ery useful resources...

Re*o++en)e) Resour*es
ote5 The e6amples and numbers gi$en for these resourcesare a description of the potential of the systems they re$eal, not a guarantee of specific results. +ome people !ill do better than the descriptions, some !ill not do as !ell, and some !ill get no results at all. The results you get !ill depend on a lot of factors that are beyond anyone#s ability to predict. The biggest factors are your market and ho! you implement the things you learn. <emember5 o7one can guarantee you specific results, or e$en any results at all. .nyone !ho does is lying. ,hat " can guarantee is that, if you don#t get results from using these techni-ues, you#ll get your money back, any time in the first @ !eeks. o hassles, no -uestions asked. *b$iously, " recommend subscribing to Tal)Bi8 Ne's. ?ranted, "#m biased in the matter. The 4 articles that make up this report are pretty typical of !hat you get in the ne!sletter. They#re not al!ays as long as these, but " try to keep them as useful. (!n" sometimes they can be really funny.) You#ll also get product re$ie!s and recommendations, pointers to useful resources, and my !orld famous rants and ramblings. .s a bonus for subscribing E!hich is free, in case " forgot to mention thatF, you get a copy of my %%H7page book, ( eed to Mno!.) This book sho!s you the thinking, techni-ues and strategies behind the biggest online successes. 2ore importantly, it sho!s you ho! to apply them to your o!n business. o fluff here, folks. This is the good stuff. Sign up here: http://talkbiz.com/ 9The Sec ets of a :;< =on!e sion Rate> 5 " mentioned this one throughout the articles that make up this report. "n this book, Paul 8anco6 translates the e6tremely effecti$e processes used by ma0or offline businesses to close as much as 4:; of their sales calls, on high ticket products like home impro$ements, into a system you can apply to your online selling. Years ago, it used to be thought that %7H; !as about as good as you#d do !ith a sales proces online. That has been dispro$en so many times no! that no7one really belie$es it. Don$ersion rates of ';, %:; and e$en H:; are common enough that they#$e become targets, rather than miracles. Paul#s book sho!s one approach to reaching those goals. You can get it here5 http5>>!!!.talkbiz.com>r>%:percent.php 9S-all =han#es* Bi# ? ofits> 5 .nother book by Paul 8anco6. This one e6plains ho! e$en tiny changes in your sales copy or other parts of your process can create enormous increases in your profits. You need to look at this yourself. /t is one of !e " fe' .oo)s that / conside 9-$st ead> -ate ial fo an"one doin# .$siness online. "t#s 0ust that important, and the potential is 0ust that big. Get that here: http://www.talkbiz.com/r/bigprofits.php

9The Tal)Bi8 Reso$ ce Di ecto "> 5 This one is packed !ith free and $ery lo!7cost resources, and can sa$e you hundreds, e$en thousands, of dollars on the tools you need to do business online. "#m talking professional le$el soft!are that#s almost all offered at no cost by the creators of the programs. o pirated stuff here. ?et that one here5 http5>>!!!.tbr6.com>directory>resource.zip 1. This ne6t one isn#t e6actly a resource... "f you found this report useful 7 Buy me a beer. o!, get started. 4se !hat you learned in this report, and make a !hole bunch more money1 .nd don#t forget to ha$e some fun in the process. Paul Paul3talkbiz.com