Salesmanship Online
August 3rd, 2005
The best definition I’ve ever heard for the word “sales” is simply this: Sales is getting people to do what you want them to do. Period. End of story. That being said, it kills me to see some of this crap that most website owners throw out there and actually expect to “sell” their prospects.
When it boils down to it, the fundamentals of salesmanship within Internet Marketing are perhaps the most important thing you need to keep in mind when constructing your website, putting words on your website, and even the actual navigation of your website.
Let’s go back to the “salesman”. The salesman understands that if he presents TOO many options to his prospects they won’t choose ANY of them, and he will ultimately lose the sale.
After all, do you see your life insurance sales guy offering 22 different types of insurance at once when he is sitting down in your living room talking shop?
Of course not! It reminds me of the old joke that goes something like this “Thank God there are only 2 exits out of the Movie theater because if there were more exits, and the theatre caught on fire, everyone would burn alive because they wouldn’t know which exit to choose!”
Think about it…are you giving your prospects TOO many options when they go to your site? Are you addressing their needs, identifying their problem (pain) and showing exactly how your product will solve that very problem they are facing?
When I was in college, I sold Kirby vacuum cleaners door to door. That experience taught me a lot about salemanship that I still use today- especially online. How can this be? Remember, principles NEVER change. And the principles or fundamentals of salesmanship work very well online today.
If you are having trouble getting your visitors do what you want them to do- I suggest you go pickup one of the classics on salesmanship- anything from Tom Hopkins or Brian Tracy will do. And then take those principles and ask yourself how you can apply them to your website.
You just may be amazed at the results you get…
;-)
It seems as if many of my competitors never had to sell Kirby vacuum cleaners as a means to get through college. Should I consider myself lucky? Or should I have just kept my mouth shut about my “used car” salesman days?
Oh well, I guess the secret is out.
Till next time,
Matt
