ProBizTips Newsletter
** ISSUE #255 **
August 11th, 2003
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Hey!
Good Day to you and I hope your day is going well so far! :)
Welcome to all our new subscribers this week and I hope you grow
to love us as so many have ... we couldn't do this without you!
It's been a very busy and rough week for me so if you've emailed me and I haven't gotten back to you yet, please bear with me -- I should get back to you within the next couple of days. :)
My mother-in-law was in intensive care for congestive heart failure ... she's out now and doing better, but please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
I've been married for 8 years today. It's hard to believe it's been that long -- but what a journey of "ups and downs" it has been! Thankfully, we've gotten through the shaky first few years and it's been pretty smooth sailing since ... :)
In the meantime ... sit back, relax and enjoy today's issue!
Your Friend,
Diane Hughes
ProBizTips Weekly
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| ProBizTips Feature Article |
A Professional's Mind Set To Making It Online
by Karol Augustine
Does the seasoned professional have a "leg up" on the rest of us?
Not necessarily.
People who have had distinguished professional careers in other businesses may have a distinct advantage over the masses if they are common sense smart, but they certainly don't get an automatic ticket to riches online.
There are lots of people who have made solid incomes online who never graduated college or had a true 'white collar' position in the corporate world.
Remember, it is absolutely true when "they" say that the online mind set needed for success is unique. Online marketing differs from any other type of marketing and demands a simplistic and tactical process in order to produce results.
For the seasoned professional (Pro), this can be a challenging quandary. Why?
Because people who are educated or have already had profitable careers in other vertical markets are often blinded by their success. Professionals who have had successful careers elsewhere (not online) tend to have a certain stubbornness to them making it difficult to actually "unlearn" some of the things they know and learn what they really need to learn in order to make it online.
Stubbornness will certainly slow down a professionals success track and can severely damage optimism. While the seasoned professional is smart and experienced, if that professional isn't seasoned and experienced in the online world, it won't matter...they will still have to learn how things work on the Internet.
Quite simply, if a person hasn't had a successful online business, they are a newbie, regardless of their past history. Sure, people that are ex-professionals might have the smarts to leap ahead of the rest of the pack if they have similar or transferable experience, but if they don't concentrate on basics, they can fail just as easily as someone uneducated or inexperienced in any type of career.
In order for seasoned Pros to be successful online, they have to reflect on their past building blocks that made them successful in their chosen profession and remember that any success is built around fundamentals.
Acknowledging that the online world is different than any other, and recognizing that certain basic steps need to be taken, are 2 vital concepts that must be engrained into a professionals mind set for starting and succeeding in an online business.
Once these 2 steps are taken, the seasoned professional can accomplish just about anything online. It is as simple as mixing creativity and common sense with desire and perseverance. A major part of 'common sense' is listening to the experts and remaining neutral when assessing any concept or idea.
For an educated person, reading seemingly basic online concepts can be rudimentary at best. For the educated person or Pro, it's easy to think "This is too easy, what makes this person different than me, this is simple!". Be smart, consider the source.
If the concept, idea, or product is from a true expert, (someone who has really made hundreds of thousands of dollars online) the difference between that person and the professional is that the expert has actually done it, not planned to do it, or theorized about it! It's easy to be critical of others and not focus on your own plan...a Pro, like the rest of us, should never underestimate anyone who has made a great deal of money online, it's quite an accomplishment.
For the professional, the mind set needed to be successful online has to be one of respect. The Pro has to be smart enough to know that the online business can be very basic, but a well laid out plan is really all it takes. That plan, of course, includes following the experts, keeping it simple, and taking action.
The professional should welcome being presented with information and products distributed by the experts and should take each powerful concept to heart no matter how basic they may seem. The Pro should avoid getting blinded by all the hype in any marketing campaign and realize that the "sales-like" tone is there for a reason, to appeal to the masses.
Almost anything online has some level of 'pushy' content...for the professional, this can be a serious turn off. The experienced person should read between the lines and look at the concept or product for the value it brings, and focus on benefits, not features or 'estimated' savings or results.
Professionals who start an online business have an immediate crossroads if they have an arrogance about them or believe they can transfer all their past experience to their online business.
Yes, lots of skills the Pro accumulated during their past career will be useful, but the most meaningful skills need to be learned if the Pro hasn't successfully owned an online business.
Just because someone knows Calculus, has an MBA or has climbed the corporate ladder, doesn't mean they automatically can be successful online. Traditional education doesn't automatically mean success unless that education is "Online Marketing Education". For most of us, the only way to get that education is to learn from people who have done it before.
Be humble, work smart, keep it simple.
---------------------------------
This article is an excerpt from the eBook
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BizTips by Dr. Kevin Nunley |
Exceed Your Customer's Expectations
What is the best way to impress your customers? To exceed their expectations. Most people have had so many bad or mediocre experiences with other businesses that they expect the same treatment from you. But all it takes is a little focused effort to give your customers an experience that exceeds all their expectations.
Here are a few simple things you can do to impress your customers:
*Only make promises you intend to keep. If you say you'll look into a special order for a customer, do it. If you promise to call them the moment their order arrives, keep that promise.
*Develop a systematic way of taking orders so that all the critical information is captured right the first time. Don't ever let your customers feel like they aren't being properly understood. You can also try keeping records with customers so they don't have to explain themselves over and over again.
*Use a consistent phone greeting with introduction by name.
*Answer calls and emails in a reasonable amount of time.
Let your customers know that you consider them a priority.
------------------------------
Kevin WRITES your professional copy--web site copy, sales
letters, ads, press release and more! See http://DrNunley.com.
Reach Kevin at kevin@drnunley.com or 801-253-4536.
Getting More Sales From Your Order Page
by Karon Thackston
It’s the gold medal of e-commerce. Getting that coveted sale is what every online business owner hopes and prays for daily. It’s why we fight for good search engine positioning. It’s why we battle with our copy, making it "just so." It’s what pays the bills! But what if you could get even MORE sales from your order page? It’s really not very hard to do.
What I’m about to tell you is not some big secret. It’s a widely used practice that works. You’ve probably seen it before, but never paid it much attention. Well get ready to listen, because with just a few simple steps you could quickly be doing a lot more business.
Will this same tactic work for off-line businesses? You bet!
I have two ebook sites. One is for my copywriting course and the other is for my ezine guide. Like you, I’d seen this sales practice put into place before... I’d even bought more of a product or service because of this tactic. But one day it dawned on me to actually USE this method to see if it would really work for me. I used the two products above to conduct a test.
Instead of just linking my "order" or "buy now" buttons to my credit card processor, I created a separate order page. And instead of just putting the copywriting course on the order page of the copywriting course site, I added a "deal." I offered a $10 discount if site visitors bought BOTH ebooks at the same time. I have a link to buy just the copywriting course, and a link to buy both ebooks at the discounted price. Literally, within minutes of implementing the change, I began ringing up sales for both books.
Have you seen this before? I’m sure you have. Amazon.com, ProFlowers.com and many other huge online retailers use this method to boost sales every day. Why does it work? Simple.
Once people go through your site, read your copy, and check out your products or services, they make a decision to buy. By offering them more for less (more products/services for less money) you take advantage of their "buying mode." You strike while the iron is hot (so-to-speak). It’s a win-win situation. The buyer gets a discount, and you get more sales.
So how would you implement this strategy for off-line businesses? Just follow any fast food restaurant’s lead.
Have you ever been to a McDonald’s restaurant?
What normally happens is a conversation like this:
"May I take your order?"
"Yes. I’d like a Big Mac combo with a Coke."
"Would you like to super size that, ma’am?"
"Sure, why not."
"And how about adding one of our hot pies or an ice cream sundae for just $1.00?"
"OK"
Without so much as a fuss, McDonald’s just added two sales to your order. One was super sizing of your combo meal - the other was a sundae. You got a discount - you got more food for less money - and McDonald’s got more profits.
Off-line retailers can simply instruct their salespeople to ask for more sales. Once the customer gets to the cash register, they are officially in "buy mode." While they’re standing there, quickly (and I mean quickly - don’t bombard them) ask if they need shoe polish to keep those news shoes looking new, or if they remembered to pick up labels for that box of CDs. It’s really that simple. No hard sale, no pushing, no shoving. Just a simple question to which the answer is almost always " yes."
So there you have it... the quick and easy way to get more sales from your order page. Think it’s too easy? Try it and see for yourself.
---------------------------------
Most buying decisions are emotional. Your ad copy should be,
too! Let Karon write targeted copy and ezine articles for you.
Visit her site at http://www.ktamarketing.com, or learn to
write your own copy at http://www.copywritingcourse.com.
Don’t forget to subscribe to Karon’s free ezine at
http://www.ktamarketing.com/ezine.html.
**We're interested in your comments, questions, and suggestions.
Do you enjoy this ezine? Do you have an Internet marketing or
e-commerce related question? If so, feel free to submit it to us.
We may publish your question and response in the next issue.
ProBizTips Tip of the Week |
Creating Your Own Luck
by Kevin Bidwell
Do you feel lucky?
Imagine being the guy (or gal) who always gets the "lucky break", who is always at the right place at the right time, who is "in the know." Imagine exploding your traffic, profits and possibilities.
Can't happen? It's all random? Think again.
Most "luck" is really not luck at all--it is a coming together of factors that have been carefully cultivated. "Lucky breaks" are created when people get out there and make the contacts, do the work, fail and try again.
Most of the people who "luck into success" have been out there working hard toward success for a long time. They have been making the mistakes, cultivating the contacts, spending the emotional and material capital necessary.
When they get their "lucky break" it's less like "luck" and more like the reward of being out there, mixing it up. It has much more in common with a Tiger Woods hole-in-one than it does winning the lottery.
Think about yourself for a minute...
Are you "out there" working at it every day? Are you putting yourself in a position to be "lucky"? Are you refusing to give up, pushing through adversity, believing your business can succeed?
Why not keep at it--even if it is just for today--you never know when you might get "lucky."
---------------------------------
Kevin Bidwell is owner of
http://www.all-in-one-business.com/cgi-bin/at.cgi?a=210901
Kevin is offering a FREE BUSINESS START-UP KIT to everyone
who visits his site. If you liked this article, you will
want to subscribe to his newsletter. Send a blank email to:
nwslttr@quicktell.net
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