What will it take to be Successful Online?
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Making the decision to take a new direction in your financial career, can be pretty scary. What do you need to learn? Who will you learn it from? What are the elements that are most important?
First off you need to come to realize that learning all new skills to do business online will not come overnight. You will go through your own learning curve. I will lay out some of the elements that you will need to know to be successful and to make money.
Your mindset is critical. You need to fortify your mind with daily input so that the belief in yourself continually gets stronger to withstand any of the obstacles that will naturally come along as you are learning new skills. These new skills you will use to become competent in blogging, Lead Capture Pages, Advertising, building your list, emails, copywriting as you move forward and develop your presence on the internet.
Listening and reading daily to material that will inspire you is essential to your mindset. These supportive messages will support you to become more than who you are now, and will continue to nourish you as you reach your goals. The book The Science of Luck, listed on the front page of my Blog has steps to take on a daily basis that will put you in the right space to have luck come to you in your endeavor.
Nothing Can Take the Place of Action
You can have your goals and dreams and your dream boards, but if you don’t have a plan and put action behind your decision to move forward, you are fooling yourself and it will be meaningless.
So often in network marketing you receive a watered down version of what it will take on your part to become successful. It is often talked about that this is a business for the “average person”. Being for the “average” person can be a blessing and a curse.
Most people come into network marketing with an intention of making a little money. They like the product they will be representing, but their intention to learn the skills to become a Professional in a new field they are embarking is often not realized.
Why does this happen? A person may not realize the dedication to learning a new profession is necessary. A person will go to College for years to get a degree, but mistakenly believes it won’t take dedicated effort to move into the realm of online marketing. It can be done part time successfully when the basics are learned and managing and using time wisely becomes precise and intentional.
As I mentioned earlier your mindset is critical. Having a great mindset and resolve to not quit, will set your path to learn whatever skills you need to learn to become successful. I do not want to water down the determination you will need to have to be successful in having an Online Presence.
Become a master of having an Online Presence is a road of massive discovery into a new world of Online Marketing. You will feel that a new vista and farther reach has opened up to you. If you are already in a network marketing venture these online skills will allow your reach to be global. If you are not in a network marketing business and have a mortgage, realtor or any other business where you want to expand your reach on the internet, you will be able to receive the training you need to be successful.
I will be covering some of the basic premises here of being online and will be referring to network marketing and the sales of products that are necessary as part of being in Direct Selling. To make money online, you are selling something. You will be Branding yourself as an expert in a particular field and becoming a teacher to help others with information.
You may be selling affiliate information or products to create income before you have developed products yourself. It is a process in your understanding and growth before you will be able to do that.
What are some of the pitfalls?
When you have chosen a network marketing company and you want to work online, you want an overview of what is going on in the marketplace. There are many good companies out there. Most network marketing companies have better than average products that offer value to the consumer. What goes on in the success between one company and another who have equally compelling products, may be their ability to market their products.
Just having a better product or compensation plan and better product results may not be the edge that a company has to lead them and you to success. What really matters is who does a better job marketing their product. This may be very offensive to many. Look around you, there are many good products. It is how well they are marketed and the salesmanship used that will make the difference in their sales and success. This is the time when you look at the great variety of products in the marketplace and on TV and look at how they are being marketed. Look and see why something is working.
In Business it Matters
when Good Sales and Marketing Are Used
It’s not only the network marketing company that needs to be good at Sales and Marketing, it is also the distributor who is responsible for their marketing efforts. This is coming from a person who was always looking for the latest best products. I have always been a product lover and what it does for people. This was a lesson I had to learn about being able to market, that may also be true for you. Marketing skills are key to success. It matters what sales and marketing are being used to get the word out about a product
If you fall into this category, you are not alone. This is how I got involved in several companies. What I discovered is that those you who were able to sell and more importantly were able to sell themselves had the most potent money making skill.
The wealthiest and most prosperous people in any field, are those that can sell themselves…. their products… their services…. and their ideas. The best communicator about the product wins.
In network marketing, selling has almost been a “dirty word”. The products will sell themselves.
“It’s not selling its sharing.” It’s commonly known as “word of mouth” advertising.
Have you heard that “word of mouth advertising” is the most powerful form of advertising? It is, but it feels a whole lot different to the person at the receiving end if there is financial gain by the person giving the referral.
Why do people retreat when the referral to a product, has financial gain going to the referrer? The reason is that it is not an unbiased referral. It is not the same when you refer a restaurant, where there is no financial gain. You will come to understand that our customers can do the “word of mouth” advertising, but when it is done as a business owner talking about their own business it is not received as word of mouth advertising. It’s received as selling.
So what are you going to do?
You may have been taught to get to know people by asking questions and you get to a point, where you ask, “Do you keep your income options open?” If you’ve used that, how did it work for you? Sometimes yes, mostly no?
You need to have “enthusiasm”. Enthusiasm, of course is essential to your success. You want to be enthusiastic about what you are doing. But, t is not the only thing that is required to lead you to success.
There is a difference between speaking confidently and being “over the top”, where people feel like you are in their face, and you can actually make the situation worse.
You may have had the experience of someone coming to you with the latest new product, and you have felt the light arm twisting and you have become uncomfortable. This is why people don’t want to join you, because they don’t want to be that person that does that to other people.
Take heart, Sales does not need to be so ridiculous or so difficult. When good sales skills are used and combined with good marketing this process becomes much easier.
What is Sales and what is Marketing?
What is Sales? the definition is:” the exchange of a commodity for money; the action of selling something ”. This is when money changes hands.
What is Marketing? The definition is “the activities that are involved in making people aware of a company’s products, making sure that the products are available to be bought, etc”
When thinking about sales it really is about the ability to influence others to take action, or to “persuade” others to take action. This may not sound reputable to you, but it is something you do every day whether you realize it or not.
Persuading others to your way of thinking is something you do with your friends, your children, your spouse, your co-workers and bosses. It is a good idea to sharpen your skills at the art of persuasion as you go through life
None of us like being pushed into a situation that we are not comfortable with or if it is something we are not interested in. Trying to convince someone that they want something when they don’t want it, is uncomfortable for the prospect.
On your end, the rejection and shame that comes with not having success and feeling that you may have lost the relationship because you may have been overbearing leaves you feeling very unsuccessful. This whole process of trying to find customers and distributors may not be worth the way it is making you feel..
You may be feeling that the only way for you to win is to convince them that they need what you’ve got. It feels confrontational and uncomfortable for you and for them.
Dale Carnegie said: ” A Man Convinced Against His Will
Is Of the Same Opinion Still”
It is a rare person that can continue to do this, which is why people don’t sign up with you and some people quit. They do not want to be in the convincing others to do something business. They do not want to put themselves in that kind of position with their friends and family and many don’t have the thick skin to reach out to people they don’t know. Even if they did, the situation is the same.
Have you been told that rejection is just part of the process and the more ‘no’s” you get the closer you are to a “yes”? It didn’t feel good to me and if you are anything like me, it doesn’t feel good to you either.
When I heard that you could actually “attract” people to you and these tactics of confrontation, rejection could be something of the past. I was in. Rejection is practically unheard of and “yes’s” are expected and the model. Learning to attract people online, has people looking for you, find you.
Become a Consultant, not a sales rep. Consultants are considered more valuable than a salesperson. What does this mean? A Consultant is a sales rep that has learned how to do marketing, which are the activities that are involved in making people aware of a company’s products, and making sure that the products are available to be purchased.
The Attraction Process
One of the ideas that will make marketing more clear is “no one wants to be sold, but everyone wants to buy.” So how does this “Attraction Process” work?
You may want to think about it this way. If you are trying to sell something to someone, it’s your decision to sell them something, and it’s being forced on them. When they want to buy something it’s their decision and they go looking for it.
What is marketing? Creating a situation where people can buy on their own. It is providing a product that people are looking for. They already have a need that you will be able to provide them.
When you are thinking about doing this Online, there are many avenues of marketing. I will list a few here. In online advertising, you’ve got ppc, (pay per click advertising,) ezine article submission, banners, FB advertising, solo ads, marketing pieces ie. websites, CD’s, DVD’s, webinars, for a start. You also have Offline advertising that can drive people online, direct mail, classifieds, postcards and more.
To do any of these things well, you will need to gain some copywriting skills. Copywriting in this sense is to learn to write copy in all the various mediums that are written to be persuasive. There are specific skills that come with this and can be learned. This is not the Copyrighting when someone has copyrighted their material.
Now the message in your copywriting has to do with your prospect. It is all about them. It has to do with what their needs is. What are they looking for? Here you will need to identify who is your target market, who are they and what are they looking for? You will need to spend some time on this or you won’t know what their needs are.
All Good Sales and Marketing Begins by
Putting The Other Person First
You may have read or heard of Dale Carnegie’s book How to win friends and influence People. He said, “You can make more friends in two months by becoming more interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get people interested in you.”
What is true in real life is also true online. You may remember the experiment that was done on a plane, where a Psychologist sat next to a stranger and made conversation with them the whole trip. At the end of the plane trip. a person approached the other passenger and asked them a few questions. Who was the person sitting next to them on the plane? The stranger couldn’t tell the interviewer anything about the man, his name or occupation, but he was the most interesting man she had ever spoken with. We all appreciate when someone seems genuinely interested in us.
What does that tell you about human nature? Each of us is the center of our universe and if we want to get to know our prospect, we need to be asking questions to get to know them. They may or may not be interested in what we’ve got. If after a meaningful discussion where you know more about the person and what makes them tick, you may or may not be able to offer them what they are looking for.
The truth is, you can’t reasonably offer a solution where they have interest until you get to know them whether it’s face to face or by phone. Doing this at the airport, may work out only in a small percentage of the time. More often than not, a relationship and trust needs to be built, first, so when there is interest, there can also be a sense of loyalty that would develop. This takes time and usually multiple contacts or the prospect feels used.
When you offer something online, they are already looking for what you’ve got. If they like what they see, building a relationship will come later.
How do you get the information from your target market?
It starts by asking questions. Find out what they are looking for before giving them information.
When you are Online, it means doing the research beforehand on your target market so you know what they are looking for. Try to put yourself in their shoes. When you are in Direct Sales, it’s about asking questions to find out what their needs are and what they may be looking for,
Spend some time on who your target market is. How old are they, where are they in their life? What are their major concerns? What are their biggest challenges,? What kind of information are they already consuming? (books, websites, magazines) What product and services are they buying? What would make their life better?
Put your Emphasis on the Person doing the buying and their needs and not as much emphasis on the product you are selling.
When you get in touch with the person that has expressed interest, your time should be spent on listening. You need to find out what makes them tick. Dig deep, build a relationship. Put your entire focus on them. When, you understand their circumstances and more about who they are, they will then allow you to give them information.
When you are able to understand what’s important to them and why, they will be more willing to listen to you. You will also know whether or not you will be able to help them. Remember, people will buy for their reasons and not yours.
It’s important to be enthusiastic about what you have, but you don’t want to hit them with such force that they back off. You need to understand their hot buttons and what is driving them, because we all buy out of an emotional decision and then justify it with logic.
What you are offering them needs to appeal to them emotionally to solve a need that they have. That’s why it is so important that you understand what is driving them and that you have rapport. People will buy from you, when they know, like and trust you.
Listening carefully is essential for your success. They need to see what you are offering them as the vehicle that will solve their problem. Their logic will then kick in, and make the justifications to make the next move. You just need to use this to your advantage.
This is not a new concept, it has been used throughout time. As Dale Carnegie and many other people who have understood human nature know, these skills can be exploited and used to help others get what they want and in the process you will be able to get what you want.
How do Negative Emotions Tie into the Selling Process?
Because we have been talking about sales, I’d like to have you think about our news media. I don’t know about you, but I often will switch the channel, because there is so much negative news. Why do you think they use negative news to get your attention? BAD NEWS SELLS. If it bleeds, it leads. No news is good news, and good news is no news.
Do you think people are motivated to avoid pain? Which is stronger, being pulled to something better or running from something painful? The news media has learned this one very well, (often to the detriment of our society at really getting to the truth and what is really important that we need to know) because they know it sells. It’s an appeal to the limbic part of our brain that operates in the fight or flight aspect of our personality.
Getting back to your prospect, this avoidance of pain and discomfort can be a stronger motivator to change and improve their situation. They will respond greater to messages that arouse feelings of fear, anxiousness, rejection, anger, etc
Getting back to the news. Think about the teasers they use to keep you listening. Aren’t they triggering your interest at the emotional level and how it may affect you?
When you are writing, you need to be aware of the power of words and which words will draw people’s attention so they will read what you’ve written. There is a difference in writing to get someone’s attention through emotional words versus words that are used to hype. Hype words are a lie and you do not want to be a liar or making exaggerated claims.
Whatever you write you want to have credibility and you want people to believe you. Choosing your words, your intention needs to have believability, because without it you have no Authority. Without having authority, why would people listen to you in the first place?
What I have written is just a beginning of exposing you to a way of thinking about having a presence online. I look forward to your comments and your insights, so that I can help you get to where you want to go.
After taking a look at the way business has been done in the past, could you see yourself going back to chasing and harassing your friends and family? They never asked you to sell them something or be prospected to your business. Isn’t it a lot more appealing to be talking with people who want to talk with you, respect what you do and want to do it themselves?
Are you in the group of people who are living paycheck-to-paycheck spending hundreds of dollars on leads or advertising, hoping that eventually your residual check will catch up with your expenses? Learning how to implement the Attraction Marketing Formula opens up many doors. People who have learned online marketing, learn how to develop traffic.
I’d like to offer you a FREE 11 Step Boot Camp on the Attraction Marketing Formula where you will continue to learn the principles of Attraction Marketing.
You can check it out here: www.AttractionMarketingFormulaBootcamp.com
I look forward to your comments and your feedback. I want to help you be successful in creating income online and changing the quality of your life.
In Gratitude,
Johanna Baker
B 408-272-8116
M 408-219-3574
