Nobody likes to be sold to.

Or at least they don't like to be sold to when the salesperson / sales page is clumsy and inappropriate. When it's done properly being sold to is a pleasure.

When you buy something it's because you either need it, or more likely just want it. The product or service you're buying solves some problem you have, whether that's an actual problem or else just the desire to have that pleasant feeling of making a purchase and getting something.

Now picture the worst salesperson you can think of.

They might be rude and pushy, talking over you about what they want all the time and using high-pressure sales techniques to batter you into submission.

Alternatively they might be very meek and apologetic about actually asking you to even consider buying stuff. They don't want to appear pushy so they never actually promote the benefits you'll gain by buying their product.

Now imagine that you have a problem and you ask a friend of yours for help. They listen to what you have to say to understand your needs and then recommend something to you that they've found useful in solving that same problem. They tell you what's good about it and maybe even what's not so good. You like them and trust what they have to tell you because you know that they're on your side.

Which one of those people are you more likely to buy from?

Of course it'll be your friend.

Now when you try and sell anything either online or offline that's how you need to be.

Listen to what people have to say and what their needs and desires are. Attempt to point them in the direction of the product best placed to help them. Tell them why this is the best option for them and what they can expect to gain from it. Also don't be afraid to tell them anything that's not great about it - they'll discover that soon enough anyway but will be glad that you didn't hide it from them.

The focus of your interaction has to be on them and not you.

Don't get bogged down in the selling process - just find out what their problem is and help them solve it.

They'll thank you for it and be comfortable buying from you.

Got that?

Great!

Anyway, I'm away for a few days rest now but I'll be posting again on early next week. I was going to tell you about something really cool to do with web 2.0 this week but I just didn't have time.

Maybe next week, eh?

If you're not already on my email update list and you'd like me to let you know when I post about it just enter your name and email address below.

Matt

We've just had a fantastic storm here - thunder, lightning, enough rain to float Noah's Ark.

Anyway, I'm not posting to tell you about the weather.

I want to talk to you about the big internet marketing lie. I'm sure that you've come across it many times in one form another. It's not exclusive to internet marketing either - it crops up all over the place.

So what is it?

Well, I'll tell you. Here it comes:

The lie is that internet marketing is easy.

You know how it goes - all you have to do is buy the latest whizz-bang product and within 10 minutes you'll have so much money pouring out of your DVD drive that you won't be able to see the floor.

Or how about spending 10 minutes a week on this amazing system to become a millionaire within a month.

Or just throw up a simple website, buy some google adwords ads and watch the dosh roll in.

I particularly like the one that has you working on your laptop from a hammock on the beach / sitting at your kitchen table in nothing but your underwear.

Now is this possible?

Well actually, yes, it is. Apart from the cash spewing from the DVD drive of course.

There are people who make large sums of money in a very short period of time. There are also people who do only work a couple of hours a week from the beach / kitchen table (I don't know about the underwear part - heck, maybe some of them don't even wear that!).

But I'd be willing to bet that very, very few, if any, of these are complete beginners who got that way from buying the latest 'make money online' ebook.

Look, if you're serious about getting into internet marketing (or anything else for that matter) you're going to have to go through a learning curve. And a rather steep one at that. There are a lot of things that you need to master, or at least grasp well enough to be able to effectively outsource it. You're going to make mistakes and find yourself stuck or heading off down dead-ends.

But once you start to put things together you've got a chance of building something long-term that'll perform well for you, because you understand how and why it works.

So promise me now that you're not going to fall for any more claims of easy riches with little or no effort on your part. Instead embrace the fact that you're going to have to learn and adapt in order to succeed. It'll mean you have to change in order to grow and develop but that's a good thing.

Most people aren't prepared to pay the price of learning how to do things properly. That's why they'll always be looking for the next big thing - the magic bullet that will flip the wealth switch to 'On'.

If you are prepared to pay the price then great opportunities will appear.

Now go sign up to my email update list on the right. If you do you'll make so much money this week that your banker will think you're a drug dealer

Matt

So, I was wondering -

what's the one thing that you feel is holding you back?

If you are already marketing online where are you struggling at the moment?

If you've not yet started what's stopping you from getting going?

If you have an offline 'real world' business what's your number 1 marketing challenge?

From Monday I'm kick-starting this blog with some all-new killer content. Now's your chance to get your questions answered and let me know what you want me to cover. Either leave a comment below or send me an email to tell me your thoughts.

Have a great weekend,

Matt

P.S. - Not on the email update list yet? Sign up now below and I'll let you know when I post new stuff. Don't forget to confirm your subscription by clicking the link in the first email you get.

Note - This is a re-post from the first version of my blog. This is also the last one now so it's all new content from here on in. Yeah!

If you've never tried snorkelling you really should, but do remember to top up the sun-tan lotion regularly (like I didn't…).

Today I want to tell you about when my girlfriend and I bought a snorkel.

Fascinating stuff, eh?

Bear with me here, there is a point to this :o)

We stopped at one of the many shops down to the beach selling snorkels started to look at what they had to offer. We were soon greeted by the owner. He came over, asked what we were after and picked up a couple of different snorkels on offer. He then opened one of the packets and gave us the snorkel to look at and try on, whilst telling us the main thing was to make sure it fitted correctly so it would be watertight.

It fitted well and was comfortable so we bought it. It was also the cheaper of the two we looked at, so that was a nice bonus. We were now the proud owners of a nice new snorkel.

Okay, so this is maybe not my most interesting story, but I wanted to mention it as it illustrates a useful principle you can use in your marketing: get people involved in what you're doing or selling.

By giving us the snorkel to hold and try on the shopkeeper was getting us involved and making us take ownership of the buying process. It pushed us to buy there and then, rather than at another shop down the road. And it made us happy to do so. The owner's friendly manner and honest advice opened up a brief relationship with us and created a non-threatening atmosphere for us to feel comfortable about buying, without the sense of being taken advantage of or manipulated.

Look at how other businesses get us involved in the buying process, such as a test drive in a car, a coupon to fill in, stickers for free gifts to select and add to a reply card. By getting people to invest some time and effort in what you are offering you are getting them to make a small commitment to your product or service.

How can you get people involved with what you offer? How can you make them feel relaxed and comfortable when buying from you?

Best wishes,

Matt

Note - This is a re-post from the previous version of this blog

In this post I want to talk about two contrasting experiences my girlfriend and I had at two restaurants whilst on holiday. We ate out a lot whilst away, enjoying the sea views from the rooftop restaurants. I can honestly say that the food was gorgeous everywhere we went and we never had a bad meal the whole week.

One evening we chose to eat at a large restaurant straight bang in the middle of the tourist area, overlooking the main square. Although polite the staff there didn't quite strike the right note throughout the meal - they were pushy, intrusive and we got the distinct impression they were trying to 'process' us through the meal as quickly as possible. This didn't exactly make for a relaxed dining experience, in fact we quickly adopted a defensive attitude during the meal.

It wouldn't have been so bad if they were rushed off their feet, but the restaurant wasn't even that busy.

Another evening we went to a smaller restaurant in our local town, Lindos. Our experience this time was much different: the staff were relaxed and friendly, yet still attentive. You could tell they were enjoying themselves as they interacted and chatted with all the customers there. The whole atmosphere was different and you could see that everybody was having a great time.

We felt comfortable there so we stayed longer, talked and had a great evening over an extra couple of drinks.

I'm sure you know what I'm talking about here - we've all had experiences like this.

The main point here though is not just about great service, as you might expect, but instead it's about relationship and personality. By treating us as people, rather than customers, the second restaurant really added value to our dining experience. They set up a relationship with us.

There were people in the second restaurant that evening who had been there earlier in the week and had chosen to return instead of trying out one of the many other alternatives. If we hadn't visited so late in our holiday we'd have done the same.

When you're putting together your marketing pieces and systems it is well worth asking how you can start a relationship with your prospects and customers, how you can add value to their experience of dealing with you. It may take a little extra effort but it will definitely be worth it - people choose to interact with people they know and like.

If you're not one of those people they know, like and trust your business is built on shallow foundations.

Best wishes,

Matt