High Traffic Does Not Equal Sales
High Traffic Does Not Equal Sales
To keep things short, I will focus on pre-selling online, but the principles certainly apply to offline, traditional marketing too. Many web site owners use things like search engine optimization (SEO) and pay per click (PPC) to drive traffic to their sites. They hope that this traffic will result in sales, and quite often, it results in disappointment.
One reason for the dismal results is when the order of things gets reversed from what it should be, and that seems to be a widespread error. Think about the way people generally use search engines. Although it is true that people use search engines when they are at the buying stage, it is more likely they are researching or seeking information.
This is where pre-selling becomes so important. In fact, you may find yourself laughing when competitors try to get one over on you using SEO and PPC backwards, while your traffic arrives already pre-sold. SEO and PPC both have value, and both work, but only when the customer is ready to buy.
Ways to pre-sell are limited only by your imagination. The most important thing is to make sure you have a pre-selling strategy that works for your situation and business model. Pre-sold traffic to a web site is much more powerful than "targeted traffic" so let's cover a few principles for creating pre-sold traffic.
We'll start with pre-selling you can do yourself through your marketing efforts.
An effective strategy, especially if you are in a service business, is to establish yourself as an expert. To do this, you would either find an established information source, or create your own if an appropriate one does not exist. Keep in mind that people use the Internet to research and get information, so you are simply providing information with this strategy. When you provide good, reliable information, you build trust; and trust leads to sales.
To illustrate this strategy, I will use a plumber as an example. If the community this plumber serves has a consumer advocate organization that is well known and trusted, the plumber in this example could help that organization by contributing valuable information, and build consumer confidence in his services as a plumbing expert. Inviting people to "Ask the Plumber" about their questions adds even more value.
It's very important to not be self promotional using this strategy. Doing so is not only unnecessary, it would be counter productive. Yes, you want to let everyone know who you are so they can contact you, but you should avoid sales talk. In my example, the consumer advocate organization would not be interested in featuring a self promotional plumber, but they would be interested in useful information that truly benefits their readers. Visitors to this plumber's site would already be pre-sold after reviewing helpful information on the consumer advocate site.
You can also pre-sell by utilizing a successful informational site.
With all the informational sites available, you may be able to find one which already pre-sells your product or service. Let's go back to our plumber since he makes a great illustration for this strategy too. Suppose that visitors to a certain web site were seeking ways to reduce their energy costs. Our plumber friend then notices that the advertisers are electricians and no one is addressing the plumbing solutions.
By featuring plumbing products and services that cut energy costs, the plumber would be providing more solutions that visitors are looking for. Any traffic coming to his site would now arrive pre-sold. The owners of the informational site are further meeting their goals too, so a successful, mutually beneficial arrangement has been created.
Because people use search engines to seek information, good informational sites are very powerful, and they generate a lot of traffic. When you find sites with pages that pre-sell the product or service you are providing, you may be able to "affiliate" with these sites and discover the real secret to successful Internet marketing.
You could even create your own pre-selling site.
I mentioned above that if an appropriate information source does not exists, you may be able to create one. All the great ideas for web sites came from needs that were not being met, and many opportunities still exist. You may have an opportunity that's wide open, and the only reason it hasn't been discovered yet is because everyone in your industry is so focused on selling that no one has noticed the pre-selling opportunity.
What problem can you solve? What information would people look for to solve that problem? Once you discover an opportunity you can seize, it will most likely help other businesses, and you can profit from that too.
Suppose our plumber friend discovered that a lot of people were searching for information on solar water heaters and no one was providing it (this is just a random example). He could answer all their questions with an information site. He could develop a network of plumbers who install solar water heaters and get advertising fees. He could earn income from companies that manufacture the systems using affiliate programs and drive pre-sold traffic to their sites.
Although this has been a brief overview of how pre-selling works, I hope it was enough to inspire you to put more conscious effort into pre-selling strategies. Many site owners seek ways to drive more traffic to their web sites. If your efforts focus on pre-selling those visitors first, your sales could even exceed sites with much higher traffic volumes.
High Traffic Does Not Equal Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Steve Chittenden's Website.
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One of the best secrets of marketing isn't really a secret at all, it's just a proven strategy that doesn't get used nearly enough. It is the strategy of warming up your customers before they buy. It is also called "pre-selling" which is the term I will use as I lay out some ideas on how to use it effectively.
To keep things short, I will focus on pre-selling online, but the principles certainly apply to offline, traditional marketing too. Many web site owners use things like search engine optimization (SEO) and pay per click (PPC) to drive traffic to their sites. They hope that this traffic will result in sales, and quite often, it results in disappointment.
One reason for the dismal results is when the order of things gets reversed from what it should be, and that seems to be a widespread error. Think about the way people generally use search engines. Although it is true that people use search engines when they are at the buying stage, it is more likely they are researching or seeking information.
This is where pre-selling becomes so important. In fact, you may find yourself laughing when competitors try to get one over on you using SEO and PPC backwards, while your traffic arrives already pre-sold. SEO and PPC both have value, and both work, but only when the customer is ready to buy.
Ways to pre-sell are limited only by your imagination. The most important thing is to make sure you have a pre-selling strategy that works for your situation and business model. Pre-sold traffic to a web site is much more powerful than "targeted traffic" so let's cover a few principles for creating pre-sold traffic.
We'll start with pre-selling you can do yourself through your marketing efforts.
An effective strategy, especially if you are in a service business, is to establish yourself as an expert. To do this, you would either find an established information source, or create your own if an appropriate one does not exist. Keep in mind that people use the Internet to research and get information, so you are simply providing information with this strategy. When you provide good, reliable information, you build trust; and trust leads to sales.
To illustrate this strategy, I will use a plumber as an example. If the community this plumber serves has a consumer advocate organization that is well known and trusted, the plumber in this example could help that organization by contributing valuable information, and build consumer confidence in his services as a plumbing expert. Inviting people to "Ask the Plumber" about their questions adds even more value.
It's very important to not be self promotional using this strategy. Doing so is not only unnecessary, it would be counter productive. Yes, you want to let everyone know who you are so they can contact you, but you should avoid sales talk. In my example, the consumer advocate organization would not be interested in featuring a self promotional plumber, but they would be interested in useful information that truly benefits their readers. Visitors to this plumber's site would already be pre-sold after reviewing helpful information on the consumer advocate site.
You can also pre-sell by utilizing a successful informational site.
With all the informational sites available, you may be able to find one which already pre-sells your product or service. Let's go back to our plumber since he makes a great illustration for this strategy too. Suppose that visitors to a certain web site were seeking ways to reduce their energy costs. Our plumber friend then notices that the advertisers are electricians and no one is addressing the plumbing solutions.
By featuring plumbing products and services that cut energy costs, the plumber would be providing more solutions that visitors are looking for. Any traffic coming to his site would now arrive pre-sold. The owners of the informational site are further meeting their goals too, so a successful, mutually beneficial arrangement has been created.
Because people use search engines to seek information, good informational sites are very powerful, and they generate a lot of traffic. When you find sites with pages that pre-sell the product or service you are providing, you may be able to "affiliate" with these sites and discover the real secret to successful Internet marketing.
You could even create your own pre-selling site.
I mentioned above that if an appropriate information source does not exists, you may be able to create one. All the great ideas for web sites came from needs that were not being met, and many opportunities still exist. You may have an opportunity that's wide open, and the only reason it hasn't been discovered yet is because everyone in your industry is so focused on selling that no one has noticed the pre-selling opportunity.
What problem can you solve? What information would people look for to solve that problem? Once you discover an opportunity you can seize, it will most likely help other businesses, and you can profit from that too.
Suppose our plumber friend discovered that a lot of people were searching for information on solar water heaters and no one was providing it (this is just a random example). He could answer all their questions with an information site. He could develop a network of plumbers who install solar water heaters and get advertising fees. He could earn income from companies that manufacture the systems using affiliate programs and drive pre-sold traffic to their sites.
Although this has been a brief overview of how pre-selling works, I hope it was enough to inspire you to put more conscious effort into pre-selling strategies. Many site owners seek ways to drive more traffic to their web sites. If your efforts focus on pre-selling those visitors first, your sales could even exceed sites with much higher traffic volumes.
High Traffic Does Not Equal Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Steve Chittenden's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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