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Selling Online, Selling Offline: What's The Difference?

Guest post by: Ari Galper

Article Overview: Ever since I created Unlock The Game™, one of the first questions people always ask me is, "Does Unlock The Game™ apply to online selling?"

Selling Online, Selling Offline: What's The Difference?

Ever since I created Unlock The Game™, one of the first questions people always ask me is,
"Does Unlock The Game™ apply to online selling?"

I've been holding off on answering that question because I wanted to get enough experience under my belt with my own online business so I could answer this from an authoritative position.

My answer is, "For the most part, yes -- but with some differences."

Those of you who fully understand the philosophy behind Unlock The Game™ are well aware that the core of everything I teach is based on the elimination of all sales pressure from the selling process.

You also know that the single most powerful way of eliminating sales pressure is through authentic language -- in other words, replacing traditional sales language
with the most natural dialogue possible, which creates almost instant
trust between two strangers.

This is exactly where online selling differs from person-to-person "offline" selling. In selling online,
you don't have the opportunity for that natural two-way dialogue. People come to your site and
are exposed to a one-way reading of your message, which can feel impersonal.

Check it out for yourself. If you look at 9 out of 10 website home pages, what do you see?

Online variations of the standard sales or cold-calling script: "We are ... and we do ..."

Why is this a problem? Because these sites are offering their solutions long before visitors can have any sense that they are being understood, and long before they feel any sense of trust in what they're seeing.

Visitors come to sites because they have a problem in mind and are looking for answers.

It's easier than you might think to solve the problems of one-way communication, impersonality, and lack of trust.

All you have to do is put yourself in the position of your site visitor, articulate their specific issues or problems, and gently offer solutions that they can choose without feeling as if they are being "sold."

Here are some simple ways you can warm up your site so you get as close as you can to a natural two-way dialogue:

* Remember the "Written Word" module from the Self-Study Program?

Beware of over-using "I" or "We" on your home page or at the beginning of your written message.

For example, rather than immediately pushing your product as the first thing visitors see on your home page, use language that addresses problems you know you can solve.

State those problems, and you'll find that your visitors are drawn more deeply into your site.

* Create a clear path through your site that lets visitors
make their own decisions about what's best for them.

* Give your visitors a taste of your solutions so they can feel
that you can actually solve their problems or issues.
Downloads, "test drives" and other "free samples" give visitors the
live experience of your solution and make them feel more comfortable with it.

* Last, and maybe most importantly: I'm always surprised by how few
website owners seem to actually want to communicate with the potential
customers who visit their website.
But...have you ever gone to a site to order a product or service and
ended up calling the toll-free number instead?
Have you ever thought about why you did that?
Maybe it was because you could ask questions of the live person
who took your order, and this increased your sense of trust.

So...make yourself available to site visitors by having a Live Chat or Push To Talk button
(see below) on your website.

Talk directly with visitors to your site as they enter the virtual world that you've created for them.

There's nothing better than a two-way dialogue to humanize the online experience.

I enjoy it so much when visitors click on my Live Chat or Push To talk button,
and we establish that all-important personal connection.

Try it on your site. You'll love talking to your website visitors
because you'll be able to help them solve their problems.

To Your Success,

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Article Tags: 9 out of 10, authentic language, cold calling script, game one, impersonality, lack of trust, natural dialogue, person to person, philosophy, two strangers, variations



Related Forum Posts
Re: Kevin's Case Study #10 - When to become an entrepreneur? - When the bug bite you. A lot of successful entrepreneurs started in their teens or at school. Selling sweets to fellow students or lemonade to firends in the neighbourhood.
Re: This is Marketing Warfare! - Hey GT, I guess this was from a while back, and it'll test your memory a bit but could you possibly elaborate on Unique Selling Proposition? Can you give us some examples of good USPs?
Blog pinging - Thanks Martin - yes, I do ping and it has been very effective. I'm currently on the first page of Google for Mastermind Group and on the second page for Selling to Small Business.
Business magazines - Fast Company is pretty good if you're into technology although it can be very on the edge. Entrepreneur has become one giant advertisement and I cancelled my subscription. Selling Power also has some useful content if you're looking at improving your sales skills / presentations.
Money I made while in School - While in university I did have a Student Loan (still paying that bugger off) and had a part-time job as a Call Center agent (inbound). *Canada* I also designed websites (outsourced all the work). I just worked on getting new customers, managed the projects to completion and helped create Marketing Plans for my clients (Online and Offline). *Canada* When I was studying the in the States I also made some money as a Part-time Flight instructor. *USA*


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