Exchange “Web Site” for “Social Media” and this article could be straight out of 2000.
In 2000 we were talking about whether every small business could benefit from a website, many considered it a myth. It’s pretty well accepted now that every business should have at least a minimal presence on the web. I think that the same can be said about business participation in social networks and using social media.
In 2000 we were talking about the need for businesses to have clear goals for their website with strategic and tactical plans for reaching them. The same is true today about the use of social media. It’s important for businesses to make sure that their social media participation are aligned with and support their business, website, marketing and promotions. Regardless the media, there must be a consistency in the presentation of the brand and message.
In 2000 we were talking about the need for promoting the company website in all of their marketing, promotion and advertising. Use of social networks works best if you let people know you are there. People might find you by searching or happenstance, but that’s not something you want to count on. Not only should businesses let everyone know they are using those networks, they should be actively seeking information from their customers and suppliers about which networks they use and begin connecting with them. Everyone accepts the importance of an email list, social network contacts should be considered just as important.
In 2000 we were talking about personal branding through email discussion lists and web forums. While we’ve added different technological platforms, the rules of engagement have not changed. You wouldn’t walk into a cocktail party full of people you don’t know and start announcing your business interrupting conversations. You will just be an annoyance, people will tune you out, or worse yet, have you tossed from the party ruining any possible future dialogue.
In 2000 we were talking about the need for a commitment of time and money for a successful website and Internet involvement. Participation in social networks can be very time consuming so it’s important to budget time and/or money to make certain that there is a consistent presence to be effective.
As a website evolves, we move through several distinct phases. Phase 1 is just getting it up. Phase 2 is creating awareness and traffic. Phase three is getting results. Making the sale. Every site is selling something. Whether that something is products, service, return visits, registration, donations or referrals, there is something that every site wants us to do when we visit. Getting people to do what we want is selling. What is your site selling? What do you want people to do when they visit? Even if all you want them to do is to return (a pure content site), you still need to sell that proposition.
Sales professionals generally accept that there are five steps in the sales process. These five steps are: Prospect, Rapport, Qualify, Present and Close. These steps are taken in order, with each building on the previous steps. If you have problems with any of these steps it is probably from not completing the previous step. I have my own “Secret Sixth Step” that I’ll discuss at the end. (Although it’s not much of a secret to successful sales people)
Let’s take a look at each of the steps in the sales process as they apply to our web projects.
1) Prospect. Think of prospecting like you’re panning for gold. Not every waterway is going to have gold in it. You have to sift through the regular sand and gravel to get to the desired nuggets. This is done by carefully crafting entry pages to answer the question “What’s In It For Me?”. How would you describe your most likely customers (your nuggets)? Where do they live, what do they do, why are they interested in what you are selling?
You may have several distinct groupings that you’ll need to create an entry specifically for them. For instance, if you sold computer games for children, you would want to create an entry page speaking to kids and one speaking to parents. You would then create Meta tags, reciprocal links, and strategic partners geared towards attracting each of those groups to the appropriate entry page. A web site can also be used to prospect through an affiliate program, viral marketing, and recommend it programs.
2) Rapport. I think this is an area that many sites have the most trouble with. In order to have rapport you must have interaction and trust. You have to let your personality shine through, let your visitors know who you are and what you are about. I’m not talking about just your ‘About Us’ page, but throughout your site, your writing, your style. Make sure you have names with titles and all kinds of contact information easily accessible. Give your visitors a way to interact with you via discussion boards, lists, chats, IM or phone. Be interested in them. Give them the opportunity to talk about themselves, what they like and don’t like. Ask them how you can serve them better.
3) Qualify. Again, another area that most sites have difficulty with. (But then, many offline sales people have this same problem) What qualifiers do you have for your product or service? What is the specific need you can fulfill? Do they need to have specific knowledge or expertise? What are the different financial considerations?
The web site can be designed to lead people through a series of if- then qualifiers. For instance: If you are a small business owner that has yet to get started online, then you need my booklet Bricks to Clicks: Getting Your Business Online. Or, If you have an existing web site that isn’t performing and have a budget of at least $1000, then you need my consulting services.
4) Present. This is the step that most sites and designers focus on. Unless you have taken your visitors through the first three steps, your presentation will be wasted on people who aren’t interested, don’t trust (know) you, or aren’t qualified. The mistake many sites make is in presenting features only. Yes, you need to list features, technical details, warrantee information and price, but you must relate each of those to benefits. Some people respond to features, some to benefits, some to the combination. If you can’t think of a benefit for a feature then it probably shouldn’t be included in the presentation. If you use pictures of products make sure they are quality pictures. Show the product from many different angles, and if possible, show it in use or with a human model.
5) Close. Give them an incentive for acting now. Make it easy, put a link to your order page on every page, take as many different payment forms as possible, and allow them to order via phone, fax, email or online. Ask for the order. Remind them of the benefits and the need you fulfill. Reassure them that they are making the right choice. Provide links to your testimonials. Remind them that you are easily accessible and available to assist them after the purchase.
And now for the promised sixth step.
6) Follow-up and after care. In step one I suggested that you look at prospecting like gold panning. Step six is taking those gold nuggets and turning them into jewelry. Creating even more value.
Use your order (or subscription) confirmation page on your website to solicit referrals and testimonials. Create a customers only area on your site for updates, feedback, and a customer community. The first sale is the most difficult and least profitable. Your best prospects are past customers. This is a new stream where you begin the process again at step one. That’s the secret, it’s not a straight line from prospecting to close. It’s a never ending circle, spiraling upwards.
Take a look at your web site. Which of these six can you start doing better?
Some things never go out of style. Originally appeared Dec 2000. “Six Step Digital Sales” – Google Search
My first exposure to Multi Level Marketing was to Amway over 30 years ago. Since that time I’ve probably been pitched at least two dozen new products or services that guaranteed that with just a couple of hours per week I could be a millionaire in no time.
I said no for all these years for primarily two reasons.
I didn’t believe in the products. I didn’t think they worth their price or were significantly unique.
The market was saturated with distributors and the compensation plan was designed for huge down lines.
I was introduced to ForMor products by my doctor, Dr. Sandra Denton. I was seeing Dr. Denton for treatment related to recovery and rehabilitation from two cervical spine fusion surgeries. The surgeries saved me from paralysis but left me with severe neuropathology, weakness and chronic pain. While I’ll never be 100% physically, I have for the time being averted being totally restricted to a wheel chair. which I credit taking Cardio Cocktail and physical therapy. I’ve written more about this here.
In addition to my own experience, family members and friends have tried Argenix, Neuro 911, MSM 2000 which I’ve done additional research on, and Nobel Energy Drink. So to say I believe in the product is an understatement. I would buy, use and recommend this to others even if there wasn’t an opportunity to do so for compensation. In fact, I did for several months before I became a distributor. To learn more about all of the ForMor Products, please visit ForMor Healthy Alternatives where you’ll find informative videos about the products and ingredients, or the official ForMor International web site.
I had the pleasure of meeting Dan Hobbs Director of Network Development for ForMor International when he came to Alaska to speak at the request of Dr. Denton. In this video he discusses why he chose ForMor International over other MLM opportunities.
That explains pretty well why I chose ForMor International, but why after 30 plus years did I decide that now was the time to begin in Network Marketing. Certainly being introduced to the products at this time was a big reason. But it also came at a time when there was a great deal of conversation about Health Care in general and our personal responsibility for own and our family’s health. We know we should eat better and exercise regularly however, that’s not always as easy as it sounds. While nutritional supplements aren’t a replacement for eating right and exercising regularly, a good supplement can be helpful in living a healthier life. I consider $3.50 a day investment in my health to be a very good deal. If I can make that investment back, plus create some additional income then that makes it an excellent investment. Why wouldn’t I want to share that opportunity to others to live healthier and enjoy the opportunity to earn an additional income?
Here is Dan Hobbs on “Why Now?”.
This is easily the best opportunity at the best time I have ever been exposed, There you have the what and why, now for the how.
Building a business from scratch takes time. Nothing worthwhile is attained quickly or easily. This is our plan B. I’ll introduce the products to others and recruit new distributors that have a long term commitment to building their ForMor business. I am dedicated to helping others to be successful in their new ForMor business.
If you would like to try the products or signup to be a distributor, you can do so here. Or post your comments or questions below. I look forward to hearing from you and sharing the journey.
The ones that promise to reveal the secrets of millionaires for just a few hundred dollars.
The ones that guarantee a residual income for life for just $9.95 per month.
The ones that write it is so simple that the prospects will be pounding on your door demanding to be sold.
The ones that give you access to a secret members only website where everyone will help you to succeed.
You click on the ad or link, and as soon as you get to the website you know it’s one of “those”. They have that same simple design. Lots of really big bold centered fonts. A little color to draw you to the headlines they want you to read. A long sales letter, that includes a lot of call to actions along the way for those of us with no patience. If you jump to the end you’ll see the super bonus offer if you join now. A couple of postscripts at the very end with their money back guarantee, affidavits from satisfied customers, and so much more…. When you try to leave the web site without falling for their pitch a pop-up window appears asking if you’re really sure you want to walk away without signing up. Oh and the current trend is the ubiquitous auto-play video that is straight from the late night infomercial pitch mold. Exotic location, fancy home, expensive cars and beautiful (sexy) people. A not so subtle message that if you send them your money NOW you can live in that exotic location, in a fancy home, with an expensive car, surrounded by beautiful people who are just like you, or rather just like you think you want to be.
Nine times out of ten the “secret” is to go out and sell the same system you just bought to the next sucker. In tough times, these types of programs multiply because people are desperate enough to try anything. They have a “willing suspension of disbelief for the moment” in hopes that their salvation is just around the next blind corner. We want to believe, and that is what these scum prey on.
Technology speeds up the process. It reaches a larger audience. But, there aren’t any secrets. Making money fast is never easy while simultaneously being legal and ethical. The only exception to that truism may be gambling. If you want to gamble go to a casino, at least they are up front about the odds being in the favor of the house.
There is no replacement for consistent hard work, knowledge, and experience. Applied to a product or service you truly believe in is the surest way to being successful. It doesn’t matter if it’s on the Internet, on Main Street, or in your home. Those keys to success in any business are always the same.
My purpose here is not to dash anyone’s hopes, burst their balloon, rain on their parade or otherwise fill their heads with negativity. In fact, quite the opposite. I truly believe that it is possible to build a successful home-based or traditional small business on and or off the Internet. I’ve seen too many people have their dreams destroyed by parasites that promise the moon and deliver nothing but dust. Once someone has a dream crushed, it’s hard to dream again. Each time it gets harder than the last, until finally some give up.
My message is one of hope and encouragement tempered by caution. You can succeed, just but be wary of the bottom feeders that don’t really care about you, your family or your success. Surround yourself with people you can trust, that have a healthy amount of skepticism, but are generally supportive of you and your goals.
Since 2003, over a dozen federal investigations have been released which found thousands of firms such as British Aerospace (BAE), Rolls-Royce, AT&T, Wal-Mart, Xerox, Home Depot, General Dynamics, Raytheon, John Deere, Dell Computer and Dutch conglomerate Buhrmann NV have all received federal small business contracts.
Politicians love to pay lip service to small businesses, saying how important we are to the economy. They use us as leverage for or against bills concerning taxes, health insurance, job growth and the vitality of our communities. Yet when it comes down to when it really matters, they turn a blind eye to Fortune 1000 companies stealing the food off the small business table.
The latest U.S. Census Bureau data indicates that 98 percent of all U.S. firms have less than 100 employees. These 27 million small businesses employ over 55 percent of the private sector workforce and create over 97 percent of all net new jobs. Those same small businesses are responsible for over 50 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and over 50 percent of all innovations.
The major business organizations, such as the Chambers of Commerce are either silent or in opposition to reforms that would ensure that small businesses would receive their fair share of government contracts. Once again it is pretty obvious that when it comes to business and politics, he who has the gold, makes the rules. Making matters worse, the organization that should be looking out for small business owners are bought and paid for by big business.
In the House of Representatives, congressional leaders are considering H.R. 2568, the Fairness and Transparency in Contracting Act which eliminates self certification and puts the onus on federal contracting officials to ensure that Fortune 500 firms and other publicly traded firms no longer receive federal small business contracts. Current federal law stipulates that a small business must be “independently owned.” Since publicly traded firms are publicly owned, they would not qualify as “independently owned” for the purpose of federal small business contracting programs. H.R. 2568 stipulates that federal contracting officials and prime contractors would no longer be able to report awards to publicly traded firms as small business awards.
Seems pretty simple and straight forward to me. Why would any business organization, particularly those that claim to be voice of small business like National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) be silent on such a basic and fundamental issue for small businesses? Why aren’t our local, state and US Chambers of Commerce supporting this bill that would ensure that small businesses, the backbone of our country, get what they deserve under the law?
If you’re a chamber member ask your leadership why they aren’t supporting HR 2568. You pay dues and you have the right to an answer. Same thing for those that are paid members of NFIB. Why is the “voice of small business” silent on this issue?
The only business organization I will support as a small business person is the American Small Business League. They have my support and I urge you to support them too.
Now, let me ask you this…do you network? Do you chat with other business owners? If you don’t do it very often, let me encourage you to give it a try. These business owners don’t necessarily need to do the same type of business you do, but if they do, that’s ok! In fact, I would encourage you to talk to people who don’t do the same type of business you do. Seek out someone whose business is different from yours to get a different perspective on how they operate.
Very good article. Every small business as some things in common with all other small businesses. Things we can build relationships on.
So funny and so true *most* of the time. This is why I don’t auto-follow with Twitter. Take a minute to look at their profile, look at their posts and see if they add value to your time line or if they are just more noise. Unless of course you like loud and noisy. Follow me at @akbob
My apologies to Shakespeare for abusing one of the most quoted and quotable quotes of all time. But it is so apropos to deciding who to follow online through a variety social media services. If we aren’t careful we are bombarded with so much information that we can end up missing the best and most important nuggets of information.
Those bits of information, links, photos, opinion, news are as valuable as gold nuggets in the currency of shared knowledge. So we need a mechanism like the gold miners use to seperate the gold from the gravel, or in our case the gold from the noise. That’s why it’s so important to choose who you follow carefully. Choose those that provide a high yield of gold per post based on what our focus and intrests are.
In my own experience with setting up the multiple tweeter accounts for instance has improved my yield. A number of people have chosen to follow me @mysticventures, for instance, that don’t fit my ideal of high yield contributers to that twitter account. But looking at their twitter accounts I most often see that they have a high yield of gold that fit into one of my other twitter accounts. So I follow them from that account. The net affect is that I have improved the experience for everyone by mantaining my focus. I get a high yield of gold from those that I follow and I’m able to provide a high yield to those that choose to follow me.
Ultimately isn’t that the essence of of networking? To recieve and provide the highest yield for your network as possible.
I have reached the conclusion that our social networks on line should mimic to some extent our social networks off line. We all have different groups of people that we interact with. We identify with people depending on what group(s) they are in. For instance I have my work group, my sports group, my party group, my fishing & camping group, my music group, my movie and TV group, my family and closest friends, then people that I debate and discuss politics, religion and topics of the day. There is some overlap where some people may be part of more than a single group, but nobody is a member of all of all of those groups. They just aren’t that into me I guess. So why would people in my on line network be interest in all of those areas? They aren’t. We can’t be all things to all people, but we can be the thing for some people. So taking a page out of the niche marketing paradigm I’m going to segment my networks into narrow and deep groups. Twitter is a great platform to use for this kind of segmentation.
My original Twitter account AlaskanBest is the one that I’ll be slicing and dicing into smaller more focused groups. I’m going to strip that down to an Alaskans Only group that I follow. Non-Alaskans can follow me if they choose, but I won’t be following them back from that account.
I’ve created a new twitter account MysticVentures that I’ll follow business sources and contacts. This will include my contacts from my LinkedIn account, as well as my Ecademy account. My updates to this blog will be posted to the twitter account, and I’ll have a widget here that will track my twitter updates.
Another significant part of my network is sports. I’m a huge Seattle Seahawks fan (no jokes, heard them all). So I’ve created another new Twitter account for my sports interests that I’ll use to keep updated on all my favorite teams and stay connected to my fellow sports nuts. AkSeahawksFan
Then there is our casual and sporadic contacts that we share jokes with, talk about the weather, talk about the odd or unusual, current events, music and movies. Basically an account that includes everything that catches my attention but doesn’t fit in any of the other niches. Alaskan Bob
My alter ego, Emperor Bob has it’s own twitter account. This will be for politics, religion and controversial or emotional topics that may be offensive to some. We all have people that we don’t talk politics or religion with, and that’s for a good reason. We want to keep them as friends.
The most important network is our family and closest personal friends. Consider this the most inner circle. A place where we can post personal bits of information that isn’t urgent enough for a phone call or detailed enough to require an email. A place to share our daily highs and lows. A way to stay connected even separated by thousands of miles.
What makes this possible is a tool for managing multiple twitter accounts from one interface. I’m using HootSuite. I use the “Hootlet” application that allows me to tweet any page to any of my accounts. I’m also using TweetLater (free) to track keywords that are emailed to me. Using TweetLater is how I find new Alaskans to follow. TweetLater also has multiple profile capability so I’ll set up an account for each of my profiles to track keywords specific to those profiles. I’ll use them to find more tweeters to follow and to provide value to my followers. The idea is quality over quantity.
Next steps will include segmenting and linking my other social media accounts. I’ll post about that here in the future.
Here are the accounts:
AlaskanBest – Following Alaskans. MysticVentures – Following business and economy related. AkSeahawksFan – Following sports related. Alaskan Bob – Following funny, unusual, entertainment, weather and miscellaneous related. Emperor Bob – Following politics, religion, international related.
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