Internet Marketing - Doing It Like The Big Guys Do It
Copyright 2003 By Willie Crawford
When I brainstorm with clients on how to improve their on-line businesses,
one of the thing I always ask myself is what are my struggling clients
doing differently than the big on-line successes. That generally holds
the key to them improving their businesses. Today I thought I would share
with you some insights into what the "Big Guys" do that the
struggling internet marketers usually don't. Some of these things may
seem obvious. However, many people observe the obvious, realize what they
need to do, and then do nothing. Those who succeed act upon their observations.
The model that you can observe a lot of the on-line successes using can
be referred to as the funnel model. More accurately, you can call it the
funnel and filter model. You want to attract as many suitable prospects
into your funnel of influence as practical. You want to have as many potential
customers as practical raise their hands and identify themselves to you.
They all enter the wide "mouth of the funnel." Then as you continue
your dealings with them, you better-qualify them and filter out the unsuitable
prospect. At the bottom of the funnel you end up with your most desirable
prospects. These are the people who will develop into your best long-term
customers.
Practically everyone I consults with focuses primarily on the mouth of
the funnel. They look at ways to attract new prospect.... ways to get
more website visitors. They focus on how to get more subscribers, or how to keep these subscribers. The
flaw with what many people are doing and that I hope you are not doing
is that they spend a disproportionate amount of resources on getting people
into the funnel. After getting people into the funnel and qualifying them,
many on-line businesses then spend too little resources cultivating relationships
with their most desirable customers - those who have already made purchases
from them.
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Your process for getting people into your funnel should focus on pre-qualifying
prospects from the very beginning. That means structuring your offering
that entices them into your funnel so that they are aware of your ultimate
objective right from the start. For example, if you sell a $497 video
series that teaches them step-by-step internet marketing, mention that
on your webpage where you ask them to join your newsletter. That accomplishes
two things. I adds value to your newsletter because anything written by
someone who can put together a $497 videos set, is perceived as more valuable
than something by someone who hasn't produced a product of similar quality.
It also plants the thought in the backs of their minds that maybe they
need your $497 videos.
When you first make contact with a prospect, you would have to be a superior
salesman, with amazing web copy, to sell them high ticket items right
from the start. It *is* done, but your average internet marketer can't
usually do it. So you do what the big guys do, you sell them an introductory
product first. This introductory product accomplishes the following:
1) It lets the customer see the quality of your material. For that reason,
even if it's a $9.95 ebook, it should contain some very valuable information.
If the $9.95 ebook is good, they will naturally assume that your higher
priced products are even better - and they should be.
2) It gets the customer comfortable with spending money with you. After
a customer has gotten over the mental block of spending money with an
on-line merchant once, all subsequent sales take only a fraction of the
effort.
3) It gets their name and email address on your list and gives you permission
to follow-up and offer them other suitable products. Once they have made
that first purchase, you do have a relationship them. They now know who
you are and are more likely to read subsequent email from you, and more
open to what you have to say.
4) It shows you want types of products or services they are interested
in and are likely to buy. It tells you what types of products to offer
them later.
You don't have to get them into the funnel with a low-cost lead product,
you can do it by giving them a freebie in exchange for their email address.
You can even just ask them to join your mailing list. However, these methods
of getting them on your list does not qualify them as thoroughly as getting
them to make a small purchase.
Once you get them into your funnel then the process involves getting
them to make subsequent, more expensive purchases. You don't get them
to make more expensive purchases just because the profit margin is higher. You get them to make
more expensive purchases because you acknowledge that they do need the
more expensive items to run successful businesses. If you aren't offering your customers
these items, then they are just buying them from someone else. You did
all that work to make them comfortable with the process of buying thing
they need from you just to drop the ball when your hard work is ready
to pay off.
The big guys know this process and build a system that acknowledges it.
They offer a line of "backend" products that they know their
customers need and want. The struggling businesses work very hard to get
customers to make the initial purchase. They then either forget that customer
or offer him additional "$9.95 ebooks." That's a loosing proposition!
You customers who buy the $9.95 ebooks are also buying $49.95 ebooks,
and $197 courses, and $997 seminars. Your ultimate goal, if you want to
join the major leagues should be to position yourself to offer these higher
end products. You need to offer a full line of products that cover the
price spectrum.
We observed at the beginning of this article that many people can see
the obvious but most don't act upon their observation. The "big guys"
started out as newbies too. However, as they learned from their mentors
and predecessors, they applied what they learned. Not only that, but they
continue learning and applying new knowledge. That's why they attend so
many gatherings and spend so much time networking. They continue to learn
from each other and continue to refine their entire sales process. That
very same "funnel" process that I just explained to you.
Now that you know exactly how the "big guys do it" you have
no real excuse not to succeed as they do. Now you can become one of the
big guys.
Willie Crawford teaches at seminars, teleseminars and through one-on-one
consultations how to build successful on-line businesses. Join him Stephen
Pierce, Marty Foley, Rick Beneteau, Gary Knuckles, and Dr. Bob Silber.
It's a 90 minute question and answer session where you can learn how to
further develop your online marketing skills. Sign up now at: http://williecrawford.com/lets-talk.html
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