Travis Smith Inc

My buddy Tim Worstell (a.k.a. T-Dog) asked me a great question:

Question:  What are the 1, 2, 3 steps of selling something online?

The hardest part of internet marketing is NOT THE INTERNET!

The internet and all its’ tools are really not that complicated.  Trust me, if it were I wouldn’t do it.  I regularly talk to business owners that have built businesses and products far more complicated that anything I do online.

The answer to Tim’s question has little to do with the internet…and it applies to any business that sells stuff.   And that would be everyone.

Answer: Step 1 to selling anything (especially online) is to first get inside the head of your customer.

Work backwards. Begin with the end in mind.

There…lesson’s over.  That will be $10,000.  I accept Paypal.

Seriously though, getting inside the human psyche and pinpointing what makes your customer buy is THE SINGLE hardest part of selling anything…online or offline.

Even with methods of selling online like search engine marketing where the prospect has told you what they want before coming to your site, finding accurate answers to these questions has a direct benefit to your marketing efforts.

Every Good Marketer Has This in Their Tool Belt

Every good marketer has a list of their favorite questions to identify their “ideal prospect”, or to weed out tire kickers.  One such list I acquired from John Paul Mendocha (a.k.a. Dr. Speed Selling) is The 5 Power Disqualifiers.

Today I came up with the list of questions below when planning out  a social media strategy.  I think they apply to all forms of marketing.

If you don’t know…or

If you haven’t asked the questions below (and others like them) you can still have a successful business.  But it’s WAY, WAY harder…like pumping water uphill vs. letting gravity move it down.  And, you’ll be leaving money on the table.

Don’t you prefer easy? Then get inside your customer’s head.

Answer These About Your Customer Before Going Online

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list.  Just a place to start.  Each question gives unique insight into your ideal customer’s psyche and how to connect with them.

1. Are they a doer, or a delegator?
2. Who or what is their primary enemy?
3. What do they believe about time? I.e. what do they consider a waste of time? A good use of time?
4. What are their primary interests? Secondary interests?
5. What personality types do they find attractive? repelling?
6. Who or what is the thorn in their side, providing frequent aggravation?
7. Who or what is their greatest source of influence?
8. What are they an expert at? What do they want to be an expert at, but aren’t yet?
9. Where do they enjoy spending their money? I.e. is your offer a painful spend or a pleasurable one?
10. What does it take to get them up early in the morning (if they’re not a morning person)?

NOTICE – all of these relate to pleasure and pain.

What questions would you add to the list?  Please make a comment below.

I snagged these 5 questions from a brilliant marketer I met at a conference in Vegas.  His name was John Paul Mendocha (a.k.a. Dr. Speed Selling) and he’s legendary for taking companies that are bleeding at the neck and turning them around…FAST!

John often shares the questions that he calls the “5 power disqualifiers” of selling.  And as he explains, they’re applicable to any marketing or selling environment.

Willing to try it for yourself?

See if these don’t apply to your business or marketing challenge.

If ONE of these is true…they AIN’T BUYIN’! (And ain’t is a word. I looked it up).

1. They don’t have the money
2. They don’t buy into your unique selling proposition (USP).   I.e. your big benefit statement.
3. They don’t have a bleeding neck.  I.e. no sense of urgency.
4. They’re not the decision maker.
5. Your offer doesn’t fit into their overall plans.

Asking these questions will keep you from wasting your time on tire-kickers…unless you’re into tire-kickers of course.

Not tryin’ to tell you how to run your biz. 

The short answer is you steal market share.  And..it’s not illegal!

How do you do that?  Glad you asked.

First, I want to say with complete transparency that I am one of the world’s worst salesman.

I took a short career hiatus to sell mortgages (actually…ATTEMPTED to sell mortgages). My family darn-near starved.  I made like $2500 in 6 months.  A colleague actually said to me at one point:  “Hey – your performance is embarrassing to this company.”

And…my in laws talked behind my back at family reunions about what had come over me (as in what was I smokin’).  TRUE STORY!

So how is it that I’ve managed to grow sales demand at SoccerPro by 800% in an 18-month period?

Well – because I suck at sales, and I like shortcuts, I decided to learn an internet marketing strategy that makes even the worst salesman HIGHLY, HIGHLY effective.

It’s called “search marketing”. Search marketing puts you on the cool side of the 80/20 rule.

IMAGINE THIS:

You sell fresh squeezed lemonade in 32 oz. plastic containers.  Your prosepect walks into your store and says – “Excuse me, do you sell fresh squeezed lemonade in plastic containers?  Because I’m in a hurry and I could down 32 oz. right now.”

Could not even the worst of salesman close that deal?  Of course they could!!!!!

That, my friend, is search marketing.

If you want to know more about how to measure search marketing demand, and some of the intricacies in doing so, I made this video for you.

In this video, I unfold the basic principles of keyword research that I use to build search marketing campaigns. This 13-minute presentation is a crash course in using the Google Keyword tool, and understanding:

• the search continuum and why it affects conversions
• not all keywords are as they seem, how every letter matters…literally
• which types of matching in Google’s keyword tool are pesky & misleading
• two types of keyword research and when to use each

NOTE: Video player opens in new window for larger viewing