The current trend - give it away - WHY?
The following are the opening paragraphs of a report I have written. I think the report has a good solid value (one young lady made $3,100 in one week by doing what I suggested). The current internet marketing trend seems to be to devalue everything by giving it away or selling at ridiculously low prices.
I am trying to find a way to market this report with the help of another warrior but is the current mentality going to devalue it before anybody else reads it?
So, you want to start selling of line, do you?
I suppose I can guess what has prompted this decision. You've been reading all those emails about the off line cash cow, haven't you?
You really believe that there are businessmen out there literally salivating in their eagerness for you to walk into their domain and take $1,500 off them, don't you?
You really believe that a businessman without a web site is going to weep in gratitude that you have finally condescended to enter his emporium and explain how you are finally going to grant him his heart's desire, a web site of his very own!
I hate to disappoint you, but it isn't like that.
Businessmen are not as stupid and ignorant as many of the cash cow promoters would have you believe. If they have survived in business for more than a year, they will almost certainly know more about business, their own business in particular, than you will ever learn as an internet marketer.
It could come as a great shock to you but maybe the man you are talking to about web sites hasn't got one because he simply doesn't want one! Maybe he has looked at the costs and benefits and decided that benefits do not begin to outweigh the costs. Maybe he can't actually see that there are any benefits!
I'm talking out my hat, of course.
You've read all those inspirational posts in the various forums you read and subscribe to. You know the sort of thing - 'This offline cash cow is HOT!' followed by the story of how the author walked into a business and walked out half an hour later with $1,500. How many times have you seen that sort of story?
How many times did you see that same story enhanced when the author repeated his success? Not many? Really? I wonder why?
But you still believe those posts, don't you?
Not only do you believe them, but you naïvely believe that the story is simply the opening shot in the author's offline battle to earn a huge income.
I'm sorry, but in the vast majority of cases I am prepared to accept that this one off success was the first and final result. This one off success is what anybody would have expected if they had simply walked into every business they could find in a week and simply said, "I build web sites - do you want one?" It's an aspect of the law of averages.
You have much to learn, young Barachim
Before you can sell to an offline business you must know what makes such a business tick. You need to understand what drives the owner to get out of bed each day and continue to pump his life's blood into it.
Even more, you need to know what affects the flow of traffic through the front door to the cash desk. You need to know this because this is the one aspect of his business that every businessman genuinely desires above all else.
Once you know what affects the flow of traffic, you need to be able to present a viable, affordable and demonstrable innovation that will impact favourably on the traffic flow.
Now, traffic flow is good but it needs to be accompanied by a cut in expenses if it is to be as effective as possible in securing you a client.
What does that mean?
What that means is that you have just discovered the two part Holy Grail of small businesses.
More customers and less expense!
What were you going to offer him?
Well, as I said, you've been reading all the emails so I would guess that you were going to offer him one or more of the following:-
These are good services to offer but how do they answer the Holy Grail requirement?
1. A web site gives him more visibility and credibility
2. S.E.O. gets him more visitors to his web site
3. Lead capture allows him to know who his visitors are
4. Email marketing allows him to address his visitors
Where are the new customers? Visitors might be converted to customers with some effort but none of these four factors will produce a new customer as the prime result of being.
Where is less expense? Certainly, you are not going to provide a web site, S.E.O. services, lead capture and an email marketing system for nothing so, not only have you not shown him a new customer, you are increasing his expense. Do you suppose you will sell him?
If you started to read a report that started like mine, would you be
I am trying to find a way to market this report with the help of another warrior but is the current mentality going to devalue it before anybody else reads it?
So, you want to start selling of line, do you?
I suppose I can guess what has prompted this decision. You've been reading all those emails about the off line cash cow, haven't you?
You really believe that there are businessmen out there literally salivating in their eagerness for you to walk into their domain and take $1,500 off them, don't you?
You really believe that a businessman without a web site is going to weep in gratitude that you have finally condescended to enter his emporium and explain how you are finally going to grant him his heart's desire, a web site of his very own!
I hate to disappoint you, but it isn't like that.
Businessmen are not as stupid and ignorant as many of the cash cow promoters would have you believe. If they have survived in business for more than a year, they will almost certainly know more about business, their own business in particular, than you will ever learn as an internet marketer.
It could come as a great shock to you but maybe the man you are talking to about web sites hasn't got one because he simply doesn't want one! Maybe he has looked at the costs and benefits and decided that benefits do not begin to outweigh the costs. Maybe he can't actually see that there are any benefits!
I'm talking out my hat, of course.
You've read all those inspirational posts in the various forums you read and subscribe to. You know the sort of thing - 'This offline cash cow is HOT!' followed by the story of how the author walked into a business and walked out half an hour later with $1,500. How many times have you seen that sort of story?
How many times did you see that same story enhanced when the author repeated his success? Not many? Really? I wonder why?
But you still believe those posts, don't you?
Not only do you believe them, but you naïvely believe that the story is simply the opening shot in the author's offline battle to earn a huge income.
I'm sorry, but in the vast majority of cases I am prepared to accept that this one off success was the first and final result. This one off success is what anybody would have expected if they had simply walked into every business they could find in a week and simply said, "I build web sites - do you want one?" It's an aspect of the law of averages.
You have much to learn, young Barachim
Before you can sell to an offline business you must know what makes such a business tick. You need to understand what drives the owner to get out of bed each day and continue to pump his life's blood into it.
Even more, you need to know what affects the flow of traffic through the front door to the cash desk. You need to know this because this is the one aspect of his business that every businessman genuinely desires above all else.
Once you know what affects the flow of traffic, you need to be able to present a viable, affordable and demonstrable innovation that will impact favourably on the traffic flow.
Now, traffic flow is good but it needs to be accompanied by a cut in expenses if it is to be as effective as possible in securing you a client.
What does that mean?
What that means is that you have just discovered the two part Holy Grail of small businesses.
More customers and less expense!
What were you going to offer him?
Well, as I said, you've been reading all the emails so I would guess that you were going to offer him one or more of the following:-
- A web site
- S.E.O. services
- Lead capture
- Email marketing.
These are good services to offer but how do they answer the Holy Grail requirement?
1. A web site gives him more visibility and credibility
2. S.E.O. gets him more visitors to his web site
3. Lead capture allows him to know who his visitors are
4. Email marketing allows him to address his visitors
Where are the new customers? Visitors might be converted to customers with some effort but none of these four factors will produce a new customer as the prime result of being.
Where is less expense? Certainly, you are not going to provide a web site, S.E.O. services, lead capture and an email marketing system for nothing so, not only have you not shown him a new customer, you are increasing his expense. Do you suppose you will sell him?
If you started to read a report that started like mine, would you be
- Intrigued enough to read more
- Offended by the language and inferences
- Inclined to simply ignore it
- Read it but ignore it
- Assume that I did not know what I was talking about
P.S.
Join The Future: Telekinetic Marketing
You might not like what I say - but I believe it.
Build it, make money, then build some more
Some old school smarts would help - and here's to Rob Toth for his help. Bloody good stuff, even the freebies!