Why Johnny Cant Sell

8/12/2019 Why Johnny Cant Sell

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(ntro)u*tionThis report is made up of 4 articles that appeared in TalkBiz e!s, a free email ne!sletter for

online business that "#$e published since December of %&&'. "#$e edited this to try and take outany references that !ould only make sense to regular subscribers, but " may ha$e missedsome. "f so, please forgi$e the (continuity gaps.)

*ther than remo$ing those references, $ery little has been changed from the original articles.

+ome of you !ill probably be thinking that a report !ith information from a year ago is (out ofdate.) Fear not. This is about selling, not specific technologies. The art of selling is based onhuman moti$ations. hile the techni-ues may change, those moti$ations don#t.

"f you like !hat you read here, you may !ant tosubscribe to the ne!sletterthis information is

from. The link for that is at the end of the report. s is my email address, in case you ha$e anycomments.

/n0oy1

Paul 2yerspaul3talkbiz.comPublisher, TalkBiz e!s
http://www.talkbiz.com/http://www.talkbiz.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.talkbiz.com/


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%is*lai+erThis report is pro$ided free of charge. hile the author has made e$ery effort to pro$ideauthoritati$e information on the sub0ect, !e make no guarantees of specific results. se of this

information is at your o!n risk.

There is no intent here to offer ad$ice regarding legal, accounting or other professionalser$ices !hich may be regulated. "f you need professional ad$ice for a specific situation, !erecommend that you consult a licensed indi$idual !ho is kno!ledgeable in the appropriatefield.

This report is pro$ided for educational purposes only.


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The Set#,p*ne of the topics " keep coming back to in TalkBiz e!s is the art of selling. The reason for

that is simple5

Most people can't do it.

They don#t kno! ho!, or they#re afraid, or they think it#s e$il, or they don#t think theirproducts are !orth the money, or or or...

+imple fact5 "f you don#t sell something, you#re going to be broke and miserable and ha$eskinny kids.

" can#t (fi6) !hate$er fears you may ha$e about selling. nd if you think it#s e$il, you#$e got a

!hole other set of problems. (Tell your grocer how evil he is next time you hit the checkoutcounter.) " can help !ith some of the other challenges people face in sales, though.

nderstand5 This isn#t a full7blo!n sales training course. That#s much more than you canco$er in a short report like this. 8o!e$er, !hat you#ll find here !ill go a long !ay to helpingyou to sell a lot more. nd it !ill sho! you one of the things that so many people talk about,but ne$er actually e6plain5 8o! to create an effecti$e sales process for your online business.

9et#s get started.


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- hy .ou're Not Selling-7 alternati$ely titled 7

-(/ .ou're %oing 0kay& .ou're Not Selling ell-"#m going to tell you a little secret5 /$en if you ha$e a product out there online, there#s betterthan a &:; chance you ha$e no clue !hat you#re doing at selling.

+eriously. mong the people "#$e met or spoken to, and the sales pages "#$e seen online, !ello$er &:; demonstrate so little understanding of sales that it#s almost embarrassing.

Yes, some of them are making money. fe! are making really good money, because theyhired someone !ho understands sales to handle their processes. But most are 0ust ... !ell ...

bad.

>!!!.dime7days.com>!pseo>

That#s the link to the ordPress +/* $ideos that " posted here a !eek or so ago. " bought therights to that product and did $ery little to change the copy. Fi6ed some spelling errors,

basically. (Yes, I've been planning this issue for a while.)

?i$en the targeted nature of the thing and the -uality of the content, that product should ha$econ$erted at some!here bet!een @ and %A;. 2aybe higher, if it came !ith a !ritteninstruction manual, rather than 0ust $ideos.

"t rolled in at a !hopping %.';.

That e6ample sho!s a couple of things you need to understand. The first being that, if aproduct is focused enough and meets the desires of a market, there !ill be some people !ho#llbuy no matter ho! bad the sales copy.

The product is the thing.

The second thing is that feature7based copy sucks.

Forgi$e the yelling, but ...
http://www.dime-days.com/wpseo/http://www.dime-days.com/wpseo/


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FEATURES DON'T SELL!

"#ll try not to shout any more in this issue, but " make no promises.

....Benefits sell.

There ha$e been so many articles and arguments about !hat is a feature and !hat is a benefitthat it might seem silly to try and distill it do!n to a scant % !ords, but here you go. replayof C2yers# 2arketing 2a6im,C first stated in TalkBiz e!s 4 years ago5

Benefits exist in the head and the heat. Ee"thin# else is a feat$e.

Benefits are 7 let me emphasize this 7ALLemotionally based.

o e6ceptions.

"gnore that fact at your financial peril.....

Before !e go on, let#s look at some other reasons that so many people suck at selling.

*ne $ery common reason is that the person belie$es there#s something !rong !ith selling.They think it#s a manipulati$e process, designed to take ad$antage of people by tugging attheir emotions. That particular belief !as first introduced to the !orld $ia the southern e6it ofa northbound bull.

"t keeps itself ali$e by feeding on the feeling of righteousness it creates in the belie$er. C"t#s0ust not fair to reach out and take control of someone#s mind like that1C

+peaking for copy!riters e$ery!here...

%&hen the hell did e ac($ie that )ind of poe* and h" didn't an"one tell $s+!%

To be sure, there are some $ery po!erful things a really !ell trained copy!riter can do !ith!ords. +ome of them can be used in !ays they shouldn#t. But, in the end, !e don#t make the

decisions.

The customer does.

The problem here is that the people employing this perspecti$e ha$e a badly fla!edassumption underlying their conclusions5 The idea that a buying decision is a binary choice.From a sloppy seller#s perspecti$e, that#s true. But not from the buyer#s. They ha$e tons ofchoices about ho! they use their resources. s a salesman, you aren#t 0ust competing for theYes>o decision, or e$en against other products in the same category.


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,o$'e co-petin# ith ee" possile option the pospect has.

That#s !hy e$en the $ery best sales process fails miserably !hen faced !ith random traffic.The product being offered doesn#t e$en start near the top of the prospect#s priority list. ll the9P tricks and C2ass ontrolC techni-ues and $erbal slickery are close to useless !hendealing !ith someone !ho 0ust doesn#t care about !hat you#$e got.

Barring impulse purchases, you#re really competing for a narro!er range of choices, !hichalready includes gaining the benefits you#re offering.

The higher those benefits are on the prospect#s list, and the closer your product is to matchingthe !ay they#re comfortable gaining those benefits, the better the chance you ha$e of makingthe sale. That#s !hy an effecti$e sales process Eremember that phrase al!ays includes ameans of targeting your market to people !ho already !ant the benefits you offer.

"f you can sharpen their a!areness of the desire for those benefits, and follo! it up !ith alegitimate !ay to achie$e them, ho! is that a Bad Thing=

+elling isn#t e$il. "t#s ho! people become a!are of a lot of things that get them a lot of !hatthey !ant.

Pestering people about things !hen you ha$e no idea !hether they !ant them or not= " don#tkno! that "#d say it#s e$il, but it#s certainly rude. Gery inefficient, too.

Funny ho! gi$ing people !hat they !ant is both more polite and more profitable, innit=

....

" ran into a real7!orld e6ample of the abo$e principle recently.

" signed up for a ne!sletter Enot marketing based, and the page that came up after thesubscription asked me !hat part of the topic !as most interesting to me. "t had three options." picked one and !as presented !ith a !ell7!ritten endorsement for a rele$ant product, and alink to check it out for myself.

" got the lady#s phone number and called her to see ho! that !as !orking. Turns out that she#smaking H.A times as much on commissions since she s!itched from a Cone ad fits allCapproach to the one " sa!. 2ore than double the profits, from the same number of $isitors. llshe did to get that !as ask a simple -uestion.

$ery basic form of sales process, but an effecti$e one.

Find the !ant, thenfill it.

hich brings up one of the really big reasons so many people can#t sell their products5 They#reoffering something no7one !ants badly enough to pass something else up to get it.

"f that#s you, change products


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8ere#s another one5 onfusion about !hat people really !ant from your product.

Fact5 Gery fe! people buy lottery tickets e6pecting to !in. They buy lottery tickets because, tothem, the chanceof !inning symbolizes hope.

! "ollar an" a "ream. *ne of the great marketing slogans of our time. The guy !ho !rotethat really understood his prospects. Pure genius.

hat does your product really symbolize to your prospects=

/mphasizing the !rong benefit can be as 0arring as hitting a sour note. 8it the right notes, inthe right key, and the prospect e6periences a symphony of delightful e6pectation.

Tune your message, or people !ill tune you out.

....

Yet another ma0or cause of sales suckage5 opycatting.

This happens !hen people think selling is a function of Ctechni-ues.C They see someone do athing, assume Eoften !rongly that it !orks, and then try to do the same thing. orse, they tryto do it better, !hich usually 0ust means C!ith a bigger hammer.C

"f you don#t understand the conte6t of the usage, you#re almost guaranteed to get a clumsyimitation at best. You#re as likely to reduce your response as not.

sing inappropriate techni-ues is one of the biggest reasons for people $ie!ing your messagesas manipulati$e. You#re trying to e$oke a feeling that doesn#t e6ist, or that doesn#t fit theprospect#s sense of the message#s conte6t.

hiff.

C#teeeee7R/0E!C

"nterestingly, the people !ho do this are also the ones !ho, after three !eeks of readingforums, are sure they kno! !hat marketing is all about. They blithely analyze Ctechni-ue,Cusually assuming the !orst, and preach their certainties to anyone !ho#ll listen. They#redetermined to pro$e to the !orld 0ust ho! smart they aren#t. nd they succeed at that.

But they don#t sell.

....

There are others, but these are the CBiggies.C

Despite them, a lot of the people in$ol$ed end up making enough money to keep going. fterall, e$en the !orst salesletter !ill find a fe! acorns.

"f you really !ant great con$ersion rates, you need to understand selling.


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The first thing to remember5 /t's ao$t people in a pocess.

?ood salespeople understand the process. ?reat salespeople understand ho! real peoplee6perience that process. That#s the conte6t " referred to earlier.

nd this is !here Ieff alker#s product launch process fits in. E"t#s o$er, so rela6. There#s nopitch coming for it. " practically demanded that my subscribers !atch !hat he !as doing, andpay attention to their o!n reactions to his approach. "n the salesletter for the product, Ieffdescribed !hat most people do as Chope marketing.C They dri$e traffic to a direct responseletter and hope their $isitors buy.

The reason Ieff#s formula creates one market7busting day after another is simple5 "t creates aprocess that#s focused on people !ith an e6isting interest, and dri$en by a deep understandingof ho! people make buying decisions.

"t combines techni-ue and psychology in !ays that are built to do one thing before all others5

Find the !ant, and T8/ fill it.

"n the process Ethere#s that !ord again, it sharpens the person#s desire for the promisedbenefits, and deli$ers a legitimate !ay for the prospect to gain those benefits. "t does thisusing a number of different systems that are designed to fit !ith multiple learning styles.

"t is the best sales process in use online to date.

(#eeme" like a goo" i"ea at the time.)

hy did " tell my readers to be a!are of their o!n reactions=

+imple. "n many !ays, you are no different than your prospects. e all ha$e the same needs,!ants and desires. e 0ust ha$e different !ays of satisfying them. Paying attention to youro!n reactions and responses to a gi$en approach !ill make you more alert to the emotionalimpact of the !ords you use !ith others. "t !ill e$ol$e an a!areness of ho! those choices !illbe percei$ed and recei$ed.

"t !ill help you to de$elop a stronger sense of empathy.

There is no faster or surer !ay to de$elop the emotional understanding that makes a goodsalesperson than through empathy. "t makes learning the psychology and techni-ues of salesmuch easier. nd it tends to short7circuit any leanings to!ard shady beha$ior.

nless, of course, you#re one of the disturbing percentage of people !ho fall into the categoryof sociopath. For those folks, " recommend taking up high attrition rate acti$ities.

2aybe follo!ing polar bears !ith a pooper7scooper.


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"#ll get more into this ne6t issue. "n the mean time, if you !ant to learn some specific steps tokick your online sales up, check out Paul 8anco6# latest book, CThe %:; on$ersion >!!!.talkbiz.com>r>%:percent.php

"n it, Paul tells you ho! to de$elop and refine your o!n sales process, !ith a lot of tips andshortcuts that he#s learned o$er his decade7plus e6perience in selling online.

+erious sales mo0o.

For those that ha$e been around a fe! months, you#ll remember Paul as the author of C+mallhanges, Big Profits.C That#s the one " belie$e should be re-uired reading for anyone !ho!ants to sell anything online. Ehttp5>>!!!.talkbizh-.com>bigprofits

This one !ill help you sell 2*!!!.talkbiz.com>r>%:percent.php

ntil ne6t issue. +ame Bat7time, +ame Bat7channel...

/n0oy1
http://www.talkbiz.com/r/10percent.phphttp://www.talkbizhq.com/bigprofitshttp://www.talkbiz.com/r/10percent.phphttp://www.talkbiz.com/r/10percent.phphttp://www.talkbizhq.com/bigprofitshttp://www.talkbiz.com/r/10percent.php


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-(nteresting Results- lot of you picked up a copy of CThe %:; on$ersion clicked the payment link.

*f those, 4:; did not complete the order.

The first stat seems fine, until you look at the ne6t one.


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hat happened here is that a lot of people hit the letter and scrolled immediately to the orderpage link to find out the price. +ome of those people !ent back and read the letter once theykne! it !asn#t out of their price range. *thers sa! the (budget7busting) sticker price andbailed. ($kay. I'm half ki""ing on that last one. %ut only half.)

"t ne$er fails to amaze me ho! many people !ouldn#t spend KA: once to make an e6tra KA:: amonth. *r e$en KA:::. *n the flip side, that#s !hat creates the edge for the people !ho !ill.+o, no complaints from my side of things.

....

Based on the number !ho returned to read the description, and the number !ho left the site,it seems to be about an e$en split. That means that :; of the people !ho hit the sales pagedidn#t think the potential for significant impro$ements in their con$ersion rates !as !orthK:. *r they didn#t think anything this ine6pensi$e could deli$er. *r they didn#t ha$e K: tospend. *r maybe they 0ust hate PayPal.

The last t!o are easily ignored. They#re going to be a tiny minority of the people in this

market, and there#s not much you can do if they 0ust don#t ha$e the money.

The first one is ridiculous. o7one really belie$es that it#s not !orth K: L or e$en K:: 7 toimpro$e their con$ersion rates the !ay this book suggests is possible. hich means it#s morelikely that they don#t belie$e a product at this price can deli$er.

*r perhaps they didn#t -uite grasp that getting such increases are !hat the book e6plains. h.o! thatis belie$able.

That can be helped by testing different headlines, to ensure that the ma6imum number ofpeople get a clear understanding of the basic proposition of the offer before they scroll to find

the price. The Cdeli$er at this priceC -uestion can be settled by testing an increase in the price.

Testing. l!ays testing.

Mno! your numbers. The numbers tell you !hat the real people reading your copy are doing.nd that gi$es you hints at !hat they#re thinking, !hich tells you !here to make ad0ustments.

This stuff is !ay easier than you#d think, listening to the testing gurus rattle on about samplesize and confidence inter$als. Those things are important, but not important enough to let itscare you off of testing altogether. 8ere#s testing in a nutshell5

ount. hange or add or remo$e something. ount again. 2ore or less= 2ore= Meep it. 9ess= ?o back to the original and try something else.

/asy, yes=


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For the 4:; of people !ho clicked the payment link and didn#t complete the order, there aret!o main possibilities5

They didn#t ha$e a PayPal account and thought they couldn#t pay !ithout it, or they 0ust!eren#t sure they !ere doing the right thing. 2aybe they !eren#t comfortable !ith thesecurity, or they !eren#t con$inced it !as !orth the money.

fair chunk of those people !ill ha$e been among the ones !ho scrolled immediately to findthe price and almost ordered. The changes suggested earlier !ill help !ith their concerns.

+ome of it !ill be because they skimmed, rather than reading the letter thoroughly. The fi6 forthat is more engaging copy. EThat#s a huge topic for another time. For some, it !ill be specificconcerns or -uestions that !eren#t addressed properly. EThat#s co$ered pretty thoroughly inthe book. For some, it might be your personal credibility. nless you#re the author of theproduct, you handle that mostly through accessibility 7 easy contact information 7 and astrong guarantee.

You test one thing at a time, and keep at it until you get a mi6 that produces better results.

gain, nothing complicated or difficult here.

*ne step at a time.....

For the folks !ho might not be a!are that they can order !ithout ha$ing a PayPal account,your 0ob is really easy. You put a link near the order button, along !ith some te6t that sayssomething like5

+ecure Payments handled through PayPal.

NDon#t ha$e a PayPal account= lick here.O

"f they click on the CDon#t ha$e a PayPal account=C link, they go to a page that e6plains thatthey can order using a credit card, 0ust like e$ery!here else, by looking for the follo!ing te6t,and clicking on the !ord ContinueC5

Don#t ha$e a PayPal account= se your credit card or bank account E!here a$ailable. ontinue

9ittle things like that can make a big difference. "n one campaign that " ran, adding a page like

" 0ust described tripled my con$ersion rate. "t has ne$er reduced it. *b$iously " can#tguarantee !hat !ill happen !ith your tests, but the potential in it is certainly !orth the tinyeffort, yah=

....

There are other parts of the process that can be measured. 8o! many of the emails " sent gotdeli$ered= hat percentage of those people clicked through to the page= 8o! manysuccessfully do!nloaded the product= "f there had been a back end offer, ho! many looked atit= 8o! many ordered= /tc.


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Iust count.

*ne thing that a lot of people assume !ill hurt your con$ersion rate is that e6tra page bet!eenthe sales letter and the payment step. e#re constantly being told that things ha$e to be assimple as possible, !ith as fe! steps as possible. 9istening to that ad$ice could be a $erye6pensi$e mistake.

"n this market, it#s G/


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The %eath o/ a Salespit*hYes, !e#re still talking about selling.

9ast time, !e talked about testing. That issue seems to ha$e helped -uite a fe! people get abetter grasp on ho! the process !orks. *b$iously it !as a basic lesson, but it ga$e theimportant points. The biggest take7a!ay from that issue is that you can benefit a lot from e$enbasic testing. You don#t need to get hea$ily into statistical theory to make yourself a lot moremoney !ith it.

Before that, !e got into a fe! of the most important reasons some people Emost, actuallydon#t sell as much of their product as they should.

o! !e get into the fun stuff. This is !here " aggra$ate a lot of sales coaches and copy!riters.

t least for the first part of the issue. " suspect most of them !ill agree !ith me by the time!e#re done.

"f not, !ell... That#s a problem, but it#s not 2Y problem.

....

9ike the past fe! issues, this ties directly into !hat Paul 8anco6 talks about in his book, CThe%:; on$ersion


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8ere#s another e6ample. *ne that !ill be logically less clear, but should be intuiti$ely ob$iousto anyone but the person sending the !rong letter.

person gets t!o offers in their postal mailbo6. hat most people call C0unk mail.C *ne is apre7appro$ed credit card offer and the other a flyer promoting a chain of campgrounds.hich are they most likely to be annoyed by= hich !ill they probably open !ith interest=

"n most cases, the pre7appro$ed credit card offer !ill be more annoying, because it usuallyappears !ithout you ha$ing any interest in it or ha$ing done anything to prompt it. nd, if youkno! ho! these things !ork, it is 0ust another reminder of ho! easy it is for people to getinformation on your pri$ate business these days.

*n the flip side, if you got a flyer promoting camp sites, there#s a $ery high probability thatyou are an acti$e camper. That#s too narro! an interest to be sending printed mail !ithstamps on it to e$ery person in a city.

nless you do your CcampingC in a shack in 2ontana, it#s probably not something you mindstrangers kno!ing. There#s little chance that flyer !ill annoy you, and a $ery high degree of

likelihood that you#ll open it.

The first letter is classic "D in action. *r should that be, Cinaction=C

"D isn#t 0ust rude and annoying. "t#s e6pensi$e.

"t re-uires that you target large chunks of people !ith your ad, in the belief that enough ofthem !ill be tempted by your dazzling creati$e Ethat#s marketing7speak for Cad contentC thatyou#ll be able to mo$e them along the process.

This used to re-uire huge ad budgets. o! all it re-uires is cable TG.

t this point, there#s so much broadcast and cable in$entory that air time is a$ailable for afraction of !hat it once cost. The ma0or net!orks during popular sho!s are still relati$elye6pensi$e, but that doesn#t need to stop you. fter all, cable stations re7run 9a! and *rderclose to H4 hours a day. This lo!ers the bar for ad standards and targeting, !hich meanspeople are seeing more and more bad ads for products in !hich they#re less and lessinterested.

Then there#s the "nternet. gain, more places to run ads, so more and more obscure productsare featured. nd !eb7based ad$ertising is impacting the price of ads on TG. Blogs arediluting the market for air time on talk radio. /mail and !eb7based ads are competing !ith

ne!spapers for customers.

e ha$e more mediums for ad$ertising, and the prices to reach the customers in thosemediums is dropping. The bar is lo!ered further. The gro!th of affiliate and P programs iscreating e$en more pressure. 2ore places !ith more ads of less interest.


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Fortunately for us as consumers, any!ay. s businesses, the 0ury#s still out on the !holeC?ood thing, bad thingC -uestion. "f your marketing department still belie$es in "D, the$erdict is in.

Death by lethal inattention.1.

The problem5 DD. ttention deficit disorder.

ot only are !e becoming immune to most interrupti$e ad$ertising, !e#$e got more demandsfor our attention from non7 commercial sources than e$er before. e carry de$ices that makeus a$ailable to anyone and e$eryone, any time and e$ery!here.

hen " asked my subscribers !hether they preferred email or the !eb for this ne!sletter, "got some interesting Ealthough not surprising ans!ers. The number of people !ho said theypreferred it on the !eb so they didn#t get distracted by incoming emails !as about the same asthe number of people !ho preferred email because they get too easily distracted on the !eb.

huge chunk of the !orld#s population has lost a huge chunk of their ability to resistdistraction. d$ertising is, for the most part, the last thing that !ill tap into our alreadystrained pool of mental resources.

There are, as al!ays, e6ceptions. *ne of the e6ceptions is the impulse purchase.

You kno! !hat " mean. You#re standing in line at the grocer#s and you see something cool inone of the displays. +o, you buy it. hy= "t looks cool, or you got a taste for candy, or...!hate$er. The key here is that the price is lo! enough that you don#t ha$e to 0ustify thee6pense in your mind.

You act on a sudden... "mpulse.

There#s a huge lesson there for salespeople. The lesson is e6plained by !hat " suggest as a ne!formula for your sales process.

9et#s use the same acronym for the solution as for the problem5 DD.

Attention 23 Distinction 23 Decision.

The key here is to focus on getting the attention of people who alrea"y want the benefitsyou're offering, an" are looking in the same general place as your pro"uct to achieve those

benefits.

This is called Ctargeted ad$ertising.C Doing it in a !ay that beats the other kind of DD andad$ertising immunity is the trick. "t#s a hell of a trick, too. Do it !rong and you#ll feel 0ust likethe magician !ho dropped the card he !as trying to palm. Do it right, and the results areindistinguishable from magic.

Better if you learn to do it right.


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The first thing you need to recognize is that there are ads to !hich none of us is immune.Those are ads for things !e already !ant, and !hich someho! reinforce our $isions ofoursel$es. e#ll see those clearly, if the clutter isn#t too great.

onsider the a$id camper mentioned earlier. They probably $isit camping !eb sites, readoutdoor li$ing magazines, and !atch !ildlife programs on TG. Their definitions of themsel$esin$ol$e acti$ities related to the outdoors. "f the ads are properly targeted, they#ll !atch them!ith great interest, e$en though they#ll probably say they hate commercials or ne$er readad$ertising.

hy= ren#t they lying if they say that=

o. o. o.

They really aren#t !atching TG commercials or reading ad$ertisements.

They#re shopping.

Think about that. "f you#re shopping for something, don#t you tend to try and talk yourself intobuying it= /$en if it#s !indo! shopping, you#ll try. ntil some pushy salesperson comes alongand tries to slick7talk you into something more e6pensi$e. You already ha$e an acti$e interest.They don#t need to do anything but stay out of the !ay until you ha$e -uestions.

"f they#re really good, they can use that to get you looking at something that !ill do more of!hat you !ant, or do it more like you !ant it done. But they#ll defer to you for the decision.

That#s a proper upsell.

"f you buy it, you get more of !hat you !ant, and you#re happy. "f you don#t buy it, you#re more

comfortable !ith the $alue you#re getting for !hat you#re spending. You feel like you#$eshopped intelligently, and you#re still happy. ll they ha$e to do is present the offer in a !aythat lea$es the decision entirely in your hands.

Besides... "f they e$er thought it !as any!here else, they#re deluded. nd, to paraphrase IudgeQiglar, (Deluded salespeople ha$e skinny kids.)

2ind you, there#s nothing ne! in the idea of looking for people !ho are already interested in!hat you#re selling. The slight change is focusing on finding people !ho !ant the benefits youoffer and !ant them in a !ay that#s at least similar to the !ay yours deli$ers them.

The B"? change is !hat happens !hen you take this formula as a !hole and apply it to eachstep of the process you de$elop. "t re-uires a change in focus that can really crank up yourresponse and con$ersion rates.

You see, you ha$e to keep in mind !hile planning your ad$ertising that you#re going to thene6t step5

Distinction.


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This step has only one purpose5 To demonstrate to your already interested prospect !hatmakes your product different from, and superior to, other options they might choose to attainthe benefits they#re seeking. You need to distinguish your product from the competition. Youneed to illustrate distinct ad$antages they#ll gain from your product that they can#t get, or can#tget as !ell, from other roads to the same goal.

This ser$es not only to focus an e6isting interest on your product, but to, as 8anco6 describesit in this book, Cclose the e6its.C By ans!ering concerns as a by7product of comparison, youmake the ad$antages the center of attention, and eliminate potential ob0ections !ithout theire$er coming to the fore. This is an e6cellent !ay to create compelling copy !ithout usingpushy or manipulati$e tactics or highlighting ob0ections yourself.

The specifics of making the necessary distinctions !ill be based on the product andcompetition, so !e !on#t get into those much. They#ll be ob$ious to any copy!riter ormarketer !hile !orking on the process.

ell, they should be.

"f they#re not, you ha$en#t done your home!ork.

1.

The second #D# stands for Decision.

This isn#t al!ays as simple or direct as Casking for the order.C The decision process is a matterof closing the gap bet!een interest and commitment. That#s a function of a number of things."f you#$e distinguished your product properly for a prospect !ho#s already interested, you#re agood chunk of the !ay there.

t the same time, you need to sharpen the prospect#s desire for the product, by remindingthem of the pain it !ill remo$e, the pleasure it !ill bring, or both.

ote that it#s important that these factors be real. You can sell using fear of possible problemsbut, unless there#s a real likelihood of those problems occurring, you#re setting yourself andyour customers up for a battle. nd if they realize that you#re playing on pure fear, they#regoing to gi$e you !hat you deser$e.

scornful Co1C

ssuming you#$e created a strong position for your product and sharpened the desire for it,

the ne6t step is to make sure they kno! that buying the product !ill bring about a desirableresult.

You need to make the price acceptable.

You need to remo$e the risk, !hile simultaneously emphasizing the benefits. That contrast, ifit#s clearly understood and felt by the prospect, is the big key. You can do this all in a shortspan, or stretch it out o$er a number of phases, all !ith an opportunity to order at the end ofeach phase.


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*ne important thing to test here is !hich of the main benefits Eor combinations of benefits toemphasize for ma6imum con$ersions. nother is "F testimonials help at this stage, and if so,!hich ones help the most. You#ll see, after enough tests, that some testimonials can actuallybring up ob0ections that can hurt your results.

nderstand5 This doesn#t ha$e to happen at one particular point in the sales process. You canpresent a Cclose,C and follo! up later !ith another segment of content that offers a differentcall to action. "f you#$e !atched any of the !ell7planned launches, you kno! that nearly e$erystep is a close, !ith the only thing held back being the actual order mechanism.

The effecti$eness of this is clear !hen you hear about A7page sales letters generatinghundreds of thousands of dollars in orders in less time than anyone but a speed7reader couldget through that much copy.

ithholding the order mechanism is fine for a big launch, but it doesn#t ha$e to be part ofyour regular process. You can gi$e them as many opportunities to order as you do reasons tobuy.

That#s especially important in an e6tended online process, !hich can often be automated in!ays that the prospect !ill find useful. Iust keep offering useful benefits and let them leadthemsel$es to the order. Pushing isn#t any!here near as effecti$e as it once !as, and it !asn#te$er really that effecti$e.

Paraphrasing yet another old salesman#s line5

lose easy, close often.....

DD.

"t#s a mnemonic for a different !ay of thinking about your sales process. nd a reminder of0ust ho! dangerous it is to try and manufacture interest in an age !hen people#s attention ist!isted and yanked in as many directions by as many distractions as e6ist today.

"f you learn to think along these lines, and apply this formula in your marketing efforts, you#ll-uickly get the CfeelC for !hy and ho! this is so dramatically different than good old "D.

"t looks $ery similar. The ingredients are -uite alike.

The results=

ot e$en close to the same.

9ook at your current marketing from this ne! perspecti$e. +ee if you don#t notice stumblingblocks that e6ist in your current process, and !ays you can impro$e it to increase your results.

" think you#ll be -uite pleasantly surprised.


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The 1le+ents o/ an 1//e*ti2e Sales Pro*ess"n the last issue, " outlined the DD formula as a set of organizing principles for a sales

process. Please understand, that#s not a process by itself. "t#s shorthand for the things youneed to do.

Before !e go any further, let#s define the term5

Sales pocess4 The se($ence of planned steps leadin# fo- "o$ pospect's expos$e to "o$ fist -essa#e to thei decision e#adin# "o$ desied action.

Did " 0ust make things more confusing=

Fear not. e can fi6 that. ....

First, remember that this is a se-uence. You need to do certain things in a specific order.That#s !here the DD formula comes in. "#ll e6pand on that a bit later, but keep that in mind.

You need to plan the sales process so that your se-uence pulls the prospect from one step tothe ne6t. This takes a certain understanding of !hat the prospect is thinking, and !hat theirreal concerns and desires are. "f you address those properly, you significantly impro$e yourchances of getting the desired result.

The desired action can be anything. "t can be as simple as reading your ne6t message orsubscribing to your list, all the !ay to spending money on your offering or buying your backend product. nd yes, there can be multiple processes in each sales process.

For e6ample, you may ha$e a process for getting people to sign up for a list or re-uestinformation on your product. That !ill re-uire a specific ordered se-uence for best results.

You may ha$e a process for getting folks !ho don#t subscribe to take a look at your salesmaterials.

You may ha$e a separate process for getting people !ho sign up for a list to place an order.

You may ha$e a process that#s $ery short, in the sense that your prospects see a leadgeneration piece and go to a sales letter, !here they either buy or lea$e.

You may take the abo$e system and add an opportunity in the sales copy for them to sign up,thus branching it, to allo! for people !ho#$e reached $arious stages of their buying process totake the steps they#re most comfortable !ith at the moment.

/$ery desired action is preceded by a process. +ome are $ery simple, others may be moreintricate. You need to keep the basic formula in mind as you de$elop each one.


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"f you do that, the !hole thing gets a lot easier than " 0ust made it sound.


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e6periences. You#re gi$ing them as much information as they !ant at the time, !ithout anypressure or uncomfortable o$erload.

These steps help to focus their interest, and to make it easier for you to distinguish yourproduct from your competition !ithout acti$ating their sales resistance by being pushy. Thatlea$es them the feeling Eand the reality of being shopping, rather than being sold.

" kno!. "t sounds like "#m a$oiding selling. "f you think that, you missed the last issue. ?o backand re7read it. You#re selling all the time. This choice of steps lets them fit their buying processinto your selling process.

Despite !hat you may ha$e heard, it#s entirely possible to be strongly proacti$e !ithout beingEor looking pushy.

....

The changes " made to the process are based on something $ery simple.

"t#s the mindset that focuses you on the user e6perience, and keeping it !ithin their current

interests, !hile al!ays mo$ing for!ard. "f they sign up, they#re mo$ing for!ard in at least one!ay. "f they don#t, but they keep reading, they#re mo$ing for!ard in another !ay. /ither !ay,they#re closer to taking the desired action.

Planned steps.

The only !ay it fails is if they bail. ?onna happen for some percentage of the people !ho lookat your message. sually a big percentage. Your goal is to make that number smaller.

+tep. +tep. +tep.....

There#s a psychology to each step they take. " call it C$o!el mo$ement.C

(&ey, I'm a guy. e make okes like that.)


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ttention has already been mostly co$ered. The thing you need to keep in mind for purposesof this part is that attention, like any other license, e6pires if not regularly rene!ed. /ach stepin the process has to maintain or e6pand the prospect#s le$el of interest. From there, you needto engage them, getting them to picture the possibilities of your product for impro$ing theirsituation.

To the degree that you can e$oke emotions that encourage them to keep reading, you#$eengaged them. This is largely a function of getting them to imagine already ha$ing thebenefits.

"n$ol$ement happens !hen they go from being engaged to taking the ne6t step. This can be assmall as continuing to read your sales copy to something bigger, like going from an email to a$ideo, or filling out a sur$ey or asking for more details. *r placing an order.

*!nership is the feeling that the ne6t step is the natural thing to do, and that they !ant to doit. "t in$ol$es a positi$e e6pectation regarding that step.

ote that it is possible to push someone from in$ol$ement to taking the ne6t step !ithout a

feeling of o!nership, but that usually creates some resistance in the prospect#s mind. "t can bedone in small !ays, if the person has de$eloped a sense of trust in you, but anything morethan that !ill usually result in fe!er people taking your desired action.

This is the i##est so$ce of sales esistance* othe than lac) of inteest o anactie feelin# of dist$st o disli)e fo the selle.

"f too many people !ho !ere other!ise interested say you#re being pushy, this is !here youmade your mistake.


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But...&5,+

hy did they Eor should they take that last step=

This is !here features come in. They#re the logical support that people need to 0ustify takingthe desired course of action. But they#re not the only things that can be used to ans!er the-uestion Chy=C

belie$able. "n the e6ample of a gas relie$er, there aret!o possible e6planations>0ustifications that might be re-uired.

The first is to the user of the product. That depends on their perception of the relati$e strength

of the benefits $ersus the cost of the product. That#s all they need.

The second is to those associated !ith the user of the product. "n this case, the benefits aree6actly the same. Features are, to those people, irrele$ant.

?i$en the relati$ely lo! cost of such products, there#s usually not a lot of 0ustification in$ol$ed.

" think !e can all agree, that#s a good thing.....

8o! about something in$ol$ing a different kind of gas= +ay, a hybrid car for your family.

For you, the primary benefits might be the feeling of belonging that goes !ith en$ironmentalresponsibility, a sense of moral superiority, the desire to spend the sa$ings on other things, afear of !aste, or any number of other desirable emotional outcomes.

EThat is, by the !ay, another e6cellent definition of benefits5 Desirable emotional outcomes.

You might !ant>ha$e to use features to 0ustify the e6pense to someone else. Those featurescould be cost sa$ings, reduced emissions, additional safety mechanisms or something else.

The only !ay the Chy=C !orks for the person to !hom you#re e6plaining is if the featuresmentioned in$oke percei$ed emotional benefits for them !hich out!eigh the cost.

The Chy=C benefits may be the same for the other person, or they may be entirely different.hat matters isn#t !hich ones are higher in !hose priorities, but that each person !ho needsto okay the decision finds the balance in fa$or of making the purchase.


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8ere#s something you must understand !hen selling5

ost is almost never figure" in "ollars an" cents. It's figure" in terms of other choices that are exclu"e".

"t#s important to recognize this. Ce don#t ha$e and can#t get the moneyC isn#t a prioritydecision. "t#s a statement of possibility. "f it#s true, no amount of honest salesmanship is goingto o$ercome that.

Gery fe! people ob0ect to spending money simply because it#s spending money. They ob0ectbecause of the options spending that money precludes.

+pend !hate$er time you need to spend to understand this properly5

"t#s only really the money !hen there really isn#t the money.

That#s important for a number of reasons. The one !e#re most interested in for purposes ofthis discussion is the psychological difference bet!een a choice and a decision.

Most people -oe on choices and hesitate on decisions.

9ogically, they#re the same thing. /motionally, they#re $ery different. decision is oftenlooked at as an unpleasant thing !e ha$e to do. choice is usually seen as mo$ing to!ard thebetter of multiple options.

Put another !ay, a choice feels like e6ercising a preference. decision often feels likee6cluding one or more options.

This is one of the more subtle benefits of making a distinction bet!een your product and theother options. "t tends to create a mindset of choosing 7 of shopping 7 that doesn#t bring upfeelings of decision resistance.

The more you make it feel like shopping, the easier it !ill be for your prospect to make acomfortable decision to buy.

"t#s necessary to understand those psychological factors to construct an effecti$e process.o!, let#s get into the nuts and bolts of one process layout. s !e do, keep in mind that there-uired process for any gi$en product may be slightly different than !hat "#m outlining here.

This !ill ser$e as a good base from !hich to start testing, and !ill usually be -uite satisfactoryby itself.

ith that in mind, lets look at a basic outline of a process. The indi$idual steps !ill bedescribed only briefly. nything in7depth !ould make this too long for e$en t!o issues of thene!sletter.

lso, don#t make the common mistake of thinking this is a formula for a sales letter. hile agood sales letter !ill do most of these things, there#s more to good copy than 0ust these steps.


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The second is !hich aspect of the problem to be fi6ed or benefit to be gained is the mostpo!erful emotionally. "t doesn#t matter ho! good your gas relief product is at remo$ingdiscomfort if their big goal is a$oiding embarrassment.

You#ll !ant to hit all the notes for them, but focus your main emphasis on the things yourprospects consider most pressing. +peak to them about their concerns, in their language.hich brings up the ne6t phase.

....

+peak to your prospect5 se !hat you#$e learned up to this point to create your sales andinformation pieces. hether they#re $ideos, emails, inter$ie!s, blog posts, a simple directsales letter, a follo!7up se-uence... hate$er.

2ap it out. Mno! !here they#ll enter each stage of the process, and !hat le$el of interestthey#re likely to ha$e at each point. 8o! much effort and commitment did it take them to getto that stage= re they mildly interested, already engaged or acti$ely in$ol$ed=

Do they see themsel$es o!ning it= "f so, ho! easy is it for them to buy= "f not, but they#re

in$ol$ed, !hat branches can you add to let them mo$e further through the process to!ardthat stage= There#s an art to this last part. You !ant to ha$e enough options for them to keepmo$ing for!ard, but not so many that they get confused or use them as e6cuses to put off adecision.

s a rule of thumb, you !ant the ma0ority of branching options to occur early in the process.You definitely don#t !ant a lot of distractions in the close. For most processes, that#s about t!othirds of the !ay through the sales copy itself.

"f they signed up for a follo!7up se-uence before going to the letter, and get more emails afterputting off the decision, that#s fine. You don#t !ant to lea$e that as a door for them to e6it

through by putting an opt7in form late in your sales copy.

se the appropriate traffic techni-ues to get your message in front of your prospects. 2easurethe results, and look for !ays to impro$e, based on feedback. That happens !hen...

....

Your prospect ans!ers5 They do this by responding to your first contact pieces. hether it#sclicking through to an article or $ideo, commenting on your blog, ans!ering a sur$ey, sendingyou -uestions, reading your sales letter, or ordering your product. ny action they take is anans!er.

"f they take no action, the ans!er is Cno.C "n that case, look at !hether the problem is yoursales materials or your choice of media>markets. 2ake ad0ustments and keep measuring.

atch !here they 0oin the process, and !here they lea$e it.


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asking people !hat they !ant, and then continuing to ask -uestions until their prospects ha$ede$eloped the entire process for them.

"f you#re good at sur$eys and can generate a small, but consistent, flo! of traffic, you can usenothing but -uestions to get all the ans!ers you need fairly -uickly.

*ne note on that5 Don#t include options for them to choose that you#re unable or un!illing togi$e them if they ask.

n important thing to remember is that you don#t ha$e to stick !ith !hate$er process youde$elop at first. You can add things, remo$e them, make changes or toss out the !hole thingand start o$er. hate$er you do, get people reading. 2ake some sales !hile you collectfeedback.

You cannot create an effecti$e process !ithout a !ay for people to buy1

....

/6plain your benefit proposition5 "mmediately after getting them to take that first step andgi$e you their attention, you need to start e6plaining the benefits you offer.

hat#s in it for them=

The traditional direct response system for this is a sales letter. /$erything takes place in asmall number of steps, -uickly leading to a yes or no choice. This is still effecti$e, andespecially so in markets !here your prospects are educated on your product type. +till, it#s notnearly as effecti$e as a process that lets people choose their o!n !ay of making the decision.

"t#s going to seem counter7intuiti$e to the traditional direct response marketer, since they#re

usually taught that the more options you gi$e people, the less likely they are to buy. That#strue, as far as it goes. You really only !ant to gi$e people t!o options at a time, other thanlea$ing and ignoring you. These are called positi$e options, as they mo$e the prospect for!ardin the process. hen this happens...

....

Your prospect asks for more5 You may ha$e an opt7in form in the sales letter. That#s t!opositi$e options5 +ign7up and>or buy.

+igning up allo!s you to present other options in future contacts. Your list is the means topresent additional branches for your process, as needed. *r, if you pro$ide ongoing content, a

means to introduce people to the first stages of other processes for other products.

You can also gi$e a Cforced se-uenceC option. This is common enough. n e6ample5 You offera $ideo on your topic. hen someone finishes $ie!ing the $ideo, you might ask them to signup for other $ideos and, after they do that, take them automatically to the sales letter or tosome other part of your process.

Basically, this turns one step into t!o.


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You !ant to ob0ecti$ely tip the balance of benefits offered to!ard your product, so it becomesthe ob$ious choice. "f you aren#t sure you#re being ob0ecti$e, get the opinions of informedpeople in your market. Don#t kid yourself about this stuff. You can#t fool your prospects, atleast not for long.

This area Edistinction is !here you establish $alue, in order to a$oid price resistance. "t#s also!here you do most of !hat Paul 8anco6 calls Cclosing the doors.C This is a subtle thing. gain,you !ant to keep it focused on the positi$e aspects of your product and the benefits theydeli$er. nd you don#t !ant to get hea$y7handed !ith it. "f it looks like you#re bashing thecompetition, or bragging pointlessly, you#re going to trigger your prospect#s defensemechanisms.

That#s rarely a good thing.

+omething to keep in mind... ith many consumer products, the direct competition might beirrele$ant. The competition you need to consider in those cases is, as al!ays, the completerange of options they could choose instead of your product. For those situations, the

distinction you need to make is primarily benefit7focused. You need to directly compare ho!their life !ill be !ith your product as opposed to !ithout it.

o! for the last stage.......

Decision5 /ither accepting or re0ecting your re-uest that they take the desired action.

This is the thing people generally tend to 0ump to too -uickly. That#s understandable, since it#s!here they see their payoff. "t becomes a problem if you#re more concerned about your payoffthan establishing the $alue in the customer#s mind.

/f "o$ hea too -an" people sa"in# that "o$'e 7$st afte thei -one"* this ispoal" h".

2ind you, there#s no !ay to sell anything !ithout hearing a fe! people say that. There arepeople !ho use that as an argument for things that ha$e nothing to do !ith you. "f you hear itmore than you should, though, go back and look at your process. Figure out !here youskipped steps in your rush to get a decision.

Iust be careful that you don#t make the process too long for the decision you#re asking them tomake. "t#s as easy to o$ersell as it is to undersell. H:7page sales letters for a K%: product, for

e6ample, are o$erselling. Describing a ':7page book as Cmassi$eC E" got an email today thatused that e6act bit of hype is o$erselling.

Don#t o$erdo it.


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Describe any bonuses or special terms5 This part is ob$ious. 2ake sure they kno! e$erythingthey#re getting. For bonuses, state the features, emphasize the benefits those features pro$ide,and go on. Don#t spend much time in differentiating them from others unless that#s a bigfactor in your market.

....

+ummarize the benefits5 You !ant to hit the Chigh notesC here. Point out the ma0or benefits inbrief detail, and 0ust touch on the secondary benefits as a reminder. Focus on the singleo$erriding benefit throughout this stage.

nderstand, e$ery product has a single main benefit to !hich all the features contribute. "nthe case of automation soft!are, for e6ample, it might be Cmore money !ith less !ork.C Thatcan also be described as, C2ore time for the things that matter.C secondary benefit might be,CFreedom from boring routine tasks.C

Throughout your process, you !ant to define !hat that main benefit is, and create a conte6t sothat they kno! !hat you mean !hen you use the phrase you chose to describe it.

Tie e$erything back into that main benefit.....

+olidify the distinctions5 "f you kno! they#re going to be making comparisons, a -uickreminder of !hat#s better about your product should be incorporated into the benefitsummary.

"f it#s not necessary to do direct comparisons, you may !ant to make a -uick e6ample of !hybuying your product is a better use of their money than something else in a similar $ein.

....


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+tate the guarantee5 lso ob$ious. The only time you !ant to emphasize this more than usualis if you ha$e an unusual guarantee.

....

?et them started5 sk them to order.

Don#t make this step flo!ery. 2y fa$orite !ay to do this is simply to tell them that they shouldget started today.

9ook, if they made it to the end of your process, there#s a pretty good chance they !ant !hatyou#re offering. They already kno! it, so starting to sell at this point is 0ust asking them to goback to the first step. "t brings up all the things they !ere concerned about in the first place,and undoes a lot of !hat you#$e accomplished. hate$er !ords you choose, make them short.Don#t belabor the point.

?et them started.....


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You#ll notice that the most comprehensi$e sales processes online ha$e lots of options forbranching, !hile offline processes tend Eor seem to be $ery linear.

The key element that gi$es you that fle6ibility online is the use of email. That, as much asanything else, is !here the truth of the comment CThe money is in the listC comes from.

The Cback endC sales process is 0ust another branch. +ort of C


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Re*o++en)e) Resour*esote5 The e6amples and numbers gi$en for these resourcesare a description of the potential of

the systems they re$eal, not a guarantee of specific results. +ome people !ill do better thanthe descriptions, some !ill not do as !ell, and some !ill get no results at all. The results youget !ill depend on a lot of factors that are beyond anyone#s ability to predict. The biggestfactors are your market and ho! you implement the things you learn.

5 " mentioned this one throughout the articlesthat make up this report. "n this book, Paul 8anco6 translates the e6tremely effecti$eprocesses used by ma0or offline businesses to close as much as 4:; of their sales calls, on highticket products like home impro$ements, into a system you can apply to your online selling.

Years ago, it used to be thought that %7H; !as about as good as you#d do !ith a sales procesonline. That has been dispro$en so many times no! that no7one really belie$es it. on$ersionrates of ';, %:; and e$en H:; are common enough that they#$e become targets, rather thanmiracles. Paul#s book sho!s one approach to reaching those goals.

You can get it here5http5>>!!!.talkbiz.com>r>%:percent.php

9S-all =han#es* Bi# ?ofits>5 nother book by Paul 8anco6. This one e6plains ho! e$entiny changes in your sales copy or other parts of your process can create enormous increasesin your profits. You need to look at this yourself. /t is one of e" fe oo)s that /conside 9-$st ead> -ateial fo an"one doin# $siness online. "t#s 0ust thatimportant, and the potential is 0ust that big.

Get that here: http://www.talkbiz.com/r/bigprofits.php
http://talkbiz.com/?page=2http://www.talkbiz.com/r/10percent.phphttp://www.talkbiz.com/r/10percent.phphttp://www.talkbiz.com/r/bigprofits.phphttp://www.talkbiz.com/r/10percent.phphttp://www.talkbiz.com/r/bigprofits.phphttp://talkbiz.com/?page=2


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9The Tal)Bi8 Reso$ce Diecto"> 5 This one is packed !ith free and $ery lo!7costresources, and can sa$e you hundreds, e$en thousands, of dollars on the tools you need to dobusiness online. "#m talking professional le$el soft!are that#s almost all offered at no cost bythe creators of the programs. o pirated stuff here.

?et that one here5 http5>>!!!.tbr6.com>directory>resource.zip

1.

This ne6t one isn#t e6actly a resource...

"f you found this report useful 7Buy me a beer.

o!, get started. se !hat you learned in this report, and make a !hole bunch more money1

nd don#t forget to ha$e some fun in the process.

PaulPaul3talkbiz.com
http://www.tbrx.com/directory/resource.ziphttp://www.buy-paul-a-beer.com/http://www.buy-paul-a-beer.com/http://c/Users/Paul/Desktop/Reports/Warrior%20Forum%20Version/[email protected]?Subject=FreeSalesReporthttp://www.tbrx.com/directory/resource.ziphttp://www.buy-paul-a-beer.com/http://c/Users/Paul/Desktop/Reports/Warrior%20Forum%20Version/[email protected]?Subject=FreeSalesReport

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Why Johnny Cant Sell