BE BUSINESSLIKE AND PROFESSIONAL

The concept of "relationship marketing" does NOT mean getting up close and personal with your customers. You'll save yourself a lot of grief and angst if you just keep things businesslike and professional - friendly to be sure, but not *overly* personal. It's possible to be friendly and helpful in a professional, businesslike manner without stepping over line into personal. The people you're dealing with are not your friends, they're your customers. Of course, over time, you may become friends with certain people who started out as customers. But don't start from position that you have to be friends with your customers in order to engage in relationship marketing. You don't. Keep it businesslike and professional and you won't raise any unrealistic expectations.

ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH YOUR BUSINESS'S BEST INTERESTS

One way of keeping yourself in check is by constantly testing your decisions against criteria "is this decision in best interests of my business?". If so, do it, recognizing that something can be in best interests of your business even if it doesn't involve cash flowing in your direction. If not, don't.

Occasionally, it will be in best interests of your business to do something that may be perceived by your customer as a personal favor. An example might be giving a refund for a purchase under circumstances where customer is not strictly entitled to one and where you have an ongoing relationship with customer. You do so in interests of customer service and this is certainly an example of something that is in your business's best interests.

Sometimes, however, customers can take advantage of such a policy. To forestall this type of problem, if you decide to do something that benefits your customer/reader/visitor over and above what they have an entitlement to, make it clear, in a subtle way, that you are doing so for business reasons. Be prepared to set limits though. Know how far you are prepared to go before it stops being a business decision and becomes a personal one and to detriment of your business interests.

Being uncomfortable saying "no" is not a good enough reason to sacrifice your business's best interests if that's right decision in all circumstances.

BE DIRECT AND HONEST

Don't be shy about promoting your products and services and letting your prospective customers know you would like for them to purchase from you. Be direct, open and honest about it. For example, if someone emails me and asks for my advice about how to get started in an online business of their own, I'll recommend products that I think will benefit them.

Usually, if I like a product, I'll be an affiliate and so every time someone purchases that product following my recommendation I earn a commission. Would I recommend any products that are directly relevant to my business that I don't have a financial interest in? No. Why? I have a profit motive. My time is money. The key is in products. If I thought there were better products out there than ones I was promoting I'd recommend them too. But only after I signed up as an affiliate so I could earn a commission from my recommendation.

On other hand, occasionally I'm asked to recommend a webhost. I'm an inactive affiliate of one of major webhosting companies but I never recommend them because I think they're too expensive. In this case, I refer enquirer to webhost I use for my own site. I'm not an affiliate of theirs and I have no financial interest in making recommendation. I'm not particularly interested in webhosting as a product to promote so I haven't bothered (yet) to sign up for my webhost's affiliate program. It's just an honest recommendation just as recommendations I make for products of which I am an affilliate are honest recommendations. The only difference is, I make money on latter and why not?

The point is, so long as you're making an honest recommendation, there's no reason why you can't make a profit at same time. It's a win-win situation. So stop being afraid to sell. It's reason your business exists but it won't for long if you don't sell.

Let me explain with an example:

Say you want to sell a new software program on how to incorporate your business. How would you do it? The average person might send out a sales letter that says "New program makes incorporating a snap." That approach would get some sales, especially from people already wanting to incorporate.

But a more hypnotic approach would be to run a headline such as this: "Tired of paying too much in taxes? Read this surprising way out of maze!" This new approach would merge with existing trance in a business person.

In other words, they are in "taxes suck" trance" and "small businesses get screwed" trance. Agree with them. Merge with them. Accept that trance as your door. Then lead into what you want to sell by tying it back to their trance.

Let's break down this process into 3 steps:

1. What do your prospect's believe right now? (Current trance.) 2. Agree with their beliefs to merge with them. (Rapport.) 3. Lead their beliefs into your offer. (New trance.)

That's it. That's real secret to "hypnotic selling."

What? Oh. You want another example? Here goes:

Say you want to sell a pair of pants. How would you use our "Hypnotic Selling" 3-step process to move them?

1. What do your prospect's believe right now about pants? A little research would help. Let's say they believe all pants are same. They are in "all pants are alike" trance. That's their current trance, or mind set. You would not be very wise to argue with it. Instead, accept it and go to step two.

2. Agree with them. In person, on phone, or in your headlines, say something that let's your prospects know you are in same trance. Use statements such as "I thought all pants were alike, too" or "No pants are different--so why even look at this pair?" This creates rapport. You can't sell anyone without creating rapport. So, step two is a way to meet people where they are. Consciously join their unconscious trance. Then go to next step.

3. Now lead them into your offer. You might say something like, "Why are people saying these pants are different? Here's why." This is taking them into a new trance---a trance that says "Some pants are different"---a buying trance. Because you acknowledged trance they were in, and merged with them, you are now in a position---a very powerful position---to sell them.

There are numerous ways to find people's trances, merge with them, and then lead them into a "buy from you" trance. I won't be able to go into all of them in this short article. I'm just giving you tip of iceberg here. But before I end, let's look at possible existing trances your prospects may be in when you call, or send them a sales piece. They include:

"I'm worried about money" trance "I'm lonely" trance "I'm afraid of people" trance "I'm sick and tried of my job" trance "I'm fed up with my kids" trance "The world sucks" trance "I'm hungry" trance "I need to lose weight" trance

And so it goes. You'll notice that each of these trances are self-serving. That's nature of people. They are interested in their well-being first. They are pre-occupied with their own needs, desires, pains and more.

Any inward state is a trance. Naturally, everyone is in one trance or another when you call them or write them. Your job is to note it, merge with it, and lead them out of it.

Here's one final example to make this process clearer for you:

Let's say you want to sell a music recording. We'll make it a classical CD.

Step 1. What trance are people already in? You can imagine they come home from work, find your sales letter in their mail, and are NOT in mood for it. Your headline might say, "Just got home from work?"

Step 2: Create rapport by acknowledging their trance. You might write, "Since you just got home from work, are probably tired and ready to toss this mail in trash, wait one second before you do it."

Step 3: Now introduce your new trance. Maybe write: "Imagine putting a CD on that fills your mind with soothing, relaxing, healing music...the kind of heavenly sound that helps drift far, far away from your day..."

To end this article, let me remind you of what Billy taught me when I was a kid: Everyone is in a trance and everyone can be brought out of it. The idea is not to ignore this quirk of human nature, but to use it for well being of all you touch---including your own profit!

Just don't age regress any of your prospects!