Your customer starts asking a lot of questions. Remember that customers only ask about things that really matter to them. Take this as a good sign you've got a serious prospect.

Others will ask all about terms of payment, delivery, and guarantees even before they tell you which item they want. They feel more comfortable doing this because they can show serious interest in buying without letting you know exactly what they want to buy.

AFTER THE SALE:

This could be most important time to pay attention to customers, especially if you want to make repeat sales or get referral business.

Contact your customers to see if they are satisfied with their product or service. If customers have questions or complaints, do your best to answer situation quickly. Remember that you can sometimes head off future problems by paying attention to customer concerns.

If you find that your customers are completely satisfied, ask if you can get a testimonial. Nothing helps you make a sale like strong testimonials from satisfied customers. Prospects are impressed when they hear positive things from those who have already bought your product or service. "This gadget doubled my gas mileage and saves me $200 a month! Buy it!"

Some types of customer recommendations work better than others. "This is great stuff" is a good testimonial but "This stuff cut my costs by 20%" is even better. Try to get customer recommendations that tell what kind of results user got.

When customers say something good about your business or products, ask them if you can use their comment in your marketing. Almost everyone will be delighted and flattered that you want to use their words. Write them down and file them away for later use.

Even though Internet is probably most technological thing in our lives, we need to remember that Internet BUSINESS still revolves around PEOPLE. We should always make sure that we pay attention to people we do business with -- there really NO better way of doing market research.

3. Put up a comments form on your web site. Clearly mention that some comments may be selected for display on your site or in your promotional literature. Some people will say good things (which I sure they mean sincerely) just to get their name in print.

4. Always include person's first and last name along with city they live in or business they work for. Otherwise, people will think you made up testimonial.

Let your Order Form also sell.

Many times order form or order page is drabbest part of sales package. A brochure will feature color photos and imaginative copy, yet order form will be plain black on white. The same goes for web sites where lively web pages lead to a legalistic shopping cart with hard-to-understand instructions.

This is a mistake.

Most customers have very busy lives and don't always remember what they did and where. When I worked in radio, we were often stunned to learn people often couldn't remember which station they won a prize from.

The same goes for customers. People may buy from you, then forget who they bought from just a few weeks later. That is a real problem if you are depending on word of mouth (which you should!).

Put your logo bright and bold on every one of your order forms. Make sure your name is stamped onto your customer's memory at time of sale.

Some smart business people turn their order form into a brochure. They include an ad and a full list of their products and services. The order form is on final page. The brochure also gives you space to include a coupon for next purchase.

Be sure to include customer testimonials on your order form. Most prospects need an extra bit of encouragement just before they commit their money to a purchase.