It's a Free e-WorldWritten by Richard Wall
Read this article and I'll give you 109 Killer Reports on Internet marketing! Yes 109 FREE bonus reports just for reading this article!Does that sound familiar? Internet marketers have gone 'free mad'. Freebies have their rightful place in online marketing bag of tricks: 'subscribe to my Ezine and I'll give you a free eBook' and 'order this and I'll give you a bonus product' are often used to great effect. However, many Internet marketers seem to have 'lost plot.' If you have a sensibly priced product with a money-back guarantee, do you really need to pack in 10 'bonus products' to sell it? I nearly added another eBook to my library last week. My cursor was hovering on 'Order Now' button but I decided not to click. Guess what put me off? Too expensive? No, price was fine. Not enough freebies? No. There were too MANY freebies and by time I got to reading about how 'Bonus #9' would change my life, I'd lost interest in eBook I was about to buy. My state of mind had shifted from enthusiastic to suspicious. The perceived value of eBook I was about to buy got lower as more and more bonus products were added to deal. Imagine an offline retailer, who normally sells a chocolate bar for 50 cents, with a special offer: '3 bars for price of 2.' Or a travel agent with an offer on a vacation: 'book today and get 20% discount.' The offline marketing world is full of deals and offers - because they work. And of course, they work online too. But what would you think if retailer had said: 'buy this chocolate bar today for 50 cents and I'll give you 5 bonus products: a cigarette, some gum, 2 paper clips, last month's free ads newspaper and a comb'? You'd think he was out of his mind - all you wanted was a chocolate bar. On Internet - at least at home-based entrepreneur end of market - an unwritten law seems to have crept in which says that to get sale you need to bundle in lots of free products.
| | Remembering to Listen: Making the Most of CommunicationWritten by Ron Sathoff
A lot has been written about communication aspects of marketing. Unfortunately, most of it has focused on "sending" function -- writing perfect ad, creating killer sales letter, or making a great sales pitch. We always seem to focus on what we are doing TO a customer, rather than what customers might be saying to US.We have to remember that all communication is two-directional. In order to truly be great communicators, we have to improve our skills when we are receivers. In other words, we have to become great listeners as well as great speakers or writers. Fortunately, there are a few simple things we can do to help improve this aspect of our communication with our customers: 1) Treat all communication as important. From time to time (more often than I like) I have to deal with a salesperson who only seems to be listening for certain things -- what I'm ordering, how much I'm going to pay, and when my money will arrive. After a salesperson like this gets what they want, they just tune you out. Luckily, these are usually salespeople who don't last long. Truly great salespeople, on other hand, know that EVERYTHING that a customer has to say is important. In a lot of cases, especially with business opportunities, a customer is more interested in advice than they are in your product. If you take time to listen to their concerns and can provide them with insight (along with your offer), your customer will be much more satisfied than if you just delivered "goods."
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