Some customers who subscribe to the Virgin Media M Package (which is the up to 2 Mbps version), are disappointed to find that the upstream is lower than that advertised by the internet service provider. This is surely disappointing for those customers who were vigilant enough to compare broadband services before buying.
It turns out that those customers in certain areas are receiving upload speeds of around 200 Kbps, whereas the advertised upload is 256 Kbps. It seems that some areas have been limited, while the rest of the Virgin Media network have the correct upload of 256 Kbps.
The problem appears to have been around before Virgin Media started. The network was previously run by NTL and Telewest. the latter had the better developed network and it appears that the customers who are on that particular network experience the better upload.
Virgin Media’s Statement: “Work to align minor differences in speeds across the NTL and Telewest customer bases is ongoing and should be complete very soon, along with further initiatives to reinforce our position as the UK’s leading residential broadband service. We apologise for any confusion and will be updating our website accordingly.”
Regardless of what anyone says, there is no doubt that the advertising standards authority (ASA) will be taking a look at this very public opening of customer complaints.
After the countless hours of product training and skill development and relationship building, your efforts culminate when a prescription is filled at the pharmacy.
When you consider that pharmacists talk to the same physicians that you talk to, about treating the same patients that you talk about treating, it’s obvious that pharmacists play a vital role in your success.
Why wait any longer to establish or improve your relationships with pharmacists in your territory?
A licensed pharmacist is a pharmaceutical specialist. Although physicians are experts in disease diagnosis and treatment, pharmacists are experts in pharmaceutical disease management.
Many physicians rely on pharmacists to train patients to use metered-dose inhalers, blood pressure monitors and injectable medications. Physicians also assume that pharmacists will monitor potential drug-drug interactions and recommend appropriate drug substitutions.
A pharmacist is a patient care provider. He or she is a link between patients and medical professionals, and can triage routine illnesses like a cough, cold or the flu. Patients count on their pharmacist to tell them how to take their medications, what outcome to expect, and how to react if something goes wrong.
A pharmacist is a pharmaceutical sales partner. Pharmacy support is crucial for successful pull-through programs, patient education, and supplemental physician contact. A pharmacist may be able to provide information about managed care formularies and drug pricing, as well as alert you to patient questions or concerns.
Pharmacy calls are sales presentations
Successful pharmaceutical sales reps prepare and execute pharmacy calls with the same care as they approach physician calls.
Conduct basic pre-call planning to identify your goal for the call. Do you need authorization to display prescription vouchers or coupons? Do you want to inform the pharmacy staff about a new drug launch? It should only take a few minutes to mentally outline what you hope to accomplish, but those few minutes make a difference.
Begin each call with an introduction and a statement of purpose. Most people recognize you before they remember your name, so until you have developed a relationship, put the pharmacist at ease by re-introducing yourself on each call.
Get right to the point of your visit. A clear statement of purpose will help the pharmacist assess how much time they need to spend with you, and whether or not they can afford that time right now. “May I have two minutes of your time to tell you about a new indication for Hoozlefritz extended release tabs?” is more helpful to a pharmacist than, “Hi! I’m the new Hoozlefritz rep.”
Deliver your information succinctly and factually. Pharmacists do not prescribe medications and do not want to be “sold” on the merits of your product. They do, however, want to know the indication, dosing, mechanism of action (MOA), pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) profile, and occurrence of side effects. This is vital information for their consultations with physicians and patients.
Close your call by asking, “What can I do to be a resource for you and your customers?
Here are specific suggestions from pharmacists in three different settings that you are likely to encounter in your territory: retail chain, independent and hospital pharmacies.
Retail chain pharmacists’ recommendations:
Develop partnerships with pharmacists. Paul, a New York state-licensed pharmacist, points out that he and physicians and pharmaceutical reps all have the same goal: to provide excellent patient care. “We are all interdependent. The cycle starts with the drug companies and links to the physicians and the pharmacists, who link directly with the patients. We’re all in the patient care business.”
Suzanne, a licensed pharmacist in Tennessee, agrees. “My customers are the drug rep’s end customers. For both of us, “success” means making our customers healthier.”
Chain pharmacists across the country agree that pharmaceutical reps can be more effective if they DO:
• Provide the pharmacist with objective clinical information.
• Invite pharmacists to educational programs with physicians, or sponsor separate programs for their local pharmacy organization.
• Follow through on what they say they are going to do.
• Respect the pharmacist’s time.
• Offer your business card every time. Make it easy for pharmacy staff to contact you.
• Inform pharmacists of any prescription voucher, rebate or coupon programs ahead of time. This gives pharmacy staff time to learn the quirks of the program so that they can facilitate patient uptake.
Paul says, “One of the drug reps in the area launched a prior auth product in a crowded therapeutic class. I stocked her vouchers at each of my stores, and she informed her target physicians of this. Physicians appreciated the simplicity, patients were happy about getting a free trial, I benefited from the increase in customer traffic, and this rep led the country in sales.”
DON’T:
• Make pharmacy sales calls on Mondays or early in the morning.
• Ask a pharmacist to stock your product “to be ready for the first prescription”.
• Ask a pharmacist for confidential information, such as, “Which doctors are writing my product?”
Independent pharmacists’ recommendations:
Masood runs a small chain of independent pharmacies in southern California. To him, respect is the most important element of a sales call. “Some reps think that because I am not a big name chain that I am not as important, or maybe they do not need to be polite with me. But that is not the way to think of it. I am very busy here, with many customers every day. The smart reps know that I am a big business for them in this city.”
Consensus of independent pharmacists is that reps will be more successful if they DO:
• Provide NDC #’s.
• Understand that pharmacy customers are the first priority. Be patient.
• Educate the pharmacist about potential side effects.
• Ask for the opportunity to schedule an educational lunch presentation.
• Treat independent pharmacists as well as they treat chain pharmacists.
“I’ve worked in both settings, and I’ve seen a lot of drug reps overlook independent pharmacies”, says Alan, a pharmacist in Wisconsin. “Maybe they think that because we’re small we’re not “real” pharmacists. But we have the same educational background, and we have the same interactions with doctors and patients as any other licensed pharmacist.”
DON’T:
• Ask for confidential information.
• Ask a pharmacist to stock your product without a prescription.
• “Sell” the pharmacist.
Hospital pharmacists’ recommendations:
A hospital pharmacy may serve only inpatients, only outpatients, or a blend of the two. Inpatient pharmacies are usually restricted to stocking products that are on the hospital formulary. Hospital-based outpatient pharmacies operate like any other retail pharmacies. They are not usually restricted to the hospital formulary.
Tim is a hospital pharmacist in Maine who welcomes drug reps. “Reps are a great source of information for me. I know that if I tell a rep that a patient had an unusual reaction to their drug, the rep is going to pass that on to their company to investigate. Drug companies are highly motivated to check it out and follow up, which helps me serve my customers better.”
Recommendations for pharmaceutical reps when calling on hospital pharmacies. DO:
• Ask about scheduling an educational lunch presentation.
• Ask for information about the formulary process; offer yourself as a resource for information.
• Ask about the schedule for the hospital P&T committee.
• Know your drug. Be prepared to clarify and support any information that is included in your product PI.
DON’T:
• Ask for a list of physicians who are on the P&T committee.
• Pressure the pharmacist to stock product without a prescription.
• Make a sales call without a clear reason for the call.
Which brings us back to the bottom line: Pharmacy calls are sales presentations. And just like prescriber calls, pharmacy calls are powerful tools to improve patient care and drive your business.
If you make the effort to develop productive relationships, you will find that every pharmacist in your territory is an extra person on your sales team!
Sally Bacchetta – Freelance Writer/Sales Trainer
Sally Bacchetta is an award-winning sales trainer and freelance writer. She has published articles on a variety of topics, including selling skills, motivation, and pharmaceutical sales.
You can contact her at sb14580@yahoo.com and read her latest articles on her website.
A big special moment in life is coming up, graduation.
With graduation just around the corner, there are lots of big important decisions are upon you – college, work, living arrangements, transportation. The future is bright, and getting through that last year of school can be wonderful, frustrating and emotional. Parents and graduates have a couple things in common, tough decisions and despair for information. There is a common mantra amongst parents and graduates: “How come no one told me these things before today!”
A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a University or High School, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completes a particular course of study, or confers an academic degree.
Diplomas were originally made of sheepskin, because paper was not very durable and tough to create. The information was hand written on it. Soon after, parchment replaced the sheepskin and by the end of the century, it became bound in leather. Nowadays, diplomas have become common print on standard A4 size paper. They can be found in a wide range of styles for you to give your students, recognition for their efforts through education.
Graduation Diploma
A high school diploma is awarded for the completion of High School studies. It is required for government jobs and higher education. A certificate is an official document affirming a fact, High School certificates affirms the completion of High School studies. Anyway, it is considered below the standard of an academic degree. Diplomas are handed out to graduating seniors at an official ceremony, the commencement. A speaker usually gives a speech addressing the graduating students. The speakers are selected for this event from groups including community dignitaries, alumni and students.
The valedictorian, the highest-ranking academic student in the graduation class, usually speaks. This student gives a speech to his classmates, usually thanking the school for everything and trying to inspire the class for their future. Often this speech mentions specific achievements and hopes for what lies ahead.
Students deserve to walk across towards that stage in style and comfort. They have earned this moment; they should feel honored and special. Not to mention an everlasting performance and elegant appearance. They have worked hard-and so have you. Do not settle for anything less than the best. Honor their achievements; make them feel the effort was worth it. Graduates deserve them best on their day.
Mannequins are primarily used in stores to display clothing. A display mannequin is usually a full-size dummy in the shape of a person. A display mannequin will normally include all parts of the human body including a head and feet. Display mannequins can be made of several different materials, including fiberglass, wood, plaster, or wax.
Nearly every clothing store has at least one display mannequin. They are commonly found in the front windows of stores at the mall to show off the store’s newest fashions. Display mannequins must be life-sized in order for the clothes to fit well over them. Most mannequins are full figures including the head, torso, arms, and legs, but some are only a torso. These types of display mannequins are perfect for saving space while modeling shirts and blouses. The full-size mannequins do take up more room, but they are more versatile in that they can be used to display entire outfits including hats, shirts, pants, and shoes.
Display mannequins are usually modeled after people who are physically fit. People are more likely to view the clothing favorably if it is displayed in a flattering way on the model’s physique.
A display mannequin can be made of several materials. Many are made of fiberglass. These mannequins are durable and easy to mass-produce. Other mannequins are made of plaster. Plaster mannequins are easier to break than fiberglass models, but are still useful if handled correctly. Wooden mannequins are less common than plaster and fiberglass mannequins because they take longer to make. They were much more common before plastic manufacturing caught on. Wax mannequins are rarely used to display clothing for sale in stores, but are often found in museums.
Display mannequins are a great way for stores to show off their clothing. Shoppers get a good idea what the clothes will look like on a real person when they see them on a display mannequin.
Mannequins Info provides detailed information about display, female, and child mannequins, and advice on where to buy mannequins for sale, plus used and wholesale mannequins, and more. Mannequins Info is the sister site of Store Fixtures Web.
You have a great product, but it’s not flying off the shelf. Is
one of these packaging problems turning sales away?
1) You don’t understand your market.
There are so many new markets and retail outlets out there. Don’t
forget Internet marketing too. The question is can one package
service them all? The answer is no. There are features that work
to your benefit in all types of packaging, but in general
attributes that appeal to one audience won’t appeal to another.
What to do:
Refine your niche attributes. Is your product broad based? Does
it appeal to a special target audience? Do you understand what
this group is looking for in product packaging?
I have several research studies that focus on packaging that
appeals to niches: Women and Boomers (to order these special
reports return the word “research” via email).
2) The packaging is too big or too small.
In my recent research for the Packaging and Design Summit, I
uncovered an interesting fact. Products that work well for
children, especially kid proof packaging, simply doesn’t fit the
requirements of the over 50 market.
What to do:
Keep size in mind when designing your product packaging. Who is
actually going to use this product and how? Is there a shelf life
or consume by date that can impact the usage factor?
Tidbit:
Women said: keep it easy to carry and easy to store.
Boomers said: keep it simple and easy to open.
3) The package is too hard to open:
Every Christmas and holiday time we read ranting and raving over
packages that simply cannot be opened easily or require the aid
of scissors. Much of this packaging has come about for specific
reasons: security, tamper evident, counterfeiting and so on. But
think about it the next time you try to open a product. Was all
that packaging necessary?
What to do:
Try testing with a focus group outside the world of packaging.
Many times a person unfamiliar with packaging can identify a
problem area that a packaging pro can’t. I did a segment for NBC
TV as their packaging guru. They ended the story with people
ripping and tearing open the packaging that I had so carefully
explained. Boy, was that an eye opener.
Look for my upcoming article in the June issue of Global Cosmetics Industry.
“Don’t think like a package designer. Think like a consumer”
4) The package is too generic:
Is it trying to be all things to all people and as a result, it
doesn’t appeal to anyone.
Have you ever been totally confused when looking at a product
package? What am I supposed to do with it? Or what’s the purpose?
This is a total turn off.
What to do:
Tell people up front what’s inside, how to use it and what the
benefits are. Simpler is better — especially when we are in a hurry.
5) The package doesn’t fit with today’s life styles.
Got any 20lb bags of potatoes lying around? If you are like me,
20 lbs can last a year. Large quantities and amounts do have a
special market but generally people are buying in smaller size
units. In fact, one of the fasted growing market segments is
ready to use and consume. When I was in China ready to use was
the only type packaging available. Single servings were huge
there and now they are becoming hot here.
6) People are confused by the packaging.
More product iterations mean more confusion at retail. Yes, I
know brand managers are constantly creating new and improved
versions, but get real! How many new and improved products are
really different from their predecessor?
If you want a good laugh be sure and read my upcoming article in
the June issue of Packaging Design Magazine: “Packaging Design
for Overworked, Time-Crunched and Over-The-Edge Consumers.”
7) The package doesn’t fit the retail outlet. There are myriad of
cross marketing opportunities available. What works in a club
store certainly won’t work at a convenience outlet. Consider
where your package will be merchandised.
What to do:
Ensure you have the appropriate package size for the retail
outlet. Go to a store and see how people shop. It could affect
the product’s success.
The package isn’t contemporary.
There are a lot of old brands that are repackaging their image.
Old brands have been revitalized with new and updated packaging.
Old brands can lose favor with the consumer simply because they
look old.
What to do:
Keep on top of important trends. Remember when the Pillsbury
Dough Boy went on a diet? Just kidding, but he did get slimmer
and trimmer in his image. The same is happening to Ronald
MacDonald. He is getting a makeover too. Even long-standing icons
have to keep up with the times.
9) The package is too gimmicky or doesn’t work.
Keep in mind, simple is better. Products that get too complicated
only appeal to a certain market segment, and it’s not boomers,
the largest share of the purchasing market. The electronics
industry seems to have lost track of this fact. Make sure it
doesn’t apply to your product.
Whatever the problem is, it can be corrected by understanding
your target audience. Learn what they want and need. Make some
adjustments and watch packages fly off the shelf.
Got packaging problems? I can help. I teach people how to package products consumers will buy. I make it easy to answer your problems with email and voice consultation. Get advice from the top expert in consumer packaging. Email the Packaging Diva @ PackagingDiva@aol.com
Look for the Packaging Diva @ Prestige Products for the Personal Care Industry – June 22-23, 2005 Chicago, IL – http://www.chemconference.com/events/PrestigeProd05/ index.php?page=agenda&eventsfolder=PrestigeProd05&menuTitle=Prestige Products
You might ask, “What is a follow on sale?” A follow on sale is
the sale of any product or service that comes as a direct result
of a previous sale. An example of this type of sale would be
selling an upgrade to a an existing software product As we have
discussed in other articles, there are companies out there
making much more money from follow on sales than from original
sales. We have also discussed some specific strategies for
increasing your follow on sales, strategies such as: mentioning
your complimentary products on the thank you page that should
follow your order page, giveaways, free training courses, e-zine
subscriptions, and mailing lists. All of the strategies
mentioned above are excellent ways to increase your follow on
sales but they are not the only techniques you should be
employing. I have also found the following methods to be very
successful. 1. If you ship a physical product, include sales and
order information for your complimentary products. At minimum
include a picture (preferably full color) of your product and a
URL that the customer may visit to get information or order the
product. A toll free number is a great item to include here.
Also include a postcard for the customer who does not have ready
access to the Internet. 2. If your product is electronic, like
software or an e-book, include an ad for your additional
products. This option should be used with caution, people do not
like to be nagged by products they paid for. Have the ad come up
only the first time the product is used or have a disable button
on the pop up. 3. Establish a “private” area of your web site
and grant access, for free, to any customer purchasing your
products. In the unique content of this “private” area you have
the opportunity to do some follow on selling. 4. Consider
gathering more information on your customers, such as mailing
address, date of birth and telephone number. You will need to
decide if providing this information is mandatory or optional.
There is the potential that some customer will not want to
provide such information. Making it required information may
cost you some sales. Guard the information you collect carefully
and use it only for the purposes defined in you privacy
statement. Send a thank you letter for purchases, send your
customers a birthday card and follow up with them via telephone
to be sure that they are satisfied with the product. These are
all opportunities for follow on selling. 5. On your order form,
ask customers if they want to be notified of new products,
updates and upgrades. Maintain a separate mailing list for those
customers who indicate their willingness to receive this
information. You could also offer the option of allowing the
customer to be notified via postal mail. As mentioned before,
the follow on sale is not easy to master. It is a delicate
balance between salesmanship and becoming a nuisance. As with
most powerful tools, these techniques hold the promise of great
success or spectacular failure. Take the time to test and refine
your methods before attempting widespread application with real
customers. With practice and careful application, these
techniques will contribute greatly to your profits. And as
always, that is the real bottom line.
Call centres are a land of missed opportunities. Every call whether inbound or outbound is an opportunity to make a sale or to build a pipeline for a future sale. At the very least there is scope for selling a bigger quantity (selling up) or to sell additional products / services (cross-selling). Here’s a 10 point plan which, if implemented will vastly improve call centre productivity.
1. Prepare for each call
Adjust your mindset. Helping your customer to buy more products and services that are beneficial to them is first class customer service Decide in advance what customer commitment you would like by the end of the call. Is it an order or is it commitment to the next stepping stone? e.g. to take another follow-up call next week or an introduction to the real decision makers or influencers Prepare your opening and the questions which need to be asked to define needs and wants for your propositions (see below).
2. Know your sales propositions
To take a simple, neutral example, if your product is a coffee cup that keeps the coffee warm 4 times longer that an ordinary cup. Define the potential WIFM (‘what’s in it for me?’) for the customer. It could be that the user loves hot coffee and won’t drink it cold. This means that every time they have to take a call or are interrupted they have to re-visit the vending machine. This might take them 5 minutes which on an average day could cost them 20 minutes total. (1hr 40mins per week). What else could they be doing with their time? What’s the opportunity cost and what’s the direct cost in terms of salary? Once these costs are quantified they represent the real value of your proposition.
3. Define the questions to be asked
Have a list of questions to ask that lead to defining needs and wants for your propositions. Customer needs are logically based. For example, I need a car to get me from A to B and almost any car will get me there. I want a BMW because I enjoy the kudos and prestige. Needs are the tip of the iceberg and are very easy to identify (by you, and your competitors too!). Wants are much harder to access and the seller needs to develop the trust of the customer which is built on personal credibility and trust coupled with the ability to ask intelligent, incisive questions; and of course, harnessing the skills to actively listen to the answers in order to summarise the customer’s needs and wants accurately and concisely.
4. Motivate the customer to answer your questions.
Many ‘chat-show’ hosts are not particularly good at questioning and yet their guests are open, and usually effusive with the information they give. Why? Because they are motivated to do so because they are usually there to promote a book, film or suchlike. To facilitate a similar environment when making or receiving calls we must: a) take control of the call and b) motivate the customer to answer our questions. For example: “Mr Brown, in order for me to make sure that I tell you about the products and services that are most relevant to you, may I first of all ask you some questions to define your potential requirements?” Or, “Mr Brown, to enable us to ensure that we are an effective provider for ABC Limited it is essential that we have an up to date picture of your situation and requirements, so would you mind if first of all I ask you a few questions?”
5. Summarise customer needs and wants
Before presenting your idea, product or service, summarise the customer’s needs and wants using the following structure: Thank the customer for giving you the information Ask them if it would be helpful to summarise the key points to check your understanding of their requirements Feedback the key points from your notes if appropriate (the customer will probably correct any misunderstandings en route) Check that you have a reasonable and accurate understanding and ask them if they have anything to add.
6. Present relevant propositions
Based on the accepted summary, only present the ideas / products / services that are relevant to the customer. Link the advantages of your propositions to the customer’s needs and wants. Avoid the ‘pitching’ of irrelevant propositions. Emphasise the benefits the ‘pay-offs’ in relation to their needs and wants. As you present, test the customer’s commitment, e.g. “how’s it sounding so far Mr Brown?”
7. Have relevant proofs to hand
Through the above process you will generate a good match between the customer’s requirements and your offering. To gain the customer’s commitment you need to develop their belief that your solution will work. Your claims need substantiation or evidence to overcome any customer doubt or scepticism. Good examples of proofs are: customer references; case study materials; charts; brochures; product information sheets; press releases etc.
8. Expect objections and prepare for them
Objections are a sign of genuine customer interest. Without them, sales are rarely made! It’s imperative that we unearth any objections as the one to fear most is the one we don’t know about! Most objections raise their heads regularly and can be anticipated. Get together with your colleagues and develop ‘best of breed’ answers.
9. Develop an information base
Unless you are dealing with a ‘one-off’ contact / sale, develop an information base on the company / individual. Whether on a sophisticated CRM system or on ’shoebox’ record cards, keep details of all previous conversations, in particular their needs and wants. Develop a check list of the background information you would like to collect for each customer. Use this as an aide memoire for the questions to be asked in conjunction with the ones required to define needs and wants for your offering.
10. Follow-up and keep the initiative
Every “no” gets you closer to a “yes.” Based on your conversion ratios and average sales value work out how much each “no” is worth. It can be quite motivational! A “no” today is not necessarily a “no” forever. Gain the customer’s commitment to the next stage even if it’s only to take a follow-up call in 6 months. Never rely on the customer to come back to you (usually they don’t). Keep control of the sale and keep the momentum going. If all else fails, qualify the customer out and get on with something else. This in itself is a win.
In summary, our experience is that you will ’sell-up’ and ‘cross-sell’ more effectively by following these practical guidelines. Furthermore, evidence strongly indicates that customers will more readily buy into your company’s added-value across-the-board if you successfully integrate the guidelines into your sales approach.
You’ve worked so hard getting that much elusive traffic to your site. You’ve taken out a few ezine ads that have returned a good number of clickthroughs, you’re getting some traffic from the major search engines, and still you wonder why your cash register isn’t jumping. You know you’ve got a good product or service. What’s the problem?
Well it might be the sales copy on your web site.
Far too often I see the same mistakes on web site after web site. Let’s take a look at 10 points of writing good copy and see how many of these you have incorporated into your own site copy.
1) ATTENTION: You MUST grab the visitors attention immediately with your headline. You’ve got about 2 seconds to get their interest or they are gone. How many web sites have you seen that start out with a phrase such as “Thank you for visiting my web site. Here you will find some great products” BLAH BLAH BLAH. Bye bye visitor.
The headline of your site must pull the visitor in, make them want to learn more. I’m not going to give you sample headlines as that is not the purpose of this article, but if you don’t have a killer headline, the rest becomes somewhat irrelevant.
2) INTEREST: Once you’ve managed to convince the always skeptical visitor that they need to keep reading with your great headline, you need to start building overall interest in your product or service, how will the potential customer benefit from your product or service. Never EVER start talking about yourself, you must focus on the benefits your product can provide to the visitor.
3) BUILDUP and CREDIBILITY: So far so good, you haven’t lost them yet. Now comes the tough part. Up to this point you’ve lured them in with some great writing, but now you have to start backing up your claims. This is where you need to throw in some testimonials. Any testimonial you use must be 100% authentic.
4) PROVE YOUR CREDIBILITY: I recommend you always use the person’s real name, city and state in the testimonial.
Testimonials that simply use someone’s initials are always looked at with a skeptical eye, and you know why, no one really knows whether they are real or bogus. Ask the person giving the testimonial if it is OK to use one of their real email addresses in the testimonial. This way people know they can contact this person to verify the authenticity of the testimonial. I have given a number of testimonials through the years and always allow my email address to be used. I have also received a number of inquiries from people wanting to verify if my testimonial was real. It was, and a few of them also became MY customers.
5) BELIEVABILITY BUILDERS: Make certain at this point you offer a no hassle guarantee. A Strong guarantee does not increase refunds, it reduces them. Make the potential customer know that you stand 100% behind what you sell and if they have a problem or are dissatisfied in any way, you are there to help them.
Don’t make them have to hunt around for email addresses or phone numbers. A simple, “if you ever have any problems you can just pick up the phone and call me at 555-555-1212″
Don’t make financial claims you can’t backup. If you are going to brag about how much money you have earned, you better have copies of notarized bank statements on your site showing EXACTLY how much you made. If you haven’t made $500 per day selling a given product, don’t say you have. It’s just not believable. 6) SCARCITY: The limited time offer has been working wonders for years and using it on a web site is no different. Telling the visitor that when the product or special price is gone, it is gone, tends to build a sense of urgency. If they don’t act now they may lose out. They may not lose out, but you need to convince the always skeptical buyer that if they don’t act now, your great offer will be history.
7) ACTION: Quite simply, make it easy for the visitor to order now. ie; Call this number to order now: or, Just CLICK HERE to go to our secure order page.
Don’t make the visitor jump through hoops or have to look all over your site for a place to make an order.
THE WARNING: Learn to play on the visitors fears and emotions. Use a simple statement like this:
“Listen, you can go on making no money for the next 20 years, It doesn’t matter to me, but if you’re serious about changing your life, all it takes is one simple phone call and you’ll be on your way to a new beginning.”
You are touching an emotional flash point. If they’ve gotten this far into your sales letter, you obviously have their interest, so hitting those emotional buttons can be the one thing that makes that sale.
9) NOW: This is building off the emotional buttons you pressed in #8. You need to again drive home the urgency. Convince them they owe it to themselves, that they don’t have to struggle anymore, that there is a better way etc. This is pretty much the icing on the cake.
10) THE POSTSCRIPT: Always end with a PS. You can restate #6, while rewording it differently, remind them this is a limited offer. You can also use the PS to throw in added bonuses by stating that if they act now you will throw in this bonus, or that bonus. You start piling on.
If you’ve followed these 10 points you pretty much have the outline of how some of the best copy writers in the world construct copy that has turned ordinary people into millionaires.
Remember that getting the visitor to your website is just the start. Once they are there you better know what to do with them.
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Listen. Some make submitting pages to search engines sound like the fast track to search engine ranking nirvana. Not to mention you’ll see offers to submit your site to a scadzillion sites for some low nominal fee.
Yeah right. It’s enough to make Pinocchio’s nose grow!
Because it’s just not true. Basically there are really only three search engines that count. Google snags more than 60% of all searches. Yahoo 23%. While MSN search has less than 10%. Which leaves a bit over 5% for the remaining scadzillions to fight over.
So don’t fall for the line those snake oil salesmen would have you believe. You know? That submitting to all known search engines will have the bots lining up like addicts at a methadone clinic to get at your site. With traffic following your high search engine rankings shortly thereafter.
Besides it’s not even necessary. Since if you have just one link from a site already in Google or Yahoo those bots will find you. Sooner or later. Making it safe to keep your wallet securely in your pants or purse.
Now I tell you all this knowing there may be one exception. But only for those who insist on submitting out of some sense of leaving no stone unturned.
If that’s you, do you know which one page might be the only possible exception to the “It Ain’t Necessary to Submit Your Site” rule?
Let me cue up the Final Jeopardy music while you ponder that.
Give up?
Okay, I’m talking about your site map. Reason being your site map points the bots to the promised land of all pages from your site. Or should.
Given that let me make this site map submission thing super quick and easy.
First to insure the bots can’t help but find yours, put a link to your site map in the footer of every page on your site. That’s right, EVERY page. This way no matter which page the bot lands on first it can’t miss your site map. And in turn follow it to all the pages of your site.
But wait. You gotta have a site map to submit a site map, right? Well then, here’s a nifty little site map generator that should be good enough to get you started.
It gets high marks from me because it works and it is available at no charge.
Here’s how it works.
Enter your URL. Click none of the check boxes. Then hit ENTER on your keyboard since there is no start or run key on the page. Then right before your very eyes, in seconds, one general issue site map will appear.
Next “View Source”. Cut and paste the code into your page template and away you go. One quick and dirty site map ready for submission. Or you can edit it a tad to clean it up a bit.
Oh and if you aren’t enamored with that approach here are some other suggestions. Both free and for fee.
Anyway, whether you use a tool to shave hours off the process or feel compelled to create your site map by hand, submitting a site map is a once and done deal. Do so and sooner or later a hapless search engine bot will be assigned to check out the page you submitted. When it does it will think it hit web pages paydirt and get busy indexing all pages in your site.
There. Now you know which page, if any, to submit where.
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