The Two Things You Must Have To Start an Online Business

Did you know you can outsource pretty much everything you need to start an online business? Everything except for your idea – that’s got to be yours. And overcoming fear. Only you can do that. So let’s say you come to me, wanting to start an online business.

You’re a blank slate, in that you don’t have a clue where to start or what to do. No worries, because someone who is a blank slate actually holds a tremendous advantage over someone who already thinks they know it all when in fact they don’t really have a clue.

So you come to me and ask what you should do. And I stuff a pad of paper and a pen in your hand, and I tell you to go somewhere quiet and think. Because you’re going to brainstorm like you’ve never brainstormed before.
You’re going to write down every idea you get. Good ones, bad ones, stupid ones – even the ones you KNOW for a FACT you cannot possibly pull off.

You’re going to write them all down. “I want to teach a cooking course to people who currently can’t boil water.”
“I want to build an app that tells people where the vacant parking spots are in New York City.” “I want to build a community gardening site for people who live in southern Florida.”

And so forth.  Be vague. Or get specific. Just brainstorm your heart out. Speaking of which, watch for those items that feel especially near and dear to you, and put a little star by those. And then keep writing. You’re going to start your business on YOUR idea – not on what’s necessarily gone before or what other people are doing.

Lose all preconception of what will and what won’t work for now. That comes later. By generating your own business model without worrying about what anyone else is doing, you’re freeing yourself up from comparisons, crappy advice, and self-doubts. Your business model can be anything you can imagine.

Online Business

Naturally, once you’ve narrowed your choices down to a handful, you’re going to do some research to make sure there is indeed a market for what you’re proposing.  But I’m going to discourage you from spending a lot of time looking at any potential competitors. Ignore what they’re marketing, how they’re marketing it, how they’re advertising and so forth.

Ignore what they’re marketing, how they’re marketing it, how they’re advertising and so forth. Because that is where people learn to fear their own idea. “This is already being done, so I’m too late!” “This company is already doing a good job of covering this market, there’s no room for me.”

“Their idea is different from mine, so theirs must be the right one and mine must be wrong.” And so forth. Thus, you’re eliminating one type of fear that plagues all new marketers.

But there is a second fear you’ll need to overcome – the one that creeps up on you when your friends say, “What, YOU’RE going to start a business? HAHAHA!” Or maybe your friends are supportive, but you lack confidence. “What if people hate my product?”

Yup. There’s a real heart stopper. And you cannot outsource overcoming those fears. So how do you deal with them? For me, I just acknowledge them rather than fight them. Yes, I’m afraid. No, I’m not going to let it stop me. So Mr. Fear, you go sit in that chair over there while I work. And if you get bored, feel free to fly out the window.

Fear, you go sit in that chair over there while I work. And if you get bored, feel free to fly out the window. Believe it or not, this attitude works. When you stop letting fear take hold of you, when you stop feeling like you’re trapped in its icy grip, when you just acknowledge it and do the work anyway, then fear tends to get real quiet. It takes a seat and watches for an opening. And if you don’t give it one, eventually it just leaves the way it came.

It takes a seat and watches for an opening. And if you don’t give it one, eventually it just leaves the way it came.
Ignore what’s going on around you. Put blinders on, manage your fear and above all else, stick to your idea.

You should also see

The post The Two Things You Must Have To Start an Online Business appeared first on OnlineBizPro.

How to Make $5000 a Month Without Your Own List

How To Double Conversion on High Ticket Items With One Sentences

Believe it or not, a single sentence can literally double the conversions you get on your higher ticket items. Yes, this sounds too good to be true, but once I reveal what the sentence is, you’ll understand. Now mind you, do not try this with low ticket items. You’ll hate yourself in the morning if you do.
Then again, if you have a lot of time on your hands, it’s your decision as to whether you try this on a $50 item or not.

In my experience, not many marketers are doing this – probably because they’re either too lazy or they simply have no clue how powerful this can be. Okay, are you ready for the sentence?

Here it is…

“Please get in touch with us personally if you have any questions.”

That’s it. Simple, right?

Then you give them options. It could be a dedicated email address, a phone number or a chat box.
The key is to make it a soft invitation, no strings attached. You want to be clear you’re not going to strong arm them once you get them on the phone. Here’s why it works so well:

You’re asking for a lot of money for your high ticket item. Maybe that’s $300 or $3,000, I don’t know. But whatever it is, it represents a sizeable investment for your customer. It’s not like they’re buying a $10 ebook.

So naturally, they’re hesitant. They need just a bit more of a push to take the plunge.
And for some of them, simply knowing they can get in touch with you is enough. This tells them you are indeed a real person with a real business and this is a real product. They relax. They have more confidence in you. And they order.

For others, they have a legitimate question that you either forgot to answer in your sales material, or you did answer it but they didn’t see it.

In either case, they really want that answer before they buy. With these folks, you will often be off of chat or email or the phone in less than 5 minutes. Sometimes in less than 2 minutes.

Invite

Then there’s the third type of person. Their only real question is, “Are you for real?” because they want to know what happens if they have trouble with your product. Are they going to be able to get in touch with you? How quickly will you answer? And so forth.

They need reassurance that you’ll still be there in a month if they decide to use your guarantee. They might even get in touch with you more than once just to make sure.

There is a fourth type of person in this scenario I need to warn you about. This is a tire-kicker, and they will likely waste your time. The problem is, you don’t know at first if they simply need reassurance, have real questions or they’re just bored and looking to chat.

If you suspect they’re just wasting your time, you can politely tell them you have another caller and you have to go. But generally, this isn’t a problem, especially when you check your numbers and realize your sales have about doubled since you offered customers the opportunity to get in touch with you.

One last thing – which communication method should you offer them to get in touch with you? That’s totally up to you. Ideally, you want to offer all three – phone, chat, and email. And if you have a virtual assistant helping you out, you can do that.

We’ve found that offering all 3 choices has the biggest impact on sales. But if it’s just you, then you might want to limit the choices to just the one or two you’re most comfortable with for now. You can always add another method later.

Hope you enjoyed this post. If you did, please share with a like minded friend!

Until next time,

The post How To Double Conversion on High Ticket Items With One Sentences appeared first on OnlineBizPro.

“Old School Marketing Yields 7 Figures”

Marketing methods might change, but people don’t. Not really.

I know a guy who consistently makes seven figures in his business without studying the newest, latest and greatest online marketing techniques.

Instead, he investigates conventional "offline" procedures that have worked for decades , not just weeks or years.

His clients cherish him and his commodities sell like crazy.

For example, he knows that people need to see an advertisement in a newspaper or publication as many as 7 periods before they buy.

So he applies retargeting- those ads that seem to follow you from website to website- to make sure he gets appreciated sufficient time to acquire the sale. He knows from old school commerce that people do business to those used they are aware, like and trust.

And when they want to make another acquisition, they again go back to the person they are aware, like and trust.

So he does everything he can to treat his clients like family and pay their trust. Of course, he applies technology to automate everything, but that doesn't change the facts of the case that he loves his both consumers and lets that cherish show in every communication.

He likewise continues a list of VIP clients and plows them accordingly. He'll create a personal video for a single client, or send them a endow or snail mail letter.

In reality, he does one of the following options every single day for his VIP's, which might account for how well he sells Large-hearted ticket parts in the $2000 to $5000 range.

He seems out for customers often like a best friend might. When he realizes something that he believes is a victimize, he informs them away from it. When he speculates of something that will help his clients, he shares it the same day.

He inspects client's websites and leaves statements. He reacts emails, and I represent he actually reacts them himself if it's a VIP client. Online really is the same as offline, in that we are faced with PEOPLE. Funny how we tend to forget that sometimes.

If you had a store with people treading in the door, you would hopefully realize them as people. But online they are unable turn into faceless email addresses, which I think is why so many online marketers struggle.

They forget that online selling is actually a PEOPLE business. So grab an old commerce notebook and start read. Question yourself how it applies to the internet.

You might be surprised at your results.

Read more here...

Internet Marketing – Know Your Starfish

“One morning an old man was walking on a near beach. He saw, in the distance, a boy surrounded by thousands and thousands of starfish that had been washed up on the beach. As eagerly as he could, the young man was picking them up and throwing them back into the ocean.

Puzzled, the older man approached the young boy and asked, “Little boy, what are you doing?”
He responded without looking up, “I’m trying to save these starfish.”

The old man laughed and said to him, “Son, there are thousands of starfish and only one of you. This will take you all year! And anyway, you’re not going to make a difference to the beach like that.”
Holding a starfish in his hand, the boy turned to the man and threw the starfish into the water in front of him saying, “Well, it made a difference to that one!”

Sometimes online we forget that everyone who uses our services and products is individuals that we are helping with our knowledge and expertise. We focus sometimes too heavily on numbers and getting our customer base up so that we can make more money, forgetting that it is much more about the quality we can provide than the quantity of people that use us.

Yes, it is great to get more people, it means we are doing well, but in order to get to that stage, we must treat every client as an individual. When we do this, the results are much more powerful, even if it makes the process a little slower. In the long run, we will retain more long-term loyalty and word of mouth will be that you are a decent and caring person to come to.

Often, this is the motivating factor to enable people to choose you over a competitor in your field. People want to be valued and treated as if you are speaking directly to them – Internet Marketing is not just business, it’s personal. Remember that.”

Source….

So here are 3 ways you can individualize your services and make people feel valued even if at first, it doesn’t seem like you should put so much attention into one little starfish –

Starfish

1. Do something unexpected

When I make a significant purchase or go to an important event, a follow-up call, email, or handwritten note lets me know that I wasn’t just a job or a big money sign for you and your company – that you’re thinking about me in that moment- and that makes me like you and want to use you again.

Even something as simple as replying to my questions on Twitter, engaging with me by using my name or adding a lovely personal/complimentary (even funny) thank you message that has my name in it.

2. Return phone calls and emails as quick as you can

I know we are all busy with home stuff and work stuff but nothing shows customer importance than how quickly or slowly you get back to me as a client. The return call or email response that comes within minutes after I leave it, tells me that you respect me enough to show that sense of urgency.

You know that famous statement that a satisfied customer makes when they say – “Wow! Thanks for getting back to me so quickly!” That is an impressive skill to have, use it if you can.

3. Respect my ignorance

There will be a lot of things your customers know and don’t know and the level that they are on will be dependent on their experience. The problem is when you are at the end game of a subject that you know most things about and a customer keeps asking you the most basic questions about it, you can get frustrated with their ‘stupidity’.

But you’ll never win by making them feel stupid or losing your cool and giving a short, sharp or sarcastic reply. Indulge a customer’s question, even encourage it, giving as full and as gentle a reply as possible. This will help them to like you and believe in your brand and also will place you as an expert.

People who ask questions and are met with dignity and encouragement will come back to you to buy more of your stuff because they will trust that you are the person that knows and that is able and willing to help them.

Hope you got value from this post! Please, feel free to share your thoughts…

Until next time,

You should also see 

The post Internet Marketing – Know Your Starfish appeared first on OnlineBizPro.

(Snapchat) Is This Your Next Social Media Sales Generator?

There is a myth that Snapchat is for individuals only – not business.

Well, it’s not true.

And today we’ll show you exactly how you can build a following and a brand on Snapchat that brings you new visitors, customers, and sales for your business.

So let’s start at the beginning…

What is Snapchat?

Simply put, Snapchat is a social media platform launched in 2011 for sharing photos and videos that automatically self-destruct within seconds of the receiver opening it.

It’s easy to use, and young people, as well as celebrities, love it. It’s also regarded as one of the best apps to send and receive pictures.

And of course, you can also chat and message people with Snapchat as well.

Facebook tried to buy Snapchat and couldn’t, so they launched their own app called Slingshot.
What, you never heard of Slingshot? Neither has most anyone else. Sorry Facebook, but Snapchat rules.

So why do people love Snapchat? Besides being fun and immediate, it’s also private. You can share photos with anyone without worrying they’ll be stored and uploaded to the internet for public viewing.

Since all photos and videos self-destruct within a few seconds, it doesn’t give the receiver a chance to do anything but view them.

How do you get started on Snapchat?

It’s really pretty self-explanatory. Download the app from the app store. It’s available on Android, iOS, and Windows.

Open the app, fill in your details, verify your identity and add your contacts. It will walk you through the process step-by-step, and it’ll only take a few minutes.

Then pick your personal preferences and you’re ready to go.

You can add taglines or short captions to your photos, as well as adding filters. Then you can send your photos and of course, receive them as well.

You also have the option of adding stories. A story can be a video or series of pictures that lets followers know what you’ve been doing, or whatever you want to share. A story lasts for 24 hours and then it self-destructs.

You can also start chat sessions with your followers. It works much like any other chat messenger, with one exception: You won’t be able to read the chat once you close the window because it will have self-destructed.

Snapchat Myths

We already mentioned the most prevalent myth – that Snapchat isn’t for business or doesn’t allow marketing.

Not so. If you look at the storytelling feature of Snapchat, you’ll see it’s highly effective for promoting campaigns, products and so forth. And because it’s done in pictures and videos (with or without captions) it’s easier and faster for people to consume than a written work.

Another myth is that it takes too long to establish yourself on Snapchat. This is going to depend on how interesting your campaigns are and how many followers you can initially bring into the platform.

By leveraging followers you already have on Facebook, Twitter, email, your website and so forth, you can begin with a large following in place.

Then there is the myth that Snapchat is overshadowed by other platforms. This is an apples and oranges comparison since there is no other platform exactly like Snapchat. Facebook and Twitter are message based, Snapchat is image based. Facebook and Twitter appeal to an older crowd and Snapchat appeals to a younger (under 40) crowd.

Read More Here...