If you don't tell them how will they know?

I was talking with a web business the other day that got some great products, web based applications.

Most of their business was gained via networking, and selling,  which is great, but they weren’t getting much business off the site.


The products were really useful, I cannot tell you too much, because I don’t wish to reveal the identity of the company. The problem was the sales copy on their website. For example, it was silent on the free offer that they were running and it did not tell the reader much at all.


These were a few pointers that I went through with them, about sales copy.


There should be a headline to draw the reader into the copy.


The copy should answer the question 'What's in it for me from the reader or listeners point of view.'


When you write copy put yourself in their shoes, asking yourself questions such as; why should I care to read this, how will this product or service  benefit me? What do I need to do to take advantage of this offer, what problems does this product or service solve for me? How will it make my life better, more enjoyable easier, more fun? Are these people genuine is it worth building a relationship with them?


Does the copy explain the features and benefits of the product or service?


What will your call to action be? (Fill in the form, the coupon, sign up for the teleseminar, webinar, call the special number etc).


These are a few of the questions that I would focus on when writing sales copy. These same principles and questions apply tor a website, email, brochure or a script, for a video or audio.


Testimonials should echo what's being said and ideally (for business products and services) denominate the benefit, in terms of time saved, money saved or money made. ROI is useful as well.


Before and after is another useful concept to use.


If you don’t explain or demonstrate what your product or service is about, don’t expect many sales.


If you need help with sales copy you have my details.




Take Care 




Regards Mark 




CONSULTING RECRUITMENT MARKETING SALES


MARK WHEATLEY associates provide business improvement services to help businesses and practices increase sales and profits. Services include Sales and Marketing Recruitment, Marketing Consulting, other Marketing Services, Sales Consulting and Performance Improvement.  They are based in Nottingham in the East Midlands UK.

A results driven approach to your business success


http://www.wheatleyassociates.org/ Copyright Mark Wheatley 2010 All Rights Reserved

Managing Your Sales Numbers

This post is relevant to anyone that uses the phone to follow up leads.

Unless you manage your activity, you won’t know how many calls you need to make a sale. 

The cornerstone of face to face selling is making enough calls.

There was a brilliant book written in the 1930’s by Frank Bettger “How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling” In it he wrote this;

“You can’t collect the commission until you make the sale,

You can’t make the sale until you write the order,

You can’t write the order, until you have an interview

You can’t have an interview until you make a call.”

Frank was making cold calls, there's nothing wrong with cold calling apart from many people don't like doing it. There are plenty of ways of generating leads without cold calling. 

All of the lead generation that I advocate is direct response marketing. Where you are making an offer and asking for people to 'put their hand up' to show you they are interested. What that means is; they fill in the coupon, or go to the website, call the special number etc.

If people have given you their number and expressed an interest, you've got a legitimate reason to call, particularly if you have made it clear that someone will be calling them.

To achieve a certain level of volume in sales you need to create enough activity to hit your target. Kind of obvious that one, but why not take a look at yourself and ask yourself  the question. Am I doing enough to hit my  sales target?

Selling is a process which tends to follow a sequence, a typical sequence could be:

1. Sales Letter
2. Letter Follow Up Introduction Call
3. Presentation
4. Proposal
5. Order
6. Sale (The first invoice)

Consider your own sequence and determine how many letters, emails etc, are required to  and  to hit your annual target?’

Your answer will depend on the number of letters, emails, and follow up phone calls required to get an appointment and the number of appointments that turn into sales.

           

You could be getting plenty of appointments, but not enough sales. This would indicate that the improvement area is somewhere in the presentation and proposal stages.

  

The point is by monitoring your numbers, it tells you where you are successful and where you may need to improve an aspect of the process or your technique. Its the early warning system of a sales slump!

Take Care

Regards Mark 




Integrated Marketing  Copyright Mark Wheatley 2010 All Rights Reserved