Your 5-Step Internet Sales Cycle

Many people seem to think that selling on the Internet is a complete mystery. Funny how we see the Net as its own entity instead of just another marketing channel.

When I meet people and they say they're going to start an "Internet business", I get worried. It's as if that's all they need to know -- not what they're selling or who their customers are. (I mean, when faxes first came out, did you hear people saying they were just starting a "fax business"? Not really.)

The Internet is just one type of media that can sell for your business, and it follows a sales cycle like any other. It's not magic ... it's a process.

But once you WORK that process, it CAN work like magic!

So let's look at the five basic parts of the Internet sales cycle:

1. Collect Leads

Who are you looking for? Your answer should match your ideal client or customer. (Please don't say that's "everybody"!) Do you market to women? Men? What ages? What professions? Certain areas of the country or world? What publications do they read? What interests do they have?

The answers to these questions will help you determine where and how you can find these folks. There are tons of ways to get leads online: search engines, pay-per-click ads, banner ads, articles, blogs, directories, and other types of advertising and promotions.

2. Get Them in Your Funnel

Once you've found who you're looking for, you need to get them in your "sales funnel". On the Internet, that means get them on your list. The best way to make this easy is to offer a free ezine or e-course.

On your website, getting visitors on your list should be your #1 objective! Why? Up to 99% of your first-time visitors will not buy from you or even contact you. They'll take a quick look and then click away, and you've lost them forever. These people are already valuable prospects -- they took the time to find your site and are interested in the subject matter or products you deal with. Does your home page or landing page give the visitor a bazillion choices? If so, ditch the clutter and give them a compelling invitation to sign up for your ezine or e-course.

3. Follow Up

Marketing studies have always shown that your prospects need to be exposed to your message at least 9 times before they'll take action! (Some say it takes even more times on the Internet.)

In traditional sales, real people had to follow up with their prospects via live meetings, phone calls, or postal mailings... over and over and over. What a lot of work! But the Internet makes all this easy, instant, practically free, and ... automatic.

This is where your ezine or e-course works like a charm, following up for you automatically. In fact, with many of the programs available today, you can schedule email messages up to two years away! It's like putting your marketing on auto-pilot, so you can just "set it and forget it"!

4. Close the Sale

The goal of your ezine or e-course should be to drive the reader to buying what you have. Of course you're also providing useful content and information -- that's why they got on your list, and that's why they'll stay on your list. But your underlying objective is to make more sales.

Most people make the mistake of trying to sell from the actual email. That is, drive them straight from the email to taking out their wallet. This is usually not effective for two reasons: 1) you don't have the room in an email to fully explain what you're selling and demonstrate its value to the prospect, 2) it can turn people off who aren't ready to buy yet, and you'll lose those prospects from your list.

The idea of the email is to get them excited about your offering and to get them to CLICK.

Once they click, they're taken to a sales page that you set up specifically for that product or service you're promoting. It's THERE that the prospect will get the full scoop on how great it is, why they need it, how much it costs, how to order, etc.

5. Upsell, and Upsell Again

Here's the biggest mistake I made when I started to sell my first information product online (Boost Business With Your Own Ezine): It was the ONLY product I had to offer for 2 whole years! So once anyone bought it, I had nothing else in my funnel to sell them. (Marketers also call this having a "back end" product.) That meant I had to work extra hard at finding new prospects all the time.

Smart salespeople know it's much easier to sell to people who have already bought from you than to constantly go out and find new prospects.

I finally realized I already had thousands of valuable customers who knew, liked, and trusted me. They'd already purchased a product from me that they were happy with. So I learned more about WHAT ELSE they wanted.

That's when I began churning out valuable new products and programs that my customers ate up like crazy. And that strategy took me from sales of less than 5,000 dollars a month to these days averaging 50,000 dollars a month!

Now, that didn't happen overnight! In fact, I recommend starting with ONE product like I did. It makes learning this entire process much easier, and your results will come faster. Once you get the system down, you can start adding more valuable offerings to your prospects and customers.

Learn It, Work It, Live It

Pretty simple, yes? Based on this model, you may see the missing links in your own Internet sales cycle. Have patience, keep learning, fill in these gaps, and you'll start to see the magic work for you.

© 2005-2006 Alexandria K. Brown

Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," publishes the award-winning 'Straight Shooter Marketing' weekly ezine with 20,000+ subscribers. If you're ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at www.EzineQueen.com

Run Your Business From Home?

Here's 10 Ways to Be More Productive


Ah, working at home sweet home... Visions of leisurely days, conference calls in comfy sweatpants, increased productivity with fewer interruptions. But the distinctions between work life and home life soon blur. You really should throw some laundry in the wash before you write that proposal. You have an hour before a meeting: Should you balance your books or clean the kitchen? And remember to call that client back right after you empty the cat box.

Welcome to the real world of the home office: unforeseen distractions, a lack of structured time, and sometimes a perceived loss of identity. But don't give up the dream just yet! By putting into place a few simple ideas, you can reap more of the rewards of staying home-bound. Based on my experiences and those of my clients, here are 10 simple ways to help you stay on track.

1. Separate Your Space.

Keep a separate, distinct work area in your home. Very important. (This is especially difficult if you're living and working in a shoebox apartment, like I was when I started my business in New York City!) If you don't have a separate room, at least define an area, and know that when you're in it, you're in "work mode."

2. Structure Your Time.

As your business and personal time mesh, it's more important than ever to structure your day. For example, if you regularly take a walk or go to the gym, try to do it every day at the same time. Value that personal appointment with yourself -- even when you're very busy. It will actually help you keep your business on track! I like to get up early and work until 1 pm, then I take a few hours off to enjoy lunch and go to the gym or jog on the beach. Then I'm back at my desk at 5:00 until who knows when!

3. Outsource All You Can.

When I began my business, I made the mistake of doing all my own administrative work. Whenever you start thinking, "Well I can just do that myself," STOP. Streamline your business, making everything as automatic as possible. Use outside services to stay focused on your *real work*. Get accounts with an overnight delivery service, messenger service, errand service, bookkeeper, etc. Save your time and energy for your brilliant ideas! (Learn more about hiring a virtual assistant (VA) at www.ezinequeen.com/assistanttele.htm)

4. Use Technology to Your Advantage.

In-person meetings are very valuable when appropriate, but schedule them sparingly. Try to do most of your business via phone, fax, and e-mail using the best equipment you can afford. For most of us, when we're out of the office, we're not bringing in the bacon! So it's important that you can communicate flawlessly from where you are. PLEASE do us all a favor and get separate lines/services for your phone, fax, and Internet! No one likes getting a busy signal or having to call first before faxing.

Get separate lines for home and business, or ask your phone company about getting "distinctive ring". Also, voicemail is better than an answering machine, because if you're on an important call and don't want to be disturbed, other callers can still leave you a message.

5. Group Your Errands.

Try to group your meetings and errands together to minimize your out-of-office time. Make a list in the morning of all the outside tasks you need done for the day, and attempt to complete them in one fell swoop. Even better, do what I used to do and designate just one day a week as your "blitz" day for errands and meetings. Plus, then you only need to get dressed up one day a week! : ) (Nowadays I use an errand service to run around for me.)

6. Stay Focused.

Make your workspace off-limits to other roommates or family members when you're working. For you animal lovers, this may go for pets as well. (My cat Francine gets extremely jealous when I'm not giving her complete attention!) Keep all personal paperwork such as bills, magazines, and to-do lists out of sight, so they won't distract you from your work projects.

7. Beware of Yappers.

Many of your friends and family will be immediately delighted when they learn that you're now home-officing. They picture you lounging on the couch, eating potato chips, and waiting for their calls. When they call you simply to chat, politely remind them that you're working, and ask them if you can call them back after your day is over. It may take them a while, but they'll eventually get the idea.

8. Work With Your Moods.

Keep track of your moods and productivity compared with the time of day. For example, if you find you're more alert in the morning, use this time to make important calls and do your creative work. Take advantage of your natural cycles. If you feel better after an afternoon nap, go for it! (I'm a BIG proponent of the catnap. In fact, I may start a support group.)

9. Suit Yourself.

To bring out your best work, make your environment perfect for YOU. How do you work best? With plenty of breaks, or with no interruptions? In silence, or with some light music in the background? On a cushy couch and coffee table, or at a business desk in an ergonomic chair? (My friends thought I was nuts when I spent $750 on my Herman Miller Aeron chair, but they quickly understood why I did once they sat in it! It will last forever and my spine thanks me every day.)

Also, find some places you can do work when you need a change of scenery. How about the library, the park, or your neighborhood coffee shop? When I need to do serious reading, thinking, or editing, I take my work outside to the beach. The sea air, sunshine, and soothing waves help me think much more clearly.

10. Break for People.

Feeling sluggish, lonely, or moody? Arrange for at least one social break during the week. Schedule breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even just coffee with a client, vendor, or friend. Join a business networking group, or sign-up for social activities such as dance class or recreational sports league. Don't go into hermit mode -- it can be self-destructive!

© 1999-2006 Alexandria K. Brown

Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," publishes the award-winning 'Straight Shooter Marketing' weekly ezine with 20,000+ subscribers. If you're ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at www.EzineQueen.com