Entries from May 2009 ↓

Hi,

For those of you who saw the video embedded in my last post - maybe you caught this. Maybe not.

One of Google’s top analytics experts states the average conversion rate for US web pages is 1-2%. Yeah. So what? Big deal. Well, actually it IS a big deal.

One of the questions I see most often is “What’s a good conversion rate?”. What these business folks are really asking is “Am I selling as much as I should be?” Are you? Consider this…

Paul Hancox in his book The Secrets of a Ten Percent Conversion Rate, says direct salespeople often achieve conversion rates of 20-40%. Do you think those salespeople are satisfied? Even those who consistently converted 40%? So why should you be satisfied with 2% or even 5%? You shouldn’t - pure and simple. So how do you improve upon your now totally unacceptable sales performance? Before I answer that I have a confession to make.

I’ve been an Idiot.

Yes, that IS with a capitol “I”. Though much of this not new to me - as a matter of fact I’m a “natural anti-salesman” - I, too, got tangled up in the “hard sales copy craze”. I bought and read 10% Conversion over a year ago. I bought and read Paul Hancox’s previous book “Small Changes, Big Profits” a couple of years before that. On top of all that, I’ve long billed myself as more of a marketer than a salesperson. What’s the difference?

As I usually say, a salesperson pitches until they make a sale or get thrown out. A marketer finds a need and fills it.

While this is simplified, you get the idea. So whats my point?

Recently I read a report that brought all this together and finally woke me up to the truth about sales and selling. I’ve been having a miserable run at copywriting lately only to find out what should have been so obvious…

Copywriting doesn’t “work” anymore!

Or rather, it’s getting harder and harder to make a living if you model yourself after the “carnival hawker”. It’s time for a better approach. It’s time for

Process Selling

What is process selling? Simply put it’s recognizing sales is a process and changing your approach to your prospects accordingly. I’ll delve into this more and more in the coming months… and then some.

Meanwhile, I’ve got a report I’d like to give you that explains all this very well. It’s called “Why Johnny Can’t Sell” by Paul Myers. Don’t let the fact that it doesn’t cost you a cent fool you - it’s one of the best reports you’ll ever read.

I’m not even collecting email addresses to give you this. My subscribers may cry foul because I usually reserve the best stuff for them alone. But this is too important to mess around. If you sell anything, you need this.

Right now the credibility for marketers - especially online marketers - is at an all time low. The sooner business moves way from “hypesterizing” and towards a more customer-focused, problem-solving win-win style of true marketing, the better things will get for all of us.

‘Nough said - get your copy of “Why Johnny Can’t Sell” here.

There is just one thing I’d like in return, if you would - please come back and let me know by adding a comment to this post.

God bless,

Andy

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