In a perfect world - one could look at a sales page - find the glaring error - fix it and wallah! Done. In the world we all live in it’s not that easy.

Some mistakes are hard to find. Worse what works in one market may not work in yours. People change. Circumstances change. The long and the short of any sales question is… there are no pat answers.  But what if the problem has little if anything to do with the sales copy itself?

Sometimes It’s the Process

What!? What the heck is THAT supposed to mean?

Look. Let’s say your on a trip and your gas gauge dips below your comfort level. What do you do? Duh. You find a gas station and fill it up… right?  Well then, that’s what everyone “I” know would do!

Well that’s a sales process. You need gas. You pull up to the gas station. Maybe you pay at the pump like so many of us do. Maybe you pay it all in cash. Whatever you do you don’t usually think about it.

You Just Do It.

Now let’s say your spouse gets a hankerin’ for a new living room suite. Whatever you are likely to do - that is your personal “sales process”. For most of us it means we end up in some furniture store someplace to close the deal.

Again, you work through a process of some sort - first whatever process you and your spouse go through to decide on what to buy and then you work through process to complete the sale. For most it should be at least a two-step process. So what am I getting at?

All Sales Require Some Sort of Process

And each process differs between products AND buyers. Think about this for a moment.

Consider my “Hot Buttons” product. From my standpoint all  you have to do is click on the order button and the rest is automatic. Maybe you want to pay via a direct debit or use your credit card - either one involves a slightly different process but neither variation matters one bit to me. Maybe you want to send me cash. No problem

But to get someone to the point of “click here to order” there can be many, many processes or ways to get someone to this point. And that’s where the fun begins.

• You could just be poking around, find the link and decide this product is just what you need. (Hey! No argument from me)
• Or maybe I decide to promote it and send off a series of emails demonstrating how you can benefit from this ebook.
• Then again, I could write a special report, post a classified ad, or blog about it right here.

Each way starts a process that may or may not entice you to invest in this resource.

No matter what, chances are someone will realize the value in having these “Hot Buttons” at their fingertips and go for it.

Whether you buy or not you go through a process where you evaluate what I’m offering against what you need and decide one way or the other.

Back to my original point - if your product or service is not selling then the process (or processes) you offer prospective customers fails at one or more points.

• It’s not your headline
• Your bullet points are just fine
• The offer is excellent
• Your guarantee is perfect

But, like a bad comedian, your timing is off.

Take another look at that living room suite. Who drives down the road, decides they need a new sofa and stops at the nearest furniture store to buy the first one they like? Well that’s how you buy gas - more or less.

The processes are different. They have to be because each solves a totally different problem.

If someone tried to sell  you furniture by trotting out in the parking lot and posting the price on a big sign you could see from 1/4 mile a way - you’d just stop and buy it right? Of course not.

So I’m suggesting that you take a good look at what your prospective customers expect - the general processes they use to come to a decision - and start from there. Maybe add a method or two. Like right now, I’m wondering why I’m not posting ads to free ad sites… who knows?

Reconsider who your potential buyers are and why they are coming to your place of business now. Maybe they are expecting something totally different. Or maybe they don’t realize you’ve got exactly what they are looking for! It happens.

By they way - last time I offered a special report “Why Johnny Can’t Sell” by Paul Myers. I’d still like you to have a complimentary copy. Don’t let the price fool you - there’s a gold mine of information in this report.

God bless,

Andy

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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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