Stop Wondering How To Sell Online - THIS IS IT!

I received several questions lately and all are trying to get at the same basic question ...... "If I already have products or services, how can I sell them online and use the insights you have been sharing in your last few blog posts?"

If your objective is to remain focused on your current products and services and to implement a strategy to sell them online, I recommend you create online sales campaigns. These sales campaigns should include content products that you choose to leverage in one or both of the following ways:

1. Provide high value content packaged in a product at no cost you include as part of your campaign when reaching out to your prospect .... if the content product is something that addresses a real need for your prospect, it will go a long way in building trust and rapport with your prospect. Thus creating a higher level of probability the prospect will buy your product online .... removing the need to involve a sales person ....... or if you want to continue to make the sale through a sales person, it will increase the probability the prospect will take your call and/or a meeting with you to learn how they can get more value by buying your products/services.
2. Another alternative for your consideration is the same approach as number 1, but also bundle another content product with your core product for even more value if they buy from you. 

You may recall in a previous blog, I outlined a sample for what an online sales campaign might look like. The following is that outline:

The sales campaign model looks something like this:

• Target customer receives 3 well written/scripted emails .... each 2 or 3 days apart. With each email is a video that is high value content teaching something that can be used to address a real need at no cost to the target customer. The key here is that the sales person is delivering the value in the video without any focus on making a pitch to sell something to the target customer .... creating trust and rapport along the way. 
• The 4th email and video is where the pitch to sell something is made. In the video, your salesperson who has been positioned as a thought leader/expert and has delivered high value content .... now communicates .... if you liked what we have provided you in the 3 part video series, let me tell how you can get more by buying our products and services. 

Each of the emails sent out as part of the online campaign are scripted/written to add value through the video product series that is provided at no cost. The content is created and packaged using a framework that clearly shows how to move from point A to Point B ..... thus learning your topic as quickly as possible in the right sequencial steps. Which is what everyone wants to accomplish when they are learning something. They might not put it in these words, but they are saying .... get me from where I am (Point A) to where I want to be (Point B) as fast as possible.  

I talk to so many people who want to transition to online sales and don't know how to approach it. The approach is to create an online sales campaign that includes a "stand-alone" content product you have created for your target prospect/customer. This content product provides such high value to address your prospects needs .... they want to learn how they can buy from you to get more. The more is your core products/services.

Stop looking for "how to" use online sales to increase your revenues .... This Is The Approach .... GET STARTED TODAY! Let me know how I can help!

Follow @PatAlacqua

Differentiate Your Company & Sales Staff

In my last blog post, I talked about "how to" monetize content products/programs. I outlined 4 approaches.

Today I want to get you thinking how you can differentiate your company and your sales staff with 1 of the approaches you can use for selling.

Consider one of your experienced sales people as I get you thinking about a new & different approach to close sales.

The following 5 steps are what it takes to implement an approach that will differentiate you from competition while increasing sales results.

1. Create a positioning story that will get your prospects to perceive both your company & sales person as thought leader/expert in a select topic area. This story will then be integrated into communications with them.
2. Create content products & programs that your prospects will be able to take what they learn and use to address their needs. We talked about how to get started creating these in my last blog. The key here is that your sales person is the primary messenger in the videos or other formats that are used for content product creation.   
3. Create a web page and You Tube channel for the sales person that tells the positioning story you created in step 1 above.  More on what is included on web page later.
4. Use a scalable cloud based content technology platform that includes a private customer portal and auto-responder ...  inexpensive and easy to use. Nothing to install .... nothing to support .... you just focus on product creation and sales. 
5. Create your online sales campaigns that launch when your sales person targets a prospect, when a prospect visits your web site or You Tube channel and when connecting with a prospect through a channel partner.

The following is included on the web page that is created:

• A video that features a content product/program. This video and featured content product should change out periodically. The visitor watches the video ... the video communicates that once the person provides their contact info, they will have immediate access to a 3 part video series. This video series begins the sales campaign. 
• Sales person's BIO.
• Overview of content products & programs. When someone clicks thru to learn more, they are taken to an optin landing page that gets their contact info and then the online sales campaign begins. More on the campaign model later.
• Pictures and videos that reinforce the sales person's positioning story.

The sales campaign model looks something like this:

• Target customer receives 3 well written/scripted emails .... each 2 or 3 days apart. With each email is a video that is high value content teaching something that can be used to address a real need at no cost to the target customer. Again, the key here is that the sales person is delivering the value in the video without any focus on making a pitch to sell something to the target customer .... creating trust and rapport along the way. 
• The 4th email and video is where the pitch to sell something is made. In the video, your salesperson who has been positioned as a thought leader/expert and has delivered high value content .... now communicates .... if you liked what we have provided you in the 3 part video series, let me tell how you can get more by buying our products and services. 

Get started today. Use this approach to differentiate you with your competition and increase your sales results. Take one or 2 of your sales people and create a pilot to implement and evaluate results. 

If I can be of any help, just give me a holler. I can coach you through the process from strategy to implementation .... even take on some of the activities for you if you need some bandwidth to create the "pilot."

 
Follow @PatAlacqua

"How To" Monetize Knowledge & Experience

I got some great feedback by email on my last blog about using online sales campaigns to increase your sales. Included with this feedback were some questions I will take the time to answer today.

• When considering product strategy, what are some alternatives for monetizing information/content products & programs?
• How do I get started creating content products & programs?

These are some alternatives for you to consider for leveraging information/content products and programs:

1. Provide VALUE (free) as part of your selling process to your prospects to more quickly build trust and rapport so they will want to buy your core products/services.
2. Bundle content products & programs with your core product/service packages to add value and increase sales of your core product/service packages.
3. Create new revenue streams from the sales of content products & programs.
4. Create internal training programs and systems for onboarding staff into new roles.

Once you build the creation of content products and programs into your operating processes (this is not hard), you will identify other ways aside from the 4 alternatives above to consider when setting strategies.

I will now take a few moments to address the other question .... How do I get started creating content products and programs?

Stay focused on the fact that people who are looking for advice and "how to" information always want the same thing. They want to shorten their learning curve. They want to get from Point A to Point B as fast and effectively as possible.

So ..... identify Point B .... begin with the end in mind .... what is the goal your target prospects/customers want to reach ... for example, what they want to learn ... want to achieve ... want to have .... and so on.

Once you identify the goals your prospects/customers want to reach, then breakdown the sequencial steps to get there. Take a high level approach initially to identifying these steps so you have 4 to 7 in total. This framework will begin to shape how to get from Point A to Point B. This begins to help you organize what you will teach/communicate for each part of your framework.

Let's use Steven Covey as an example. The approach he had great success with when he wrote his book. Many of you have read or have heard of his book ..... 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. When he began the planning process to write the book, he identified the outcome (Point B) people were reaching for as ... taking control of your life and becoming a highly effective person.

He then created the following step-by-step framework to get there:

1. Be Proactive
2. Begin With The End In Mind
3. Put First Things First
4. Think Win/Win
5. Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen The Saw

Once he created the 7 steps to becoming an effective person, he began to organize all his thoughts around each of the steps in the framework ... he identified his main points, provided examples of each main point, told stories to demonstrate what he meant and then provided step-by-step directions on how to learn and apply each step in the framework.  This enabled people to learn more quickly and effectively. If you were to go back and look at his book, you will see he arranged his thoughts with this type of framework.

Stephen Covey then took his framework and created many different types of information products/programs. Of course the book was one. He went into corporations and taught people to train others within their companies. He created seminar programming. I could go on and on with the products he created around his framework, but I believe you get the "gist."

TAKE YOUR OWN STEPS TODAY.... leverage content products and programs to increase your sales ...... GET STARTED CREATING the products and programs you can provide your target prospects and customers to help them reach their goals and objectives. 

 
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Entrepreneurs - 15 Questions to Ask Yourself

Whether or not you are planning your start-up, launching a new product and/or focusing on what it will take to get your business to the next level, ask yourself these questions.

1. Clarify my goals ... where do I want to go?
2. What kind of enterprise do I want to build?
3. What risks & sacrifices does such an enterprise require?
4. Can I accept these risks and sacrifices?
5. Setting strategy ... how will I get there?
6. Is the strategy well defined?
7. Can the strategy generate sufficient profits and growth?
8. Is the strategy sustainable?
9. Are my growth goals too conservative or too aggressive?
10. Executing the strategy .... can I do it?
11. Do I have the right resources and relationships?
12. How strong is the organization?
13. Can I play the role required? 
14. What knowledge, experience and skills gaps exist amongst my team and I?
15. What advisors can I put in place for support? 

 
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Asking for Advice & Input - Maximizing The Results

To maximize the value you get when seeking advice from your business advisor and/or any member of your team, give consideration to these questions. Being prepared to discuss your answers to these questions will provide the background for you to get the insights you are seeking to move your agendas forward.

1. What are the 3 most important strategic objectives you would like to achieve for the planning horizon you are focusing on?
2. What are the 3 biggest road blocks .... internally and/or externally .... that are preventing you from meeting all of your objectives?
3. What tools, skills and concepts would you like to explore, so we can cope with the road blocks .... while trying to  achieve your strategic objectives?

 
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Looking Ahead - Trends & Trigger Points

Identifying Opportunities & Threats - Stay out in front of your business by identifying the most favorable and unfavorable trends that will have the highest impact on your success. An easy framework of thinking to ensure you effectively manage a dynamic changing environment is as follows:

TRENDS: when you can connect two or more points to show a direction, you have a trend (ie: increased bookings of 4% to 6% for the past 3 months). 


TREND INDICATORS: what quantified factual data ($; units; ratios; costs; tons; margins; etc) can be tracked to monitor your trend (favorable or unfavorable). 


TRIGGER POINTS: what pre-determined level in the trend (favorable or unfavorable) will cause you to take action? Change your strategy? Review an existing policy? ....... what ACTION will you take to pursue an opportunity or prevent a threat? Who has the authority to act? How much $$$ is allocated to address?


This kind of "disciplined" thinking will help you stay on top of the opportunities and threats for your business as you navigate your company to its next level of growth. 


Strategic Planning systems do NOT have to be just for the larger companies. There are easy to implement ongoing methods for any size company that provide you the vision and clarity for taking the right actions to guide your business to greater profits and value.

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3 Conditions for Considering Opportunity

As a business looks for new opportunities, it is critical to find cost effective ways to quickly qualify different ones. It is often important to decide what opportunities you don't want to consider before you start spending time and money on diligence for the ones you think may have some value.

I try and simplify the initial process by determining if 3 conditions exist whenever someone brings an opportunity to me.

1. Is there a distinct growing need (short-term and long-term) that is supported by customer evidence in a market large enough to be meaningful for us?
2. Do we have the ability to service customers better than the competition and is our product/service better than the alternatives?
3. Can we attain acceptable margins?

If the above answers are satisfactory, I create the following outline for further consideration:

1. What is the scope of the opportunity?
2. What obstacles stand in the way?
3. What must we do to make things happen and successfully make the opportunity a reality?
4. What must we ensure DOES NOT happen if we move forward?

As you know, there is so much more to evaluate opportunities, but often there are some easy questions to consider so you can qualify what NOT to spend time on.

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