Are You Afraid To Sell?
© 2002 Elena Fawkner
Relationship marketing. It's the backbone of a successful online
business. Fail to forge online relationships and your business
will suffer. Simple enough concept, right? But what does
"relationship marketing" really mean? Simply put, it refers to
the principle that, in order to be successful in business,
especially an online business since the Internet is such an
anonymous medium, you need to establish a relationship of trust
with your prospective customers before you can expect them to do
business with you. It requires a commitment to customer service
and a willingness to help others for no certain reward other
than the satisfaction of helping another and building for
yourself and your business a reputation of credibility and
trustworthiness.
At the end of the day, though, if your business is to be
financially successful (and if you don't care about that, you're
engaged in a hobby, not a business), you have to turn a buck.
One of the most common anxieties expressed by new (and even not
so new) online entrepreneurs, though, is that they don't want to
come across as "selling something" to those with whom they have
forged the very relationship that is a prerequisite to actually
making the sale!
In other words, the focus on "relationship marketing" has been
so much on the relationship that the marketing begins to seem
crass and a something of a violation of trust. Many new online
business owners report that they feel like they're taking
advantage of the trust of those with whom they have forged a
bond. Of course, there's no reason to feel any such thing so
long as you believe in what it is you're selling and that it's
something that will benefit your customers. If you don't feel
this way, then your bad feelings are well placed. You ARE taking
advantage!
The discomfort associated with selling is not restricted to the
business owner, either. I have received several indignant emails
over the course of the past three years I have been in this
business from readers of my ezine in response to promotions I
have run for programs I actively promote. The recurring theme of
these sorts of communications is that I have a "responsibility"
to my readers because they've come to rely on me as an
authoritative source of information and I have somehow breached
this responsibility by doing something so crass as to actually
*market* the programs I promote to earn part of my online
income.
Some have even gone so far as to suggest that, since I accept
paid advertising in my ezine, I should be content with that
revenue stream and not seek to make money by promoting outside
programs. (Of course, these are generally the very same people
who complain about the advertising as well.)
My response to this line of reasoning is simply that I'm running
a BUSINESS. I'm not working nights and weekends on my site and
on my ezine out of the goodness of my heart. I'm just not that
noble, trust me. I have a profit motive. Despite what some
people seem to think, a profit motive is NOT, in and of itself,
a Bad Thing. A profit motive is only a Bad Thing when one
misleads, deceives and otherwise takes advantage of the trust of
another to pursue that profit. There's no reason to apologize or
feel guilty for wanting to make an honest profit.
How about you? Do you have just a twinge of uneasiness when it
comes to marketing your products and services? Here are some
ideas to help you overcome the reticence you may feel in
pursuing sales from your prospective customers and how to manage
these relationships so that your customer understands that,
although you are there to help them, you are also out to help
yourself by earning an honest living.
CRYSTALLIZE YOUR PURPOSES
The very first thing you need to do is decide what it is you're
really doing when you create your website or publish your ezine.
Is it a hobby or is it a business? The difference, respectively,
is the absence or presence of a profit motive. If it's a hobby,
fine. Don't try and turn a profit, just enjoy yourself and
generate just enough income to cover your expenses (if you can).
But if it's a business, understand that making a profit is
non-negotiable. It's the reason for your business's existence.
You will no doubt have several purposes. But the profit motive
is key.
Do whatever it takes to crystallize your purposes. For some
people, just thinking about it and making a mental decision is
sufficient. For others, crystallization requires seeing it in
black and white. If that's you, write down your purposes. Again,
though, if you're running a business rather than indulging in a
hobby, turning a profit must be on your list of purposes
(unless, I suppose, you're running a non-profit business but
we'll leave that aside for present purposes). Recognize that
purpose for what it is. Embrace it. PURSUE it with a vengeance.
It's nothing to be ashamed or coy about. So long as you intend
to do so, and actually do so, by legitimate, honest and ethical
means, give yourself permission to aggressively chase a dollar.
BE BUSINESSLIKE AND PROFESSIONAL
The concept of "relationship marketing" does NOT mean getting up
close and personal with your customers. You'll save yourself a
lot of grief and angst if you just keep things businesslike and
professional - friendly to be sure, but not *overly* personal.
It's possible to be friendly and helpful in a professional,
businesslike manner without stepping over the line into the
personal. The people you're dealing with are not your friends,
they're your customers. Of course, over time, you may become
friends with certain people who started out as customers. But
don't start from the position that you have to be friends with
your customers in order to engage in relationship marketing. You
don't. Keep it businesslike and professional and you won't raise
any unrealistic expectations.
ACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH YOUR BUSINESS'S BEST INTERESTS
One way of keeping yourself in check is by constantly testing
your decisions against the criteria "is this decision in the
best interests of my business?". If so, do it, recognizing that
something can be in the best interests of your business even if
it doesn't involve cash flowing in your direction. If not,
don't.
Occasionally, it will be in the best interests of your business
to do something that may be perceived by your customer as a
personal favor. An example might be giving a refund for a
purchase under circumstances where the customer is not strictly
entitled to one and where you have an ongoing relationship with
the customer. You do so in the interests of customer service and
this is certainly an example of something that is in your
business's best interests.
Sometimes, however, customers can take advantage of such a
policy. To forestall this type of problem, if you decide to do
something that benefits your customer/reader/visitor over and
above what they have an entitlement to, make it clear, in a
subtle way, that you are doing so for business reasons. Be
prepared to set limits though. Know how far you are prepared to
go before it stops being a business decision and becomes a
personal one and to the detriment of your business interests.
Being uncomfortable saying "no" is not a good enough reason to
sacrifice your business's best interests if that's the right
decision in all the circumstances.
BE DIRECT AND HONEST
Don't be shy about promoting your products and services and
letting your prospective customers know you would like for them
to purchase from you. Be direct, open and honest about it. For
example, if someone emails me and asks for my advice about how
to get started in an online business of their own, I'll
recommend products that I think will benefit them.
Usually, if I like a product, I'll be an affiliate and so every
time someone purchases that product following my recommendation
I earn a commission. Would I recommend any products that are
directly relevant to my business that I don't have a financial
interest in? No. Why? I have a profit motive. My time is money.
The key is in the products. If I thought there were better
products out there than the ones I was promoting I'd recommend
them too. But only after I signed up as an affiliate so I could
earn a commission from my recommendation.
On the other hand, occasionally I'm asked to recommend a
webhost. I'm an inactive affiliate of one of the major
webhosting companies but I never recommend them because I think
they're too expensive. In this case, I refer the enquirer to the
webhost I use for my own site. I'm not an affiliate of theirs
and I have no financial interest in making the recommendation.
I'm not particularly interested in webhosting as a product to
promote so I haven't bothered (yet) to sign up for my webhost's
affiliate program. It's just an honest recommendation just as
the recommendations I make for products of which I am an
affilliate are honest recommendations. The only difference is, I
make money on the latter and why not?
The point is, so long as you're making an honest recommendation,
there's no reason why you can't make a profit at the same time.
It's a win-win situation. So stop being afraid to sell. It's the
reason your business exists but it won't for long if you don't
sell.
------ ** Reprinting of this article is welcome! ** This article
may be freely reproduced provided that: (1) you include the
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------
Elena Fawkner is editor of A Home-Based Business Online ...
practical business ideas, opportunities and solutions for the
work-from-home entrepreneur. http://www.ahbbo.com
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