Making Sales At Gunpoint

by Mike Enlow

I have received so many emails lately by people wanting a "cooking cutter" process for successful marketing on the Internet. Well frankly, I would be remiss and deceitful if I didn't shoot strait from the hip on this...

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IF YOU THINK MARKETING ON THE NET CAN BE ACHIEVED WITH ANY KIND OF GREAT SUCCESS AS I'VE ENJOYED WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE CORE PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING YOU COULD BE NO FURTHER FROM WRONG!

I have spent (probably) $300,000 finding the "best of the best" experts in their given field, arranged to meet them personally, and spend time picking their brains to learn the fundamentals (and more intimate secrets) to those multi-million dollar success marketing campaigns - and found *one thing consistent* in *every expert!*

Experts become experts by "testing" things that *don't work!* Yes, they spend THEIR money learning what you *shouldn't do!* The lesson is: Seek the counsel of "many wise advisors" and your plans will succeed.

Too many think you can just place a few pages on a web site and then, presto - out pops orders - and money flows into your merchant account. Wrong. Not true. Doesn't happen. (Ask anyone of my tens of thousands of clients, customers and friends out here... it doesn't happen.)

Marketing is the "life blood" of SUCCESS in whatever it is you do, be that a retail shop on the road-side or a Web site on the "information super highway."

So, where do you begin? How do you get those "prospect" to "bite" and pull out their wallet, key in that CC number and part with their hard earned dollars? Well, as this is an "encyclopedic" answer, I will try to encapsulate the *basic foundational principles* of what I think it takes... Ready? OK, let's do it!

First:

You *must* have a "product" (or service) that MEETS THE NEEDS OF YOUR PROSPECT. This product or service must WORK - MUST BE REAL, and not just another of the "bunch" of products like it...

Ask yourself this:

"What is it about my product or service that makes it superior to my "competition"... List those "key points" of why I should give YOU my business over your competitors. Remember, just because you spent twenty grand designing the cover on your video don't make me a flip, I want to know WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?

People are *very selfish creatures* overall. They care *only* about themselves and what they are going to get in exchange for their money. They work hard, they save, they skimp here and there to be able to pay their overdue credit card bills, you have to also:

MAKE A COMPELLING CASE!!

Yes, you have to *EXPLAIN* and *EDUCATE* your customer about you, your product, service or offer. People don't give two hoots about how much you spent dazzling the graphics on your web site. Then don't care *anything* about how hard you worked, they don't care - even if you need a kidney transplant - they care about one thing - SELF! What is it YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE IS GOING TO DO FOR ME?

Now. Think about that... THEN - Go to your web site and see how many "ME's" you have on your site - in your sales copy, your message, your opening lines? Too many unfortunately. The *NUMBER ONE WORD* in your sales copy should be YOU!!! Yes, telling the customer "YOU WILL" ... "YOU SHALL"... "YOU CAN!!!"

I am one of the *few writers* who has successfully out-pulled the 20-30% response rates to a list for "high-ticket" sales. I've had offers that pull as high as 26% at a whopping price of $5000. The only other "high-ticket" guy I am aware of that pulls consistent high returns on high-ticket is my friend and mentor, Jay Abraham. Jay taught me the *value of respecting* my time, my talent, my expertise, and *demanding* a fair marketing price for it. This made me many millions of dollars I would have probably not received had he not *drilled that into my head*.

I say this to help each of you to *respect* your time, your product, or service, and *make sure* you don't make the mistake so many make of "under-valuing" your product or service in a "marketing attempt" to gain new business. This too is a *grave mistake* and one that you will pay for - a long, long time.

You can *never go back UP!* on price, but you can always go down. People who buy will be angered if they pay you $200 - and next week you are selling the same product or service for $30.00 Price is an important aspect of testing your marketing, but not one you should use to try to lift sales when you are at "zero." If you are having little if any success, your problem lies in one of the areas above, i.e., self-centered marketing, or failing to educate your customers to the value of doing business with you vs. your competition.

I have achieved sales successes on both ends of the spectrum, both high ticket and low. The way to do that is simple:

Write a Love Letter

You should *always* have good smooth flowing introduction and education to your visitors as they arrive... Each link should continue the "educational" process of selling them towards your goal of creating a "well educated" buying decision - at a point where they have been coaxed to a "frothing desire" to receive the "what's in it for me" benefits and features of your offer.

Does your copy suck?

Sales copy writing is both an art and a science. The greatest of the greatest experts all teach the same techniques, but I like to throw in a few extra things, I learned from *one writer* most of the others seemingly overlook in today's distrusting world.

Unfortunately, in today's world of "deceivers" there is a new fight for customers that require you integrate a few new psychological characteristics into your sales process.

First, your web site - sales copy - brochure - pitch - must have an "opening theme" that "encapsulates" *all the benefits possible* in as few words - but succinctly and well defined plain language as possible... In other words, you need to define the unique competitive advantage of your offer in the *first impression* you provide each visitor, sale opportunity, you have.

Failure to do this will be catastrophic to your possibilities of success. Don't believe this? Then do this simple test:

IF you listen carefully, this single lesson can *and will* add 1000% to your bottom line, beginning tomorrow, for those of you who are making the mistake of not properly *setting up your sites* to CAPTURE YOUR VISITOR the *moment* they arrive... You have to "draw them in!*

Here's the test I want each of you to do.

I want you to create a web page on the *front page* of your sites that quite literally is done with the imaginary stature that IF YOU DON'T GET EVERY VISITOR TO RESPOND TO YOU - YOU WILL BE SHOT IN THE HEAD!

Yes, I know that's a bit radical, but listen up - this is *the missing link* most of you need. This *single lesson* will change your life if you listen and do it.

Imagine a web site that said, "Thanks for coming by, but I am being held at gun-point, and the 'masked gun-man' will shoot me in the head if the counter changes by a single digit and the phone on my desk doesn't ring! Please call me now, it's a free call - and all you have to do is call and when I answer - hang up the phone."

OK, OK, so I know that's a bit far-fetched, but maybe you are beginning to see the *importance* of *properly getting your market* into your copy, into your offer, to be *entertainedly* educated towards *taking action!*

The *action* you ask them to take *must be* non-threatening - and *absolutely risk free!*

Too many think people should "trust them" when *every one in cyberspace looks the same!* That's right - imagine doing business with a guy who crooks you, and next month this same investor shows on your door-steps with different ID and *swears* he can make you the *same profit* the prior crook made you (when he robbed you blind) and further swears he's NOT THE TWIN BROTHER TO THE CROOK YOU JUST ENCOUNTERED!

This is what it's like when you have 1001 sites offering *everything the same* ... and *not a single one* sets themselves apart by *educating* and making it *comfortable to do business with you!* You should have a telephone number on line, that's answered by a *live body* as often and as much as you can afford to do. Furthermore, that number should cost the customer not one dime to call, and should be manned by none other than "little ole you" for the first few dozen calls, where you are copiously taking notes of *every question* you apparently failed to *cover* or *emphasize* about your offer. The education the market *wants to give you* is priceless towards creating the "stream-lined" sale process we have working for us at The Masters of Marketing Inner Circle and our clients' sites.

You are in control of your destiny. You *will not* find Mike Enlow watering down the *truth* to keep you happy, content, or made to believe your success *will always be easy.* Great success requires sacrifice, diligence, education, and prayer. IT CAN BE YOURS, but only in the direct proportion you are willing to *give first*.

Start today, to educate your customers. This may mean you have to throw out that *perfect punch line* that causes your phones to start ringing where you can *personally interact* and answer questions from your prospects. Once you have those questions - and can provide *good* clear and believable answers to the questions, you will be on your way, not only to greater success, but creating the dream you wish for me to give you - a "stream-lined" process of revenue that frees you from the day to day hassles, allowing you to *enjoy life*.

Kindly, Mike Enlow

PS. Ok, so you *won't* ever get 100% of the visitors to call, write or respond, but stay in this mind-set and you'll have conquered half the battle...

Mike Enlow is founder of the "Masters of Marketing Inner Circle," and specializes in unusual and low-risk methods for increasing your business, both offline and on. To get his free "Instant Cash Flow System" that earned him $37,000 in two weeks, go to: http://www.enlowcircle.com/go/fullstory