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One very common mistake that online service professionals make is providing endless information on their website, blog, or ezine without asking for anything in return (i.e. selling a product or service). Now, that doesn't really make much sense, does it? How do you stay in business if you don't have any sales?

I have had clients who simply like to have their products sit obscurely for

sale on their websites and do little to make their list members or website

visitors aware of what they have for sale for fear of offending their visitors

or subscribers. If someone is going to be offended because you're trying to sell

to them, then just let them go. You don't need a list of tire-kickers who want

to sponge all the free info that they can from you and never buy anything --

you'll never be able to stay in business that way.

Why don't service professionals want to sell? I think there are 3 basic reasons:

1. They are uncomfortable with the process (self-esteem issues tied to not

believing in themselves or their product or service) and never ask for the sale.

2. They believe the members of their contact list will revolt if they receive

any sales messages. 3. They don't possess a "sales mindset."

I have to chuckle when I do a promotion and get an email from someone on the

list who chastises me for "daring" to sell to them and notes that they much

prefer to "decide" when they want to buy something from me and then they

threaten to leave the list. I just respond that I'm sorry that they feel that

way, but unfortunately I'm not a trust-fund baby, and that my hard-earned

information has the same value as any info that they might get from their car

mechanic, doctor, attorney, or accountant, and I've never seen any of those

professionals give away what they know. Unfortunately, when you own an online

business, you have to educate your target market that you have to charge for

information.

I've come to discover that what's missing in many online business owners is a

sales mentality. Creating a sales mentality means that you need to acknowledge

that you're in business to make money through selling and that your customers

need to become accustomed to having you sell and seeing things for sale all over

your websites. Sounds simple, right?

What does an online business owner need to do to foster his/her own sales

mentality? Here are 5 strategies to make online selling easier:

1. Acknowledge that selling is integral to your business. Sales isn't a

dirty word. How you perceive selling, however, might be. Many online business

owners think, "I'm a [fill in industry here], not a salesperson. I need to hire

someone to sell for me." Fact is, YOU are really your own best sales person. If

you don't believe in the value of what you offer, why will anyone else? In order

to make a living, others must know about and buy what you're offering. They're

only able to do this is you have a process by which you educate them to give you

money for your expertise.

2. Get your list accustomed to seeing sales pitches from you. When's the

last time you sent a promotional email to your list? Online business owners need

to send at least 2 solo promotional emails a month to their list in order to

remain "top of mind" for a specific problem held by their target market. Don't

overuse this tactic, however. I've seen service professionals email their lists

4-6 times per week, causing email fatigue with the recipients, who decide that

they don't want any more emails from that person and opt off that list. I limit

myself to one weekly email that is my ezine, which contains promotional

material, as well as one promotional email when I'm running a sales special or

am holding a special event.

3. Ensure that your marketing materials tell prospects how to buy. Make

it as easy as possible for your contact list to buy from you. If you're selling

information products, make the "buy now" button readily apparent on your sales

pages. If you're selling a service, give your target market several options to

contact you to buy your service -- by email, voice mail, instant message, etc.

4. Incorporate the "law of attraction" into your sales mentality. A sales

mentality doesn't have to equate to slimy. I think one of the most attractive

ways to sell yourself is by sharing your knowledge and expertise with your

target market. As a matter of fact, I'm often told that this is one of the

reasons people seek me out to hire me -- I don't hide what I know and am willing

to share freely, within reason, of course. I think of selling as helping my

prospects solve their problems, and my enthusiasm is evident as we start to

brainstorm and dissect how to rid them of a particular problem. Let your

enthusiasm for problem-solving serve as your attraction mechanism for new

clients.

5. Show your prices. Many service business owners won't list their

pricing or fee structure anywhere on marketing materials because they feel it's

necessary to "sell" themselves on how wonderful they are via a 1:1 conversation

before discussing money. I don't really want to work that hard. I'd rather

prospects come to me fully informed about all aspects of working with me. Be

open and transparent with your pricing -- don't make prospects jump through

hoops to ascertain if they can afford to hire you. I use my fees as a screening

device -- those who can't afford my rates won't call, and those who can afford

the rate know exactly how much they will spend. Consequently, when people call

me to hire me, the first thing they say is, "When can we start working

together?" Now, wouldn't you rather have that type of conversation with a

prospect?

Take a moment to assess your website, your blog, your ezine, and

other marketing materials. Is it easy to purchase from you? Is it clear that you

have a product or service for sale? If not, start incorporating the above

suggestions today and see how much your sales increase.

A sound sales mentality is necessary for success in any business. Make sure that

you're educating your target market about how to buy from you.

Comments or questions? If so, please post them to the discussion forum.