The whole idea of starting an online business can appeal to those looking to make money online. But is it a long road to turn a profit? The truth is that the Online Sales Process can take quite some time – whether you have an offline or online business.
Regular bricks-and-mortar businesses have a lot of overhead to pay while they wait for orders to come in. With an online company, that long sales process can be far easier to handle financially.
This is because you have lots of options for internet marketing that will help your company in the long run and position it to take advantage of that future market without having to pay out the costs of overhead in the meantime.
Here’s how to use the long Online Sales Process effectively.
Use Social Media
Stop waiting for that first order to come in and do something that will reach out to your potential customers. Utilise the power of social networking to establish yourself and your company’s names in the minds of consumers.
Relate to your target market as a person and chances are they will remember you when they are ready to make a purchase. They may not buy today but after watching your conduct and reading your life stream for a while, they could buy. You’re catering to many in one fell swoop with social media, which is much easier than trying to sell one on one.
Funnel Your Prospects
Don’t expect customers to come directly to your website and immediately buy your products or services. Make the sale happen.
The best way to do this is to utilise the traffic you are already getting and move them down a sales funnel. At the top, all traffic (prospective customers) is equally unqualified. It is your job to get them moving down the funnel and become a paying client.
Take your opt-in subscribers and RSS subscribers and begin the qualification process. Make initial contact with each and every one individually and assess them as a prospect. The longer you do this and the more energy you put into the process, the greater your chances of actually converting these prospects into customers.
Communicate With Customers
Many people will want to do some research regarding you and your company before they make a purchase. Make this easy for them by keeping in contact with them on a regular basis. Share your customer testimonials, your industry experience, and any milestones you’ve reached with your business. Optimise your online reputation as well. There are a lot of ways to do this successfully so that people find good things when they look you up.
Email messages are a great way to talk to your customers and give them individualised attention without taking time to contact 1000 people individually. Ensure that you are grabbing subscribers through an opt-in form and then send them regular emails focusing on some aspect of your business. You’ll build a list of prospects at various stages of the sales cycle and this could turn into a steady trickle and maybe even a stream of revenue.
Build Links
Why not use the long Online Sales Process to take advantage of SEO tasks that will drive your site to the top of the search engine result pages? Have a look around the internet for blogs that are compatible with your business website. Leave appropriate blog comments that build a link back to your page. You might also find that your subscriber list grows this way by increasing exposure of your site and what it offers.
No business becomes a success overnight. It will take time to make online sales and a positive difference in your company’s bottom line. Use the time wisely and position your business to take advantage of all the exposure you create now.
The internet makes the longer sales cycle easier to work with, especially if you take advantage of social media and the many autoresponder tools available to help make your job easier.
See you at the top of Google!
Sean Rasmussen
SEO Australia Pacific
AussieSEO.com © 2007 - 2010
Communication is the best possible way to get noticed and there are plenty of free ways to go about it there is some great information here.
Too true Richard. Communication plays a big part of any successful operation, especially online as it is something that is lacking in the industry. Glad you liked the article mate
Hi Sean,
Wow, another great post. It’s full of great ideas to store in the memory bank. I really think that building a solid relationship with your customers does promote longevity in your business, as there are a lot of spammers and con artists out there. You want to buy from someone that you trust.
Thanks,
Jon
Well said Jon. Trust and communication with customers are two of the big keys of any successful business.
Well said Sean. The ‘build it and they will come’ mentality does not apply to online businesses. Online business owners really need to pull their finger out and engage prospective customers through multiple avenues that integrate with one another. This takes time… and some more time, but the rewards are there for those that persevere (and understand SEO) because so many ‘normal’ online business owners just give up.
.-= David Moloney´s last blog ..Logo Specifications: Don’t Pay Up Until You Read This =-.
Well said David, it’s quite easy to set up a website, but it’s another thing to build it into a successful business. Perseverence is a big key.
Hi Sean,
I really like how you say that it’s our job to get prospects to become paying clients. All this time, I’ve been thinking that sales will come when I have enough prospects. I’m thinking it’s all about percentages. The more prospects I get the better my chances of making a sale.
And it isn’t. I have some control and influence and I didn’t realise it. So, how can I find out who my RSS subscribers are so that I can see if they are potential customers? And not just friends reading my blog?
.-= Jazz Salinger´s last blog ..Learn and Earn – It’s a Marathon Not a Sprint =-.
This is a really helpful post for me. The feeling of sitting back and waiting for things to happen is very real sometimes, the idea of going out and making it happen by talking to your list individually makes perfect sense!
Thanks Sean
.-= David Pearse´s last blog ..Targeted Internet Marketing-Market Samurai =-.
Hi Sean another great post and so true to communicate with your prospects to hopefully get them to be buying customers it’s all worth it when they do become customers.
Thanks
Tiffany
Find the social media sites best for spreading the word. Then the autoresponders when start using them will be useful also..
Keep this information coming Sean. It will all come together at the end of the day..
I think the reason why people give up on internet marketing is they see it as a quick and easy way to make money whey in reality its not, especially when you are starting from scratch in the knowledge department. As you said though, your overheads can be managed better while you are starting out opposed to a regular bricks and mortar business.
.-= Jackie Stenhouse´s last blog ..Anxiety Separation in Children =-.