Small Business Sales Tips – 3 Reasons Why No One is Buying

You are doing all the things you are “supposed” to do, but no one seems interested enough to buy. What’s wrong?

When it comes to selling, many people believe you were either born a salesman or you weren’t. All those negative stereotypes about pushy used car salesmen don’t help. People tell themselves, “I would never want to be like that!” and continue to hold the erroneous belief that if they offer a superior product or service, business will just come.

Unfortunately, business doesn’t work that way. Your prospects are too busy worrying about their day-to-day problems and to-do lists to figure out what, exactly, you do and why it is better than your competitors. If you don’t provide clear reasons why they should buy from you, they won’t take the time to figure it out themselves. Here are three reasons why no one is buying from you – and what to do about it.

1. They don’t want what you offer.

This can be the hardest pill to swallow but sometimes what we offer isn’t what prospects want. For instance, if you are an inventor or author, you have invested countless hours into creating your product, so you are obviously quite passionate and proud of it. It can be heartbreaking when no one buys it.

Sometimes, we get so passionate about our own products and services that we believe everyone needs them when the truth is, we are the only ones who find the idea interesting. If this is your problem, unfortunately, there is no magic bullet solution that can fix it.

If you suspect this might be the case, do some market research. Ask prospects what they think about your product or service. Do prospects understand the benefits? Does it sound like something your prospects might want? Would they pay for it? If so, how much? What other options do prospects see as potential solutions? What makes these other options better choices?

]]>

If you find that prospects don’t want what you offer, you have two choices: (1) offer something else that people do want or (2) find a way to explain your product or service in a way that bridges it with what your prospects do want. It is far easier to sell someone what they want than to convince them to buy something they find irrelevant or just aren’t interested in.

2. They don’t understand why your offerings are the best choice for them.

Another potential reason why they aren’t buying is because they are confused. Every day we are bombarded with thousands of marketing messages from companies that want our attention. We have too many choices and suffer from information overload.

If we can’t see what the next step is or why one choice is clearly better, we put our purchasing decision on hold until we have more time to process all the information we have collected. Unfortunately, that time never comes unless we have a firm deadline in place and we have no choice but to make a decision.

To solve this, clearly explain the benefits and reasons why prospects should do business with you. What does the end result look like? What emotional benefits will they receive after they use your product or hired you to work with them? Paint a detailed picture about what they can expect and what the next step in the buying process is. How can they purchase your product or service? What action step do they need to take next? Why should they do it right now?

3. They don’t believe you.

Your prospects may want your product or service, clearly understand how it will enhance their lives, and know what the next step is to complete their purchase, but if they don’t believe you can do what you say or your product is as good as it sounds, they will hesitate.

To overcome this, work at building great relationships and providing testimonials and case studies of happy clients. Show how your product or service has helped people just like them. If possible, give them a free sample or trial offer to let them test it out before they buy.

Sales isn’t rocket science. It is simply a way of educating and communicating the benefits of your products and services in ways your prospects can relate to. The good news is its a skill you can learn and master with a little practice.

To learn how to create a comprehensive marketing and sales plan to convert more prospects into customers, download your free copy of our 45-page strategic marketing plan guide today at http://www.getclientstoday.com. This hands-on workbook covers the 6 steps for creating your marketing strategy and includes a fill-in-the-blank marketing plan template you can use to craft your monthly marketing plan.

 

Buying a Franchise ? Internet Business Models

If you are considering buying a franchise, especially an internet business model, you should make yourself aware of the disadvantages of a franchise as well the advantages. There are many business models you can choose from, ranging from a traditional internet home business (if anything on the internet could be described as ‘traditional’) to a multi-level marketing scheme that many look down upon, but can be a genuine business opportunity that makes decent money.

Buying a Franchise is attractive to many who are starting their own business for the first time because the branding has already been achieved, and the marketing is frequently taken out of your hands. Much depends upon the type of franchise you take on, since some handle all of the marketing, while others operate more like an affiliateship rather than a franchise and leave you to carry out your own advertising.

The more famous franchises, such as McDonalds and Starbucks not only offer their famous products for you to market, but also advertise them nationally for you. You have no need for local advertising, and you are provided with all the training, product and stock control systems that you need to run your business. However, such offline franchises can cost over a million to set up, of which you will be expected to provide around 20 – 25%.

That is one reason why Internet Franchise & Business Opportunity are becoming more popular and also it is possible to start up your own business with very little initial outlay. With a franchise you are purchasing the right to trade under your principal’s name and will generally be provided with all the training and support needed to run your business. If yours is an offline franchise, you will be assigned an area in which you can operate, which could or could not be an exclusive agreement for that area.

]]>

However, some internet franchises do not have such restrictions, and now is the time to become involved since it won’t be long before the more popular businesses are over-subscribed. Such internet franchises are involved in a lot more than just providing PC services, but also include such businesses as video rental, share trading and Forex, and real estate. If you are web savvy, you can also become involved in internet and website consultancy on a franchise basis and sell equipment and web hosting services.

The advantages of choosing a franchise are:

• An established brand that is recognizable in its specialized area, so that customers are quickly attracted to the name without the need for excessive advertising.

• With some franchises you have the benefit of national advertising supplied for you – this is paid for from your fee or revenue-related payment to the franchisor.

• Support in start-up, and less risk due to a business model being available to you immediately.

• Product supply is guaranteed and you have little need to chase up suppliers.

• Start-up finance is generally easier to get than if yours was a non-franchise business.

• Traditionally, franchises have a higher success rate than normal online business start-ups.

These are pretty impressive advantages, but there is a downside to buying a franchise business that you must be aware of. Much depends on the individual, but these are the major problems that could be significant to you:

• The franchise fees to be paid before you start can be high. However, not as high as fast food chains that can charge up to 0,000 or more for a start-up. The average is around ,000 – ,000 with a ‘royalty’ fee charged at a percentage of the takings.

• The franchise agreement might restrict your ingenuity with its strict rules on how the business should be operated.

• The more money you make, the higher your royalty fee.

• The national advertising might seem fantastic, but you will likely be charged for it in your marketing levy.

However, if you are cool with all of this, then there is no reason why you shouldn’t go ahead. For a newcomer to the internet, buying a franchise could be a very good business model for entry into web marketing, and there are many online companies that operate franchises nationally and internationally.

An internet search using Google or one of the other major search engines should provide you with a good selection of options. It is not always easy to find a good online business model, but if you are really interested, try to find a website that can provide you with more detailed information on how to evaluate a franchise before you approach the companies themselves.