A True Story For You …
I’ve been in sales and marketing for 30 years, half of those an employee, and the last 15 years as a business owner responsible for writing my own pay cheques
I used to sell expensive products and services long before the internet came along, I’ve also had my own bricks and mortar business, and again without the internet, we had lots of paying customers … It seems strange that only 20 years ago prior to when the internet became mainstream in homes that business owners and customers had to speak to each other face to face or on the phone
I first started using websites and the internet to get customers around 2002, and since then I have seen some major changes to our lives
The Internet Has Created Some Major Opportunities …
The internet has allowed so many people to break free from tik-tok and live with more freedom and flexibility by starting their own business
You don’t need premises, there are minimal start-up costs, and if you’ve got a laptop and a spare bedroom, all you need to do is get a webpage or Facebook page – and declare yourself in business
The Internet Has Quickly Become A Fantastic Tool For Small Business
The internet also provides a much more targeted, cheaper and quicker way to reach people; expensive print ads and promotional materials are no longer required
The internet has created many great ways to stay in touch with customers with such tools as email marketing, video marketing and social media
The internet gives you the tools to automate a great deal of you marketing which gives you time to be doing more profitable tasks in your business. You can put up blog posts, and web pages which allows your potential clients to do their shopping around and evaluating without you being involved in the process – You can add them to your email list and then use email techniques to qualify people to you, until they are ready to become clients
Starting a business is no longer an expensive longwinded process
Suddenly you can reach out to 000’s of people
There’s been a 69% increase in the number of small businesses since the early 2000’s – The internet has made this possible and hundreds of new niche and specialty businesses industries have evolved from the humble beginnings of the internet
The Internet Has Created Some Major Challenges Too …
Competition has increased; once upon a time you may have been the only coach in your area, now there are 10 – and your customer doesn’t need to stop there – they can choose from anywhere in the world
The internet has also given the consumer a large amount of control in the process of buying, no longer are they stuck with limited choice or limited product or pricing information – 2 seconds and a customer can see the best rated product, the best selling price, the spec and all the reviews they want
Buying behaviours have also changed as a result – 20 years ago people were limited to the local business giving them usually only one or two to choose from, they had the newspaper, magazine, TV and radio – That was the choice, you spoke to your mates and work colleagues about what they thought – and then you made a choice
The internet has also created a huge amount of information – billions upon billions of webpages of words, overwhelming information that although customers have access to – Just like you – Too much information is overwhelming and all-consuming, and people are taking longer to decide and make choices
Attention spans have got shorter – people are used to being advertised and marketed to – they know they can click back or next or scroll their way to the next thing
The internet has also taken away the need for a 2 way conversation and now people can get through 100% of the buying process without ever speaking to someone at all! Constructing one way conversations through web content and blog posts and even webinars is hard
Personally, I prefer the old way of doing business, and still in my business today – The sooner I can connect with a client, get webpages and emails out of the way and have a real face to face conversation – the better
As business owners, the internet has a lot going for us
But There’s Something Else Going On With The Internet That Seems To Make It So Damn Complicated For Business Owners To Get Their Head Around How To Get Clients & Customers Online
Every client I have ever helped struggles with getting clients and customers online
I’ve Spent a lot Of Time Working Out What I Think Is Causing This Major Problem
Is It The Technology?
Yes, I know a lot of people get lost when it comes to technology
Is It The Sheer Vastness Of It All?
The internet’s a big place and you can easily get lost and swallowed up online and feel that no-one is actually even listening
Is It The Sheer Amount Of Overwhelming Information?
Yes – Definitely. There is so much conflicting advice about what you should be doing to get clients, one month it’s Facebook groups, next it’s video marketing, then membership programs, now the latest buzzword seems to be ‘funnels’
Is It That Business Owners Thought It Was Going To Make Getting Clients Easy?
Yes – Definitely, I know a lot of business owners who thought that they’d get a website, a Facebook page, a Twitter account and they’d have plenty of customers
And What I Really Think The Major Problem Is?
Online Marketers that are selling all these how to get clients courses – They all claim to have a special system or a 7 step process that is going to put an end to your ‘getting clients problem’
But it doesn’t (put an end to your problem) Instead you end up watching 12 videos about how to do all these online tactics like setting up a landing page, creating a lead magnet, designing your funnel, writing emails, following their scripts, doing a webinar etc
But at the end of it all – 95% of people are none the wiser – and still with no customers
Why aren’t these courses working out for people?
Because every single one of these courses misses the fundamental principles that you need to understand before you can sell anything online
People don’t understand that online conversions are miniscule
People don’t understand that if you want online traffic these days – You have to pay for it unless you’ve got months to build it organically
People don’t understand buyer behaviour and psychology online
And
People have a go at these tactics and don’t realise that they take months to get any momentum going
And what they teach you does not have enough substance to get you beyond the real obstacles you face when looking for customers online
These Internet Marketers Are Misleading People Because It’s All Hypothetical
You could make $20,000 per month – You could be an online coach
I created my first info product in 2014 – It was an eBook called How To Become A Consultant For Offline Clients
Well, it was what I was doing already so I constructed my first info product, designed the sales page, set up the payment and download (I taught myself how to do all the tech stuff too), from there I added in and created a group program, webinars, a specialised membership group and an online training course from the initial product
Then not long after that – Coaching seemed to be the latest buzzword doing the rounds, and for the last 5 years it’s stuck around …
Now you can’t scroll for more than 2 minutes before something pops up asking you if you want to know the secrets to becoming a highly paid coach
Sounds wonderful doesn’t it? Yes … In Theory
In Theory – You could become a highly paid coach or consultant
But in reality it’s the exception – Not the norm
In Theory – You could earn $20,000 per month –
But in reality 75% of small business have a turnover of less than $25,000
In theory – But their programs make it sound sooooo easy … ‘My secret marketing system for The 7 Step method for getting clients
But in reality you are dealing with people – not robots – What happens when someone doesn’t follow the or answer like the script they have given youOr sign up for the email or the lead magnet – Then what are you going to do
Struggle – that’s what – Just like you are doing now
I know that there are many genuine people out there who do have the experience to teach you how to grow your business properly, I also know that for every genuine coach or consultant or advisor, there is also someone who isn’t
When it comes down to it – A large percentage of what you see online is nothing more than pass me down / hand me round marketing tactics – and you can’t build a long-term solid business off that
Now anyone can be a marketing expert – You go on Facebook and you never seem to be more than 2 scrolls away from the next advert with all those promising benefits – But they also say you are never more than 2 feet away from a rat don’t they?
You Can’t Build A Sustainable Profitable Authentic Business On Their ‘Hand Me Down’ & ‘Pass Me Round’ Tactics
If you opened a physical store you wouldn’t just sit there waiting until you felt ready or you’d got your product perfect would you? Waiting to do business because you wanted to go on one more training course about how to get customers – No – you’d open your door and get on with it – So why are you doing it now?
The Uncomfortable Truth Is That If You Keep Chasing From One Thing To The Next, You Are Going To Be Stuck On The Hamster Wheel Running As Fast As You Can
The Internet Has Changed So Much
I’ve talked about all these changes, how buy behaviour has changed, how attention spans are shorter, how competition has increased, how average revenue of 75% of businesses is less than 25k, how you are prey to internet marketers who tell you could make money online if you buy their course
But The Internet Hasn’t Changed The Underlying & Fundamental Principles Of Marketing & It Hasn’t Changed Human Psychology
People are still people – despite what they do on the internet – the psychology behind the way they buy hasn’t changed at all, the thought processes are still the same
Wants, needs and desires still need fulfilling, people need to feel certain and safe, people want outcomes and results
Understanding people’s needs and wants and desires because that is what dries them to action
And what lay at the foundations of selling and marketing 25 years ago before the internet – Still works online today
And that is key to your success –
You are putting words to what they are thinking and feeling with the purpose of getting them to become your client – That’s all
The rest of it’s just tactics, techniques and tools
If you are ready to take a different look at your sales and marketing – and your business and you want to learn how to actually get clients online then I’ve created this guide to help you
The Psychology Is So Much More Important Than The Technology
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