This True Story was just shared with me from My Mentor and I wanted to share it with you, Enjoy it………..

“I was sat in Seattle airport sinking my second mojito whilst awaiting my flight back to London.

It was busy in the bar with no tables free near where I was sitting.

“Hey there, you mind if I take this seat” asked a random guy who wanted to sit down on my table

“Sure thing” I replied.

Little did I know that this chance meeting would lead to the biggest realisation I’d ever had about affiliate marketing and go on the change the course of my life forever.

Over the moments ahead we got talking, various topics came up, like what we were both doing there, where we were heading next, that type of thing.

Joel was his name, I’d say he was a 40+ year old guy and as I learned he had a daughter who was back at home.

Before long he asked what I did for work. This is always a topic I tend to avoid as most people just don’t get what I do, but he’d asked and so I had to respond

Eagerly awaiting that blank stare, I said, “I do affiliate marketing online”

You can guess what happened next, I’m sure…

“what’s that?” he asked

Haha, I laughed, but spent the next few minutes explaining that I promote products on the internet via online advertising and I was paid a commission for the products I sold.

He seemed to get the concept, but nevertheless I swiftly moved on and asked more about himself

“I’m a janitor” he explained.

Moments later he shared a big concern about his life with me. What transpired during that part of the conversation would spark a trigger in my mind that would allow me to go on and discover the biggest secret in the affiliate marketing industry today.

“You know what scares me Dean? … For several years my pay hasn’t increased much at all, but pretty much all my bills have gone up”

“How do you manage” I asked

“Well, it’s getting tough I won’t lie. If things continue like this I really don’t know what I’ll do, my income barely covers my outgoings now”

It was there, at that moment without actually standing up and walking away, my mind left that conversation.

Suddenly it hit me. It became clear to me what was so wrong with affiliate marketing today, and why nearly all those that try, fail.

Soon after I said my goodbyes and headed to the gate to board my flight back home. I couldn’t rest for hours on the plane with my mind racing about what I had realised.

14 hours later I walked through the door of my home, went straight to my computer and began to research deeper into my idea.

Could it be that affiliate marketing has reached a ‘tipping point’ and it’s practically impossible to start form scratch and build a successful business for the average person?

My suspicions were confirmed.

I found numerous reports online where researched had been done into the average cost per click in online advertising.

The figures showed that in the past 10 years, the average cost of getting someone to click an affiliate link through online advertising has multiplied by up to 8X.

One such report published by HochmanConsultants found that in 2005 the average cost per click was just $0.38 but by 2016 that same click costs $2.14!

This was it! This was the big problem no one was talking about.

If we’re paying that much more today to get traffic to affiliate offers, then the profit we can make has been reduced to a point of non-existent.

Just as Joel had said to me in Seattle, his income no longer covers his outgoings. And just like Joel was going to be in trouble if nothing changed, so are we as affiliate marketers.

The money we have to spend to get people to an offer, has reached such a high point that the sales we generate and the commissions we earn no longer covers that cost.

Think about it. If we spend $200 to get 100 visitors to click our affiliate link, and 1 or 2 of those people buy a product and we get paid $20 for each sale, we’ve made $40 but lost $160!

Heck, even if we only paid $100 for those 100 visitors and got paid $40 per sale, we’ve still lost money!

So what is the answer?

Well, I’d love to hop in a time machine and travel back to a point in time 10+ years ago where traffic was pennies a click, but I guess that’s not an option.

The only other option then is we have to make our traffic worth more to us, it must earn us more money so we can produce a profit.

The good news is, I’ve spent years learning how this is done since that day I met Joel.

I’ve shared this on stages around the world, and even at a TED Talk

But, I want to get the solution into the hands of as many people as possible because you can succeed, but not the way people used to

So, I’ve just put it all into a new book called “The Affiliate Marketers Playbook and I’m giving away copies for FREE

Click here and tell me where to ship yours

I truly believe that day I met Joel by sheer lucky, I was fortunate enough to stumble on the solution to all the struggling affiliate marketers problem, and if right now you’re not getting the results you desire then I’d like to give you the solution too:

Get your copy of the Affiliate Marketers Playbook here today

Thanks for Reading, I can’t wait to help you get better results online.”

Learning From Mistakes

Hello Dear Readers,

Gosh, we are left with one week of July! Times sure flies, and August is just around the corner.

We all do make mistakes, and I’m sure all of you will agree with me. The more important part is to learn from it so you don’t let failure repeat itself successfully!

The mistake I made this week was not staying focus and that led to a lost of time in starting to write this blog post. The challenge here was to quickly jump-start this process and say committed and focus till the end.

Anyway, my blog post this week is about not closing the sale after what you felt was a near perfect pitch. What do you think could possibly be the reason or reasons? Good chance it must be Mistakes.

Here are some killer follow up mistakes to avoid after that perfect pitch or presentation you just made. Yes, it’s painful and hurting especially in sales when this happened.

The Not-So Hand In Hand Prospect

You could sense it even before your presentation, and your prospect knew it too. Knew about what? That both your prospect and your product don’t go hand in hand.

If they do buy into your product the risk you face is a refund when they returned the product within the usual 30-60 days refund time frame. Otherwise they may exhaust your support team.

Ultimately, don’t just go for the sale for the sake of pushing up your sales numbers. If you keep on pushing such prospects most likely your retention numbers will suffer.

This is what I called building your sales foundation on sand, as retention rate will be very low. Which is better, having only 5 sales a month but maintain a 90% retention rate or closing 10 sales but not having even 25% retention rate?

In your follow up, politely let your prospect know, honestly there is a no hand in hand relationship. You may make recommendations of other vendors, which are more suitable. With this you show sincerity for long-term building.

Stop Sending Those Standard E-Mails

You spent some time trying or successfully building a relationship with your prospect. There is no better way than to embarrass yourself by sending those email templates and forgetting to change those <insert name> or even <company name>.

It is good to have an email template to guide you, but do take time to go through details and change the necessary. Ideally be as original as possible even though you may not have any copy writing skill sets. Try recalling what you spoke to them earlier over the phone, better still over messenger platforms.

Instead of the usual routine “following up or follow up” try this “Like to leap-frog your results for this year”. Try and make your headlines stand out from others.

This sort of headlines helps to enhance your brand name as well as make you stand out against others. It helps when the time comes for them to make a choice from whom to buy from.

Being Too Assertive

You have come to the end of you pitch presentation, a clear understanding of your prospect position should be ascertain. Can your product or service help to solve their issues? What advantages they will gain if they chose your product over others or perhaps disadvantage?

This is the opportunity where you will be assertive towards your prospect, in the sense of pushing quick deadlines on them. Alternatively, you will be sending those emails that may sound, “threatening” in your prospect’s view.

Do bear in mind; your prospects need some “space” to make that decision you are hoping for to close the deal. Give them the space they need instead of “terrorising” them.

Remember Persistence is totally different from Assertive, so what is the best approach to avoid this assertive manner?

Firstly, summarise what you have presented, like a recap what you have said or shown to them. You will be surprised how short a memory we all have!

Secondly, present them with a timeline to get back, like can we follow up with you in two weeks time. If this timeline is not sufficient than let them propose an alternate date. In this instant, you place the “ball” in their court and hold your prospect accountable, as it is a timeline they agreed to. Chances of success here is higher in such a situation.

In fact, the biggest mistake is not establishing a follow up timeline. More often it is left to chance or in a hurried manner that will lead to failure.

Failure To Listen

There is a difference between hearing and listening. I love the song “Sound of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel, as there is a line “people hearing without listening”. How true!

Hearing is just the audible part, but listening goes one level deeper than the audible part. It’s appreciating what your prospect share with you, the good the bad and the ugly. Put yourself in their shoes and understand where they are coming from.

Pitch done but you have not close the sale yet, so keep on listening to your prospect feedback. Keep everything in an “Open State”, so you can change approach when the need arises.

If you tune your ears only to listening to the sales part like signing of contract or purchasing the product or service, you are going to miss the small details that your client is telling you.

Always check with your prospect their rating of your product or service. This is one chance for you to address any feedback on your product.

Be Realistic With That “No”

Being perpetual is one thing, being realistic is another thing all together. Being realistic especially when you know the sale is not going to happen now. Statistics have shown it takes at least four follow-ups before you close that sale.

After which, it may be a good idea for you to put off this prospect for a while (Not Give Up). Perhaps you may like to renew interest as an opportunity to explore at a later date.

On A Personal Note

It is very clear, not every prospect is a “done deal”, and you win some and lose some. Take time to do some analysis of what you have done right and what you could do better.

I like to end with a quote from a sales expert name Mark Hunter “it’s not about having the right opportunities. It’s about handling the opportunities right.”

Conclusion

Thank you all for taking time to read this blog post. Love to see some feedback from anyone. You may like to share other pointers you have experience causing you not to close that elusive sale.

Thank you and have a great week ahead and of course stay healthy!

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Is Sales That Challenging?

Dear Readers,

How are you doing this week? I hope all is well with everyone! We do have our ups and downs as we journey through the week. Not everyday can be a sunshine day, that’s how life is

Have you ever heard of this saying that sales is challenging? Only those in sales will know ups and downs of the business. This is especially so when you go out chasing numbers and KPIs.

Constant Contact With Prospect

There are certain types of questions that are not appropriate to ask your prospect. These could be just too sensitive and may cost you that sale no matter how small it may be.

In sales, we simply need to reach out and talk to our prospect;/client this is no exception for us online marketers. In that process you may be probing into very sensitive part of your prospect lives.

Such sensitive information; is in fact very useful. Come to think of it, all sensitive information is useful. Rapport, relationship buildings that can help reach the level of trust you want with your prospect.

Don’t Ask: “What Results Are You Getting From Your Email List Building?”

Ask Instead “How Is Your Email List Building Going?”

This is a dynamic way of getting your prospect to open up. “What results are you getting?” tend to put some pressure on your prospect/client to give you a glowing picture

Whereas “How is your email list building going” have a more casual tone that will make your prospect/client more comfortable. You will get a more honest and uncensored of what is going well and what is not.

Don’t Ask: “What Is Keeping You Up At Blogging?”

 Ask Instead “Many Of My Clients Are Focusing Video Marketing And Facebook Live. Are You Engaging Any Of These?”

It’s not cool and ineffective to ask your prospect/client what is keeping them up at blogging in the first version. What if they surprise you with a test your product or service cannot deliver. What if they cannot think of anything at the top of their mind?

The latter version works well in the sense if your prospect/client is experiencing a particular challenge this question shows they are not alone. Secondly, if they are experiencing any of those you highlight you can always respond: “That’s great, the ideal time to solve a problem is before you encounter it.”

Don’t Ask: “Why Have You Not Address This Issue?”

Ask Instead “Have You Tried To Solve This Instead?”

This proves helpful in determining the reason or reasons for your prospect /client inactivity.

Previously, they could be close to finding a solution but the cost factor could have hampered them from implementation. Now you have gone past this by giving the impression that if they have spoken to you first, you could help them.

Don’t Ask: “What’s Your Budget?”

Ask Instead “To Make Sure, We Are A Good Fit, Can You Give Me A Guide Of Your Price Point?”

You will come across as aggressive by asking for your prospect/client’s budget. There is a possibility that they have not reach down to that yet.

At the same time you do not want to miss out on this aspect, as after all they may not afford what you are offering. This will lead to a waste of everyone’s time.

Don’t Ask: “When Do You Need This Going?”

Ask Instead “When Do You Expect To See Applicable Outcome?”

Basically, there are three stages in sales cycle as follows:

• Actual purchase.
• Installation or delivery of product.
• Expected time frame of Product Results.

The last point is the most crucial among all three stages; it’s the date we like to know (time frame). This is the point that prospect/client will overlook as their focus is more on purchase and installation.

At the correct timing you have to remind your prospect/client otherwise they cannot see the urgency. Once this time frame is determined you may like to work backwards from there.

Conclusion

To get the right outcome, you need to ask the right questions and sometimes at the right time. All these will come with experience and failure. Learning from failure is one experience to master and will give value in the long run.

Do leave me some feedbacks, were these tips useful in equipping you for you next sales pitch?

Till than have a great week ahead!

Take Care!

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Weekly Roundup

Hello everyone,

How are you doing this week? Well for me it’s like running around like a “headless chicken” in my day job, where you could hardly accomplish much. Thankfully, this should end soon like less than four months. This is going to be a relief!

On my online business front, I managed to sort my auto responder out. I need to edit some of my follow-up emails and insert some Cost Per Lead Links into these emails. Next I will be doing some testing before I can safely say it is ready to go.

Physically drained out every evening from my day job, I try very hard to get something in place every night. Anyway there is no turning back, and keep moving forward.

This week I will be giving you 10 points to be a competent salesperson.

Point 1 – Product Knowledge

To begin, your ability to sell means 50% of the battle is won. Now the other 50% is knowing what have you sold. It is necessary for a salesperson to be in he shoes of their client.

This means you must know the pains of your client. What are their problem and knowledge how your product can help to solve the pain they are having.

Point 2 – Having A View Of A Customer

It’s not all about money and this how it is today. To succeed, you must be able to establish a win-win situation. It cannot be one sided.

In simplicity it’s not a “you are you” “me and me” principle. It should be viewed as a partnership. Adopt a mentality of “How can I help?”

Point 3 – Self-Belief In Your Product

Believing in your product means you must be a user yourself. You cannot convince someone to buy if you are not using the product or service.

You must also be convince that the product or service you are selling can affect and change other’s lives. This is one step beyond the usefulness of the product or service.

Point 4 – Building A Personal Relationship

We should always be growing new leads as well as building a personal relationship with existing ones. When you have that personal connections with your leads you are in for a surprise. As long it benefits both parties, go on building that personal relationship.

Point 5 – Follow-Up

Constant follow-up is necessary to show you are always in touch with your clients. It’s always good to find out from your leads if they have open your email. This is a suggestion and I think it’s a good one.

Let’s say if you have sent your affiliate link to your client, ideally you should follow up with them. Have they open their email, did they click on the link to the sales page? What is holding them back? These are necessary follow-up for anyone doing selling.

Point 6 – Personalise Your Message

I know it is very tedious and time consuming to personalise your message to each and every client. It is so easy to have a “one fit all” standard message to everyone.

Imagine, sending out personalise message to each of your client. How will they feel when they read your message? I’m sure they can tell it’s a one to one or one for all message.

Point 7 – Listening

Give yourself a break from the talking; listen to your clients for once. Ask them questions instead; offer them this opportunity to give their feedback. I love this line from Simon and Garfunkel song The Sound of Silence, “people hearing without listening”.

There is a difference between hearing and listening. Hearing is the audible part, while listening is taking notice, staying tuned in. In fact, we do a lot of hearing today rather than listening.

Point 8 – Value Giving

Educate your prospect with every email you sent. This is better explained with an example. Let’s say you have an affiliate link to sell hosting and you just go on promoting it like any product or service, you will get nowhere.

Consider giving a free tutorial from start of selecting a domain name and purchasing it (of course through your link), setting up a Word press blog followed by installing themes and gradually starting with a first blog post. Now this is value giving instead of mere click on my link to get hosting.

Point 9 – Challenging Your Prospect

You don’t always have to agree to everything your client says. I call it the “Yes Salesperson”. You need credibility to earn respect not “Yes” to every statement your client make.

Challenge your client if their answers don’t seem to make sense. Of course don’t challenge for he sake of one like starting a fight! You have to make sense when you challenge your clients.

Point 10 – Their Success Is Yours As Well

When a sale is closed, it does not simply end there or when you get paid your commission. Let’s take a high-ticket sale you have made in the make money online niche.

You should follow up with them like how are they getting on with their training. You can offer them a few tips on how you have used this system and benefitted in backend high-ticket sales. This is real value giving. When they successfully get their first sale, it is also your success in imparting valuable knowledge to them!

Conclusion

Very quickly, I have come to the end of my weekly blog post. Do leave me some feedback, like which point do you consider ranking the highest of the 10 I listed?

We all get distracted in our daily lives and staying on course can be challenging. Try meditation just a short 3 minutes for a start. Have a short mantra like “I will complete my task”. Repeat it slowly and allow it to sink in your mind. When distracted (which you will) repeat your mantra. Even for 3 minutes believe me you will get distracted. I tried it and slowly you will improve in not getting distracted so easily.

Take care and have a blessed week!

Stay Healthy!

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