HOW I MADE A SALE WITHOUT SELLING!
Three weeks after I announced a free and customizable e-mail
workshop I created, I received a rather bewildered and
distressed e-mail from someone who signed up to take it.
In her e-mail, she wanted to know in what way was the free
e-mail workshop relevant to her business. She wanted to know
what good creating an e-mail workshop would do for her and her
business. And I could tell from her e-mail she was genuinely
lost and confused, and needed an immediate response.
I read her e-mail several times, and then I got ready to tackle
her questions one by one. My answers were lengthy, and I also
visited her site so I could give her more realistic examples of
how she can use e-mail workshops in attracting leads or
customers for her business.
In my response to her, I didn't try to give her a sales talk. I
didn't focus on the benefits she would gain if she bought a copy
of the e-book I'd written on the subject. Instead, I focused on
her questions and answering them as clearly as I could. The only
place I mentioned my e-book was in my signature line, just below
my name. That, and the URL.
A couple of days later, I received another e-mail from her. She
thanked me for answering her questions thoroughly and clearly.
She was surprised I visited and explored the site so I can give
her examples and ideas for possible e-mail workshops she can
use. And that same day, she bought my e-book -- and I didn't
even try selling it to her!
Two important lessons can be derived from this, and we can all
apply these lessons every day when we go about building and
promoting our business on the Internet:
1. Treat every legitimate e-mail inquiry promptly, respectfully
and professionally, even if the e-mail borders on the annoying,
antagonistic or silly side. Take the e-mails as a challenge to
prove that you know what you are talking about; that you indeed
do and live what you teach.
2. Sometimes, it's better not to think of someone who comes to
us as a "prospective customer" or someone we can convince to buy
from us. Building, growing and maintaining a business is not
just all about making money or producing large profits. It's
also about gaining people's trust and making them believe you
are sincere and honest.
Work on building good relationships with people and they
eventually will want to do business with you.