Are you ready to embark your own journey to the best earnings potential possible? Hate sales? Then read on to find out about the perfect sales tool - your secret weapon!

by Jim Daniels

For some reason, no matter how you say it, salesman, saleswoman or salesperson, the "sales" part of that word sends many a person clutching their wallets and scurrying for safety.

Why is that?

Why is it that the mere word "salesman" conjures up images of a disheveled middle-aged man in a cheap suit, with one foot wedged in your door and a vacuum cleaner in his hand?

"If you just give me a moment of your time ma'am, I promise to truly dazzle you."

"Sorry. Not interested." the busy housewife replies.

So, what's the story with this whole "sales" stigma?

I think I have a handle on it. It all has to do with a little secret I've been harboring for the past few years...

You see, I too, used to believe that "sales" was a dirty word!

Why? Because I worked on the technical support side of business most of my life. The fact is, lots of techies simply don't like salespeople. Eventually, I started to believe what my co-workers and buddies were always saying, that the sales people were all crooks and rip-off artists.

The fact is, my buddies were wrong. After I became acquainted with some of the salespeople at my old company, I learned that they weren't crooks at all. They simply wanted the chance to earn a sizable income. They were wise enough to know that their best chance at a high income was in sales. Unlike me back then, they basically wrote their own paychecks.

One day, one of these salesman was kind enough to enlighten me. He explained the word "sales" to me:

"Selling does not equate to merely taking people's money. My customers make the conscious decision that what I have to offer is worth a trade for a certain amount of their money. This is exactly how and why capitalism works."

A wise outlook.

When you take this sensible outlook a step further, you realize that selling for yourself, instead of an employer, sets you up for the best earnings potential possible. Simple facts of business.

So, I took these words of wisdom with me as I started my own business. But the fact is, I was still a little worried. I was never a big fan of the traditional selling process. I didn't like to talk on the phone with people I barely knew, especially if I was trying to sell them something. So how in the world would I make a living with my own business? After all, the key to any new business venture is the ability to make sales.

My solution?... The Internet came to the rescue!

Thanks to the Internet, the traditional selling process is no longer a standard script. A new model has been formed. In effect, the Internet takes the "salesperson" out of the equation. Just what I was looking for!

How does this take place, you ask?...

Simple. An effective website does all your selling for you. Your prospects are presented with all the facts, from your company information and history, to testimonials from your satisfied customers. Your "sales pitch" is no longer simply a pitch, but a complete delivery. What's more, prospects are allowed to browse your "delivery" on their own time, without "sales" pressure.

So, to any potential small business owners out there who have been uneasy about the whole "sales" thing, here's a bit of advice... Forget about trying to "make" sales. Instead, sharpen your cyber-delivery and the sales will just come along for the ride.

Here is the best way to do this...

Take an honest look at your website. Look at it through your potential customer's monitor. What do you see? Would YOU buy from that website? Is your web presence everything it should be?

The following four mistakes are the biggies that I see small business owners making every day. They may be scaring away YOUR potential customers...

1. You do not have your own website and rely strictly on email or a free site.

I made this mistake for nearly a year! Learn from my mistake. I've fessed up at: https://bizweb2000.com/mistake.com

2. You are not willing to pay $35 a year for your own domain.

Your own domain name is a must. If you are serious about growing a business online, get your own domain name or many potential customers will think twice before ordering from you. Here's a great tool to search for available domain names: https://www.virtualisys.com/vr/jdaniels/domain_search.html

3. You have a website and domain name but do not offer secure credit card purchases.

Secure credit card ordering is another must at your site. A simple solution is to get a merchant account and a simple shopcart program. You do not need an expensive solution. You can process orders yourself through your computer. For information on getting your own merchant account, see https://bizweb2000.com/serv02.htm. For shopcart solutions check out some recent posts on the subject at our free forum https://bizweb2000.com/wwwboard

4. And last but certainly not least, your delivery is poor.

Does your website sound like that vacuum cleaner salesman? In the real world you may be able to keep a foot lodged in someone's door while you force a sales pitch on them, but in cyberspace it is too easy for your prospect to go away. Get too pushy or "salesy" and click--they're gone, never to return.

The key to a good delivery is to remember this: "Sales" will always be a dirty word to some people. Cyberspace gives you a better way to sell. The best way is to first educate your consumer with free assistance and then gently guide them to your offerings.

Take a hard look at your own cyber-sales delivery. Is it everything it should be? Your sales figures should answer that question for you.

Jim's site has helped thousands of regular folks profit online. Check out his FREE "how-to" cybermarketing assistance, free software, free business opportunities, manuals, web services and more! Real money is being made on the net -- visit https://www.bizweb2000.com and get in on it... Or subscribe to his FREE, weekly BizWeb E-Gazette: Subscribe

Social networking icons by komodomedia.com.