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Ice to Eskimos
by Bob Osgoodby
When describing a particularly good salesperson, it is often said
they could sell Ice Boxes to Eskimos. Now for those who may not
know what an "Ice Box" is, think of a refrigerator. No - not
the professional football player - the kind you plug in to keep
your food cold. Eskimos, of course live in a very cold climate,
and would have little use for a box to keep ice in.
Some salespeople however have an extraordinary talent, and can
convince someone they absolutely need something, even if they
don't. Now, everyone is not that type of a super salesperson, and
you may have to be a little more realistic.
Are you trying to sell ice boxes to Eskimos? You may think that
you're not, but if your ads aren't reaching your target market,
then you might just as well be. There's no way you'll succeed in
your business on the Internet, unless you're selling to your
target market!
So what is a target market? Simply put, it consists of people
who may have an interest in what you are trying to sell them.
I'm sure we would all agree that you have a much better chance of
selling cat food to someone who owns a cat, than to someone who
doesn't.
The scattergun approach is where you don't try to isolate your
potential customers from the general population. While you may
find a few cat owners who will buy your product, the majority of
your advertising dollar is being wasted on people who aren't a
potential customer.
Finding prospects for your target market, whatever it may be, is
not that difficult. A quick way is to do a search on the web
using keywords that would relate to your target market. This is
an ideal place to attempt to develop mutually beneficial
marketing agreements.
Now, don't get me wrong - I am not suggesting you find these web
sites and send them unsolicited commercial email - in other words
"Spam". There is software available that will find these sites by
the thousand, and you must resist that impulse. If however, you
send a personal email, suggesting a symbiotic relationship, few
people would take umbrage. The ideal candidate you might find is
not in a competing business, but in an allied business. Back to
the cat food example - you might find pet stores that would be
interested in marketing your cat food.
Ezines, by any account, are the absolute best way to isolate a
target market. Most of them sell advertising space, and for a
small investment, you can get your message out to exactly the
potential clientele you are seeking. Find Ezines, which are
of interest to your target market and take out an ad.
Another powerful method is to write an article that would be of
interest to the publisher of an Ezine. Most are hungry for new
and fresh content, and will publish your articles with your
"authors credits" at the end.
You have a much better chance of being published, if you try to
set up an exclusive arrangement with the publisher. Now this
doesn't mean that they are the only one you send the article to.
You may send them your article first, giving them a chance to
publish it, before you send it to others.
If you get to be known as an expert in your field, whatever it
may be, you will find your potential clients approaching you.
Once they do approach you, keep a file of their names and email
addresses. First send them a thank you note. You can follow
that up later with your actual sales messages. Because you have
established a relationship, they will be more inclined to read
what you say.
Notice that you should include their name in the information you
capture as well as the email address. Now when you send them
your offers, you can start it off with their first name - like
"Dear Bob". Most people will take the time to read something
that is that personal, as it immediately separates your email
from all the other junk they receive.
If you do this, you won't have to try to sell that proverbial
"Ice Box" as you have identified your target market.
Who knows -you may even find an occasional Eskimo.
Bob publishes the free weekly "Your Business" Newsletter
Visit his Web Site at http://www.adv-marketing.com/business to subscribe.
As a bonus, get 40,000 FREE E-Books from
Larry Dotson, when you visit http://www.ldpublishing.com
 work at home
get paid to shop
write articles for traffic
free content
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