Using Auto-responders (also known as Mini-Ecourses) As A Multiple-Step Sales Process by Andrea Lee

You Won’t Always Get a ‘Kiss’ On the First Date

“Andrea, I was on a TeleClass today and heard this expression ‘You won’t always get a ‘kiss’ on the first date. I really didn’t understand this and couldn’t for the life of me figure out what they meant. I feel a little foolish, but can you explain? What does online business have to do with dating?”

Another fantastic question submitted by an earnest Internet Biz Whiz member, thank you.

First, let’s explain the “date/kiss” analogy, then we’ll move onto how to implement what that means for us as online biz whizzes!

What’s this whole ‘dating/kissing’ thing about anyway?

In any business, there are customers. And in today’s business context, we talk a great deal about forming relationships with our customers. To the extent that we have strong bonds with them, our business will do well. To the extent that we don’t, our business may not.

Now while this holds true of most every business, in my opinion it is even more true of an online, intellectual property based business, one in which we sell information to our clients and customers.

As you go about building your business, recognize that everything is about the relationship. Regardless of how much automating, systematizing, or organizing you do, business is about people and this is where the ‘kiss/date’ analogy comes in.
When a new customer arrives at your website, s/he may decide to buy right away. Fantastic! A new customer on the spot.

On the other hand, more often than not, especially when your product is a higher-priced item, a new customer will arrive at your website and decide not to buy on the spot.

This is what is meant by ‘not getting a kiss’ on the first date.

However the analogy actually goes deeper if you follow it, and can provide a powerful insight. If you don’t get a kiss on the first date, is it wise for you, the business owner, to abandon this potential customer? If you said no, you are right. Just like in the dating world, sometimes you’ll decide you want to go out a few more times and see how the relationship develops.

In the online world, there are also ways to ‘go out’ a few more times, and let the relationship deepen a bit, before looking for a ‘kiss.’ One of the main ways is by setting up what’s called an Auto-responder at your website.

Let’s have a look at the Traditional Product Funnel again at this juncture:

As you start building offerings at the higher-priced levels, you will discover that the percentage of people who decide not to buy the first time they arrive at your website will grow. In other words, if you get 100 visitors at your website selling an ebook for $17, you may find 1, 3, 5 or even 15 people will buy right away.

But if you get 100 visitors at your website where you are selling a 5-CD set for $147, you may find no one buys on the spot. In this case, it’s critically important for you to build a multiple-step sales process so you can deepen and lengthen the ‘courtship’ phase of your relationship with the visitor.

By installing an auto-responder or mini-ecourse, you do exactly that.

Here are 2 concrete examples. (Sign up for each to get an experience of what a Mini-eCourse is like.)

(1) The Multiple Streams of Coaching Income membership site sells for $47/month, a $564 investment over the course of the year. Because it is a monthly membership site, many of the visitors were finding it hard to make a buying decision immediately.

Adding a 5-part Auto-responder/Mini-Ecourse has significantly increased the rate of signups, because the 5 follow on emails allow the visitors to get to know the offering much better. And of course, each of the 5 emails is a reminder of one or more of the benefits of the membership.

This turns the sales process into a multiple-step one that allows the customer many more opportunities to decide to say yes to your offering. To sign up to receive the mini-ecourse and see for yourself, go to http://www.multiplestreamsofcoachingincome.com/join.html and then exit the page. (The mini-ecourse sign up is on the exit pop up page.)

(2) Book Yourself Solid is a 3-CD set selling for $179. Authored and professionally-voiced by Michael Port, this is an excellent program that is nonetheless in a higher-ticket bracket.

While the product has done extremely well, Michael has added a 7-part Mini-Ecourse to his sales strategy. By doing this, he increases the opportunities he has to put valuable information in front of the visitor and increase sales.

His invitation to the 7-part Mini-Ecourse is value-packed in and of itself, and worth signing up for after his signature at this page. Look for instructions in the P.S.

http://www.andrearecommends.com/michaelport.html

How Do You Set Up a Mini-Course or Auto-responder?

Use your existing shopping cart set-up and set up an ‘Auto-responder.’

All major shopping carts will have this feature and very likely you’ll be able to set up an unlimited number, which is terrific…no excuses not to have a multiple-step process on each of your higher-priced websites. (There’s no harm in doing this on lower ticket item sites either by the way…)

Use an ezine delivery management service. The ones I personally use daily, and you may wish to investigate are:

- ListMailPro http://www.andrearecommends.com/listmailpro.html ($100 one-time only fee.)
- Aweber http://www.andrearecommends.com/aweber.html ($19/month fee.)
- EzEzine http://www.EzEzine.com (free under a certain size, excellent for starting up)

Auto-responders are one of the truly proven ways to boost sales known to the Internet, and there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t have one. Just excerpt some valuable pieces of content from the product in question, and you’re 85% there.
If you have a product or website that’s not selling as well as you’d like, make this one a priority. (And that goes for selling consulting or coaching services too.)

Last by not least, as a parting treat for today, here’s a little excerpt from my forthcoming book “Multiple Streams of Coaching Income” on the topic of Auto-responders…

An eCourse is a powerful mirror of the coaching process.

It allows a space in between lessons so that action can be taken, and new ideas integrated.

Written by a talented coach, a good eCourse can bridge the gap between the reader knowing something, and that same reader applying it to their lives. Just like the weekly coaching sesion.

How does one accomplish this? Quite simply, by capitalizing on the time that elapses between lessons… the silences.

In other words, if your eCourse is 10 lessons, be sure to close each lesson off powerfully. At the end of the lessons, design an exercise, a call to action, an invitation or assignment that lets the reader live with the concepts you’ve just shared before the next one arrives…..(end excerpt)

If you haven’t already signed up to receive notification of when the “Multiple Streams of Coaching Income” book hits the shelves, go here: http://www.MultipleStreamsofCoachingIncome.com. Production has been delayed somewhat by the editing process, but it is about 10 days away from release!

In the meantime, as you develop and deploy your own Mini-Course/Auto-responder, drop me a line and I’ll be sure to sign up.

Enjoy!

Questions? Email: andrea@internetbizwhiz.com.

My Best,

Andrea

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