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You can give the greatest talk, have the most people on a teleseminar, fill a room with prospects and if you don't learn how to give a compelling call to action you will lose major bucks. Whether it's on a sales page on your web site or the resource box on your article submission, or a conversation at a networking group, YOU HAVE TO ASK! Look at it as issuing an invitation If the idea of selling turns you off, look at it as issuing an invitation. "I have a free marketing call coming up; may I e-mail you the information?" "I have an article that fits right in with what you are doing, may I e-mail it to you." Look
what happens with phrases like that. You are in service, you are helpful and it
is a form of permission marketing because they give you their e-mail and you can
begin to establish a relationship with them. If you are writing your call to action on your web site make it as easy as possible. Outline each step. "Click here to receive your free….." "Let's get started! Click here to contact me for an appointment." If you are offering your call to action at a teleclass give them the URL that contains the sales page that outlines easy steps to take. It's also a great idea to offer a bonus or put time limit on a special offer. That stimulates immediate action. If you are presenting your call to action in person, have helpers available at several points in the room to quickly assist people in purchasing or signing up. Whatever your call to action, make it very easy to do. If you can't create a strong call to action, get help What prompted this article was a story I read in a marketing book about a person who offered a free teleseminar, had several hundred people show up and because he didn't know how to issue a call to action, he got a 5% sign up when he should have gotten 45%. So what if you can't close a sale? You may not know how. You may not feel comfortable giving one. You can team up with someone who can. If you are giving a talk, have someone partner with you at the end to talk about the service or product or opportunity you are offering. They are also in a position to offer an endorsement, which will stimulate sales. Practice till you can offer a great call to action yourself Being able to give a good call to action may be as easy as a small shift on how you look at "closing a sale" by calling it an "invitation." It may be about finding the right words by adopting some of the phrases others use that resonate with you. You only need to ask them to take a small step like "I'd like to keep in touch, would you consider opting-in for my free monthly e-magazine and a special bonus offer I have there for you?" A call to action is like asking people you really like to come to your party because you want to get to know them better. Make their first action step easy Ease people into your sales cycle. People seldom buy the first time they come across a site. That's why we have free offerings on our opt in pages. But the next step in your marketing funnel needs to be a $10-$20 item so they can "try you out" without investing very much. People will work their way up your marketing funnel, gradually purchasing higher prices items as you build your relationship with them. Remember, 80% of your sales come from 20% of your list. And your list builds one opt-in at a time. One call to action that gathers people in. Ask for their e-mail The greatest gift you can receive from a person is their e-mail address. Be sure you deserve it. Make your initial free offering as exciting, as relevant, as valuable as you know how. Then your prospect knows that's the quality they can expect from you at every level. If you don't ask, the answer is always "no." Issue your call to action invitation in the tone and energy that fits with your business, but make it clearly a request for the prospect to take a very specific action. Go back over your web site. Review your sales pages. Clarify and strengthen your call to action and watch your numbers rise. Providing a strong call to action is the key to your success. © 2007 Cara Lumen Feel free to reprint this article if you include the following: Cara Lumen, MA, Your Idea Optimizer helps you turn your ideas into steady profit. As a business developer, content developer and educator, Cara helps you make money from what you already know. You can learn more about how to put your wisdom to work through her radio show www.blogtalkradio.com/passioantelyonpurpose and her Passionately On Purpose emagazine at www.caralumen.com
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Cara Lumen |