Nelson Tan asked:


I have a feeling some niche marketers found success in a way that is not publicized on the Net.

What is typically publicized is the way of the “niche blitz”: Cover as many niches as possible en masse and monetize related information. This aims for quantity. Under the duress of time, strategization is sacrificed, and the emphasis is on a repetitive pattern of setting up online systems for monetization through product sales, paid clicks and lead generation, but each one of these niches or systems are not going to pay highly by itself because of a certain ‘herd’ factor pertaining to this idea of a “niche blitz”. Moreover, the maximum human effort that can be possibly expended comes most likely from only 1 person, the marketer himself.

In the Internet Business Manifesto, Rich Schefren had stressed you’re going to hit a limit with all the work done solely by yourself. That’s not how companies grow. I’m already lying to myself when “I AM the company”.

Not only that, the end of your “niche blitz” can come when your niche sites become stale and die down because of one-time setup-and-leave-it effort or “repetition fatigue”.

Of late, because of the expertise I’m known for, business associates have come to propose ideas and work in need of a collaboration to generate leads online. So instead of chasing niches, I’m attracting them. Second, the economy of these offline businesses my associates are involved in definitely deals with a lot more money and possibly have a lesser degree of competition due to its lack of Internet pre-eminence (it may be the same case with competitors in the same industry), but if I should bring the business online, it will certainly be presented from a unique angle and with a unique taste.

The crucial characteristic to note is [b]any form of business that requires a team of players to run it is certainly big enough to share substantial profits for everyone even while your role within the team is a small bit part.[/b] It is what you should be looking for in evaluating a business because you can then fully focus on exercising a specialty skill (for example, lead generation) to the fullest instead of “doing everything from A to Z”, leading to fatigue and aimlessness.

So don’t be embarassed that you don’t consider yourself successful via the “niche blitz” method. Being more selective can be the more profitable way for you.

With this being said, perhaps there are highly profitable businesses within your neighborhood that with your help as an Internet Marketer and if the business permits, they can bring in a lot more profits online! You are merely piggybacking a business and injecting it with a new momentum towards Internet pre-eminence. If you’re not attracting opportunities then you should proactively approach the business owners instead and propose a win-win situation.

I was able to obtain a sample copy of a local businesses approach letter that Paul Evans has used to create an extremely successful business serving as the local Internet expert for businesses in his hometown. I want you to have a free copy.

This is the perfect complement to Andrew Cavanaugh’s special report, “Offline Gold For The Online Marketer”, about selling your Internet Marketing skills to businesses in your local city. The report starts by presuming the reader as a total stranger to business owners and how s/he goes about the process of striking a business partnership to the point when they would be happy to put checks into the reader’s pocket.

Years ago I did a little research out of curiosity and I reprint my personal summary: Out of the 95% of all US companies which are small businesses (categorized as having less than 100 workers), 66% do not believe the Web offers significant opportunities to fuel their growth just because they are local businesses. Only 23% anticipate that online sales will affect their bottomline. So if people say there’s still a lot of potential in online marketing, imagine what’s still being ignored in the REAL world!

If you know very well you would like to take the path of forging alliances with existing offline businesses, read Andrew’s special report to find out how to go about it in the most effective and efficient manner.

Steven Sonsino asked:

One of the skills that successful leaders need to master is a bit of a dirty word these days. It’s not the sort of thing they offer leadership training courses on, but it lies at the heart of most business relationships. What I’m talking about is office politics.

When we call someone ‘a political animal’, we’re often not being complimentary. We tend to mean that they’re manipulative and untrustworthy, maybe even immoral or dishonest.

A person who’s good at politics, in our eyes, is someone who likes to score points over others, who tries to scramble to the top of the heap over his or her colleagues.

But politics isn’t all about manipulation. There’s more to it than that. And whether we like it or not, politics is everywhere in the workplace and a good leader needs to know how to make the most of it.

So what does politics have to do with good leadership? Well, to start with, politics involves being aware of the effects your words and actions have on others. And – even more importantly – it also means knowing how to influence people.

In an earlier article, we touched on leading change as a political process, but let’s focus for a moment on your interpersonal political skills in leading change negotiating, persuading, influencing. These leadership skills are essential for success and survival.

In a way, introducing change into an organization is like running a political campaign. If you get it right, your people will support you and your decisions.

How to get your people to accept change:

1. First, set up your campaign team. This isn’t just your fellow leaders, who’ve helped you draw up the plan behind the scenes, it’s also the movers and shakers in your organization. You need to identify them carefully and well. These are the people who can influence OTHER people. Perhaps the people that you can’t reach. If the movers and shakers know about and support what you’re doing, the job will be that much easier.

2. Now prepare yourself. You and your fellow leaders have been working on the plan for a long time. You know how much work has gone into it, and you know how vital it is for your business. Now is the time to get everyone else on board. But be prepared: not everyone’s going to like it.

3. Let the debate go on. Listen to what everyone says: be careful not to spend all your time with people who agree with you. Your fiercest opponents are valuable people: they help you gauge the level of resistance, they set out the arguments you need to defeat, and, if they eventually come round to your way of thinking, they will be some of your most valuable supporters.

The politics of business:

1. Find allies in ALL parts of the organization: you can exchange vital information that you might otherwise not have access to. And you can form coalitions, so together you can influence current and future developments.

2. Intervene in the political processes of the organization: share agendas, influence decisions and decision-makers.

3. Make sure you’re not simply surrounded by ‘yes’ men and women. You need to listen to the devil’s advocates – that way, you’re less likely to make mistakes.

There’s more, of course, there’s more. But deal with office politics on a project by project basis and you won’t go too far wrong. Leadership is sometimes described as a contact sport. It isn’t so much what you know as who you know.

So let me ask you this: who do YOU know?

Nick Moreno asked:

“Selling Skills … Make Closing A Sale Automatic.”

By Nick Moreno – Sales Trainer & Head Sales Coach

The National Sales Center

There are well-defined moments in the sales process when you absolutely must ask for the order. You can’t afford to have these precious moments slip through your fingers but unfortunately, that’s exactly what happens to too many salespeople. I have some advice that will protect you from becoming one of those salespeople. The key is to make closing automatic and you do that by knowing exactly when you must ask for an order.

“Always Be Closing”

Unfortunately, too many salespeople were mislead into believing that “Always Be Closing” represents the “ABCs” of salesmanship. Frankly, nothing could be further from the truth. You can’t always be closing because asking for an order is only one of the steps in the sales process. At a minimum, before you ask for an order you need to establish some rapport with your prospect, uncover a need for your product and present your solution. “Always Be Colsing” may sound great in a movie but it is meaningless when you’re in your sales territory, attempting to sell something to someone.

Often, salespeople that think they should always be closing are, in reality, never closing. These salespeople do not understand the sales process because if they did, they would know when and how to ask for an order. Well-trained professional salespeople don’t have these problems because they follow a well-defined sales process. These professionals know exactly when the only thing left to do is close the business.

Fear Of Closing

I also work with another group of salespeople in my sales training programs that need help with their closing skills. These sales reps need to overcome their fear of closing. After all, you can’t be sales rep and have a fear of closing, just as you can’t be an electrician and have a fear of electricity! Salespeople close and if you are not closing you’re not a salesperson… you are just a conversationalist. Salespeople that fear closing just keep talking and hopelessly praying that at some point, the prospect will ask for an order form to sign. Guess how often that happens?

In my work, I’ve uncovered many factors that cause some salespeople to fear closing. Some sales reps don’t want to face the moment of truth. Other salespeople fear they may appear “pushy”. There are also other salespeople that assume, without any data to support their assumption, that the prospect is not ready to sign an order. I help these salespeople by making closing an automatic reflex reaction to certain events in the sales process. When closing is automatic, you don’t even have to think about it. You automatically ask for the business. This process helps most salespeople overcome their fear of closing.

Initial Close

At some point in the sales process, you’ll ask your prospect a series of questions to uncover a need for your product or service. You’ll then present your product and explain how the product addresses the needs you’ve uncovered. Once you’ve presented all the benefits your prospect with gain by using your product, you must close. You must ask for the order at this point in the sales process. Don’t think about it … just close.

Since this is the first time you’ve asked your prospect for the order, this closing attempt is called the Initial Close. Your prospect has two possible reactions to your Initial Close. Your prospect will either give you the order or give you an objection. Obviously, if you get the order, you’ve accomplished your goal. On the other hand, if you get an objection, you still have some work ahead of you.

Overcoming Sales Objections

It is not end of world if you get some objections after your first closing attempt. In fact, you probably will get some objections after your Initial Close. Most prospects feel it is their duty to have some objections for the person attempting to sell them something. So relax and don’t panic. Now that the objection has surfaced, you just moved one step closer to the order. Keep in mind that an objection is not rejection. An objection is only a request for more information. Your prospect is confused and unclear about something you said or something you failed to mention. By addressing the sales objection, you give your prospect new and additional information. Armed with the new information, your prospect is able to develop a new and favorable opinion about their decision to purchase your product.

Objections should not be ignored and must be answered in a way that completely salifyes the prospect. The salesperson should not get defensive or start debating the prospect. The goal is not to win an argument. The goal is to get the order.

The “No More Objections” Close

Once all objections have been successfully addressed, you must close the prospect and ask for the order. As with the Initial Close, don’t even think about it and make this closing attempt an automatic part of your sales process. I refer to this closing attempt as the “No More Objections Close”. Once the prospect runs out of objections, the salesperson must ask for the order. Don’t think about it … just close.

Salespeople should always be direct and confident when closing a sale. The salesperson’s confidence makes the prospect confident about the decision to purchase. All objections have been successfully addressed and the salesperson must confidently assume the prospect is ready to do business.

Also, you must remain silent after you ask for an order. The prospect must be the next one to speak. There could be an uncomfortable pause while the prospect thinks about the final decision. If you interrupt that pause, you greatly diminish your probability of receiving the order. That’s why this is called strategic selling.

When You Must Close The Sale

As you now see, there are two moments in the sales process that call for a closing attempt. The first attempt is after you’ve presented the benefits of your product. The second time is after all objections have been successfully addressed. Implement this process and make closing automatic.