Increase Sales By Flying Under Your Prospects "Radar Defenses"

By Jim Edwards

How do you persuade someone to do what you want them to do?

A whole world of marketing exists around us trying to do that every minute of the day. Do you even notice it anymore or, like your prospects, have you subconsciously set up a system of "radar defenses" against the daily bombardment of marketing messages? Take a minute and count up the advertising methods which fight, for your attention (and money) every day. Just the basic list includes:

• Yellow page ads
• Newspaper and magazine ads
• Postcards, catalogs, and direct mail circulars in your "snail mail" box
• Radio pitches interrupting the flow of your favorite songs
• TV ads - about 20 minutes worth per hour now
• Hundreds of storefronts, "mega" malls, and strip malls
• Highway billboards by the thousands
• Circulars hung on your doorknob
• Illegal signs on stop signs and telephone poles
• Legitimate email messages
• Spam email or UCE (unsolicited commercial email)

Just these 11 sources can overwhelm your brain with marketing messages. Like trapped rats, people develop defenses against this never-ending onslaught. They throw up a wall or a "radar defense" that goes into action the minute they smell a "pitch" or a sales job. Don't blame them. We all do it! So how can you get around this psychological wall against the constant sales and marketing messages? Well, the answer does NOT lie in hitting people with more frequent and obnoxious advertising or sly, sneaky tactics. You might get them to trust you for a minute, but it will backfire in the long run.

You must do two things instead:

1. First, you must establish credibility for yourself and your business as an expert.
2. Second, you must reduce their fears about doing business with you.

Doing these two things will get you past their defenses and allow you the opportunity to persuade them to buy your product.

So how do you accomplish these two "simple" things? What will win someone's attention, raise your credibility, and lower their fear factor all at the same time? The one-word nswer really applies to most everyone.

Trust!

If a seller can get behind your defenses with information which makes you trust them, then that credibility will carry over into a sale much of the time. How can you get this credibility? Well, take this next fact as online marketing "gospel," for many people have proven it's effectiveness.

Fact: Publishing and promoting with free articles gives you one of the most powerful opportunities available to tip the buyer's credibility scale in your favor. How can we prove this works? Quite easily actually. Take a break from reading this and go check out a newspaper or magazine for a minute. Which do you trust more, the ads or the articles? Most people will choose the articles hands down. Why? Because the articles don't try to "sell" you anything. Instead, they hand out useful information for educational or other practical purposes.

 Web Design for Marketing
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 Marketing by Writing Articles
 Marketing by Writing Copy

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