To sell anything to anybody and, have repeat customers and good word of mouth, you need one thing more than anything else:
The product has to be good. No. Not good. It has to be remarkable.
No clever marketing tricks will overcome a product that doesn’t live up to the promises you made about it.
Your product is whatever you’re selling – be it the business opportunity or the actual product you offer.
If it’s not what you say it is, or, if those who experience it say it’s horrible, your reputation is in the tank and that means you’re not likely to succeed.
Let’s say you think your product is remarkable. Do not pass Go until you are totally confident that it is remarkable. OK?
OK. Next, you will need to demonstrate that you’re an authority on the subject of your product. This requires a bit more than repeating what’s in the company brochures or what you’ve learned at the meetings. For example…
When you seek the counsel of an expert advisor, don’t you expect them to know what the alternative products are? And wouldn’t she be able to tell you the pluses and minuses of the different choices, depending on what matters to person who values that kind of product in the first place?
For example, there are significant degrees of naturalness in vitamins, there are big differences in ‘natural’ personal care products relating to type and amount of toxic chemicals therein. Does ‘organic’ shampoo even mean anything? Don’t underestimate the intelligence of your customer. They’ll ask. You need to know.
Plus, would you expect an expert advisor to tell you that the only product that’s any good is the one she’s selling?
The more you know about why you are using the product or service the better advisor you can be. The more your own values are aligned with the values of the creators of the product, the easier it is to study how and why it works extensively.
That’s why, one way to demonstrate your authority status, is if you are living a lifestyle that represents the philosophy of the product (or business). People can see it by what you read, talk about, wear, your interests, hobbies, your general health, whether you recycle, etc.
But. What if you’re just now changing over to the new lifestyle embodied in your product? You’re just now becoming an entrepreneur, or living a more healthful lifestyle. Or whatever your product represents.
In that case especially, learn to use third party. Go to the library, or online, and read up on products like the one you’re marketing. Take some of the ingredients in your health drink blend and search them out online. See what other studies or investigations exist that demonstrate that those ingredients do what you or your company brochures say they do.
It’s essential, for your own education and for your customers, to get this info from third parties, people NOT connected with your company. You want this info from sources who themselves are not selling any product like yours.
White papers online are a marvelous source for this type of research.
Then you can tell a customer, “Well, I spent 157 hours online researching this information, and here’s what I’ve learned…” And you can cite research from Stanford, or other respected folks and organizations who are not selling your product. That’s one way to become an expert from home, without going back to an expensive school.
PS. Becoming an authority by using third party info is a big part of the Helper Healer Marketer program. You’ll see and hear a step by step case study detailing what Kim Klaver and her team did to market a health product using third party. The more you know about the subject of your product and others like it that are out there, the more of an expert advisor you can be to others. Isn’t that how you want to be perceived?
PPS. Bonus supreme: When you have a customer where you realize your product is really NOT the best solution for her, and you can and do direct her to another product, you’ll have earned her respect, and her good word of mouth, for life. Your helper nature will have transcended that of your seller nature, and for that you will be richly rewarded with admiration, gratitude and warm word of mouth wherever you go. Plus think of how YOU’ll feel.
