Upselling, or selling something to your buyer after their initial purchase, is often the lifeblood of any direct-marketing company.

And what I’m about to tell you is a brain-dead secret that’s so simple, it’s not even funny. Yet, using this strategy will increase your sales, dramatically.

Ready?

O.K., here goes: Conventional wisdom says otherwise, but I will tell you flat-out, to ALWAYS present your most expensive offer first.

See, most people present their smallest offer first, and then they escalate upwards to their next highest-priced offer, and then up again to their highest offer.

And this is why most of your customers take the lowest or “maybe” the middle offer. See, when you go from small to large, customers have to talk themselves “into” spending more money. But when you present your top-dollar offer first, then… your customers are faced with the unpleasant task of having to talk themselves “out” of getting more value.

And who wants to get less value, right?

Also, unless you have a rapport with your customers, or unless you’ve tested your offers, I limit the number of choices in my offers to two. Three choices presents too much confusion, and confusion leads to disconnect. And of course, disconnect leads to no sale being made.

The proof here is in the pudding. On every offer I run, either for myself or for my clients, upwards of 90 to 100% of all buyers opt for the higher-priced item, simply because of this strategy. I kid you not.

Of course, the offers are solid and the value proposition is there, but nevertheless, with percentages like this, can you imagine how much money you’re leaving on the table if you’re NOT doing this?

Look, most people will disagree with this, and they’ll tell you to do it the other, more conventional way. Meaning, to go “up” in price with each option you present. But following conventional wisdom is only going to get you conventional results.

And besides, the numbers don’t lie. Upselling is a critical direct-marketing strategy that can mean the difference between having loads of cash-flow coming in, and just getting by, so make sure you don’t ignore this concept.

If you own a small business, you need to find ways to distinguish your business from your peers as well as larger competitors in your industry.

An effective way to advertise a business involves being open and public about its essence. People prefer to buy from recognizable sources. Here, we discuss how blogging helps you interact with public, speak about your business and attain recognition for your company.

Inexpensive Marketing: Updating your Website regularly or using traditional means of advertising is expensive and you may need assistance from IT folks in your company. However, similar updates can be provided regularly on a blog at almost no additional cost.
Direct Customer Feedback: Companies need feedback from their customers regarding their products, to assist them in developing their current and future business strategies. This feedback is obtained with the help of various marketing agencies, polls, surveys etc. Blogging, on the other hand, gives businesses an opportunity to obtain feedback directly from the customers. Companies may even get new ideas or suggestions regarding their products from the comments that customers leave on the blog. These comments also give very clear idea about the customer’s perspective.
Improved Search Engine Ranking: Search engines rank Websites based on their content. Higher the rank, better the chance that the Website will appear in search results. Writing regularly on your blog can result in better ranking and visibility for your blog, which in turn may provide better visibility to your Website on the internet. There is stiff competition in marketing on the internet. However, a small business can do as well as its high profile competitors by writing meaningful and original content in their blogs, irrespective of their financial status.
Personalized Marketing: Writing a blog helps you interact directly with your customers. You need not adopt conventional means like e-mails, writing on billboards, tradeshow booths etc. Writing regularly on daily basis on your blog gives better exposure and understanding of your business to your customers, and you get to understand them through their feedback and comments, forming a relationship with the customer, which is highly valued in the business world.
Corroborates your marketing: Conventional marketing techniques tell the customers only about the product and the company. However, blogs go a step further. They speak at great length about what you know and are a good way to demonstrate your expertise in your industry. Being considered an expert is in itself a great way to market your products and services.
Link to your products and services: Blogs are a great way to create links to your products and services. It helps in directing customers to make a purchase and improves search engine ranking of your site.
Blogging is an inexpensive but extremely effective way to market your small business and build your reputation as an expert in your industry. Create a blog and post regularly to build awareness about your brand and products.

Direct mail (DM) campaigns are an excellent way of advertising the products, services and offers of a business. They are not meant to sell the goods but to create leads for potential sales. They are truly effective if their content and delivery is planned and thought all the way through.

DMs are targeted at a specific section of people, either existing or potential customers. Here are some guidelines on how you can use them to your advantage and some things you should avoid.

Select a target audience carefully

Direct mails are not as costly as television ads, but you should use the money wisely. Examine the target audience carefully. Are they good candidates for buying again? Have they made sizeable purchases from your company before? It is a good idea not to distribute the mailing in one shot. Send it out to a small group of people and analyze the response. If the response is good, distribute the rest of the mailers.

Test the direct mail

The copy of the direct mail should be exciting and intriguing so that it compels readers to read through it. Use the mailing on a small group to test the efficacy of the content. Many companies prefer sending postcard mailers as recipients will at least glance at it even though postcards do not offer much space for the advertisement. Direct mail in envelopes can be more elaborate, but they need more initiative from the reader, as in pulling the mailer out of the envelope.

Personalize the mailer

Direct mailing should be personalized. This makes customers feel valued and worthy of being addressed directly by the business. Address the customers by name in the mailer, make references to previous purchases or something similar to include a personal touch.

Start with the benefits

The direct mail should start with the benefits to customer. If readers do not see a gain immediately, there is a good chance they will not read the mailer. Grand finales do not have a place in direct mail copy.

Describe the benefits to the customer

Customers do not want to know about the exciting new features of your products and services unless they benefit from them in some way. Does the product save money? Does it save time? Does it make their life easier? The mailer should highlight the customer benefits of what you are promoting. Customers should feel that they would prosper by taking affirmative action.

Keep it simple and pertinent

Readers do not have the patience to read mail that is lengthy and looks complicated. Use readable format that includes a lot of whitespace. Avoid jargon and decorative phrases. The mail letter should be simple, succinct and contain only relevant information. Keep the focus on the benefits to customers and not on the greatness of your company.

Direct mails are a cost-effective and valuable means of marketing. However, they are only as effective as the time and thought that is put into their creation and release. Businesses are advised to follow the aforementioned guidelines to get the most out of direct mailings.

Everyone is looking for that one final piece to the puzzle. That one crucial item that they are leaving out. You know, that secret that the pros use and don’t tell anybody about. Well, I can tell you that it’s not one piece, item or special secret that produce top earner results. It is, however, a winning internet marketing blueprint. So, my goal today is to give you some information about the different pieces that come together to give you a successful internet marketing blueprint.

1) Blog: First and foremost you are going to need a blog. Let me explain why this is such an important piece of the puzzle. A blog serves as your HUB. This is where everything comes to and flows from. So, if you have an article, video or any other type of CONTENT RICH marketing out there, it will bring you back to your blog. Take for instance, an individual does a Google search and comes across your article. This prospect reads your article, is impressed and follows the link to your blog. Up until the point of them going to your blog, you were just some person with a nice article. Now that they are on your blog, they are introduced to EVERYTHING related to your particular market/industry. Thus, positioning yourself as an expert in this field. Now, on the other side of the Marketing coin. Let’s say a prospect clicks on one of your ads of a PPC (Pay Per Click) campaign and is taken directly to Landing Page. After your prospect is done with your Landing Page, I promise you that prospect is going to Google your name to find out who you are. Are they going to find anything? If you have a blog with lots of CONTENT RICH information they will. If not, you are just another talking head trying to take someone’s money. Be an expert and get a blog!

2) Landing Page: This is also known as a Capture Page or a Squeeze Page. This is basically your sales page. A prospect can find themselves on this page through multiple different avenues. Some marketers will have you link directly to their landing page from an article, video or other form of Marketing. This is completely up to you and depends on where you are trying to drive traffic and what you are trying to sell. Your Landing Page is not a blog! Your Landing Page does not have to be pretty. Your Landing Page does need to be a great piece of Sales writing. Let’s not mix words here, your Landing page and all of your marketing is sales! If it’s not it’s a waste of time. Your not in Marketing as a hobby, you’re in marketing to sell a product or help others sell a product. So understanding it is a sales process, your Landing page needs to entice your prospect to BUY NOW.

3) Auto Responders: Although we would all like to think everyone who goes to the landing page is going to buy, the truth is the vast majority will not. Somewhere along the way you have done a good enough job to actually get them to your landing page, so there is a certain amount of interest. It has been researched that most people need to see something up to 7 times before they make a purchase. So, since none of us are good with follow up, we need auto responders. And I can hear you now, “I pride myself on following up with everyone, I don’t need auto responders.” Really, these are the words of someone who doesn’t get 300-500 leads per week. If you’re keeping up with the follow up with all of those people, that has become your full time job. Go to http://www.aweber.com and set up an account and get your auto responders in place. There’s nothing like making money in the middle of the night due to the work of the auto responders and the system.

Obviously with limited space I can’t go into great detail about a successful internet marketing blueprint. These are, however, some of the basics that ALL top producers have in place. Each one of these pieces serves a purpose of a larger goal. Use each of these pieces as they are meant to be used and you’ll be designing your own internet marketing blueprint. I hope this helps you on your Journey. Make sure to check back often to get more information. Until next time, Happy Marketing!

Dave Greenlee is a leader in Direct Sales and is always looking to help educate those looking for Success. Some have even said he’s a Jedi Knight. Okay, nobody said that, but he’s pretty cool nonetheless. Make sure you visit the blog to learn more and to have the opportunity to work directly with Dave.