A little while back, a friend of mine asked me how to sell to his e-newsletter list without coming off as being pushy, obnoxious and caring only about extracting as much cash as possible from his customers.<\/p>\n
I don’t blame him for being concerned, either.<\/p>\n
People are unsubscribing left and right from e-newsletters and lists who do nothing but sell, sell, sell.<\/p>\n
But here’s the thing…<\/p>\n
All the “selling” isn’t the necessarily the problem.<\/p>\n
The problem is usually what’s being sold and to who.<\/p>\n
Let me explain what I mean:<\/p>\n
Three days per week I like to make a brisk, ten mile bike ride.<\/p>\n
Only problem is, I live in an area that, during the summer, is full of annoying little thorns that get lodged into your tires and cause slow leaks.<\/p>\n
This happened a few times to me over the past summer.<\/p>\n
The first time I changed the tube myself.<\/p>\n
The second time (a couple weeks later) I took it to a local bike shop. The guy fixed it and we went our merry way.<\/p>\n
The third time (just a few days later) it happened yet again…and I brought it to the shop again.<\/p>\n
This time was actually a pain for me, because I had a lot of stuff to do that week, and didn’t want to mess around taking a bike to and from the shop.<\/p>\n
Luckily, there was a different guy working that day.<\/p>\n
And before he changed the tube he said, “We get a TON of tire repair jobs like this in the summer. Do you want me to put on a tube with a sealant inside? It’s a little more expensive, but when a thorn gets in there, the sealant fills up the hole and you won’t even know it happened.”<\/em><\/p>\n “You’re kidding me, right?”<\/em> I asked. I had no idea this thing existed (shows how much I know about bikes).<\/p>\n “And if you really want to make sure this never happens again, we have special tires that are almost impossible for these little thorns to puncture…”<\/em><\/p>\n Long story short:<\/p>\n I bought both the tires and special sealant tubes on the spot, and have not had a problem since.<\/p>\n Now, here’s what’s important about this for you as an Internet marketer:<\/p>\n When I left the bike shop, I was actually mad<\/u> the first guy didn’t try and sell me the special sealant tubes or puncture-proof tires.<\/p>\n If he had sold me on the tube and tires I wouldn’t have had the hole, and I wouldn’t have had to take another day to drop off and pick up my bike.<\/p>\n And that’s the point.<\/p>\n Are you selling your list things they want?<\/p>\n Things that will make their lives easier?<\/p>\n Things they may not even realize exist right now… but will be happy and thrilled to buy once you show them?<\/p>\n