One of my old sales trainers and mentors had a habit of putting the sales process in the starkest of terms. He would say that our job as salespeople is to transfer the money in our prospects’ wallets and purses into our wallets and purses. It almost sounded like stealing instead of selling and the mental picture it created never quite jived with my vision of professional sales.

The sales trainer apparently knew what he was talking about because he was in the top five percent of all sales people in the national company we both worked for. He held this esteemed position year in and year out. A short, stocky grandfatherly guy with gray hair on the sides of his head and a shiny dome on top, he did not appear to be the kind of salesperson with a killer instinct.

A sales technique that works

He was the first person to expose me to needs/benefits selling. This scientific approach to selling leverages what we know about human emotion and psychology. My mentor understood this approach to his very core and successfully used it to transfer millions out of his prospects’ purses and wallets.

Copywriters have a distinct disadvantage when applying principles like needs/benefits selling. Many sales techniques, this one included, rely on visual cues that allow a salesperson to know when to close their sale.

This exacting sales technique requires the use of both open-end and closed-end questions depending on the prospects’ comments or answers. A copywriter is never able to leverage this interaction, so they have to rely on words alone to achieve the same goals without a dialogue.

Copywriting based on needs and benefits

The root thinking of this particular sales technique can still be employed by the professional copywriter to persuade a prospect to act. The method requires a careful recitation of a product or services’ benefits and an educated guess at the readers’ needs. Good research into the demographics and psychographics of the target market can establish some common needs.

Writing with a flair for emotional impact and matching benefits with needs will achieve remarkable results. Each word should be carefully chosen and should draw the prospect in, giving them few reasons to say no. They should be able to visualize how the product or service they are reading about will meet their needs and have a positive impact on their lives.

Good copy transfers money

Slowly, ever so slowly, the pocket is picked, the wallet contents slip away, the purse holds less cash. The transfer has happened and the seller is richer. If the copywriting does a good enough job of describing the many ways that the product or service will meet the customer’s needs, there is no buyers’ remorse, only satisfaction.

That satisfaction is not owned by the buyer only, but by the copywriter who can accurately testify that their copy converts well. The copywriter who can produce copy that converts well is a master of transfer. A master pickpocket with a keyboard.

Many CPA and accounting firms are engaging in discussion about how to use limited marketing resources to best position the firm. There is debate about whether firms should continue to invest in traditional marketing activities like advertisements, sponsorships, direct mail and email marketing or venture into the world of website marketing-more specifically search engine optimization (SEO).

While most marketing professionals I have interacted with find the concept of SEO appealing there is a great deal of reservation about how to sell the strategy to management. Altering or changing long standing marketing activities can be difficult especially in the middle of the economic situation the country is currently facing. Finding the most effective way to present new ideas to the Partner group is imperative especially if your firm is a ‘slow mover’.

To help position SEO as a viable marketing strategy for you firm, we have outlined the key benefits of SEO and how it can have a positive and meaningful impact on your firm’s marketing efforts. The five key benefits of SEO include:

1. Access to ‘Warmer’ Leads. Inbound marketing techniques such as SEO allow your firm to connect with more qualified opportunities. When a company contacts you through the website they are usually ready to make a decision to buy. They have identified the internal need, researched potential solutions to the problem and have identified specific vendors who can remedy the situation. When a prospect comes to your firm in this fashion it reduce the amount of time spent educating the prospect, communicating the firm’s value proposition and overall time spent in the pursuit process.
2. Maximizes Partners Chargeable Hours. Due to the reduced amount of time spent pursuing opportunities, the time invested by Partners is also reduced. There is less time spent on site visits, prospect meetings and conference calls to move through the prospect through the sales cycle. With SEO partners are now able to insert themselves into the sales process in a time efficiency way. They can sell the opportunity in a much shorter time period than leads identified through traditional marketing techniques. This leads to additional time for partners to focus on chargeable work.
3. Expands Your Marketing Footprint. SEO allows firms to attract opportunities outside of their geographical footprint. There are a number of services firms offer which can be performed in markets across the country. The marketing dilemma is one of resource allocation. Does it make sense to invest marketing dollars in areas where the firm has little brand awareness? Of course not. However, SEO allows your firm to promote itself in other markets without incurring any additional costs. Would your firm be interested in serving clients in other markets if the opportunity presented itself? Through focused SEO your firm can find these opportunities.
4. Creates a Larger Pipeline. Optimizing your website to attract new opportunities will help your firm create a large pipeline of opportunities. Consider how your firm attracts prospects currently? Do you send out mailings? Newsletters? There is a lot of effort and resources invested into traditional outbound marketing techniques (direct mail, email and executive telemarketing). However, with an optimized website you have a sales tool that works to find new opportunities on a 24 hour basis. When you blend SEO with current outbound marketing techniques your firm will create a large pipeline of opportunities.
5. Adds Value to Marketing Activities. Most marketing departments in firms are expected to develop, lead and manage non revenue producing programs. Ad design, proposal development, collateral material development and pursuit planning, while valuable do not produce any firm revenues. SEO changes the paradigm and turns marketing into a lead generation source as well. If properly implemented SEO can transform marketing beyond an internal services function and position it as a revenue generator for the firm

There are many other ways SEO and inbound marketing techniques can help drive practice growth. However, the ones listed above have been used successfully in selling Partners on the benefits of such tactics. As you continue to present new ideas to your management team remember to always spell out the benefits and value in terms they can understand. CPAs and accountants are not marketing professionals and because of this you have to present changes in terms they can understand. Focus on meaningful benefits like less time in the sales process, more time to address client needs and ability of the firm to attract a larger number of prospects. In light of our current economic situation I believe these benefits will appeal to them in a meaningful way.

A marketing strategy can make a success of a product or service or it can break it ? smashed to smithereens ? by the inept marketing strategy, the product will never get off the ground ever again and the hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe even millions, will be sunk with no hope of being regained. This is the power of public opinion. The first to realize this power are our erstwhile politicians. The next are the marketing gurus of the world markets. Good public opinion creates success and bad opinion disaster. Some excellent products have been trashed by public opinion and some really bad products have made the markets, albeit for a short period of time. After all you can?t fool all of the people all of the time. It all ?lies? in the publicity of the product, a word synonymous with marketing and the public.

If your company is ready to launch a new product or a redesigned product the way it is presented to the public is what matters most. Contrary to popular belief, a product is judged by it?s packaging. Remember, the advertising and marketing is the most important part of the packaging of the product not just the wrapping.

The best way to make a success out of your product is to get a customized marketing solution for the product. Internet marketing California has emerged as leaders of this field of marketing. With years of experience behind them they can foresee the kind of results any marketing solution will yield and decide which marketing solution must be used to best promote the product. Customized marketing solutions may be a combination of marketing strategies. The best of these customized marketing solutions are offered through Internet Marketing California. They can create customized marketing solutions n the form of online streaming video clips advertising the product or they can create highly targeted advertising for the product. The Internet is their forte and Internet Marketing California know how to use this powerful marketing tool to reach out to the millions who access it every hour of every day.

Email marketing is one of the popular Internet marketing solutions. Customizing this powerful advertising and marketing technique can make it even more powerful and get the products you hoped to get from your customized marketing solution. The ability to create highly targeted email marketing campaigns is what makes this form of internet marketing highly customizable. The other customizable marketing solutions are forum posting. Forms are visited by mills of people everyday they discuss products and services and this helps promote the product a great deal. Generating traffic to your site that promotes the product is another way of marketing the product. This can be achieved through search engines on the Internet. A combination of all these customized marketing solutions, targeted at your market segment can prove to be just the solution to make the product a great success.

The iPhone is a wonderfully versatile pocket computer. Thanks to the tens of thousands of available app’s and the flexible way they can be arranged on your iPhone or Touch, it is easy to set up individual screens to cater for specific workflows. Having more than a passing interest in internet marketing I thought I would set up a screen of app’s and links to serve my assorted internet marketing needs.

1. iThoughts. A mind mapping application to plan your workflows and business models. I’m currently using iThoughts but also give MindNode a look.

2. Shortcut to Google Keyword tool to help you select a niche and populate your pages with appropriate keywords so they can be found when people search for them.

3. DomainScout. A domain name search tool so you can check the availability of your preferred domain names. The thing I like about DomainScout is, as you discover various names you like you can add them to a favorites list. As names pop into your head during the day you can check their availability and add them to an ongoing list.

4. Go Daddy. Once you have found your domain name of choice you will need to buy it from a company such as Go Daddy. Yep there’s an app for that.

5. A shortcut to a hosting company such as HostGator will allow you to host and control your website via Cpanel, all via your iPhone or Touch.

6. WordPress for iPhone will allow you to add to and edit your WordPress Blog. Prefer TypePad? Well you may want to look at the TypePad app.

7. A shortcut to ClickBank. Search for products to promote and check your sales on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You may also want to look at the CB Stats app.

8. TweetDeck is great, not just for checking and posting tweets but it also allows you to search and connect with people talking about things related to your niche.

9. Facebook app allows you to interact with your Facebook contacts and post happenings for all to see.

10. Analytics Agent. Having a good Google analytics app on your iPhone or iPod Touch will help you keep track of how well you are doing online as well as giving you an insight into what your potential customers are looking for. Analytics Agent has a nice interface and is easy to use but you may also want to take a look at Analytics App.

11. The PayPal App. Keep tabs on your ingoing and outgoing payments with the PayPal App. You may also want to look at Pay Mobile.

12. Documents To Go. A text editor so you can write articles or blog posts whilst away from the office. I’m still looking for a solution that enables me to edit the same documents regardless of whether im on the desktop machine or iPod. Many text editing App’s claim to sync with Google Doc’s but the ones I have looked at don’t really sync, they just allow me to upload and download documents. The best solution I have found to date is Documents To Go, and its desktop syncing app. With this you can make a change to a document on your iPhone and sync. When you open it on your desktop machine it will be updated. It works equally well going from desktop to iPhone as well.

13. iTimeZone allows you to see what time it will be in your location at a certain time in a different part of the world. This is very useful for making sure you don’t miss webinars and teleseminars by your favorite overseas marketing mentors.

14. Shortcut to Online Success Coach. I like to have a shortcut to the web page of my current online marketing training course or tutor. I am currently with the Online Success Incubator which is part of TechTamers. After many months of looking for the right assistance I chose the Online Success Incubator because of its extensive archive of information, Step by step guidance through the whole marketing experience, affordability and general no hype approach. If you’re looking for help getting started in Online Marketing I would recommend Online Success Incubator.

15. Briefcase. Online marketing is a continuos learning experience and you will find that you will accumulate a quantity of training courses, eBooks, tutorials, videos and audio. Its very useful to be able to get this info onto your iPhone so you can learn whilst away from your computer. There is a large collection of apps available to help you do this but I rather like Briefcase. Briefcase allows you to easily browse all of the files on your computer and pick out the ones you would like transferred to your device. It also allows you to view or play back most media types.

16. Instapaper. There will often be times when you will come across articles and web pages online that you would like to read but don’t have the time. Instapaper allows you to easily mark any webpage to be read later. Your iPhone will then sync with your instapaper account and download the articles to your device allowing you to read them at any time, on or off line.

17. What Tasks. One way to ensure progress is to keep a short daily to do list. What Tasks is currently my favorite allowing me to manually arrange the order of to do items and keep multiple lists so I can create long term as well as daily lists of goals. It is also nice and easy to use unlike many full blown get things done app’s.

18. Fenix Notes. Its always useful to have a quick and easy note taking system. I have taken a liking to Fenix Notes largely because I can open it and take a note very quickly.

19. Safari. Where would an internet marketer be without a web browser…

20. Or email for that matter.

In case you are wondering how to get shortcut links to websites onto your iphone or iPod Touch this is how you do it. Use Safari on your device to find the webpage you would like to save a link to. Tap the + (plus) icon in the menu bat at the bottom of the screen. Select the Add to Home Screen button.

Using the very popular social networking platform to enhance your business is almost outright necessary. Where most people use the Internet to find information, now there are millions going online to use social networks. It is probably not far-fetched to believe, at some point, most people will be using the Internet to find out information by predominantly using social networks. So how important do you think social networking can be to your Internet marketing?

Successful marketers know to well the power of socializing online and the old school marketers are now using these networks to grow their business and income as well. It is more important than ever to brand yourself because regardless of what you are promoting and selling people want to know who they are buying from.

Here are 4 simple tips to succeed at Internet marketing through social networking:

1. Begin COMMUNICATING with customers and prospects so they can get to know you. Hiding behind your computer screen will not cut it anymore. Simply join the more popular networks and start making contact with people who can help your business grow and whose businesses you can help grow.

2. Provide QUALITY CONTENT so you can attract more people to your business and with the progression of technology there is very little you CANNOT do to get your content seen by hundreds, thousands if not millions of people.

3. Start HELPING people so you can get more exposure. If you are using the Internet to make money or provide your off line business a shot in the arm it is imperative you do not turn off people by being an overbearing salesperson.

4. SPREAD the right links to everyone. It is a lot easier to provide a link to a social network you belong to. A lot of people are already members and they use these networks consistently to connect with family and friends. Your blog and website links should be on your profile at the networks so it is not necessary to give it to people unless they ask for it.

The peeling of Apple’s iPod broke all the records of the digital world. Use of Internet had become THE necessity for youth. Therefore, in 2004, the big dogs of internet fashioned an amalgam of portable playlists and internet (known as podcasting) which was another terrific addition to the toolkit of Internet Marketing.

A podcast is your talking blog and users can subscribe to it through RSS feeds where they receive the podcasts automatically. You don’t have to own an IPod to create your podcast. In fact, it’s just an audio file that you record on your computer. However, it’s not as simple as it sounds. Creating a podcast is a tiring process. At first, you have to identify your niche and narrow it down. Then, you need to plan out your speech i.e. what all you’re going to talk about. Finally, you record your speech, maybe, a hundred times before you get an appealing podcast. After you have recorded the podcast, you have to host it just like you host your websites. The host looks for RSS feeds and get audience to listen to your recordings.

Though, the real question is: Are podcasts worth all this effort? I believe that they are the most effective marketing tools there have ever been. In an era of change within change, the voice has and will always have the deepest impact on people. By creating your podcasts, you have your very own online radio show where you can talk to people about anything relating you, your business or your corporation.

The use of internet is limited but when we talk about iPods, they can be used anytime, anywhere. Whether you’re working in your cubical or jogging in the park; you can listen to your IPod everywhere. Now, you can do the math and get an idea about how many people may “listen” to your talking blog. If you sound lively and energetic, you can easily gain your listener’s attention and they are more likely to make a purchase at your store or whatever action you are asking them for because they will eventually start falling for your product/service.

iTunes, the leading resource of podcasts, is becoming more popular each day. Millions of people search iTunes everyday looking for exactly what you offer. Moreover, there’s not much competition for your business on iTunes as it is on search engines because not many people are even acquainted with the term podcasting.

Above all, it’s the best way to build relationships. Your convincing tone represents the strength and capabilities of your products/services. At times, people would even rate your product/service by judging your podcast’s eminence. The reason is that if you sound confident and professional, you are perceived as an expert in your field.

So, what are you waiting for? Grab this startling opportunity right away and make your very own podcast. Who knows? Your podcast may take your business to the boulevard of success.

The day I found Internet Marketing is the day my world changed. Although I knew nothing about internet marketing, I knew the power of the internet. It is known that the Internet is the most powerful medium in the world and through the internet, we can reach out to billions of people everywhere, and anytime. For those of us who are “Baby Boomers” that concept of reaching billions of people kinda boggles the mind.

Before finding Internet Marketing, I had reached a point in my business and in my life that I knew something had to change. Ever had that feeling? For me the greatest gift since finding internet marketing has been the fact that I had to start using my mind again. The internet will not allow us to become stale because it forces us to embrace change. From that I’ve developed a totally different mindset. I know first hand the power of the internet…the information that’s available, blog sites and social media sites where we can express ourselves and connect with others and a place where we can market products and services world wide. Pretty awesome isn’t it!

Since becoming more familiar with the power of the internet, I feel very strongly that the internet and Internet Marketing will be the new 21st Century Industry. It is known that many millionaires and new businesses are created during a recession, i e. Microsoft, FedEx, Burger King and Hyatt to name a few, and that new entrepreneurs and new businesses will be the spark and the base for our renewed economy. With so many people struggling financially, it’s no wonder that so many people are starting Home Businesses.

Forbes Magazine says that 79 Million people are expected to start home businesses within the next 3 years and the Home Business Industry is now a $427 Billion dollar industry. It’s why Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki and Warren Buffet have all endorsed Internet Marketing as one of the new ways to create wealth.

There is another power in the internet that we as internet marketers can take advantage of and that is helping the planet. You may be asking how that is possible. If you consider the marketing methods we use in our own businesses and how those methods could be partnered with charities, environmental causes and other philanthropic causes, it is possible to visualize the scope of what could be accomplished. In addition, consider the economic benefit of sharing our marketing knowledge and educating people to become internet marketers. By learning a new skill, people will have a new way to generate income. Now that is Powerful.

So now we can play the “What If” game. What if we can stimulate the economy through internet marketing? What if we can give people a way to generate an income? What if we can give people a reason to believe in themselves? As Jim Rohn would say….”Why? Why Not! Why Not You. Why Not Now.”

Beating AdWords is pretty easy as long as you know how – its all about doing your homework and not taking for granted that you know it all before you begin.

If you do think you know it all already then you are in for trouble, but then perhaps that goes without saying. No doubt you have heard stories before about people trying pay per click and losing a lot of money? I know I have and that’s the reason why I chose not even to try to engage the services of Google AdWords or Yahoo! Pay Per Click Advertising before. Instead, I sought pay per click help!

I used to gamble on horses so I know how it feels to lose a lot of money within just minutes of deciding to take the gamble in the first place. Pay per click and beating AdWords is not quite in the same league in “gambling” terms as horse racing or betting is, but for some people it equates to this, which is understandable – if you don’t know how to do it properly in the first place.

If you know how then the “gamble” completely disappears and in time you are much more likely to be beating AdWords at your leisure!

Even if you have some experience of using pay per click advertising did you actually make profits? If you did were you happy with your optimization procedures and did you improve upon your early successes? Did you utilize split testing to find out if you could increase your profits?

I have to guess the answer to at least one of these questions is “no” otherwise why else would you be reading about beating AdWords and seeking pay per click help with your own campaigns?

Okay, so we have established that you have to make some changes and improvements if you have already some experience with PPC, or that you have yet to begin and are keen to get your first campaign underway.

It’s my experience in life that the best way to gain success is to learn from someone who has been there and done it and is now successful at it, and then to follow their methods closely. Become an apprentice, if you will.

But, how to find that person?

How to find that expert who has been through the lows to reach the highs and now is constantly making very good profits from their pay per click campaigns? How to find the so-called Guru who is willing to show you the ropes, to give you pay per click help, to take you “by the hand” and guide you to early profits without you getting hit in the pocket along the way?

The best way to find the answer to this question is to read reviews of products written by well known and trusted pay per click experts. There are a number of experts who have written pay per click help guides and made them available to the market and its really up to you to find what guide is best for you and then follow that guide closely.

Never before in history was it possible to spend just a few bucks, write a couple of words & get instant access to millions of people who are actively searching for you. That is exactly what Google AdWords does. It is an awesome concept which you can take advantage of.

However, pay per click advertising is like war, especially with competitors jumping on literally every single minute! In order to survive & profit, you must be able to do the following:

• build a pay per click marketing campaign from scratch
• find keywords that get people to click on your ads
• pay the lowest bid prices on your keywords
• prevent click fraud & other scams
• convert clicks into customers

If there was 1 single book that I have to recommend to you, this is it…

Ultimate Guide To Google AdWords by Perry Marshall & Bryan Todd

This is a list of what you will learn:

• how to force people to choose your site
• how to build your autopilot marketing machine
• how to build your AdWords campaign the right way
• how to triple your clicks without being a genius
• how to triple your traffic with AdSense & image ads
• how to do local ads
• how to slash your bid prices
• the winning method that the marketers stole
• converting website visitors into paying clients
• using Google conversion tracking system
• beating your competition when it is most brutal
• persuasion ad copy as your ultimate silver bullet
• untapped ad copy writing ideas you can use right now
• grinding down your competition
• creating wealth with your client list
• how to rank well on the organic search results
• tools by Google for smarter AdWords results

Summary

This is an ever-changing game, keep reading, keep learning, keep getting better, keep yourself ahead of competition.

Well without doubt Pay per click advertising certainly brings in web traffic quicker than article marketing. You could setup a campaign in a couple of hours and get over 200 potential customers visit your site every day for about $0.29 per click. Very Nice! That is the fantastic power of PPC engines such as Google AdWords.

Article marketing however is beyond doubt not as quick to send you traffic, however you could increase this method. Basically think ‘more’ and ‘better’. Create loads more articles and distribute far more than your competition. Lots of people believe quality over quantity – Well I would do both. You now obtain the advantages of both and you will get so much more web traffic than other people which are trapped in their old systems and old way of thinking.

The thing with using article marketing is it will take a long time to get to the level of 300-450 web traffic hitting your website every day. It may even take months. Even if you decide to outsource all your articles to freelancers, they require time to create your articles and no one can create hundreds of legitimate, brand new articles inside a few days (these are the figures you must obtain to attract serious traffic).

With pay per click marketing, you could begin a campaign within hours and get 250 potential customers visit your site every day for prices as low as $0.10 a click, to get this thou you will need the correct keywords. Make use of websites such as Spyfu or Keyword Spy to find out which keywords your competitors are using, after that decide whether they would be appropriate for your advertising strategy.

The secret to keywords is this: Unearth keywords which will generate high traffic numbers, you need to try and make sure your classified ad features on page one of the results within Google, but you will need to make sure you keep away from the top 3 spots. Try for a click outlay of no more than $0.05-$0.50 for page one of the results, try and avoid the number one spot, since that spot attracts the most compulsive clicks, these never end up with sales and will lessen your conversion rates.

People which clicks on the top 3 classified ads are more often than not far more compulsive and this will cause you to have poorer conversion rates. So situate your classified ad within the lower positions, but always try to aim for page one.

So what you need to do is make use of both article marketing and pay per click advertising as your main marketing systems, using both of them together will explode your overall traffic!