Credibility - The Number 1 Quality That Your Business Needs
I hear this so often. “I got a really great website and I advertise the heck out of it, but I can’t get anybody to buy anything.” And then they scratch their virtual head and wonder what went wrong. Well, I’m going to try to shed a little light on the situation so that you understand why so many people have trouble making a living online. Hopefully, by the time you’re done reading this, you’ll have the answers that you need.
We live in a skeptical world. This is a fact. The reasons don’t really matter, though you can probably look to the dot com bust of years ago. Companies were built on nothing more than a dream and many people lost their shirts. Since that time, those who hit the Internet in search of a business opportunity or information that will help them run their business, are very cautious. As well they should be. The result is that it’s more difficult to make sales than ever before.
In order to overcome this, a marketer needs credibility and needs to gain trust. Easy to say…hard to do. When it comes to income earning opportunities, credibility comes in the form of actually being able to show others that you have been successful with your business. This is where many home business owners make their first mistake. They attempt to sell a money making scheme to some poor sap when they haven’t made enough to rub two nickels together. Where is the credibility?
As a result, there is no trust. How can you trust somebody who sells you a bill of goods on an opportunity that hasn’t made you squat? I know that there are a lot of people right now who are not enjoying reading this, but it needed to be said. Whether or not YOU want to admit it, this is the way the outside world looks upon snake oil salesmen. That isn’t going to change just because we don’t want to admit it.
So what’s the solution? It’s really very simple. Develop some credibility for yourself. Make some money with your “methods” by promoting a real product…something that regular people can actually use. The Internet is filled with them. Find one. Then come back and tell people how you did it. Give them a free report that might actually help them out. If they want to progress further, then you can sell them something. At least then you’ll have some credibility and maybe gain the trust of a few people.
Internet Marketers hard-sell too often. It works temporarily but does not help establish a long-term business. If your goal is to only sell a specific product for short period of time (less than 6 months), then the regular hard-sell approach with long sales pages and sleazy marketing strategies might just work out for you, even though some might still question it. Howe ver, for a long-term business, you need to establish a foundation for it starting with credibility. For instance, if you had a services business, then always deliver on time, under-quote and over-deliver, be upfront and honest about prices, never ever compromise on that quality that you have determined you will provide. These things will go a long way in establishing you as a credible player and will bring you repeat business. Before you know, you will have no need to hard sell and people will be lined up at your door to get your services, That's when you raise prices and grow your business further. That's how it's done. By over-pricing and hard-selling initially, you are digging your business an early grave, a mistake I see many online businesses make.
In a nutshell, it's all about credibilty. It’s not rocket science and it just might help you start your way to a successful and honest business.
