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Whenever decision-makers are willing to meet with you, you have reached a favorable juncture of circumstances. If you are then prepared to take advantage of this opportunity by building a level of trust with these individuals, there is a good chance that they will tell you enough about themselves so that you can easily recommend the appropriate package of your products and/or services that will meet their express needs.

Many top sales representatives feel that the sale is as good as closed if they can just obtain an appointment or meeting with a decision-maker. Their feeling is that their prospective customer must need their products or services or they would not be willing to set an appointment in the first place. The following checklist has been developed to help you make the most of a favorable juncture of circumstances and build the trust levels that are vital to your overall sales success:

Smile! No matter what kind of day you are having, if you will smile it will give those people you contact a feeling of acceptance. It will also help you feel better about your day. Tape a smiley-face or the word “smile” on your desk or telephone to remind you of the importance of a smile on your face and in your voice. Top sales professionals use the technique of thinking of a funny story or the latest joke they have heard just before meeting a prospective customer. Thinking about the story or joke almost assures them of having a smile on their face as they meet a decision-maker for the first time. Make sure you are smiling as you call for appointments or are conducting a sales presentation.

Shake your client’s or prospect’s hand. A warm, firm, friendly handshake goes a long way in building a trusting relationship. It tells your clients or prospects that you are a friendly person and that you are glad to see them. If your handshake is limp it can leave a negative impression. It can be equally as bad to grip someone’s hand too hard. Remember you only have one chance to make a great first impression.

Ask an open-ended personal question. (Open-ended questions require an explanation and can rarely be answered with a “yes” or “no”). Psychologists tell us that when a person reveals something personal about themselves, it builds trust.

It’s vital for you to practice using open-ended questions to create a short period of small talk (the prospect doing 80% of the talking), at the outset of your presentation. Remember, people buy from people that they trust. When people start to talk about themselves, they start to build a trusting relationship with you so that later, as you discuss your products and/or services, the things you say will be believed.

Research shows that people decide whether to follow the advice and buy from a sales professional in the first two minutes of the conversation. By following the track outlined above, you can make the most of your initial contact and truly turn each meeting of transaction into a favorable juncture of circumstances (a sales opportunity).

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While developing your pricing strategy, it is important to remember that there is an implicit relationship between price and value. We expect to pay more for gourmet food than for fast food and for a luxury car than for an economy model. At the same time, value is a matter of opinion, not fact. I prefer a new Subaru to a ’95 Cadillac; my husband prefers the opposite. His wardrobe is built around Dickies; my taste runs to rather more eclectic (and non-synthetic) clothing. Given that there is a relationship between price and value and that value is a matter of opinion, I had always priced my products and services by triangulating three factors: what I wanted or needed to earn, my costs, and what the market would bear. That’s what I had taught countless other people to do, and it worked fine. All else being equal, quality, price, and market generally reached a dynamic balance where prosperity and service overlapped.

But, once came the day when something felt out of synch in the way I used that marketing strategy, and I felt some gritchiness around the prices of products I recommended. I kept examining my assumptions, and everything seemed right. Still, the feeling that something wasn’t quite right persisted.

Never one to ignore an itch, I kept scratching until this week I realized what the problem is. I had been using quite different “markets” to assess what the market would bear. That is, I’d been looking at markets that had different values from the values of many of the people I attract. I based my pricing strategy and marketing on the proven best practices of other respected “info product” gurus, but those practices were designed to address the values of people who didn’t, and probably never would, be attracted to my e-zine.

Readers of my e-zine were a special case. From their emails and phone calls, I knew that they placed a high value on authenticity, intelligence, and creativity. I knew they had high standards for courtesy, honesty, and what I might call “finish.” They were tolerant of mistakes (assuming they were acknowledged). They had a sense of humor, a hunger for spirit, and a fundamental commitment to growth. At the same time they tended to be a frugal lot, willing to pay for high quality, but unmoved by hype and positively turned off by pressure tactics.

The generic information marketing model is designed to address the needs of people for whom profit is an over-riding value. These folks — many of them good souls indeed — thrive in the hyper-stimulating atmosphere of the motivational circuit: loud, upbeat music, extravagant challenges to dare to be great and simple formulas for achieving success. The more costly the package, the more this customer tends to believe in its value. And I’m willing to suppose that for the right person, that value can be substantial.

But this model didn’t fit me and it probably didn’t fit my e-zine readers, either. More than likely, they were past believing in “7 Steps to Instant Gratification.” They probably didn’t believe in easy answers, however much they might sometimes long for them. (Me, too.)

The bottom line is that, in that case, so-called “best practices” just didn’t apply. The sophistication, values, and life experience of this community constituted a different market, and we would just have to develop our own best practices.

What would those practices look like? My hunch was:

Transparency: No fake sales; any specials should be clearly linked to a business purpose, and the regular retail price should always be fair so if you miss a sale you can feel good about buying at another time for full price.

– Clarity: Accurate, no-hype descriptions of products and services.

– Simplicity: Prices expressed in whole dollar amounts. Forget the “95 cents” gimmicks. We can round up!

– Trust: Simple returns and exchanges.

I evaluated the marketing and pricing strategy for my products and those of affiliates, keeping asking the questions that gave birth to “Authentic Promotion” in the first place: “What’s bugging me about the way I do (or think I have to do) business? What am I assuming? What is the truth of this? What if the truth were not a problem?”

Goldilocks tried three chairs, three bowls of porridge, and three beds before finding the ones that were “just right.” In much the same way, your working toward “just right” prices and marketing methods will definitely pay off, as it did for me. I believe this price-value matrix will help you to find your “just right” price!

For example, my client sells a course which is a comprehensive self-guided seminar that transforms fears and resistance to marketing into grounded advocacy for good work. It’s a high value, if she does say so herself. Still, it has a medium price because she is still working on way to convey to potential purchasers the potency and efficacy of this course. One way she is doing that is to develop a series of follow up emails that remind buyers of key practices and principles, that ask powerful questions to help them move forward, and that suggest specific sections of the program that solve specific challenges. As she develops this support, she will be able to charge — and receive — a higher price.

PRICE-VALUE MATRIX

HIGH VALUE — LOW PRICE

Underpriced: value undercut by price. “What’s wrong with this picture” pricing strategy.

HIGH VALUE — MEDIUM PRICE

Attractive pricing: ideal for market penetration. “More for your money” pricing strategy.

HIGH VALUE — HIGH PRICE

Premium pricing: prestige, prominence. “Connoisseur” pricing strategy.

MEDIUM VALUE — LOW PRICE

True bargain: may be a temporary special to raise revenue or to move discontinued items. “Inventory sale” strategy.

MEDIUM VALUE — MEDIUM PRICE

Price and value are in balance, exclusive of other factors. “Square deal” pricing strategy.

MEDIUM VALUE — HIGH PRICE

Overpriced: informed buyers will stay away; sales may be made to unsophisticated market. “Infomercial” pricing strategy.

LOW VALUE — LOW PRICE

Cheap stuff. Often sold with lots of “bonus” items or features. “Tourist trap” pricing strategy.

LOW VALUE — MEDIUM PRICE

Turns sales into complaints. “Caveat emptor” pricing strategy. (“Let the buyer beware.”)

LOW VALUE — HIGH PRICE

Don’t even think about it: the “Fleece ‘em and run” pricing strategy.

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For the ultimate in variety, availability and selection, there is no better way to purchase wristwatches than to buy watches online.

Online jewelry sales in the U.S. market hit $2.45 billion in 2006, an increase of 20 percent from 2005, according to data from IDEX Online Research. Online sales comprised 3.9 percent of all jewelry sales of $63.0 billion in 2006. For those who fear that it is unsafe or unwise to purchase watches online, this should provide comfort and reassurance. With outstanding return policies and quality guarantees, consumers can rest assured that even if their purchase is not exactly what they hoped, they can return or exchange the watch for something more to their liking. Online security is so advanced that there is little risk of information getting into the wrong hands. Shoppers are encouraged, however, to read both the return policy and guarantees are before submitting their order.

One website that has built an excellent reputation for quality and customer service is KenmarWatches.com. Kenmar Watches has been selling wristwatches on the internet since 1997, and carries well over 125 brands. They offer 100% customer satisfaction and you can even receive your new watch in 24 hours or less.

Styles Of Wrist Watches

While there is a wide variety of watches on offer today, the general categories of watch are listed below. Keep in mind that many of today’s watches blur the line between one type and another, so when buying a watch online, the information provided here should be used only as a general reference.

Dress Watches: Keep it simple. One rule of thumb is to consider what would look best if you were standing on the red carpet at an awards ceremony. Dress watches are often thin, plain, and crafted from a precious metal, such as gold or platinum.

Designer Watches: Often, by the time a person has made a name for themselves in the watch world, they previously made a name for themselves in some other medium. This is not always the case, however, and there are scores of designers who specialize solely in wrist watches (such as Longines, Pulsar, Seiko, and Tissot), but by-and-large designer Wrist Watches are created by other popular fashion, furniture or accessories designers, including Anne Klein, Betsey Johnson, Dolce & Gabbana, DKNY, Ed Hardy, Armani, Fendi, Gucci, and Locman.

Sports Watches: As the name implies, sports wrist watches are often rugged and frequently display bells and whistles such as a stopwatch (“chronograph”) or waterproofing. Many sports watches are water-resistant to some degree, and nearly always have large, prominent hands. Two important sub-categories are Diver and Pilot watches.

Which Watch Wrist Watch?

Probably the most important thing to consider when buying a watch is personal style. Beyond that, one might consider whether or not the prospective owner has other watches. If this is to be the bearer’s only watch, it is best to go with a simple sports model, one that will not be out of place at the gym, but will look equally appropriate at a job interview. When shopping for a watch online, look into the website’s return policy, in case you and the watch recipient have different tastes and styles!

The next consideration is size. Watches have gotten bigger and bigger in recent years. When you Buy Watches online, be sure to read the description for exact measurements. If you already own a watch, compare the size of that timepiece to the ones you are looking at on the internet. However, a good return policy at an online vendor (such as KenmarWatches.com) can ensure that even if the size is too large or too small, the watch can be returned for a more comfortable size.

If you are purchasing a watch online to give as a gift, many websites offer wrapping and gift options, including allowing the gift recipient to exchange for a watch of their specific choosing. This is one more reason why more and more people buy watches online.

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Whether you create and sell your own products, buy reselling rights or rebrand other people’s products, adding value with bonuses is a well-used tactic in affiliate marketing. Why? Because a good bonus is valid, honest, and truly does add value to any offer. Perhaps most importantly, it makes the customer think that NOT to purchase would be a very unwise decision.

The challenge is that almost every marketer is using bonuses, so customers are wearying of the hype. What you need to do is offer them bonuses that do add genuine value to your product, and off them at the right place and time, and in the right way.

Some examples of good bonuses are:

*your product is an ebook about how to buy a used car, and your bonus is a report on how to check to see if a vehicle has sustained damage.

*your product is software designed to simplify obtaining reciprocal links, and your bonus is a report about how to create search engine optimized website title, description and keywords.

A bonus with genuine value:

*can be put to use immediately and is directly related to your product.

*provides motivation that is a match for the motivation to sign up for the newsletter or buy your product, and serves to add to that motivation, not detract from it.

*can allow you to put a price on a product that others give away for free.

The right placement of a bonus is:

*immediately before your prospect makes the last click to complete a sale. This will eliminate any last minute hesitation and will reinforce what you are asking for your product.

A bonus works well if you will only be selling your product for a limited time:

*If you can tell people that if they order by July 15th 2006 they will get a discount or free bonuses, there will be a sense of urgency compelling the customer to buy now rather than risking missing the bonus.

Here are examples of appropriate free bonuses:

1. Physical Product
If you are selling a physical product, it’s easy to slip in a free sample or free gift. Anything with your logo, url and/or contact info reminds your customer to return to your website. Pens, mousepads, coffee cups, and refrigerator magnets all get used frequently.

2. Special Report
Information in a condensed form that relates to what you’re offering and would be very helpful for the customer makes a great bonus. If your product is information explaining how to do something, your bonus can be a detailed description of some aspect of that. A great bonus to add to Opt In Master Course would be a report outlining how to get the most out of your favorite traffic exchanges or safelists; or, how to write a good email advertisement.

Titles that are exciting and include numbers, such as “10 Killer Steps to Writing Email Ads that Sell”, are proven to be highly successful. An easy way to write your report is to write it in Microsoft Word, format it so it looks professional (using white space, highlights, and bulleted lists, for example), and then use Adobe Acrobat to save it as a PDF file for easy downloading. Be sure to promote your business, website, and relevant affiliate programs in there too – remember it may get passed around. If you would like to make your report available for rebranding, then use pdf995 instead of Adobe Acrobat. Rebranding rights encourage other marketers to pass it around. You can offer your report for free, and sell rebranding rights.

3. Resource List
Compile a list of your personally recommended resources, websites, books, and vendors that will help your list grow their lists and run a successful business. You can set this up as a PDF file as well, or create a password-protected area of your website that your list can access.

4. Checklist
Are there any checklists that would be a good tie-in to what you offer? That help people do what you’re teaching them to do, better or easier? A checklist of a daily traffic exchange surfing schedule, or weekly website promotion activities, would help your list members run their businesses more efficiently. A common question I receive is, do you really use ALL the resources in OMC? Your answer to that could be your checklist of what you use.

5. Collection of Articles
My favorite way to advertise my site and add valuable content is to write articles and post them to article directories and on my website. Your list of article directories, or a collection of your best 10 articles, would make a valuable bonus ebook.

6. Workbook
Since OMC includes marketing principles, strategies and tactics, put together a separate guide to help your list members do assignments, stay on track, and document their progress. A workbook is something people recognize and appreciate because it infers step by step guidance, with measurable results. This would be a step up from a checklist.

7. A Coaching Session With You
A consultation is a great bonus to offer, for several reasons. First, it helps you get to know your list members and their questions will
help you decide on the direction your website should take. Second, it’s a great opportunity to add backend sales to your free products. For example, if they appreciated the coaching you provided, they may be interested in buying an ebook that expands on this info.

Digital or Physical?

If you’re offering printed material as a bonus, don’t go nuts spending a ton of money making it look great. “Good” is okay! A simple printed-on-demand report from Cafe Press fits any budget and is fine. First you sign up for a Basic Shop for free. On the ” My CafePress” page, click on the “products” link under Shop Management. Next, click on the “add products” button at the top of the page. This will direct you to the product list where you can select the products available for you to choose from. The book is the last product in the list. The system will then walk you through each step of creating your book.

What’s most important is the cover — even if you only produce a digital report or audio product, having a graphic of it will help
increase your response and make you look more professional.

Give Your Wallet a Bonus This Month

So get some bonuses together, make note of your sales so far, and then add some bonuses and watch how your sales rise.