http://www.greatsmallbusinessadvice.com/: For a lot of small business owners, this is an overlooked factor that sells our products and services 10x better than we ever could. In this video, find out about the SP factor and how you can apply it. http://tinyurl.com/yjvsl5x

This is a great question. And the answer is you can’t. BUT there are steps you can take to minimize annoying people.

First, let me explain why it’s impossible to create a buzz/launch a product without annoying some people. If you want people to buy from you, you need to ask for the sale. And if they don’t want to buy from you, eventually they will get annoyed with you asking for the sale. (Buying is an emotional process, so the only way you’re going to get people interested in buying in the first place is if you push a few emotional buttons.)

But if you don’t ask for the sale (and you need to do it more frequently now because people are hanging on to their money tighter) you won’t get as many sales. So you have to decide what your threshold is in terms of annoying people or making sales.

Now, there ARE steps you can take to keep the annoyance to a minimum. If you provide high quality information during your launch and if you’re honest with people when you contact them (in other words, no more “my server crashed so if you couldn’t get in, that’s why and you should try now” unless your server really DID crash.) Give them good, honest reasons for contacting them and it won’t be nearly as annoying to them.

The short answer? Yes and no.

Now before you click away and say “boy that wasn’t helpful” let me explain what I meant.

Yes you CAN sell without feeling inauthentic or hype-y or like you need to take a shower. I regularly create copy that does this for myself and my clients. The trick is to connect with your ideal clients on a deep level (more on that in a moment).

But why I said no is because you STILL have to ask for the sale. There’s really no way to get around that. And depending on how sensitive you are, asking for the sale might still feel very uncomfortable for you.

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Ah, this is THE number 1 question I get asked. “Do you really need all those words on a long sales letter? I never read those long sales letters, do they actually work?

The short answer is “yes.” (See, direct response copywriters CAN be brief.) And no, it’s not because I can charge all sorts of money the longer they get. It’s because yes, long sales letters actually make more sales than shorter ones.

Why do they work? Well, it’s because people have a lot of questions when they’re deciding whether to buy something or not. And if you don’t answer all those questions to their satisfaction they’re not going to plunk down the money.

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Today’s What to Say If You Hate to Sell tip strikes a bit of a serious note about what REALLY gets in our way as we grow a successful business.
Let me know what you think. . .

I mention the “upcoming” call in the video. November 18 has already passed but you can still get the audio recording of the call here. (I got rave reviews so I’m sure you’ll find it well worth listening to.)

On last night’s teleseminar, I talked about a very big problem many heart-centered business owners have – and that’s knowing how to talk with people effectively about what you have to offer, about how you can help them.

I shared 5 “Selling Styles” that can damage your success. One of them is the Jekyll and Hyde – that’s when you’re humming along, being yourself, right up to the point where you make your offer. . .

. . .then suddenly your Natural Self disappears and it’s like you’re another person, maybe too salesy or too awkward.  It’s definitely uncomfortable for both you and your potential client.

To learn more about the different selling styles (and the one you want to develop – that will encourage people to say ‘yes’), go here. . .

http://www.greatsmallbusinessadvice.com: Here’s how one guy got $1500 in sales from me vs another who got zero even though I fully intended to buy from the one that got zero. Find out why he lost the sale and how to prevent this in your own business.

I’m putting together a series of video tips for you on the topic of “What to Say If You Hate to Sell.”

I know it’s a pretty hot topic for many heart-centered business owners and I feel I’ve got a lot of credibility in this area because I know exactly what it’s like to hate to sell!

I used to refer to myself as a “selling coward.”

Fortunately, I figured out a way to have those all important “selling conversations” and I’d like to share some of what I’ve discovered in these video tips.

Here’s Tip #4 – The One Attitude Shift That Makes ALL the Difference
(they’re being posted in random order, just to make things a little more exciting!)

Click here to get in on my upcoming free call with more ideas and information about What to Say If You Hate to Sell.

http://www.greatsmallbusinessadvice.com: Are you still selling “your products and services?” If you are, it may be time to make a shift because THIS truly is what sells. See video for more.

I think it was Jeffrey Gitomer who first said that people love to buy but they hate to be sold. Every Soul Proprietor I?ve ever known hates the idea of selling. They hate it to the point that they oftentimes drive themselves out of business because they will not ask for the sale.

The thought of doing any kind of hard-sell is a total turn off for me. I will walk out of a store if a salesman tries to use guilt or scare tactics with me and I’ll leave a website post-haste if I encounter the same thing.

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