Are you in a direct sales business and trying to figure out, like me, how to streamline your systems so that you can spend more of your precious business time working on income generating activities?

Well, I’m here to tell you that there are some simple steps you can take NOW to help your business for the long term and an Autoresponder is one of those ways! An autoresponder is an online program that takes a prewritten email message or series of messages that you’ve created and sends it out automatically when someone signs up either via email or a web form.

That sounds a whole lot more complicated than it really is. So let me give you examples that might work in various aspects of your direct sales business to help you see how easy this really is:

Lead follow up and tracking.
Do you advertise either online or offline? With an autoresponder you can put an email address into your advertisement and when one of your potential customers/recruits emails you to find out more about your company, they are automatically sent your initial packet of information instantly. Take it one step further and you can even put a different email address into each ad, making it easy to track which ads are producing results.

Lead Generation.
Do you have a coupon or e-book that you can give away to potential new customers or recruits? Set it up in your autoresponder and create a web form (all free with most systems) that you can place in your blog or on your website. Then just add a quick statement of “Request more information on my business today and receive a free gift” sending interested prospects to your autoresponder where the gift and the information are sent to them automatically!

Downline newsletters.
If you’ve built a team of distributors under you, you’ll want to stay in contact with them regularly. An autoresponder can do that easily, first with a “welcome to my team” email and then later as you broadcast your team newsletter through the list.

Help your new consultants get off to a great start in their new business with a series of email training messages geared toward those days when they are waiting for their starter kit. It’s a great way to keep the enthusiasm high during those first days!

Is there a specific area in your direct sales business that seems to generate the same questions from all the distributors in your group? Set up another series of emails specific to that business topic and set up your team members there as the questions come in.

Leadership communication.
As your direct sales business grows you’ll promote leaders from your team. Set up a series of emails congratulating them on their promotion and encouraging them in their new role as leader. Many people in direct sales have no idea what it means to lead a team of their own and you can set up a system to get them trained and equipped as well. and have it work for you continually.

Customer newsletters.
Stay in contact with your customers by using an autoresponder series just like you do with your downline. Have a welcome series for new customers to keep your name and information in front of them.

Customer classes.
Set up a series of emails that highlight a product of the month from your product line, or an email class on how to use some of your products.

Contests
Set up a series of contest emails for either your customer base or your downline. For instance, have a “scavenger hunt” through your catalog and use the autoresponder system to create the excitement over a series of days.

I’m guessing that most of you, unless you’re brand new to direct sales, have much of the information for many of the above ideas already in your computer somewhere. With an autoresponder it’s just a matter of transferring that information into the system where it can work for you, even when you’re off doing other things. Give it a try. Many autoresponders have a free trial offer so you can check out how they work before you take the plunge. but after just 6 months of using it with my own direct sales business, I can tell you it’s well worth every penny!

I am almost 10 years now FULL TIME working from home on the internet making money online and I have put together the following website to share all of my secrets with you at http://www.DecideYourIncome.eu

Regards Always

Mark McCulloch

http://www.CoachOfSuccess.com – mark@markmcculloch.com

Internet Marketer and Entrepreneur, Committed to creating success

(UK) 07875 647 867 (Call Me Anytime), Skype – mark.mcculloch1

=> Step #1 – WHO DO YOU THINK YOU`RE TALKING TO?

Before you sit down to write your email sales letter, you`ve got to determine exactly who your audience is. This is a master key to getting results from email marketing.

Ask yourself these questions:

- What do your prospects/customers want?
- What frustrates your prospects/customers most?
- Who else is selling something similar to you?
- Why should your prospects/customers believe you?
- Why should prospects/customers respond to you instead of someone else?
- What kind of appeals will your target market respond to?

=> Step #2 – A GREAT SUBJECT IS YOUR OBJECT

Before an email can generate results, recipients need to open it. But what can you do to spark their interest and get their interest “motor” revved up?

Your SUBJECT LINE is the key.

There are four types of email formulas you can use as a guide in crafting your email. Each has a different PSYCHOLOGICAL APPEAL that works like magic on consumers. Here are some examples:

- State a powerful benefit – “Empowerism Satisfies Your Need for Leads”

- Pique curiosity – “Empowerism Has Uncovered the Secrets of Success”

- Write your subject line with a news angle – “Empowerism Launches RSVP For Those Who Want to Double Their Money Fast!”

- Offer Immediate Gratification – “With Empowerism RSVP, you can start the money wheels turning before the sun goes down tonight”

Here`s an important “homework assignment”: Write at least 25 SUBJECT LINES before you decide on which one to use. Take the best two and test them against each other in your marketing campaign. (Save the “losers” to use for other purposes or spruce up later.)

=> Step #3 – WHAT`S IN IT FOR THEM?

Sit down and write every conceivable benefit your product has. Don`t know the difference between features and benefits? Features describe the product; benefits describe the results of using the product. Features appeal to logic…logic justifies emotion…emotion drives sales (see below).

Here`s a rule of thumb for benefits: ask yourself “What can my product or service do for my customer?” Then begin to write your letter telling your reader WHAT`S IN IT FOR THEM. Tell them how much better life will be for them after they buy from you. Tell them how much better they`ll feel. Tell them how their peers will respect them more.

=> Step #4 – AN EMOTIONAL APPEAL

When promoting anything to anybody, you must remember that buying decisions are based upon emotion and later backed up by logic. Before you write a single word, determine what emotional hot buttons you need to push to “jumpstart” your prospect.

Selling health supplements? Go for the “fear of illness” button with “A Natural Way to Save Your Eyesight.” Selling political bumper stickers? Hit the “anger” button with: “Let the President Know What You Think of His Policies.” Other buttons include: curiosity, greed, ego, vanity, hope, and/or fear of scarcity or security.

=> Step #5 – A NAME YOU CAN TRUST

To convince people to buy your product or service, you must make them believe that your offer is credible and that you (or your product) will deliver as promised.

How do you do that? Here are three ways you can build credibility with the readers of your sales letter:

- Provide testimonials.
- Include endorsement letters from authority figures in your industry
- Make your offer and promises sincere and believable.

=> Step #6 – A GUARANTEE

Nowadays, trying to sell without some type of guarantee is a losing proposition. You`ve got to have one. And the stronger your guarantee, the better your response will be. And, believe it or not, although most people will NOT ask for a refund, they`ll trust your offer knowing that you stand behind it.

You can offer a 24-hour, 30-day, 60-day, 90-day, or even a full-year. And here`s an interesting fact: The longer the time period, the fewer returns you`ll have! It`s human nature to procrastinate, so the more time someone thinks they have to get a refund, the more they`ll put it off or forget about the refund altogether.

=> Step #7 – DON`T FORGET TO ASK

It happens all the time. Someone makes a fantastic sales presentation, and then doesn`t close the deal because he/she didn`t clearly ask for the order or made the process confusing rather than simple.

- From the Research Department: Statistics show that you need to ask for the order at least three times to close substantial sales. (Some studies put the number at 7!)

If you can, offer several ways for your prospects to order — consumers love choice. It tells them, “You`re talking directly to me and meeting my unique needs.” If you only offer one way to order, make it crystal clear how AND how easy it is. Describe it in detail and ask for the order. Then ask again.

=> Step #8 – THE EYES HAVE IT

It`s a well-known fact: Large blocks of copy are intimidating and will often send people running for the hills or at least the Delete button.

The solution? Break up paragraphs into two to four sentences. Use several subheadings throughout the email letter. And use asterisks, dashes, and ellipses (…) to give your copy more rhythm. Bullet points are excellent eye-catchers – use them whenever appropriate.

I am almost 10 years now FULL TIME working from home on the internet making money online and I have put together the following website to share all of my secrets with you at http://www.DecideYourIncome.eu

Regards Always

Mark McCulloch

http://www.CoachOfSuccess.com – mark@markmcculloch.com

Internet Marketer and Entrepreneur, Committed to creating success

(UK) 07875 647 867 (Call Me Anytime), Skype – mark.mcculloch1

Your web business probably gets product inquiries from potential customers around the globe. Inquiries come via e-mail and your web site, and you try to send information to each hot prospect as quickly as you can. You know that you can drastically increase the likelihood of making a sale by satisfying each person’s need for information quickly!

But, after you’ve delivered that first bit of information to your prospect, do you send him any further information?

If you are like most Internet marketers, you don’t.

When you don’t follow that initial message with additional information later on, you let a valuable prospect slip from your grasp! This is a potential customer who may have been very interested in your products, but who lost your contact information, or was too busy to make a purchase when your first message reached him. Often, a prospect will purposely put off making a purchase, to see if you find him important enough to follow up with later. When he doesn’t receive a follow up message from you, he will take his business elsewhere.

Are you losing profits due to inconsistent and ineffective follow up?
Following up with leads is more than just a process – it’s an art. In order to be effective, you need to design a follow up system, and stick to it, EVERY DAY! If you don’t follow up with your prospects consistently, INDIVIDUALLY, and in a timely fashion, then you might as well forget the whole follow up process.

Consistent follow up gets results!
When I first started marketing and following up with prospects, I used a follow up method that I now call the “List Technique.” I had a large database containing the names and e-mail addresses of people who had specifically requested information about my products and services. These prospects had already received my first letter by the time they requested more information, so I used the company’s latest news as a follow up piece. I would write follow up newsletters every now and then, and send them, in one mass mailing, to everyone who had previously requested information from me. While this probably did help me win a few additional orders, it wasn’t a very good follow up method. Why isn’t the “List Technique” very effective?

The List Technique isn’t consistent. Proponents of the List Technique tend to only send out follow up messages when their companies have “big news”.

List Technique messages don’t give the potential customer any additional information about the product or service in question. He can’t make a more informed buying decision after receiving a newsletter! If someone is wondering whether your company sells the best knick-knacks, what does he care that you’ve just moved your headquarters?

List Technique messages convey a “big list” mentality to your potential customers. When I used to write follow up messages using the List Technique, I was writing news bulletins to everyone I knew! I should have been sending a personal message to each individual who wanted to know more about my products.

What follow up method really works?
Following up with each lead individually, multiple times, but at set intervals, and with pre-written messages, will dramatically increase sales! Others who use this same technique confirm that they have all at least doubled the sales of various products! In order to set this system up, though, you need to do some planning.

First, you’ll need to develop your follow up messages. If you’ve been marketing on the Internet for any length of time, then you should already have a first informative letter. Your second letter marks the beginning of the follow up process, and should go into more detail than the first letter. Fill this letter with details that you didn’t have the space to add to the first letter. Stress the BENEFITS of your products or services!

Your next 2-3 follow up messages should be rather short. Include lists of the benefits and potential uses of your products and services. Write each letter so that your prospects can skim the contents, and still see the full force of your message.

The next couple of follow up messages should create a sense of urgency in your prospect’s mind. Make a special offer, giving him a reason to order NOW instead of waiting any longer. After reading these follow up messages, your prospect should want to order immediately!

Phrase each of your final 1 or 2 follow up messages in the form of a question. Ask your prospect why he hasn’t yet placed an order? Try to get him to actually respond. Ask if the price is to high, the product isn’t the right color or doesn’t have the right features, or if he is looking for something else entirely. (By this time, it’s unlikely that this person will order from you. However, his feedback can help you modify your follow up letters or products, so that other prospects will order from you.)

The timing of your follow up letters is just as important as their content. You don’t want one prospect to receive a follow up the day after he gets your initial informative letter, while another prospect waits weeks for a follow up!

Always send an initial, informative letter as soon as it is requested, and send the first follow up 24 hours afterwards. You want your hot prospects to have information quickly, so that they can make informed buying decisions!

Send the next 2-3 follow up messages between 1 and 3 days apart. Your prospect is still hot, and is probably still shopping around! Tell him about the benefits of your products and services, as opposed to your competitors’. You will make the sale!

Send the final follow up messages later on. You certainly don’t want to annoy your prospect! Make sure that these last letters are at least 4 days apart.

Following up effectively seems complicated, but it doesn’t have to be! So many potential customers are lost because of poor follow up – don’t you want to be one of the few to get it right?

I am almost 10 years now FULL TIME working from home on the internet making money online and I have put together the following website to share all of my secrets with you at http://www.DecideYourIncome.eu

Regards Always

Mark McCulloch

http://www.CoachOfSuccess.com – mark@markmcculloch.com

Internet Marketer and Entrepreneur, Committed to creating success

(UK) 07875 647 867 (Call Me Anytime), Skype – mark.mcculloch1

With the terrible condition of the world at this present time many people are suffering drastically to survive due to their hours in the JOB being cut down to a stage where it severely affects their income and of course many have been made redundant therefore being left with no income at all. It is because of this that those who would never have done so before are now looking on the internet for ways to earn an extra income, many are looking at setting up a home based business.

When it comes to setting up a home based business you have various decisions to make one of which being what is your business going to offer to customers in terms of a product or service. One internet marketing sector which you can look at is Affiliate Marketing, this is where you would be promoting and selling other peoples products. The benefit for you when working within Affiliate Marketing to promote or sell other peoples products firstly is there are very little startup costs involved as all you really need is a website of your own, web hosting for your website, domain name and of course an autoresponder so you can start list building.

Once you have those fundamental elements in place you can now begin your Affiliate Marketing career but you need a product to sell so what you need to do at this stage is visit an Affiliate Marketing product directory such as Clickbank where you can get instant access to thousands of different products that you can begin selling immediately.

The only other thing you need to know is how to deliver these products to a targetted audience who are ready to purchase the product that you have for sale.

Decide Your Income is a DVD Training Series that I created to show ordinary people like yourself how to find and create products then deliver those to a targetted hungry audience ready to purchase from you.

You can find decide your income at http://www.DecideYourIncome.eu

Regards Always

Mark McCulloch

http://www.AmazingExtraIncome.com – mark@markmcculloch.com

Internet Marketer and Entrepreneur, Committed to creating success

(UK) 07875 647 867 (Call Me Anytime), Skype – mark.mcculloch1