You Can't Dress a Wolf Up When Selling.

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This may be strange to you, but I am going to tell you exactly how the story of "The Three Little Pigs" has a great deal of relevance to you and your online business.

I have a 4-year old that I read to all the time and one of her favorite books is The Three Little Pigs. I think this is partly because of the way I tell the story and embellish blowing a house down (lol, I like to think so anyways), but partly because kids like to be scared and the story is definitely a captivating one with a feel good ending.

There are many great lessons taught within this book, like, those who work hard, get rewarded. Those who slack off and would rather play, get their houses blown down. Those who aim for instant success, get their businesses blown away. That is definitely relevant to business.

But in terms of selling, one of the most relevant examples from The Three Little Pigs that applies to us as affiliate marketers is when the wolf dresses up in attempt to trick the second little pig with the stick house into thinking he is a sheep. Remember this?


Well that is exactly what most marketers are trying to do these days, many without knowing they are doing this. In this post I am going to help you fix this problem within your business so you are not trying to "trick" people with your marketing and I am going to help you move your business in a direction where you build customers on your site out of trust, not foolery.

Lead With Help, Follow With Recommendations.

I think I get questions asked all too often about how to the best approach "selling" to an audience. This in a nutshell, is the very problem with most online businesses. Their only focus is on selling.

Instead, as an online business, as an affiliate/internet marketer, you should be asking yourself a completely different question.

What is the best way to HELP my audience?

If you can help people, you build inherent trust with your audience.

Think of the last time you were actually SOLD something from a salesperson. Was it because they were really good at selling, or they were really good at helping. Likely the latter. Nobody likes the feeling of being pressure "sold", instead they gain much more respect for their given sales person.

When I think of an effective salesperson model, I think of Apple stores. They are incredibly knowledgeable and supportive when you walk in the store. Regardless of whether you buy something, they don't even "ask for the sale" which is the old school sales logic (which can still be effective, don't get me wrong). By the time you have spent 30 minutes looking around in the store, getting questions answered, you actually want to buy something.

But when people can just "walk away" from you and your site with a click of a button online, you will find that you can't be a pushy sales person. You are not in control in a pressurized "personal contact" environment, instead your website visitors are in control. Build TRUST and rapport with your audience and you will regain some of this control.

Engagement Stems from Quality Content, Not a Sales Page.

When is the last time you read a pure sales page and thought to yourself, I would love to engage in this post and leave a comment. Some people love to troll anything, and I am not referring to that. But for those that are seeking quality information online and you perform a Google search, you are in anticipation of quality and engaging content.

If I go to Google and I am looking for "best ways to fix an Achilles injury", what do you think I would expect to get.

Information about how to fix my Achilles injury.

Pretty obvious right?

Well, it is when I break this down. But crazy enough, when people go to create their content on their websites they have the tendency to focus on "selling" right away. The assumption is that the faster you can sell people, the faster you make money. The problem is that this logic is contrary to reality.

An Informative Pitch Comes Off As REALLY Obvious.

Like the big bad wolf that was dressed up as a sheep (remember the big teeth the big bad wolf had showing through). It is easy for a consumer to determine the difference between helpful, useful content, and a page that is pretending to be helpful and useful, but is a facade for a sales page.

Although you may feel like you are being crafty when you create an infomercial style sales page, most people can read into that.

Don't try to trick people. And definitely don't undermine your brand by selling before you have created any sort of relationship with your audience first.

You see that a lot these days with lead pages and what are touted to be successful funnels. An offer is made on the front end, something that is appealing to the potential customer and then as soon as they join a list they're hit with incredible costs.

You see this with free book offers being advertised all over Facebook. These are not actually free and when you join them you are going to be solicited to for often times products and services that are several thousands of dollars. This can absolutely kill a brand and is going to create a bad reputation in the industry if you're running a service or an agency that is behind a scheme like this. They are dressing up as sheep when in reality it is a wolf underneath.

The Ultimate Approach to Effective Selling.

Trust. Something that few have online, something that is hard to earn, easy to lose and something that will blink to customer purchase life cycle.

There's a tendency for new marketers in particular for people who have become accustomed to the idea of "sell first"rather than focusing on the help component of their business.

Subsequently people die off and no longer trust this individual or this marketer and they will lose their reputation within the industry. This can happen very quickly whereas the buildup process to build a brand and reputation usually takes several years to nurture. So it is easy to lose and very hard to gain that level of trust.

Out of all the successful businesses I've seen created with an online space over the last 10 to 15 years of me being online, the ones that are still surviving were routed on the idea of actually helping people versus trying to market to people.

The conventional cliché and what marketers are teaching is to sell the sizzle not the steak. The problem with that idea is when you get into a restaurant and you eat the actual steak beyond the sizzle, If it is not high-grade steak you are going to be very disappointed. You're not going to find a successful steakhouse with a great reputation and brand that isn't delivering a high quality steak regardless of how appealing the sizzle actually is.

So, avoid in the early stages the idea that your business is going to be built off the idea of selling stuff at any cost. That is a recipe for short-term, short-lived success. Become a people person and become an authority within your space and you are going to have a lot of longevity. A great sales process starts with a great product and great information, never lose sight of that.

No matter how you dress a wolf up, it is still a wolf.

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Recent Comments

297

One thing I like about you Kyle is the simplicity you use in explaining important points. Personally, I don't have the stamina to stay tuned for long posts but yours keep me awake to the end. I just wish I can adopt your writing skills that focuses on talking direct to the audience heart to heart. This is the best way to earn trust and success online. Thank you for this important post.

Thanks Paul, I definitely do love to simplify things so that they make sense in real-life terms. I actually really enjoy writing post like this As they allow me to pull a lot from many different experiences that I've had over the years.

This is really great.

I think that many of us have a certain level of desperation, though; we set time limits for ourselves of being successful in 6 months, or sometimes even less, so we feel the need to push hard for the "proof" that we can succeed.

I also find it a bit hard with something like the WA affiliate program. I know that WA can help people in many ways, whether by helping them start a business, teaching them enough about SEO to make a career out of it, or even just providing an upbeat, positive refuge away from all the negativity we face daily. As a result, I want to get people into WA, and it might seem pushy, but it comes from a legitimate desire to help.

There's a lot to consider here though. I do see the validity of what you're saying and I think I need to make some adjustments.

Yes, this is so true! A Lepard without spots is still a Lepard. With so many scam artists online today, most visitors can spot a sales-page very quickly. No one likes to be sold. This is why everyone hates a used car salesperson. Thank you for reminding us NOT to be like this.
Ken

The sheepskin is only so thin and can be easily unveiled. The best way is to provide real value and a genuine willingness to share and help.

Most of my posts I will put in personal touches, telling about the real experiences and feelings I have. In this way, I hope to strike a chord and move people, instead of doing hard selling. I am not sure whether this is a good method, maybe only when I have built up a well established authority site will I know.

Kyle, will appreciate any advice on this, thank you!

Really enjoyed reading this post, Kyle, the examples that you have used are so true. Thank you for the insights from your experience.

Excellent article and so very true. I have been guilty of that myself, and then realize that when it happens to me, I run the other way as fast as I can back out of a website!

In the same way we hate to be accosted for a sale in a brick and mortar store, we also hate to be accosted online as well, and so why do we think it's okay when WE do it...?!

Anyway, all great points and the bottom line always comes down to trust and relationships. Thank you for driving the point home!

good point but we have to overcome obstetrical when we see one

Obstetrical?!

Great post Kyle . This is most certainly the Blue print to success . I have lost count how many times in the live chat I have seen new starter members ask ' I want to earn as quickly as possible ' or 'how much can I earn in 3 months ' they all lose sight of what we are striving to achieve. Quite simply , there are people not machines at the end of keyboard , and they all need access to information and helpful content .

And it is strange because it is the only thing be treated like this. They don't treat their education like this. They don't treat their employment like this. And they probably wouldn't treat a brick-and-mortar business like this.

Yet for some reason when they come online they want instant results and instant success, Without even having to think about the path that it takes to get there and the people that they're going have to work with together.

Good message, and reminds me of another euphemism that involves an animal: "You can put lipstck on a pig, but it is still a pig" that I hear about so often

People can easily see through the hype and see where you are coming from so just don't try it...Be helpful, try to help others grow, and success and money will come...

Cheers!
Dave : )

Yeah I have always loved that quote! There are definitely a lot of pigs with lipstick on out there. lol

Hi Kyle,

Thanks for reminding us, Kyle! Our business is all about helping other people!

Let me ask you. How does it apply when it comes to placing calls to action in a blog post?

I have always included a call to action within the second or third paragraph of my review. The reason being that most people won't read until the end. And because I focus on writing thorough articles, they are usually over 1000 words.

At the same time, I am afraid to look pushy and not trustworthy if I include a call to action in the beginning.

What do you think of this approach?
Thank you

Stefan

There is nothing wrong with a call to action. But the problem is a lot of the time people are trying to call people to action without building trust first. And that is where it becomes problematic.

In order for someone to do something you need to tell them to do it. If you want someone to buy it is okay to tell them to buy. But you want to help help help first, and then tell them to buy...Or to go check out a review...or to sign up to your list...or to...etc!

Thanks Kyle! Thank's true, many marketers try to build a list without building trust first. I know what you mean.

Could not agree more Kyle. I know we are often taught to do the opposite in school but I truly believe in writing an article or post as if you are writing it to a person. I myself prefer to read content that is written that way because in my mind I think that the author is speaking directly to me......much more credible in my opinion.
Enjoyed reading this thank you.

Yeah humanizing the process. I think that is the key to all the activities that we do online. Whether you are doing a video, adding the image to your website, or creating content, we need to all speak to people in a way that connects with him.

Just think about it. If you wrote an email to a friend or family member telling them about a product or service that you just tried that sounded like a sales letter, they would wonder what the heck is going on with you!

Speak to people in a communicative manner and watch your trust and conversions go through the roof.

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