Alan R. Bechtold has released the latest issue of ‘E-Wealth Report’ newsletter. This featured article is titled “Stop Tossing Online-Adverse Buyers Away!”. [E-Wealth Report]


Alan Bechtold’s latest ‘E-Wealth Report’ newsletter article:

Stop Tossing Online-Adverse Buyers Away!

I’ve begun a series of articles here designed to show you the incredible sales leverage you gain when you properly combine offline marketing with your current online marketing. You honestly are passing up more than 75% of the potential income you could be generating with your business if you don’t fully tap both online and offline strategies, tying them together in ways that enable them to each compliment and multiply the others’ earnings.

It’s surprisingly low-cost. If you currently do any pay per click, it’s actually cheaper than most clicks. And it doesn’t have to cost you anything.

This week, I promised to tell you about a neat trick. Something very simple you can do to add offline power to your online presence and scoop in up to 38% more sales when you do it.

This one doesn’t cost you anything.

First – take any sales page and order form associated with your Website and turn it into a PDF.

This is simple and free. Just use your favorite word processor or even your favorite graphics program to lay out a single-page order form. Duplicate the information about your offer, briefly, at the top. Tell the buyer what she will receive. Include all the fields you ask online buyers to fill out, to place an order on your site.

Make certain you request and obtain a full name, billing address, billing telephone number and email on your form. Also include a checkbox for your buyer to use, to indicate whether she’s paying by credit card or check. Then make sure there is a line for the credit card number, expiration date, CVV three-digit security code from the back of the card, and a signature.

If you don’t have any way to turn your favorite word processing or graphics files into PDFs, no problem. Just grab Cute PDF Writer from http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp, or search with your favorite search engine for “Free PDF Converter.” There are a lot of these you can work with and all are reasonably good.

Install your converter. You should now notice, when you choose to print any document on your computer, that you have a new printer you can print to: the pdf creator. If you’re using Cute PDF Writer, you’ll see a printer named Cute PDF Writer in your list of available printers.

When you have your form looking exactly like you want it to, “print” it with your PDF creator and note where you saved the PDF. After you elect to print to the PDF coverter printer, you’ll be asked where you want to save your PDF. You’ll also be given the option to rename or name the PDF you’re “printing.”

Now – make the PDF you just created available as a download from your sales page. Put it right below the link to your online order form. Add the following text below the link:

“Prefer to pay by credit card or check offline? No problem! Just download the order form and FAX it (if paying by credit card) or mail it (if paying by check or by credit card).”

Then add your mailing address, for mailing forms, and your FAX number, for FAXING them.

No fax machine or separate telephone line for receiving FAXes? Set up a low-cost or free FAX-by-email service, such as E-faxt (http://www.fecg.net/fax.asp) and you’ll be notified via email when faxes come in, so you can pull them up and view them or print them on your PC.

Boom! You just increased the percentage of sales you’ll see from any online offer.

Too often, we become blinded by the Internet and feel it’s the only way to make sales and keep costs low. Because we feel this way, we assume our prospects do, too.

This simple trick will surprise you. You’ll quickly discover how many prospects visit your Websites who would order from you – but they don’t want to order online. Maybe they’re worried about security issues. They might have credit cards, but prefer not using them online.

Or – they might not have any credit cards at all!

Given the current economic downturn, a lot of people have stopped using their credit cards. For some, the decision is intentional. They prefer not to rack up any more balances on their credit cards if they can pay some other way instead. For others, they’ve already filled up all their cards, or they’re late with payments and can’t use them. Some have filed for bankruptcy and simply don’t have any credit cards to buy online with.

Add the option to download a PDF order form, print it out and mail or FAX it in and you’ll see 10%, 15%, 20% or even up to 38% more orders coming in right away. The results could shock you, especially when you realize how many sales you’ve been missing by not taking this one simple step.

This simple move will result in even more dramatic sales increases when you use it on high-ticket items selling for $497 and above. The higher the price-tag, the more you’ll hit people who, even though they have credit cards and don’t mind ordering online, might not have enough available balance on any single card to pay.

This method will get them on board anyway – sales you would have otherwise lost.

If you sell a higher-ticket item that you’ve also allowed people to pay for in two or three or more installments – this method still works. But, now you’ll need to do a bit more work on your end, to collect the additional payments from anyone paying you by check.

Just mark your database to remind you each month when the next payment is due and mail your offline customers an invoice for each payment when it’s due.

Yes – this will add a little bit of extra work, but it’s work any hired employee can handle – even a beginning part-timer working for minimum wage. It also costs a little bit, when you figure in time, printing, envelopes and postage.

For people paying by credit card, just make it clear on your form that they are authorizing you to charge their credit card X dollars now and X dollars once each month for X months – and run each payment when due or set up your credit card payment system to automatically charge their cards the total number of payments due once each month.

It’s only slightly more trouble to do this, and you only need to worry about it in cases where you have high-ticket items and offer split payments. But – if this method pulls in 20% more sales you otherwise would never have seen (which it easily can), it’s priceless.

Next week I’m going to into ride-alongs and cross-promotions, the most amazing way to get into direct mail marketing you could ever employ. Once again, it can either be dirt cheap – or free.

I’ll show you next week. See you then!

– Alan R. Bechtold, president/CEO, BBS Press Service, Inc.

Author, Will Work for Fun: 3 Simple Steps to Turning Any Hobby or Interest Into Cash (John Wiley & Sons Books)

Co-Producer and star of The FUNdamental You!, on DVD or watch the full-length movie online: http://www.FUNdamentalYou.tv

Producer and Star, Breakfast With Alan, live Ustream TV show every other Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. eastern US Time: http://www.BreakfastWithAlan.com

‘E-Wealth Report’ Newsletter

*IMNewswatch would like to thank Alan Bechtold for granting permission to reprint the latest article.

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