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In this edition of Web Enlightenment we'll be talking about "shoes" and why people on the web don't have them.

This newsletter focuses on giving you practical, interesting insights into how to successfully use technology as a tool to improve the way you do business. Bridging the gap between knowledge and understanding that all entrepreneurs have will help you make money online.

Please hit reply and let me know what you think, I respond to every message sent to me and I'd love to hear from you.

All the best,

They Have no Shoes
people on the web that is

Recently Amy and I had a visit from some of our best friends in the world - Charlie and Kristen. Charlie married Kristen two weeks before I married Amy and we've been friends for a long time - more than 10 years now. They were only here for a few days but we were glad to get some sapping in - that joyous process of boiling down tree sap to make delicious maple syrup.

Kristen is a seller of Jewelry and we've always enjoyed talking about sales and marketing psychology. I knew we'd have the chance to chat about that, as we always do, and I was curious how things were going in tough economic times. As I suspected a few people have been laid off from the store she works in and the pressure is up on the sales folks to generate results. I don't worry about Kristen though, she's an old pro and an asset to any sales staff.

One of the things Kristen and I like to talk about are "shoes". There are lots of sales and marketing textbooks about this but long story short you can tell how much money a customer might have to spend by taking a good look at their shoes. Fancy or simple - quality in shoes is expensive and what type of shoes a person wears can really help you sell them something.

All salespeople use "shoes" - clues to help sort out potential customers so they can pay lots of attention to the "best" prospects.

Folks that are natural salespeople do this without even thinking about it - they gravitate towards people who are ready to buy. All companies have a system for dealing with prospects or leads and they all try to figure out who the most "important" potential customers are. This is even true when you call Dell and the automated phone system prompts you to press one if you are calling to buy one home computer or press two if you are calling to buy a number of computers for your business.

I've seen lots of small businesses try and adapt their "shoes" systems to the web - and they always fail miserably. There are lots of stories about a ready to buy prospect who sent an email that was never returned or oodles of time spent trying to sell a car to a person who turned out to be a smart 12 year old kid.

I can tell you all about the "shoes" system you need for the web - you need to throw your system away and never even try to "sort" web customers. You need to treat every customer equally and pretty well, even though this means abandoning the "special" service for those with great shoes.

People on the web have no "shoes" , no tells, no way to sort them into who is "hot" and who is "not". Any attempt to sort prospects will have a bad result for both you and your potential customers - you need to treat everyone equally. Whether you like that idea or not, it is the only option you have.

As I sit here writing this newsletter I'm not wearing shoes. I almost never wear shoes in my office and I never have, that's part of why I wear out so many pairs of socks. As I surf the web - getting ready to buy things, learning about products - I provide the world no "tells " at all.

Take a few minutes to think about your web site - does it try to use your "offline shoes" system? If it does go ahead and remove it - use a "respond to everyone equally" system and you'll have much better results.

Who is this?
.....win a Meatball Sundae

Reply to this message and tell me who this is - the first responder will win a great business book. The rules: no using Google or Wikipedia to help. The Clue: The subject of this newsletter is related.

Recently I read Seth Godin's new book, Meatball Sundae. I loved it and recommend it to you highly. From the Squidoo.com review:

"A meatball sundae is the unfortunate result of mixing two good ideas.

The meatballs are the foundation, the things we need (and sometimes want). These are the commodities that so many businesses are built on.

The sundae toppings (hot fudge and the like) are the New Marketing, the social networks, Google, blogs and fancy stuff that make people all excited.

The challenge most organizations face: they try to mix them. They attempt to slap new marketing onto old and end up with nothing but a failed website."

Speaking of speaking...
Places to be if you want to get enlightened

Wednesday April 16th at 8AM

My next seminar is Wednesday April 16th at 8 AM - DotCommerce 101 - FREE and open to the public. Please RSVP to the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce office: info@franklincountymaine.org or (207)-778-4215.

Techno-Jargon will be defined, we'll discuss what type of site is appropriate for your business, the costs of creating a website, what you need to know before you buy, 7 keys to a successful website, and how to generate sales from your site.

Every question will be answered.

As always you can see all of upcoming seminars by clicking here.