From NetworkMarketingTimes.com

Business Building Skills
Selling on Your Site
By Randy Gage
Jan 6, 2003 - 8:00:00 AM

Everyone who is in Network Marketing should make use of the Internet. If used properly it is the most cost-effective type of marketing you can do to prospect people or sell products to people that you might not normally come in contact with.

Below is an excerpt from Randy Gage's Net Profits: 7 Simple Steps to Making Money on the Internet.

(Editor's note: Before buying a domain name or building a website, you should check with your network marketing / MLM company on the terms and conditions of using their name, or selling their products on a website that the company does not own. However alot of companies do offer 'distributor' web pages for you to use that are branched off their main site.)

Selling on Your Site

Your First Priority is to Build Your Constituency!

  • Offer a free Report

  • Offer a free e-zine

  • Ask for e-mail address on orders and questionnaires. (Ask if you can send them updates, and
    have "yes" checked as the default.)


  • Checklist for Designing a Compelling Storefront

    If you remember, we looked at these variables for a compelling storefront in the section on designing your site. I repeat them here, in the event you or your technical person is reviewing this section alone. These are the things you will need to implement to ensure a seamless, effective buying experience for your customers:

  • An environment that is easy and comfortable to navigate

  • Simple images

  • A plain, white background

  • No special plug-in requirement for viewing

  • Good copy - with a strong call to action

  • Fast-loading pages/graphics

  • A good offer

  • The right guarantee

  • Easy ordering - place the order button on your home page

  • Multiple payment methods - checks, debit cards, credit cards

  • Fast delivery - offer various options

  • Shipping options - visit http://home.iship.com/ for examples. Also visit www.fedex.com and www.ups.com


  • Basic Level Store

  • Photo of products (In use is best)

  • Benefit Headline at top

  • Benefit-centered copy

  • Testimonials right next to product

  • Audio or video sample if appropriate

  • Preview chapter of e-book

  • Start with short bullet of benefit copy, with a "more..." link

  • Individual sites for individual products


  • Intermediate Level Store

  • Magalog, not catalog

  • Helpful articles, no product

  • Helpful articles, product tie in

  • Helpful tips box

  • Bulletin Board


  • Advanced Level - Build a "Vortal!"

  • Concept of the Mall of America in cyberspace

  • Content, Community and Commerce

  • Chat, Forums, Guest speakers, Video reflector, News, Surveys, Buy/Sell Board, Training articles, etc.


  • Maximize the Customers you've Already got! Increase your profits by 20-70%!

  • Up sell

  • Cross sell

  • Offer quantity discounts

  • Bundle products for specials

  • Offer 3 or 6 month specials for consumable products

  • Promote Your Associate Program


  • When is the best time to sell something else to a customer who has already purchased from you? On the "Thank you" page. Most shopping carts allow you to customize the messages that your customer receives when shopping, through a thank you page, or a receipt page. Offer another product or service directly on your thank you page that compliments your original offer. Make it something that seems almost too good to pass up. You'll be surprised how many people will purchase immediately from your thank you page. The customer is already in a buying mood and has already entered their credit card and shipping info. It's an easy message to say "yes" to.

    Place three or four up-sale items on your order form, in addition to one main item, and you can increase your profits. For example if you sell a How-To video on hanging wallpaper, you could offer a manual with picture descriptions as a "follow along" to the video. You could also offer other videos or how-to guides on other decorative ideas, such as texture painting, using wallpaper and paint together, and so on. Just make certain the additional items you are selling are of high quality and are related to your main product.

    How to Obtain and Use Testimonials From Satisfied Customers

    Put a system in place to "capture" visitors' comments and testimonials by offering free information via e-mail if they'll give you a one-line recommendation. Be sure to have them include their name, city and state-no addresses are required.

    Put a "Free Report Request" button on your page with a simple form for them to fill in and click "Submit." Tell them what you need and what they need to do to receive this free report.

    Place these testimonials on your site on the order page, on the frequently asked questions pages, and, if appropriate, on your home page!

    Test and Track!

  • Track all visitors.

  • Banners in site

  • Banners from other sites

  • E-zine links

  • Activity within the site


  • There are some excellent programs that allow you to track your visitors. I don't mean placing a counter on your website, so you can see how many people visited. Rather, invest in a program that lets you see what search engines people used to find you link with, or what website they might have come from. A program like WebTrends allows you to see what part of the world your traffic is coming from, how many visitors you had versus how many purchased. It also shows you the length of time visitors are staying at your site. This is a great tool to aid you in marketing.

    Check out these sites:
    WebTrends provides web traffic analysis, e-commerce revenue tracking, and ad campaign management for any size web site www.webtrends.com/products/wtl/default.htm

    NetTracker: log analysis tool and web site traffic monitoring at www.sane.com/

    Put Auto Responders to Work for You - 24 Hours a Day!

  • To generate leads

  • To turn leads into customers

  • To bring prospects down the "Pyramid"

  • Auto responders


  • One of the biggest obstacles with online marketing is getting the potential customer. You may spend time lots of time advertising and studying about online marketing, but if you aren't responding in a timely manner you might be losing sales. How do you handle inquires, feedback forms, and requests for information or catalogs from your website? Do you take the time to write each person back? This is time consuming and may result in lost customers.

    If you are not using an auto responder to handle your sales inquires you are likely losing 50% or more of your sales. Most visitors to a web site, or first inquiries from potential customers via email, DO NOT result in a sale. The average percentage of visitors who will purchase is about 1-2%. If you are not using an auto responder, your percentage could be lower.

    An auto responder will send the requested information or provide a sales letter "Thank You" to the customer within minutes of their request, 24 hours day, 7 days a week. They can read it online, or print it for later use.

    If someone is 'surfing' the web, going from site to site, if they don't receive your info quickly, they will likely forget about it within a matter of minutes as they visit more and more web sites. You should get your message to the customer as quickly as possible.

    Also, in most cases, your contact letter will NOT be enough to make the sale. If you only send one letter or response, they most likely become a lost customer. The point is, you must make contact again. And this is where the true value of the auto responder starts.

    Most auto responders allow you to send automated follow-up sales letters to this same customer. You can set up your auto responder to send a follow-up letter 3 days later and then send another letter 7 days later and so on. If you haven't reached the customer after 3 or 4 emails, then stop sending them. More than likely you are not going to get the customer and your email then becomes annoying and is considered Spam.

    There are several places you can get free auto responders. Some are better than others. But keep in mind that you generally get what you pay for. If you aren't using an auto responder you are losing a large percentage of your potential sales.

    Increase the response to your auto responders.

    The best way to increase the hits to your auto responder is to make your first response a "free report". Tons of people are interested in receiving free reports; most aren't interested in your sales letter. The key is to actually create a great information packed report. If you promise a report, don't deliver a sales letter. Since you are far more likely to get a lot of responses to your free report offer than you would a sales letter, you have a lot more prospects to send your follow up responses to. Use your follow up responses to get your sales letter to your prospects.

    Visit www.moreprofitsonline.com for more information or to purchase your copy of Randy Gage's Net Profits: 7 Simple Steps to Making Money on the Internet and start putting the web to work for you!

    For more than 15 years, Randy Gage has been helping people transform self-limiting beliefs into self-fulfilling breakthroughs to achieve their dreams. Randy's How to Earn at Least $100,000 a Year in Network Marketing series is the #1 selling album in direct selling history. And his "Escape the Rat Race" audiotape has introduced the industry to millions of prospects all over the world. For more resources and to subscribe to Randy’s free ezine newsletter, “MLM Leadership Report” visit www.NetworkMarketingTimes.com or www.RandyGage.com.

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    CONTACT INFO: Randy is available for background information, interviews and profiles on the Network Marketing industry. He can be reached through Prime Concepts Group, Inc. at 1-800-946-7804 or (316) 942-1111. Rights to reprint and reproduce this article are granted as long as it includes the full last paragraph tag line complete with web links. For questions about this article contact Alicia Gregg at email agregg@primeconcepts.com or Prime Concepts Group at 316-942-1111.


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