Category: Sales

Speaking of Facebook parties…
Many hosts think
the real drivers of sales
at these events,
the primary factor
influencing party goer satisfaction,
are the posts
-the contests,
the questions asked,
the graphics.

Those ARE great to have
but they aren’t the most critical factors.

The most critical factor
is replying to comments.

The guest host could post ONE post
and if she replies to comments,
keeps that thread going,
party goers will be happy.

The key thing
Facebook party goers want
is the interaction with the guest host.
That is why they show up.
That is what makes them happiest.

THIS is the power
of responding to your customers/prospects.
Some of them will attend an event,
put aside time in their busy schedules,
simply to talk with you.

There are a variety of ways
to obtain my books
(my products).
There’s the most expensive option
– buying them.
And there’s the least expensive option
– borrowing them from the library.

Of course, I would prefer
that every reader (customer)
obtain my books
via the most expensive option
(buying them).
That’s more profitable for me.

But when a reader asks or hints
about less expensive options,
I tell them how to obtain
my books at their local libraries.

Why?

Because they’ll find out
about that option anyway.
They might already know about it.
By mentioning it,
I am showing them
they can trust me.

I wouldn’t suggest
you volunteer information
about your least expensive option
but if prospects ask,
definitely consider mentioning it.

Your prospects will likely
find out about it anyway.

I have a fairly sizable readership
(customer base)
in a specific romance niche.
I get messages every dang day
from other writers
(the competition)
asking me for my ‘secret.’

My secret?

I have personally communicated
with almost every reader (customer)
I have,
often more than once.

I post in a Facebook group.
One reader comments.
I chat with this reader.
She buys my book.

I tweet a popular industry hashtag.
One reader tweets back.
We chat.
She buys my book.

Do that again
5,000 times
and you’ll have a sizable readership
(customer base).

Is it fast?
Is it sexy?
No.
It is a slow, not-at-all glamorous,
a bit of a grind,
but it works.

Normally I never hear
from that newer writer again.
She is searching for
the secret to quick, easy sales,
and the reality is…
that ‘secret’ rarely works.

I suggest you do both.
While looking for the secret
to quick sales,
work on the slow and steady method.

Arguing with people
sucks up quite a bit of time
and
accomplishes
very little.

When I was young,
for example,
I would try to convince everyone
they should read romance novels
(use my products).
I argued with thousands of people.
I didn’t change one person’s mind.
Not one.

Now, I don’t bother arguing.
If someone tells me
they don’t like romance novels,
I shrug
and move onto the next person.

I prefer to spend my time
selling to the people open
to my product.
They are more likely to buy.

Your time is limited.
Don’t spend it
arguing with people
who will never buy.

A writer I know
recently told readers,
“If I don’t see sales soon,
I’ll quit.
I won’t release
the final book in my series.”

I believe
he was hoping
this would push
some of his super fans
to promote his books.

The issue with this strategy
is…

1) No one likes
to be forced to do something,
to have a brand
hold them hostage,
especially when they originally associated
with the brand
because it made them feel good.

and

2) No one wants
to be associated with failure.
What happens
if the super fan
helps the writer promote
and he still quits,
he still ‘fails’?
The super fan
will be closely associated
with this failure.
She’ll have to tell her friends
the writer she was promoting
quit.
No one wants to do that.

There are a thousand ways
to increase sales.
Threatening to quit
isn’t one of them.

I’m often asked
to calculate
the optimal pricing
for new products
– the pricing which maximizes profit.

I base this calculation
on the behavior of
a TYPICAL product.

A typical product
would sell X units
when priced at Y dollars
and that gives us Z profit.

The product has to be typical.
THAT is key.
It has to behave
like the other products available.

Often our products
AREN’T typical.

I know, for example,
I could charge
another dollar per romance novel.
That’s what a typical romance novel
in my niche
charges to maximize profit.

However,
I also know
I plan to write 20 plus stories
in that series.
That’s not typical.
An extra dollar charged
on a 20 novel series
will decrease readership substantially.

There is no perfect pricing
for everyone.
Calculate the perfect pricing
for YOUR business.

If you’re building a business
for the long haul,
you not only
have to satisfy the customer
of today
but you have to think about
the customer
of tomorrow.

In the Romance Novel Business,
we look at the
YA (Young Adult) market
to help us predict
what our future readers (customers)
will want.

If YA readers are drawn
to books written in first person,
for example,
odds are
they will read those books
as adults too.

We can make small tweaks
in our books (products)
to appeal to our future readers.

Consider
keeping an eye on
both your target demographic
and the demographic younger
than your target.
That’s your future.

I was watching
Say Yes To The Dress,
a TV show
that is very informative
for me,
a person who sells
to women.

A bride came in
who called herself
the ‘anti-bride.’
She believed she wasn’t
a wedding dress
person.

And guess what?
She didn’t have
that magical bride moment.

If a prospect is determined
to be negative,
we might move her
to being neutral.
It is doubtful,
however,
that we’ll move her
to loving it.

Focus on the prospects
who are either neutral
or favorable toward your product.
Those are the people
you can wow.

I saw a project
I was interested in.
I contacted the organizer,
asking her
how I could donate to her project.

I received a response
that was clearly cut and paste.
There was no mention of my name
or the details of my email.
I was directed to a link.

Yeah, that’s cold.
I didn’t make
a donation.

I’m not saying
don’t use autoresponders.
Often they’re necessary.

I’m saying,
at the very least,
learn how to use
those autoresponders.
Make the messages appear like
they’re semi-personalized.

A personal request
requires a personal response.

And, for goodness sakes,
if someone is willing
to give you money
for nothing,
spend a minute on your reply.

I was invited to join
a boxed set
yesterday.
Stories are due
November 15th
but the organizer told me,
because I’m a ‘big name’,
I can submit my story December 1st.

I’m not a big name.
I’m solidly midlist.

But being called a big name
made me smile.
It caused me
to seriously consider
the opportunity.

And it didn’t cost
the organizer
a dime.
There is a possible
15 day delay
in putting the boxed set
together
and that is it.

Treating your customer
like a star
is often free.
Why aren’t you doing it?