internet marketing stuff ...

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by mtran2000

In the USA it seems many buy a new car every 2 or 3 years. With the rebates and low interest loans, new features and models many people trade in car for a new one more than ever it seems.

Hi Mark,

A few people buy new cars all the time. My grandfather was apparently like that. He was a farmer whose farm was near Coldwater, Michigan. Every year or two he'd buy a new car when the money came in from the harvest. (I presume he traded in his old car, or sold it.) But most people don't buy new cars all that often, I think...

Perhaps I should have picked a better example. Washing machines? How often do people buy a new washing machine?

Most products are repeat purchase products. However, there are some products which people don't buy all that often. For practical purposes, these are "once only" sales. But a salesperson can still profit from a "happy sale", especially if he or she encourages referrals from his customers. (This was the secret of Joe Girard's* success - he was a Chevrolet car salesman, called "The World's Greatest Salesman" by the Guiness Book of World Records. He sold 13,001 cars in 15 years. See the book "How To Sell Anything To Anybody" by Joe Girard with Stanley H. Brown, for details on how he did it. It's what I'm reading now...)

- Dien

* Joe Girard on Wikipedia
* Joe Girard's web site

I would have to agree with washing machine example although I don't think the quality is what it used to be so longevity is in question.

Many products however are built to be throw away and buy a new one type of thing. A prime example is a computer, after warranty runs out if major problems occur it is cheaper to just buy a new one than to have it repaired.

Global competition has really made products cheaper to buy but also cheaply made so garbage dumps are full of broken products that were too expensive to fix or a person saw newest model and bought it and chucked the old one.

I think it is a change in society buying habits, majority want latest and greatest. I am always careful what I buy with thought in mind that I will keep it it until it falls a part. With cars, I consider it an accomplishment to run it as many miles as I can.

Marketing/advertising plays a huge part in buying habits, always has.

[Dien Rice]

A great example of a "one sale only" product is a book or ebook!

For example, I bought the book, "How To Sell Anything To Anybody" by Joe Girard. Chances are, I'll never buy it again - whether I loved it or hated it! That's because, once I've read it, I've "got" the information... I don't need a second copy of the book!

However... People who are happy with the book will recommend it to their friends. (As I did.)

To turn it into a "repeat purchase" product, however, you can write a series of books on related topics... Even Joe Girard did this (on a small scale), with 2 "sequels" to his first blockbuster book... Robert Kiyosaki has taken this model to the extreme. I count 25 books now in the "Rich Dad" series of books! (He should rename his series of books to - "Read till your eyes pop!")

- Dien

Hello everyone,

Bob - I think it's important to remember that you also have to take action to get results; reading or listening to something alone will not get you where you want to be.

In other words, you can't be afraid to try some techniques and such and fail at them - as Internet marketer Dave Vallieres mentions in his report, "Fail Faster," the more you fail, the closer you get to the methods you need to succeed online.

Now, granted, not everyone can throw a bunch of money at different tactics in order to find out if they work or not, or what needs to be tweaked in order for the tactics to work. However, it doesn't have to cost much; free advertising methods like word-of-mouth, signature files, article marketing, testimonials, etc. can still work wonders in bringing in qualified free traffic to your site, so it doesn't have to cost much or anything at all in order to try some tactics you read about to see if they will work for your particular business.

The main point is - don't be afraid to try and experiment with some techniques - reading and listening to many different products will likely increase your knowledge, but taking action on them is what will really make you successful online.

Hopefully, this is helpful! :-)

Take care and have a great day!

Sincerely,

Joe Chengery III

[marcuswright]

Can anyone help me with link building

Originally Posted by Dien Rice

A great example of a "one sale only" product is a book or ebook!

For example, I bought the book, "How To Sell Anything To Anybody" by Joe Girard. Chances are, I'll never buy it again - whether I loved it or hated it! That's because, once I've read it, I've "got" the information... I don't need a second copy of the book!

However... People who are happy with the book will recommend it to their friends. (As I did.)

- Dien

You are however familiar with the "brand" and may purchse another of his books "only if you are a happy customer"
Maybe even buy his complete dvd and book set for $300.

If you were really nice, you may even pay him for a live speaking event for all of us on Sowpub ; ) ! (really will you?)

To liken that to the washer and dryer example...
If you bought a Whirlpool washer and dryer, you may not need another for 15 years or so, but in all likelyhood you will need other major appliances such as a stove, oven, and dishwasher within that 15 year period.

So if you are happy with the washer and dryer and the service you received from the salesperson, would it be fair to assume that you could be a repeat customer of the "brand?"
Jason

Originally Posted by Dien Rice

Hi Mark,


Perhaps I should have picked a better example. Washing machines? How often do people buy a new washing machine?

While you may not purchase a washer or dryer every year or two, there are several people who may purchase several per year.

Perhaps if I were in the large appliance business, I would focus my energy on folks that MAYBE would purchase several units per year.

Maybe I would put a promo package together for a few of the nations top home builders to use my discounted washer and dryers as a promo tool to get folks to purchse the homes they just built.

Or maybe contact some of the top producing Realtors in the area and ofer them a similar promo package.

Even if you are selling one time purchases like a casket, you can step up to help guarantee repeat sales.

If I were selling caskets, I would try to think of a way to get repeat sales, while not from the same person but from the same family anyhow.

Off of the top of my head.......

How about offering a family crest that would be built/carved/inlaid into the casket.
Obviously, I would be the only one with the mold/pattern and if another family member in the future wanted it, they would need to buy a casket from me.
Sure would help make my job a bit easier, and over time I may even be able to quit looking for work and it would start finding me as I have made it almost impossible to get the goods elsewhere.

It makes no diff what biz you are in, it is always cheaper to maintain your current customer than it is to obtain a new one.

Jason