Selling Online Products in the Offline World

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It should come as no surprise that Making online affiliate-based sales is becoming easierevery day thanks to the growing sophistication of onlinesales tracking methods and affiliate marketing support. It should come as no surprise that a large number of onlinepurchases are for computers, printers and accessories.
After all, these are things web surfers use every day. But nearly every day I field questions from friends, familyand colleagues who are getting ready to make their firstcomputer purchase so they can get on the internet.
In manycases, these folks have never even seen the web or havespent little time online. This dilemma presents a specialchallenge and a unique opportunity at the same time.
How does the affiliate make this offline sale? The answer to this question is a simple three-step process. First, sign up for one of the many computer equipmentaffiliate programs available on the web.
I use a Dellcomputer and heartily recommend them, so I signed up forthe Dell affiliate program through http://linkshare.com The next step is to create a sales page that you load toyour website. If you don't have a website you can simplysign up for a free site from one of the many freeproviders.
A favorite of mine is at http://hypermart.net This page doesn't need to sell your customer; it simplyneeds to provide the links through which the customer willclick (many affiliate programs such as Dell contain hiddencodes that require your customer to click from a web page.) For an example of my Dell sales page visithttp://smarthomebusiness.com/dell.htm You'll notice that the page isn't a hard sell; it's asimple page with affiliate links to the Dell site. When mycustomer clicks on any of these links I'll be credited withany purchases he makes.
The third step is to get your customer to your sales page. This is the obstacle, since your customer may not be on theweb yet.
If necessary, ask the person over to your house. Give yourhim a hands-on demonstration of the very product he'sthinking of purchasing.
Once you have your customer online,show him around the net. Let him navigate.
Show him some of your favorite hangouts,your website, your favorite discussion boards, favoritegame sites and anything that might interest him. After afew short minutes on the web he'll absolutely NEED that newcomputer! Wrap up your presentation by taking him to your sales page.
For an extra-special touch, name the page after yourcustomer, such as "Mark.html" By now he's thoroughly hooked on the web and thinking abouta purchase. Let him do it by clicking from your salespage.
Now the Dell affiliate program pays a very smallcommission, but what I've gained is far more important…arelationship with that customer that he can't get at anoffline computer superstore. I've walked him through the web, shown him all the bellsand whistles on my own computer (including some add-ons hemight like) and established myself as a valuable source oftechnical information.
The next time he wants to make an online purchase, who willhe ask? When he wants to buy software who will he come tofor advice? And most importantly, when he has questionsabout affiliate programs or starting his own onlinebusiness, who will he ask? You guessed it! The value of this customer is far greater than the fewdollars I made on this original sale…it's the lifetimevalue of the customer. Keep your eyes and ears open for offline opportunities suchas this.
When you discover someone with a specific need,create a specific page to provide the solutions. Your newcustomer will thank you many times over with repeatbusiness.
Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com.