Sales experience and talent is something that pretty much every business looks for in its staff. Being able to sell is an incredibly valuable skill and something that will allow you to pretty much make money wherever you are and whatever your product is.

This is true in person but it’s also true online. In fact, most of the highest paid jobs online involve little more than sales. ‘Affiliate marketing’ literally means you are promoting and selling the products of other creators. This is just like being a door-to-door salesman, except you now have a door to the entire world.

If you know how to use the web and you know how to sell… then there is an absolute fortune to be made!

But is this a skill that you can learn? Is sales technique something you just have to be born with innately? Let’s take a closer look and find out…

The Most Powerful Key to Selling – Pre-Suasion

While there are many different nuances and factors involved in selling, perhaps the most important thing to consider of all is the powerful role of ‘presuasion’. Presuasion essentially describes the fact that you don’t tend to sell at the point of the sale. The moment you close the sale is very important of course but this isn’t the point at which the buyer will make that decision and it’s not the point at which you have the most important influence.

That point is long before they come to your website. Pre-suasion means that you’re priming someone to buy your product even before you show it to them. That can mean building trust and authority but it can also mean showing them a video of something inspiring. It can also mean getting them at a point when they’re tired and thus more impulsive. Think about your pre-game and just how important this aspect is…

The Value Proposition

What’s also important is to recognize the inherent value that your product has to the buyer. When you sell something, you are always selling more than the sum of the parts. Most things we buy, we view as a means to an end – whether that end is to make our home more attractive and appealing, or whether it is to look sexier, healthier and more confident. And why do we want to look sexier? So that we can have more success with the opposite sex.

That’s why adverts for Lynx deodorant are never about the actual smell but rather about attracting women. That’s why men buy Lynx. Likewise, you need to think about what the value proposition is for your fitness ebook. It just might be the very same thing…

Emotion, Not Logic

Once you’re pre-suaded and explained your value proposition, all that is left to do is strike while the iron is hot and get your audience to part with their cash. People rarely buy based on logical decisions and almost always buy based on emotion. Get them to act fast before that emotion fades!