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I bet you can't tell me... the single biggest problem facing Every Direct Marketer, new and old.

It's not generating traffic, nor building an O'pt-In list, nor is it finding products to market and it's not a lack of Cash.

You can buy traffic, you can buy O'pt-In list members, you can make or buy products and you can even borrow Cash.

The biggest single problem for any Direct Marketer is How To Earn Your Prospect's Trust.

Learn how to earn AND keep trust and you open up huge new Marketing possibilities.

Too many salespeople of doubtful credentials, and too many adverts promising so much and delivering so little have hardened consumers, they no longer trust Marketers and Marketing claims without a great deal of convincing.

So how exactly do you turn a skeptic into a believer ?

Tip #1 - Make Your First Contact Count

Your initial point of contact with prospects is typically

* An advert, in a PPC, a banner exchange, a classified or solo campaign

* An entry in a Search Engine directory,

* Or an article you have written.

Unfortunate as it may be, people do judge others by first contact. If your initial impression of someone is poor, chances are that you will not give them a second look, be it in business or your personal affairs.

Make sure your initial point of contact with all prospects is to your advantage.

This does NOT mean expensive, glitzy or superficial.

It means make your initial contact Sincere.

Keep that one word in mind as you design all your sales and marketing strategies and your Initial Contacts will always be positive.

Tip #2 - Products, Pricing, Promises and Personality

Sincerity in your contacts with prospects comes from applying the (modified) 4 p's of marketing.

* Products

Market the best products you can and never settle for second best. Add value and benefit to your prospect with quality merchandise. Resist the temptation to market "Cost Cutting" alternatives that are in fact more expensive due to their poorer real value.

* Pricing

Price your merchandise at a fair value for the producer, the consumer and the marketer. Over pricing your products is a self defeating tactic because prospects learn to avoid your pitch and with over high pricing you invite competition to under cut your cost and price base.

* Promises

Your sales literature and copy must be accurate and reflect the true benefits of your products and services. This does not mean you should be unduly modest, by all means make big claims, but make sure you can prove and demonstrate anything you promise.

Remember, in this context, any guarantee you give must be more solid than any Banks Vaults and worth as much as the contents of Fort Knox

* Personality

Inject your personality into your contact with prospects.

People love to do business with people they know. Avoid doing things you feel uncomfortable with, but do tell people about yourself, your failures, your wins, your hopes and your fears. Be the human face of you business and build a sincere relationship with prospects.

Tip #3 - Communication

When you get past the initial contact, the next hurdle in building trust is communication with your prospects.

There are several ways to do this

* A sequential autoresponder with relevant messages sent to your O'pt-In prospects at regular AND frequent intervals.

* An e-zine sent out to subscribers with useful information and not just an excuse for another advert.

* Articles showing your prospects how YOU manage your business and personal tasks, tactics and strategies.

Communication is two way traffic. Ask your prospects for input into your professional relationship and how they think you can improve it. Listen to your prospects.

Tip #4 - Credibility

Prospects always seek comfort that they are doing the right thing.

It pays to use "borrowed" credibility if you are not a world recognised expert in your field. This is where testimonials enter the picture.

Here are a few ways in which you can obtain testimonials and build credibility with a new product or service :

* Give a few samples away to a test group in return for the testimonial

* Use functionally disabled or time barred samples as demo versions which you can give away to prospects

* Develop fully functional modules with less features than the standard product and give those away to prospects.

* Develop e-courses and other training programs showing prospects the benefits and training them in how to use and consume your products and services.

Tip #5 - Service

Your prospect's Trust is very hard earned. But this is as nothing when compared to retaining their Trust.

Once a prospect becomes a customer, too many marketers make the fatal mistake of taking that customer for granted.

Post sales service is a crunch time for cementing the Trust you have managed to win with such effort.

Make sure you stay in touch with your new customer. Offer them advice and help in the use of their new product or service. Make sure any potential issues are dealt with before they escalate.

Be available and within easy contact for your customers and prospects.

Relevant Resources

http://www.simplyeasier.com/me.html

Conclusion

As a direct marketer you can buy traffic, you can buy O'pt-In list members, you can make or buy products and you can even borrow Cash.

You cannot manufacture or in any way manipulate trust - Trust is the one thing in your business that must be earned the Hard Way.

Be sincere, do the right things as shown here and build trust with your prospects.

(c) 2004 Charles Kangethe