Green Apples Get Ripe

Gayle shouted, “Daddy, Daddy! There are ripe apples on the tree! Let’s go pick them!” Daddy got a bucket and off they went to pick apples. There were many green apples on the tree, but there were four ripe ones, so they picked the ripe ones and put them in the bucket. Then Daddy went to the tool shed, got an axe, and proceeded to chop the tree down. After all, one can’t eat green apples, right?

I had a distraught salesperson call me who felt she had failed by not closing a sale. The prospect had agreed to buy, but when the time came to pay, she decided not to go ahead. The salesperson tried every conceivable closing technique, argument, and explanation, but the buyer would not budge. I told her the story about the apples on the tree and reminded her that the buyer simply wasn’t ripe for the picking yet. YET being the operative word.

People don’t buy for many reasons – projection, self-esteem, peer pressure, timing, misunderstanding, negative associations, lack of urgency or hunger, and contamination (she attended another seminar and it didn’t work, so she doesn’t believe yours will work, either). We also need to remember that most people need more than one exposure to a new idea before they accept it or act upon it. “NO” simply means “Not Yet” in my book. People’s circumstances change, and if you’re friendly and understanding when they don’t buy, they will come back to you when they’re ready. The key is to remain friendly and supportive, keep contact and “Drip on them” – keep feeding them tasty morsels until one day the scales tip in favor of your product or service.

We live in a cynical world and people are understandably skeptical. When you don’t pressurize, ostracize, or get nasty when they don’t buy, you retain the option to sell them later. They will watch how you handle their refusal and they will remember. They will also wait and see how successful you are, and when they’re comfortable that you’re not some fly-by-night type, they’ll contact you and buy. Be patient when you sow. You can’t plant an acorn today and expect an oak tree tomorrow. Nurture that seed – water it, smile at it, feed it more information and benefits, care for it and build relationship. Often, those who take a long time to buy turn out to be your very best, most loyal fans and customers, who in turn bring you many more customers.

Sow massively, consistently and abundantly, and you will reap in due proportion. Sow in different areas, with different bait. Use Joint Ventures to duplicate and multiply your efforts and resources when sowing, and you can’t help but reap. Use JV’s to sow with no cost or risk. Different seeds will germinate at different times, so spread your sowing across different demographic and geographic fields. And always remember that green apples do eventually get ripe. Don’t chop the tree down - water it!

Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com

Turn Any Database into Hard Cash Now.

Note: This will work for you whether you have a business or a database or not, as long as you have access to any database of people.

Are you sitting on a goldmine without realizing it? No matter what the size of your database is, whether it is 100 “real” people, in other words people who know, trust, respect and like you, or 10,000 people whose e mail addresses you have from an opt-in list to get your free report, whether your “Members” actually paid for their membership or not, your database is a source of serious money, just waiting to be unleashed.

The reason why I make this claim is that every one of the people with whom you have contact has definite wants and needs. In fact, they all have multiple wants and needs, and you can earn a lot of money helping them get what they want, solve their problems and reach their goals, through Joint Ventures. The more people you help, the more money you can make. The more value you create, the more you earn. It’s called Capitalism – finding a need and filling it.

But of course, we don’t think about everything our people want and need, do we? No – we’re only interested in selling them out own products and services. We don’t care what else they want, what their goals are, or what their problems are if it’s not directly related to our own products and services. Why? Because we are egocentric, small-minded, desperate, self-employed salespeople with a set of steel blinders. Take those blinders off and get out of your own way, and the dollars will flow to you. Forget about what you want, your products and services and your cash flow, and think about what the people in your database want, and you’ll get all the money you want.

Zig Ziglar said, “You can get anything you want out of life, if you’re prepared to help enough other people to get what they want.” A good example is a very long, boring, advertising e-mail I received yesterday from some character in California who wants me to sell his product to my Membership. I didn’t bother to read his lengthy advert – why should I? He is a typical salesman – he doesn’t care about me or what I want or my time, just what he wants. He’s not even a Member of the DollarMakers Joint Venture Forum, which immediately disqualifies him from doing business with me anyway. But he’s too insensitive and pushy to even think of that. What could he have done to get my undivided attention? How about this approach: “Dear Mr. Elliott, I am impressed with your organization and the value you create. I would like you to achieve your goals and I have access to numerous resources, databases and organizations that I think you can benefit from. I would like to know what you need or want, and what your goals are, so that I can help you in your work.”

It’s really quite simple. I would have responded to that e-mail. And once this man had proved to me that he could, indeed, deliver, I might be interested in reciprocating. When he realizes that he can access any resource he needs through Joint Ventures, he will understand that he can be of great value to me. For example, If I say, “I want to go horse riding on a beach in Southern California” and he lives in a high-rise in New York City, all he has to do is find someone who provides horse riding adventures in Southern California and arrange the deal. The horse riding might cost him $150, but he could make $10,000 when I introduce his product to my database. Sow before you reap.

Let’s talk about YOUR database. What does Sally Adams want? She bought your service three months ago and she’s in your database. Hopefully, you communicate regularly with her, so she actually remembers who you are, and hopefully she had a positive experience with your service. Could you offer her a travel opportunity, legal services, a free seminar, a complimentary report or DVD, a teleconference, a business opportunity, or an e book, in such a way that it reeks of value? Can you do it with no pressure and turn it into a gift or a bonus? Of course you can. I’m not talking about advertising other peoples’ products to your database – I’m talking about GIVING them stuff and helping them. It’s all about the way you present it, whether it’s surveys, thank you gestures, or simple gifts. By giving away samples, gift certificates, experiences, free lessons or courses, and solving her problems with no strings attached, Sally could very well start using some of those products or services and become a paying customer of the businesses that offer them, resulting in continued income from each of those business to YOU.

I guarantee your database can make you a large amount of money at 100% profit through carefully constructed Joint Ventures, regardless of whether you have a business or not. All you need is access to a database of people. When you offer to help people and solve their problems and you know how to deliver that help through other people, you become a very popular person. People like to help people who have helped them. Don’t send them your pathetic sales letters and cold call on them. They are not interested in you; they are interested in THEMSELVES. They don’t care about your products or services until they know that you care about them, and you can demonstrate that easier than you think.

So, here’s the bottom line. You can get paid to help other people reach their goals. In addition, there is no cost or risk to you, and it will take you very little time. You can strategically create Joint Venture mechanisms and systems that will feed 100% profit straight into your bank account on an ongoing basis from multiple businesses. It’s called the Power of Joint Ventures.

Robin J. Elliott www.DollarMakers.com