Selling To Your Affiliates

Jerry Lunsford

While success with any internet marketing program falls on the head of the marketer, what the program offers in pay outs and products plays a big roll. What I am going to focus on is the product side of the business. The products that you sell make the difference on who is going to buy them. Either you sell to people outside your own affiliate base. You sell to people within your base. Or you try and sell to both. I believe most marketers try and sell only outside their own affiliate base. If you do this then you are missing out on your greatest customer. Your own affiliates.

Most the effort you put into marketing your products should be focused on your affiliates. Why? Because unless you have a big online store or are a recognized company, trying to sell outside your affiliate base is equal to Wal-Mart trying to sell to K-Mart and visa versa. Normally the people you are trying to sell to are at the same time trying to sell you something in return. So it makes more sense to focus on your own customers. Now I'm not saying to not sell outside your own base but don't neglect the customer who is standing right in front of you. They are already in your store but have not been convinced to buy anything. And they have not been convinced to buy anything because no sales clerk has approached them. And when one did approach them they were met by someone who themselves don't use the products.

So before you can successfully sell to your customers you must approve the products yourself. How can you tell me a weight loss product works great if you haven't even tried it yourself? Remember hair club for men? The founder was also a customer. A person who uses the product they are trying to sell is more believable then someone who is reading from a script. If you don't believe that then the next time someone tries to sell you something and makes a claim to the greatness of the product, ask them if they use it themselves. If they don't they will probably stutter. And if they do they will give you such a good sales pitch that you'll be convinced that you can't live without it. But all of this means nothing if you're products are something people don't want or can't use.

If you are in a marketing program that offers one time sales products then you can only sell to that customer once. For instance ebooks. There great but once you sell it to a person, that's it. Their not going to buy it again. Affiliate programs that offer a wide array of products will afford you a greater income especially if the products are things that people use on a regular basis. And when something gets used on a regular basis it gets used up. And after it's used up they will need to order more. Such things as cleaning products, phone service, internet provider, health care items, food items just to name a few.

Just tell your customers that since they already use these products why not buy from within their own store, that way helping you out to attain your financial goals. And in return they can then do the same to their affiliates helping themselves to attain their financial goals. And that my friends is what capitalism and internet marketing is all about.

Other products that may not be something people use regularly or at all are informational products, health food, vitamins, increased health care coverage...etc. Try to convince your customers how the product can improve their life by providing better health or peace of mind. But the key again is to try the product first.

So buy the products that you are trying to sell. (At least the ones you can use.) Then try them out. If you like them, then your own passion for the product is all you will need to convince your customers (affiliate base) to buy them for their own use. An after they try them for themselves they will then be inclined to try and sell them to their own affiliates. Thus, your sales efforts are rewarded with bigger commission checks. Depending on how deep your affiliate base goes, sales to just one affiliate could spiral into hundreds of dollars in commissions a month. And if you have hundreds of affiliates?

Just remember this when running your business. Whatever you do for others will be done for you. Help someone to achieve their goals and in doing so your goals will be met. Use the products first, then you can successfully sell to your affiliates.

About The Author

Jerry Lunsford
Article by Help Me! Find out how to use my articles to freely promote your online business and products. Use them for wesite content or feature them in your ezines and newsletters. Go to my website at http://www.quityourcrummyjob.com Copyright (c) 2005