I’m talking about achieving here.
The difference is attitude.
Those who don’t have one or more blockers that stop them from achieving. These blockers usually boil down to the individual’s perception and attitude.
Yes, I know you’re probably saying to yourself, “oh no, not another Positive Mental Attitude article”. Well, maybe this is a little different. Maybe not…
Have you noticed that the people who gripe in life are ALWAYS griping? Nothing is ever right for them. They’re always unhappy with something, and expend a lot of energy looking for the next thing to moan about.
“I can’t come up with a product idea.” “I’ve got my product idea, but I can’t get started.” “I’ve created my product, but I don’t know how to create a sales page.” “My sales page is up but I can’t get any sales.”
It’s just worn me out writing that and thinking in that way. It’s so negative it makes me feel ill just experiencing it, and I’m sorry if it’s taken you the same way.
How do people get anything done with an attitude like that?
Well, in most cases they don’t, but there are always some that do, and then they hit a “blocker”.
A blocker is that one thing that they can’t get past. Correction. The one thing they think they can’t get past.
All they need is a little help to change their thinking.
Let’s take the final example above. You have a product, but no sales.
The first question to ask yourself is “do I have traffic?” and if the answer is no, then that’s the thing to work on.
There are probably as many traffic sources as there are ways to make a million dollars.
Here’s a few…
- JV partners
- Forums
- eBay
- Squidoo
- YouTube
- StumbleUpon
- Article sites
- Blogging…
I don’t think I need to go on – just ONE of those sources worked upon and used exclusively should be enough to bring in traffic to make at least a sale a day.
So… You match your traffic source together with your product.
For instance, you might be selling something that helps ebook sellers deliver their ebooks. Such as SmartDD. 😉
Then JV partners and eBay would be the first / best way to go, and the way to build affiliates. Once you have enough affiliates, you reach “critical mass” and they do all the selling for you.
Now… As always, the devil’s in the detail.
You may know about all of the traffic sources above, but how do you get traffic from one of them? Well, they’re all different and need to be treated in different ways.
But choosing one and trying to get traffic from it is probably a good start.
This is where many people fall flat on their face.
They try… and after a month or 6 weeks, nothing’s happened.
They decide that it’s impossible to do.
Despite the fact that people are milking traffic from many of these sites, some people don’t get immediate success and that’s it, they give up.
(I blame all the BS artists out there who get people excited by the prospect of it being “easy”. When the real world hits and they find it isn’t as easy as they were led to believe, then the depression sets in.)
I’ll put you right now so you don’t get the wrong idea.
It isn’t easy.
Anyone that tells you it is has either got to the nice place where affiliates are now making sales for them, and / or they’ve forgotten that to start with it was actually quite hard.
See my post on Your Big Steel Ball.
Let me give you an idea of the kind of sales you should be making – these are pretty much standard numbers.
If you get 100 mildly interested visitors to your site, you will make 1 sale.
If you make less than 1 sale per 100 visitors, then you may have a poor product, or more likely, your sales page is at fault.
If you make 2 sales per 100 visitors, then you’re doing pretty well.
3 sales and you have an excellent combination of product and sales page.
More than that and it looks like you’ve found yourself a highly qualified (well targeted) traffic source.
In most cases, if you have traffic but no sales, then your sales page is crap.
I have a site that I’ve never done any work on since I set it up a couple of years ago. It was a practice for me when I was learning. (I think the domain may have just expired.)
I’ve never promoted it, I’ve never done anything with it since the day I set it up. To my knowledge, I may have submitted it to Google once, and that was it. There are no graphics other than the PayPal button, it’s text only.
To my amazement, that site has resulted in a sale about every 3-4 months… A tiny amount of traffic must be finding its way there, and every so often it results in a sale.
I’m quite pleased with that…
All I did was follow a few rules about setting up a sales page.
All I did was try.
All I did was give it a go.
I went in with the right attitude, not knowing whether it would work or not. I believed it would, and I was more pleased with myself for having done the site as it was good practice for my next one.
You can do the same as me. Be pleased with what you’ve done, be pleased with what you do. Don’t get upset or decide “it doesn’t work”.
If you want to achieve, if you want to build a successful business, then you have to give it your very best attitude.
Moaning when things don’t magically work out won’t achieve anything.
Being pleased with any of your achievements puts you in the right frame of mind to go do some more.
-Frank Haywood.
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Frank, as always you hit the nail spot on the head! Even though it sounds trite to some, having a positive attitude makes a HUGE difference, not only in what you attract into your life, but in what you produce.
The only thing I’d add to your wonderful treatise on the subject is finding something (or someone) EVERY DAY at least, to be grateful for. An attitude of gratitude is powerful in bringing good results into your life or business.
I know I’m grateful for you!
Donna
Great post, Frank, and right on the money. Quick question for you, though: how do we know how long to wait to find out if something is working or not, before we decide it isn’t?
Granted, I suppose this all depends on what specific action I’m talking about, because there can be a world of difference between choosing to monetize a blog through a variety of methods vs PPC ads.
But is there a general rule of thumb that can help guide a beginner to understand “how long it takes” to see results for some of the key elements or methods of online marketing?
I think commenting on this topic would shed some interesting light for anyone who thinks it’s going to happen “overnight” — and a good reality check for the rest of us who may be almost ready to give up something that is just about to start working big time.
So. How do you KNOW???
Thanks for all your great perspectives on “what it takes.”
Nancy
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Thanks for the great post. I have been working on my business and I think making some progress. I do have days where I wonder if I can really make it online.
Everyone around me is telling me I can’t including my family. I am not having the success yet that I thought I would. I am still learning new things everyday. Sometimes it is hard not to get frustrated and get down.
Thanks for you column, it has helped my resolve a lot. I just ty keep moving forward.
Very insightful advice. I agree being in the right frame of mind and being pleased with ones accomplishments, no matter how small are big steps in the right direction.