[Transcription of Video]

I have a buddy who loves the sell, and he struggles online because, well, selling doesn’t work.

Hi there internet fans. Ryan Perry here, helping small business owners harness the power of video. If you’re a small business owner using video to market your business. Be sure to subscribe to the channel to be notified of new marketing tips to grow your business.

If you’re a small business owner using the Internet to grow your business, please don’t sell the people. It simply doesn’t work, and if you’re watching this video you may relate. So, there’s three reasons why selling online doesn’t work.

Number one is that part of marketing is understanding your audience. How they interact on different platforms. People don’t go online to be sold. They’re either searching for a solution to a problem or they want to be entertained. Think about the last time you search Google for a solution. Did you want to be sold?

Number two. Being sold to is a turnoff for most people. Even if your intentions are good, and you truly are trying to help people.

Number three. Selling it as a great way to ruin your first impression with prospects. Now, I have a buddy, we’ll call him Tim, that I’ve known most of my life that has a successful local parts business. And, years ago he started an e-commerce store and asked me for help to grow his business. Being a video guy, I told him that he needed to start a YouTube channel and create educational and how-to videos on some of his bestselling and highest ROI products to boost SEO ranking online and increase the closing ratios of his e-commerce site. The problem was, this guy loves to sell and feels that he has to talk about himself and his company more than the product. Otherwise he’s losing out on a great opportunity to let people know why they should buy from him.

Here’s an example of what Tim might say in his video. “I just want to help you find the right part because we have the largest selection of parts online. No one else can touch the sheer number of parts we carry, and all the parts come with at least a 30-day warranty. We ship from three different warehouses across the country, so you’ll get the part you need in just two days. Just call me now. I’ll help you find any part you need. I’ve been in the business for 25 years and I know just about every make and model of car out there.” Now, I’ve known Tim for years and his intentions are good. He really does want to help people and he knows more about car parts than I think anyone should. He’s the best person to call because he truly wants to help you and will find the right part for your car. The problem is you don’t know him like I do. You don’t know how honest and sincere he is. All you want to do is find the right part for your car, watch a quick install video so you can decide if you want to buy the car or take the car to a shop. All the extra rhetoric that Tim includes is a turnoff and the prospects bounce to another side and Tim loses a sale.

So, what can Tim do to improve his videos?

Number one, focus on the prospects need. Keep it simple and to the point so the person doesn’t lose interest. Focus on what’s the problem? How do you fix it? And, are there any special circumstances that the users should know or be aware of? After this, what Tim needs to do is tell the viewer what to do next. This is the “sale part”. Place the link directly to the products page in the description of your video and let the user know. For more information on this product click the link to the product page in the description below. That’s it. Now we leave it up to the user to decide if the video is compelling enough to click through to the product page. This is what I like to call a “super soft sell”. And why it works, is that the video demonstrates the effectiveness of the product and the viewer should already be sold. Telling them what to do next is all they need to do to click the link and check out your website.

When you provide information that people are looking for solutions to, you’re now positioned yourself as an expert in your industry and people will want to buy from you without being sold. This is the power of video!

All right Internet fans you know what to do next. If you found this video helpful let me know by clicking on the like button and subscribing to this channel. Do you agree or disagree on my thoughts about selling online? Your feedback is what helps me make better quality videos.

Until next time. Have a great day.