Many businesses fail because they do not understand the massive difference between offline and online sales. To grow your business to the heights you dream of it is urgent that you have an online presence and that your sales and marketing team understands the differences between offline and online sales and the psychology of each one.
To help your business accomplish these tasks, let’s talk about a major problem we find. When a business that has always sold strictly offline decides it is time to have an online presence, it is unavoidable in today’s technological climate and can accelerate your business if done right--they think they can use the same marketing and sales tactics that they have always used offline.
This does not work. It is backward. When a business that has never had an online presence has a website built they often request the website builder center the business around themselves.
In the online world, it should never be just about you. Your potential clients want to know how your product or service can benefit THEM. Unlike selling offline, when it comes to online sales, facts and information are your main goals.
The Huge Differences Between the Offline and Online Sales Process
Your first task in bridging the gap between your offline and online sales is to learn the big differences between the two and the psychology of each one. We discuss these differences below:
Offline Sales
- You have the ability to evaluate your prospective client--you see them, determine what interests them, and read their body language, eye movement, and overall demeanor. You can make informed judgments based on your observations.
- You have the advantage. Your salesperson knows when to close, when not to close, and whether the prospect is interested and/or qualified.
- You are possibly speaking at conferences
- Lots of phone conversations with clients and potential clients
- Possibly setting up a booth at a convention
Online Sales
- Most likely never meet potential clients in person
- Potential clients have the advantage since you cannot read their emotions or body language and make your sales pitch.
- The potential client usually has their mind 80% made up before they ‘raise their hand’ by filling out your contact form, contacting you on social media, or making a purchase. They have read your website content, watched videos, followed your social media pages, and most likely read reviews of your product or service.
- You are not pitching a sale, you are answering questions to help the potential client make their decision to purchase.
As you can see, there is a world of difference in the thought processes your salespeople should possess when it comes to selling online vs offline.
If you have yet to create an online presence, understand that now is the time to do so. One thing is a given: If your business is not yet online it is time to bite the bullet and create a proper web presence.
For more help in understanding how to bridge the gap between offline and online sales, and to understand the urgency of going online with your business if you have not yet done so, we’d like to refer you to a great article we found at Forbes.com titled The Future of E-Commerce: Bridging the Online/Offline Gap.
There is a wealth of helpful information in that article to assist you in understanding how to successfully transition into online sales and to understand the differences between online and offline sales. The following data from the article proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that you cannot avoid having an online presence if you expect your business to succeed:
- A recent study from Internet Retailer projects a doubling of mobile commerce sales in 2013
- eMarketer predicts that in the apparel and accessories category alone, e-commerce sales in the U.S. will grow to $224.2 Billion by the end of 2012, up 15.4% since 2011
- Brick-and-mortar retail giants like Macy’s and Nordstrom are ramping up their efforts to integrate digital technologies with in-store operations in response to significant losses of in-store sales to online shopping platforms.
If you are a business owner who has yet to get started selling online or are a novice, now that you have been alerted to the big difference between online and offline sales, we can get you started off on the right foot by suggesting you and your sales team read this blog post, The Sales and Marketing Process in the Digital Age: How a Salesperson Can Excel in the Digital Age.
If you own a brick-and-mortar store and are ready to get started selling online, we strongly suggest you also add this blog post to your research material before getting started, Why Marketing, (and Selling) Online Can Yield Big Results for Brick-and-Mortar Stores.
The Importance of Social Selling
One important thing to take into consideration when creating an online presence for your business is that having just a website won’t cut it. To make an impact and more sales you need social media pages where you are active, sharing your product or service, providing helpful information, answering questions, and engaging with potential clients. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and YouTube are the main players in social media, and social selling is a BIG deal.
The facts speak for themselves. For many businesses, they report that at least 50% of online sales are the result of social selling. Just make sure when you set up your social profiles, you concentrate on the value you bring to consumers and not your personal information, although that is a must also. It is just that offering potential customers value they can find nowhere else will make sales.
Join and participate in lots of Facebook and Linked In groups in your niche. Always be involved in group discussions, and start discussions.
Always be willing to give free advice -- without expecting it to immediately turn into a business. Offer free e-books and free white papers. Share good resources that can help solve problems that the customer can't.
Don’t Discount the Importance of Selling Offline
We have spent the brunt of this blog post discussing online selling and the difference between offline sales, along with tips for successfully selling online. However, we would be remiss if we didn’t emphasize the importance of never abandoning your offline sales potential.
No matter how advanced and technological our society becomes, there will always be people who prefer dealing with someone in person, or face-to-face.
Combining Offline, Online, and Social Selling is a Recipe for Success
You must have a combination of successful offline, online, and social selling tactics. Let’s recap the main points to keep in mind to combining the three as a recipe for success:
- Understanding the difference between offline and online selling
- The psychology of your potential clients in the two different spheres
- Using offline tactics that are tried and true
- Taking the advice we have offered here for online sales
- Having dynamite and very active social media pages
If you have all of the above tactics in place, you just can’t help but accelerate your business toward bigger and better success. If this is your first venture into online sales, you could find an easier approach to dealing with finances so you can concentrate on your new venture by using a PDF converter. That will free up so much time and save you tons of headaches. Take a test drive of a PDF converter for small businesses by following this link. Happy New Year and best of luck with your business in 2024!
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