Connect with SBA || 1 +2347019926363 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) @sba.academy_ Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ 10 MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE DURING SALES CLOSING 1. Closing is a Convincing Business I hear this a lot from many Entrepreneurs, "Sir, I want to learn to convince my Prospects." The #1 mistake you'll ever make is trying to convince people What happens when you try to convince people? Let's consider some of them; You lie, You sound needy, You sound greedy, You sound like you cannot do without them. You sound like your next meal depends on closing that deal… 2 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ Many more... When your Prospects feels this way, guess what they do? Give EXCUSES as usual. These EXCUSES then form up objections and more objections; before you know what is happening, you have either lost the deal or made to believe a lie. So what then is CLOSING? You might be asking… It is simply helping a prospect buy from you without making them feel you sold anything to them. Fact is, nobody likes it when people are selling to them, including you, but we want to buy. Closing is NOT a convincing business; it is a helping business. 3 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || 2. +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ Closing is interrogational Dear entrepreneur, this is not the law court, neither is it you trying to be an Inspector General of Police (IGP) helping anybody here… You're before a customer, Trying to sound like an IGP will make the deal more challenging for you to close because, at this point, you sound suspicious. You're looking and sounding greedy and needy… Your eyeballs are all out for the money, and guess what? Your prospects can see it, They're afraid of you, You're making them feel very uncomfortable, Nobody is going to buy from anybody they're afraid of. So what do you do instead? Very simple… Sound CONVERSATIONAL ✔ 4 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ Instead of Interrogational 3. Everybody is your customer This is the most expensive mistake I have seen hundreds and thousands of marketers make... Consider these... If everybody is your customer, do men wear wigs? If everybody is your customer, can everybody buy bread for 1,000 Dollars? If everybody is your customer, why do we have few Range Rovers in your city? If everybody is your customer, do men wear high heels? 5 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ Is everybody still your customer? 4. You tell more than you show I have done this, I have done that I have achieved this; I have achieved that Wait, let me shock you… People don't believe whatever you say about yourself. They need proof!! 6 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || 5. +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ If I speak the longest, I'll close the deal ❌ Unfortunately, it's the other way round here… Because; people want to be listened to, people want to be sure it's in their interest. You heard the saying, "people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." Nobody wants to sit and listen to a long and tedious presentation if it's not in their interest. So make them feel in charge. 7 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || 6. +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ You're only talking about how much you'll be paid ❌ Let me sha the #1 secret; nobody likes to see a debit alert, including your very self. How do you feel when money is leaving you to another person? Have you cheated, right? Exactly, nobody likes to see or receive a debit alert. So what then must you do? Learn to show the ROI (Return Of Investment) of whatever you're offering or selling. 8 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || 7. +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ Thinking people buy out of pity Learn this and learn this forever, "Nobody cares about you; they care about themselves." If you like to cry, it's none of their business. They're not your parents, neither are they your children. People buy for themselves, not for you. 8. Selling what you like Get ready to go broke or relatively poorer than a church rat when you do this… Why are you selling a mat? 9 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ I like to sleep on a mat; it gives me joy. But wait, who cares about this? If your ideal customer is comfortable on a bed, why try to sell a mat to them? This particular act will make you poorer than a church rat. If you want to be rich, sell what they like, NOT what you like. 9. Claiming to be the best I know many people who are the best at what they do but are broke. And I'm sure you know some others too… Now, why is that? 10 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ The fact is people can't pay who they don't know. “People don't pay the best; they pay the loudest”. _Victory Markson_ Because the loudest is often perceived as the best. You'll buy more from someone whose offer you can see everywhere you go. (Loudest) 10. Selling without informing in advance The fact is we all have a budget for almost everything we do, of which you're the last person that comes to mind. So selling to surprise us will keep you broke. You must learn and practice the art of PREPARATION. In sales, it is called PRIMING. 11 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || 12 +2347019926363 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) @sba.academy_ Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ 10 COPYWRITING MISTAKES BUSINESS OWNERS MAKE 1. You must always focus MORE on the BENEFITS of your product than it FEATURES B >F Do you know why? Features are What it is Benefits are WIIFM (What's In It for Me), people don't buy products; they buy Solutions (Benefits) Features will say: This bag is made of Leather Benefits will say: This bag reduces the stress of you carrying the few things you wish to carry in your hand while going out with your hubby. Please note: Don't leave out the F (Features) but let your primary focus be the B (Benefits) 2. You must Always Focus MORE on the customer than yourself. Get this part..... It's not about you, ‘the seller’; it's about us, ‘the buyer’. 13 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ Use less of I, I, me, me Use more of YOU. We want to know that you, the Copywriter care about us and not just the money. 3. You do not include a clear, practical Call to Action After reading what you have written, A call to action is what you need them to do. Don't always leave your readers to think about what next to do, what next action to take Always tell them what to do now, not later. Please don't give them room for procrastination For example, buy now, Click this link NOW, Call this number etc. 4. Make sure the first few sentences are attentiongrabbing In the digital world we are today, we have a short attention span, and nobody will pay attention to you if your words or headline doesn't make them stop to see what's in it for them. 14 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || 5. +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ Using words that are not relevant Some words do not apply to what you are selling. Write first and begin to trim them. 6. Using boring words that lead to long copy Most times, people don't read lengthy documents because it's boring. As you write to sell, use exciting words but don't be sarcastic. 7. Not having a unique selling point to write on Look for that one thing that differentiates your products from your competition... Sell it aggressively. 8. Too Salesy Don't try selling almost immediately; give value upfront 9. Make Claims Without Evidence Don't be too overpromising; make sure your claims or promises are backed up by testimonials or evidence. 15 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ 10. You are not conversational Write as though you are talking. Make it relatable, don't leave them in the dark. Use storytelling, either fictional or non-fictional (real or unreal). 16 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ 10 MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE IN WHATSAPP MARKETING 1. You are selling products instead of offers You are not the only one selling that particular product online, especially now that everything is online, so how does your product stand out. Why should people buy from you? The value of what you are selling must be higher than your customer's price for it. It would help if you created an Irresistible offer. There is a lot of noise out there. You can only get people's attention to see what you are selling by creating an irresistible offer that looks too good to be accurate. They will do themselves great disfavour if they don't get your offer at an irresistible price. But if you are selling product and it just looks like everything else online, they won't see the need to buy from you. 17 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || 2. +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ You post irrelevant content You know the saying that content is king. Content creation can make or mar your business brand. When you post content unrelated to what you are selling, you post content about different businesses simultaneously. This leaves your audience confused, and they do not know what you are doing, so you need to be intentional about your content. Another mistake people make in content is that their post is always about begging their audience to come and buy, and they load their WhatsApp status with the products they are selling with no strategy. They wonder why they are not making sales because many people have muted them already to avoid their situation. People like to buy, but people hate to be sold to. 3. You are spamming Spamming is an absolute wrong strategy. This means selling to someone without their permission. Many people cut corners just because they want to sell, but this downgrades your brand because you tend to piss people off, and no one will take you seriously. 18 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ People also tend to barge into people's DM without prior notice or decide to sell their business in someone else's group. This action is an intrusion of privacy, and people love their space and corner, and as a business person, you have to understand and respect this. When you don't use permission marketing or Attraction marketing, it is difficult for anyone to see your business as a credible brand, and you won't be able to make sales at the end of the day, so please avoid spamming at all costs. 4. No Follow Up There is money in the follow-up. Just because a prospect did not buy from you today does not mean they will not buy from you later on. Many people can get busy or distracted; if they indicate interest in your product, you must check and remind them and close that sale. You leave a lot of money on the table if you don't do followups. People need to hear from you multiple times. 5. You are not generating quality leads You need to build a contact list of quality audiences interested in or need the products you sell or the services you render. 19 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ You will not make sales if you sell to the wrong audience or contacts, no matter how good your offer is. If it does not interest them, they will not buy, so you should focus on getting quality leads and attracting the right customer. To do this effectively, you should do your customer avatar where you determine who your customer is by specifying their age, location, gender, income, interests and so on; this will guide you on getting the right customers. 6. Having only your family and friends on your contact list Every entrepreneur should know that your friends and family are not your target audience, and they usually will not buy from you initially. So if you have your family and friends on your contact list, it will be difficult to make lots of sales. You will need to focus on generating traffic because the sales are in the numbers. Sales is a numbers game. 7. You don't create a relevant profile or position yourself correctly as an Authority For someone to buy from you, they need to know you, like you and trust you enough to buy from you. 20 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ It is easier for this to happen if you are appropriately positioned. Your profile needs to represent your brand and has necessary information like address, business description, email address, and this shows that you are credible and can easily be trusted. 8. You delay in response to customers' requests or enquiries, or you do not engage in conversations I understand that getting many messages can be overwhelming. Still, if there is a delay in response, your customer or prospect can get distracted and focus on other things, and it is possible that you can lose a sale in the process. You cannot afford not to reply to messages or respond immediately. You can automate your WhatsApp so that you do not leave any message unattended to. 9. You don't leverage Result marketing Showing results to your audience can trigger their buying decision because they focus on the results, not the process. 21 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ Results also show credibility and that what you are doing works. People buy results. 10. You dont know how to use the power of storytelling Many people don't tell stories from time to time on their status. Your audience will love to see the person behind your brand, and they want to connect and build a rapport with you. They want to engage, but it can be challenging to tell stories if these things are missing. It would help if you were persuasive about selling and sharing your story. Do not forget to use a call to action because people can get carried away, so it is essential to share your story and prompt them to take action and make sales in the process. 22 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ 10 MISTAKES PEOPLE MAKE IN AFFILIATE MARKETING 1. People do not spend enough time learning: This is very important because when you spend enough time learning, it will improve your understanding of the subject that you are dealing with. Your implementation will improve as a result of that. So many people end up not learning enough before implementing, which affects their outcomes. 2. People have too many mentors: Some people are on so many mentor's lists; they are following different mentors at the same time and at the end of the day, this action leads to too much information and information overload can be overwhelming even before they even start to implement and at the end of the day, they find it challenging to get results because they do not know which direction they need to be taking action in. The solution to this is straightforward: find yourself a mentor that resonates with your personality; not all mentors resonate with the kind of personality you have, so 23 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ you need to find the mentor that resonates with your type of person and model that mentor. The focus here is MODEL not copy. Most people are copying others word for word, the picture for picture, design for design, everything for everything, but you do not need to copy someone else, but you can be a model. When you see someone that is a mentee, you do not see a shadow or a replica of the mentor, and you see someone that has been taught by the mentor and has the best attributes of that particular mentor. It would be best if you model, not copy. 3. The Lack of Originality Many people lack originality and quality in content. There is a saying that quality attracts quality. You always need to put out quality content, a quality copy, and a quality graphics design if you want to attract the right kind of people into your funnel and if you're going to get the correct type of results. You need to put out the best quality of content, determined by how much you have consumed. You cannot give what you do not have, so you need to consume quality content for you to give out quality content 24 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ and when it comes to creating lead gen posts in the form of flier design or even videos, ensure that your stuff is quality because you need to bear in mind that quality attracts quality. Places where you can get quality content are on the pages of top influences in your niche, you need to get on their page and find out which content has the highest engagements and most shares and likes, and you can model the structure of those posts, not copy. You can simply model what works; you do not reinvent the wheels. 4. People do too many things at the same time Most people were already doing other businesses before they came across Affiliate marketing. They find it difficult to leave what they were doing and focus on one thing tha can move the needle of cash flow for them, and it becomes a problem in the long run. Naturally, when you are doing too many things at the same time. It reduces your average propensity to be productive per income source. Suppose you have 2 to 4 income sources. In that case, you will reduce your average propensity per income source as long as you keep focusing on those activities 25 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ simultaneously, which is why you need to be laser-focused in one direction. 5. People need to avoid the shiny object syndrome People fall for the shiny object syndrome because this person is advertising something. They jump into it thinking that they need to accumulate more and more different sources, thinking they cannot put all their eggs in one basket. The answer that I have for this is usually that nobody was paid a premium for doing so many things at the same time. Nobody was paid a premium for knowing too many things, so you do not need to be accumulating too many things, especially when you are focused on Affiliate marketing; you do not need to be accumulating too many businesses; what you need to do is to be laser-focused until you see tangible results and you begin to scale those results with momentum until those results become exponential and your active income can be converted to a passive income stream. 6. People manifest the Scarcity Mindset The scarcity mindset is when a person feels that there is not enough, not enough customers, not enough sales, not enough wealth to go round, they think they do not have access to enough people that have money to buy what they 26 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ are selling, they feel the market is too saturated, they believe everyone is already doing the same thing. Hence, who is going to buy from them? These are the manifestation of the scarcity mindset and what it does is that it creates a lack of results, lack of money, lack of customers. When you manifest that mindset, that is precisely what happens; you need to adopt and train your ability to manifest the abundance mindset. People with the abundance mindset know that there is more than enough resources to go round; they know that what they need to command these resources in their favour is to have the relevant skills and the relevant strategies and the relevant framework, and these things will begin to work in your favour when other people are shouting scarcity, you are going to be enjoying abundance. 7. People manifest the Fixed Mindset The people who have a fixed mindset naturally explain why they are the way they are. They have reasons or excuses for why they do not have results and why they are in that circumstance they are currently experiencing; a fixed mindset is dangerous because it limits what is possible for them. 27 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ After all, naturally, you cannot grow beyond what is possible for you. Many people with a fixed mindset limit what they think is possible; they limit what applies and doesn't apply to them. What you need to be doing instead is to adopt a growth mindset. People with a growth mindset ask all the right questions; they ask what I have to do? What do I have to change to get the results I want? Who do I need to become to get the results I want? What do I have to pay to get the kind of results I want? Because paying for something in time, energy and resources is the ultimate proof of commitment, and you are not committed until you are ready to pay for something with your time, energy and resources or even all the three of them, you need to adopt the growth mindset instead of the fixed mindset so that you can ask yourself the right questions. 8. People start with the big baby syndrome The big baby syndrome is a mentality that makes you think that without somebody holding by the hand and showing you what to do and what not to do, you cannot succeed as 28 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ an affiliate, it means that you are saying you cannot do anything on your own which means you are a big baby. We need to adopt some sense of responsibility to our business and ourselves. We need to understand that we can do anything we set our minds to do if we are serious about it. Most people are not used to learning things by themselves, back a lot of people don't read but chest their way up to pass their exams or copy other people's assignments. People have trained themselves to depend on other people. This has become a big baby syndrome for most people getting into virgin territories or starting a new business. It would be best if you adopted a sense of responsibility towards yourself and your business, and you are responsible for your actions and outcomes and not someone else. People have a way of blaming others for their inability to get results, and they say things like no one was there to hold them by their hands, which is why they could not get results. It is irresponsible to talk like that, so you need to adopt that sense of responsibility. 9. People have low-quality implementation There is first of all inadequate level of understanding of what you are supposed to do; going beyond this, you will 29 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ have low-quality implementation because many people do not know how to implement what they learnt and they do not ask questions either, so they go ahead and implement it the wrong way. It ends up muddled up and does not give them the results they want, so the quality of implementation is super important. Improving the quality of execution is by asking questions and not assuming that you know everything. You have to ask questions from people ahead of you, so do not fall for the tendency to implement in a low-quality manner. 10. People have the lone wolf syndrome Many people set out on their own, and they feel they can do it all on their own and at the end of the day, they struggle for a long time, and then they realize that they cannot do it on their own. You will always need either a coach or a mentor, or an enabling community that can help you get the results you want within the shortest possible time. You do not have to fall for that tendency that you have to do it alone; you need to embrace mentorship and enabling communities and ask the right quality questions 30 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ 10 GRAPHIC DESIGN MISTAKES THAT ARE COSTING YOU SALES 1. Using too many colours We understand that you want to make your design beautiful and attractive, so you use as many colours as possible. THIS IS WRONG! Use as many as 2/3 colours in your design to make it simple, clean and attractive. It's advised that you use your brand colours to give you a consistent and appealing feel. 2. Poor Alignment. Paying attention to the alignment of texts, images, and elements is very important in design. Don't place elements anywhere you feel like. Maintaining alignment will make your design orderly and look well-planned out. 31 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || 3. +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ No Clear Call To Action (CTA) Your design will not lead to sales if you do not have a clear CTA showing your audience/customer the next step. You can make your CTA notable by using a different colour or putting it in shape. Also, don't forget to neatly put in your contact details (important ones) in the flyer 4. Use of Watermarked Images Now, this is one of the most rampant mistakes I've seen some business owners make. To make your design (and also your brand) look authentic and professional, do not make use of watermarked images Why? Because it will distract your audience, You can go to www.canva.com or www.freepik.com and make use of their wide range of free stock photos. 5. Using Floating Images Stop this! Please Stop it!!! This is costly to you a lot! Like, have you seen a person cut in half and floating before? Not! 32 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ Always make sure to increase the size of the image till it reaches the bottom of the page. 6. No Visual Hierarchy For your design to sell, you need to identify the essential piece of information you want your audience to see first. When you identify this, emphasize it (either through different colours or sizes). Design from the largest to the smallest items according to importance. 7. Lack of Whitespace Whitespace means FREE space, not that the space is white. And it's a very powerful design tool. Don't always choke your design with so many unnecessary elements; allow it to BREATHE. Also, observe hierarchy and scale down the least essential elements or information. 8. Busy Backgrounds You mustn't keep the background of your design too busy; the goal is to make your designs look simple, classy and attractive. 33 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA) Connect with SBA || +2347019926363 @sba.academy_ You don't want the reader to be distracted from the primary information. Instead of using busy images or textures, you can use simple shapes for a change. 9. Using too Many Fonts I know you feel tempted to use many fonts in your design, primarily because of the thousand fonts out there. But please don't do that, Instead, start with 2/3 fonts (just two is advised if you're a beginner). You can select fonts that contrast one another in terms of font type, size and weight 10. Too much information Don't load your designs with so many words and information. The attention span of a lot of people online is concise; nobody loves to read through all the details even though they think they are important Use images and icons to reduce your word count. Also, learning how to use short but persuasive words (that sell) is a huge plus. 34 The BIG Mistakes || Small Business Academy (SBA)