The “Secret” Selling Article

• Note: This is a reprint of the “secret” article on Excellent Living Guide.  Obviously, I have my own site for business stuff, so it’s not a secret anymore.

  Want to sell your own line of bath and body products? That’s what this section is all about, but it’s kind of a secret. I don’t publicize it on my main site because… as you can imagine, many people are interested in this topic. I get flooded with questions as soon as I post anything business-related on my website.

  Since people are vitally, almost desperately, interested in selling their products, they are easy to take advantage of. The topic of “how to start your own home-based business” provokes a desperate fever in people. They will buy anything that might help fulfill that dream – and usually, the material disappoints. Usually, you get stuff like:
• Vague self-help material that makes you feel great about yourself, but doesn’t get you any closer to success.
• “How to run your business” type books that do cover legalities, trademarks, contracts, management, hiring and firing, and generally everything but how to sell. This is what most people end up with when they go to Borders for a basic business book.
• Lies in the format of “7 easy steps…” or “turnkey work at home businesses.” Basically, they want you to believe that all you have to do is use some formula or do some trick, and money will fall out of the sky. This is also a hallmark of the weight loss industry. Many people promise that starting a business is easy. It never is – it is simple, but not easy. Just like losing weight, it takes work. Anyone who says it’s easy is just trying to make you buy their books, courses, tapes, or whatever.
• The wrong ideas about advertising, marketing and especially “internet marketing.” Advertising and what you think of as “marketing” can be useful, but only when you have the basics of selling down, first. If you run ads willy-nilly with no idea how to sell your products, you’ll end up wasting a lot of money. Look, it’s not rocket science, but most people have the wrong information about this stuff. It’s my job to at least give you an alternative – and probably really enlightening – view of what advertising and marketing really are.

Want to actually make some money?

If you want to make money, you must sell. Your money comes from other people giving you their dollars for your products. Everything you do – including advertising, hiring people, and marketing – should be for the purpose of helping that process occur easier and faster.The instant you lose sight of that, your business is in danger – and far too many people don’t ever start with that as the focus. Ultimately, the responsibility to make a profit is up to you, no matter who you hire to do your ad layouts or website. You can read more about my take on selling in this article.

I don’t currently sell my products, but I have in the past. And I was the top salesperson for a bath and body manufacturer for over two years. I quickly rose from knowing nothing to knowing a lot (but not everything.) My knowledge comes from experience on the sales floor, face to face with customers, getting them to spend $30 or more per visit (we measured our average daily transaction.) It is all practical stuff that marches products off the shelves and into shopping bags.

Join The ELG Business List – Members Only

Because this is such an easily abused subject, I kind of take it personally when I see people spreading bad information to hard-working, sincere people. For this reason, I have made a free course in cosmetic business success.  It is made of four white papers containing essential information you need to succeed in this competitive, crowded market.

The papers, starting with “What It Takes To Succeed In The Scented Products Business,” are automatically emailed to you every few days.  This gives you time to think about each one, and how it relates to your business.  Some of them have “homework” that I strongly suggest you do… the people who do the homework, in my opinion, are the ones destined for success.

Unlike other success material, my writing is not intended to encourage you at the expense of glossing over hard truths.  There is too much of that garbage floating around, and it leads to wasted time, wasted money, and bitter disappointment.

This course contains hard, challenging truths (as I see them).  I cannot sugar-coat my material because I have seen, first hand, what happens when you believe fluff.  Plus, I think it’s insulting to you, as if to say, “You can’t handle the adult pool; stay in the feel-good, easy, kiddie pool forever.”

Reading these papers automatically makes you an ELG Business Member (though you can drop out anytime.)  Members receive follow-up articles, can participate in discussions, and can access other success material that I put out.  Don’t worry, I won’t share your information with anyone else, and I only email when I have something real to say.  I just don’t have that much time to spam people!

<strong>Fill out this form and get the first PDF instantly emailed to you.</strong>

Each PDF will be automatically emailed to you, and they are spaced a few days apart so that you have time to think about each one.  To receive the first PDF, “What It Takes,” fill out the simple form below.  After you do, you will receive an automatically-generated email with a confirmation link.  You must click on the link before the paper is sent.  Annoying, I know, but it’s for the greater good of reducing SPAM.

Get the Free “What It Takes” Paper Here
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After you confirm your email, the paper will be automatically sent as an attachment.



If you want to learn more about the papers, click here for a short summary and more information.