Need or Want – Which is it?

Many decent, hardworking folk actively express, and follow, their aspirations to become operators of successful online businesses.

One of the best ways to get into that particular field (which CAN be extremely rewarding), is to follow the examples and training provided by ‘successful’ exponents of ‘online marketing’, aka ‘internet marketing’ – frequently referred to as ‘IM’.

Many marketers (indeed most) practice psychological scenarios with the object of eliciting certain spontaneous reactions from us, so that we are led to a point that we believe we may be doing ourselves a gross disservice by not following a particular line of behavior there and then – that is to say: ‘buying their product’. Although there are charlatans and fraudsters in IM just as there are in offline commerce, the use of psychological triggers does not in itself suggest wrong doing.

Such activity is accepted as an integral part of human behaviour. In our day-to-day interactions with friends, acquaintances and family, we use our words and body language in ways that we instinctively know are more likely to bring about the result we are hoping for – and that is so natural that there can’t be anything wrong with it. Not unexpectedly, the same activity has become accepted in selling and marketing both online and offline by natural progression . The validating factor in the use of these techniques in marketing is that the advertiser/marketer deliver the goods or services strictly and exactly as described.

After this the question arises: does the psychology used in marketing lead to well-meaning people buying items they do not really need, simply because they’ve been caught up in the emotional psycho-wave that has been generated by the sales-pitch psychology used?

That has to be a certainty! Is there anything we could or should do about it. I don’t think there is, honestly. It’s difficult to imagine anything could (or should) be done about it without embarking on a wide program of ‘censorship’ and state control. In a free society such a thought would be intolerable: individuals should be at liberty to take their own decisions – that can be the only way – even if there are people who make the wrong decisions from time to time.

Yes – I’ve done that. I’ve been caught up in that emotion. Sometimes it’s turned out OK – on other occasions I’ve experienced what they refer to as: ‘buyer’s remorse’, when you look at what you’ve bought and just wonder why the heck you bought it; and there are times when you feel just plain foolish. I’m glad to say I have learned though, and I’m a lot less likely now to get caught up (although there have been moments when….)

What’s the answer? As with so many things (in my opinion), it comes down to individual behaviour. Just stop before you press that ‘buy button’ and think carefully. Take a walk round the block if you need to. Ask yourself, do I actually need this? What am I gaining from spending my money on this. Think, think, think. Even if you end up ‘missing out’. It’s far, far better to ‘miss out’ occasionally and still have ownership of your money than to end up with a dwindling bank balance and pretty much nothing to show for it except feelings of self-guilt and foolishness. Believe me – there’ll always be another ‘unmissable’ wealth making product along – just like the next bus.

All of that being said, it’s undeniable that the best way to successfully establish yourself in the world of IM is to learn from the experience of others – with the proviso that they are seen to have been successful, and that they are known to possess ‘integrity’. You can establish this by making full use of the internet’s free search engines, and by checking out the product vendors in question on, say, the Warrior Forum. (Personally I avoid ‘review’ blogs where the author appears to have an affiliate’s interest in the product being reviewed.)

Check out John Thornhill, for instance. He’s one marketing mentor without a stain and I have learned so much from him I could not even begin to inventory it.

Sincerely.

BillyDee Molloy
www.SmartSalesBlueprint.com

This is a guest post written by BillyDee Molloy, if you would like to be considered for a guest post please contact me.