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Giving the Power to the Consumer
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Giving the Power to the Consumer

By: Robert Imbriale

by Robert Imbriale

Welcome to the Information Age! That's right, we are no longer in the Industrial Age, and haven't been since about 1989 - the moment the World Wide Web came into existence.

I have personally been online now since 1984 and have seen the Internet grow from a text-only system used only for research and information to a full e-commerce moneymaking machine. And this incredible transformation all happened in under a decade.

With it, has come some pretty dramatic changes in the way we do business, and that change is showing no signs of stopping! What I want to share with you today is what some of those changes are, what they will become, and how you can take advantage of the trends starting right now.

I love the famous quote by my favorite sports figure, hockey's greatest player ever, Wayne Gretzky. He said, "I don't go where the puck is, I go where it will be."

What that means to me in business is that in order to become successful, you have to go where the trends are headed, not where they are now. Most people will follow the trend and never really profit from it. Others will try and take advantage of en existing trend and end up missing it completely.

It's like trading in the stock market. Why does it seem that the stocks you buy always go down right after you bought them? It's simple. You tried to take advantage of an "uptrend" in the price of the stock, but you actually missed the opportunity by the time you noticed that the stock was heading up.

The trick is to notice the trend long before it becomes apparent to everybody else. So in this article, I want to give you a little hint at where things are going so that you can start to take advantage of the trends of tomorrow today.

From a marketing and sales point of view, the Internet has introduced tremendous change in the way that you and I buy products and services. It's the net effect of the Information Age - giving consumers access to information that they never before had access to.

What this has done is created a very savvy consumer, which in turn, has all but eliminated certain occupations. Let's look all that has happened already and what will happen soon because of the Internet.

The Power Goes to the Consumer

Last year, more than 11 million cars were sold over the Internet - a number that is expected to double this year. Why is this significant? Because the Internet has changed the way consumers buy just about everything from toothpaste to books - even automobiles.

Think about the car salesperson that makes a living selling cars. How many fewer cars will this person sell because of the Internet? To make matters even more difficult for the car salesperson, when a consumer does walk into the dealership to buy a car, they are walking in armed with much more information.

For instance, they already know how a particular car compares to similar makes and models on the market. They already know about the craftsmanship of the vehicle and they know what they can expect to pay in repairs, insurance, and fuel. But that's nothing new, as consumers have had access to this information for some time.

What is new is that now they know exactly how much the dealership paid for the car. They know when the asking price is too high, and they know what room they have to negotiate. This has severely trimmed the profit margins most dealers were accustomed to before consumers were given access to this information.

What will happen to car salespeople in 5 years? They will likely make less and less money, partly because the consumer is more educated, but also because many more sales will be made on the Internet instead.

In the future, you will begin to see car dealerships with nothing more than a single salesperson - without a fancy showroom. Dealerships will become delivery points and repair shops as consumers purchase more and more online.

Think about what has happened in the travel industry over the past 5 years. Have you booked a flight all by yourself online yet? Millions of airline tickets are booked entirely online every month – without once speaking to a travel agent or even an airline representative!

You now have the power of information in your hands. The power to pick and choose the flights, the airline, the services, and even pick the price you want to pay for your trip.

This has left the travel agents in an industry with massively declining income potential. Travel agents are losing business every single day. So much so, that many airlines are looking to start selling tickets directly to the traveling public using the Internet.

How about insurance sales? Did you know that now you can go online and instantly compare hundreds of insurance company offerings side by side?

What has that done to the insurance salesperson if the consumer can now compare offerings from dozens of companies at a glance whereas the typical insurance salesperson can only offer insurance products from their company?

Well, it has cut their profits, eaten away at their market, and has left them struggling just as it has for so many other sales professionals.

By putting the power in the hands of the consumer, it's become increasingly easy to find the lowest prices, the best deals, and to place orders entirely unassisted using the Internet.

Think about the typical stockbroker who used to be the person you needed to go through to buy and sell stocks. What has happened to them?

Thanks to the Internet, they are almost obsolete. And with them also went their sky-high commissions. The power to place trades is now in the hands of the consumer. No longer is it necessary for a broker to be involved in the transaction, so commissions have been reduced to under $10 per trade and they continue to drop as competition for your trade increases.

The Internet has literally given the power to choose back to the consumer. And in the process it has created a much more well-informed, sophisticated consumer.

The consumer is now in charge! Welcome to the Information Age.

So where does this leave you? If you know that the way we buy is changing dramatically, and that this is a trend that will continue to build momentum what should you be doing to take advantage of it?

First of all, if you're in sales, know that your future will be seriously impacted as consumers grab more and more of the information (power) that is available to them - making your job as a traditional salesperson increasingly more challenging, and in many cases simply obsolete.

The good new is that you can "go where the puck will be." What I mean is that since it is now very clear that consumers are headed to the Internet to make their purchases, you've got to be there now to establish your foothold in this new e-conomy!

So how do you do that?

Well, look at how you are doing business now. Does most of your new business come from traditional channels or are you maximizing your use of the Internet? Just 5 years ago, my business was almost 100% traditional. Today, every new client comes to me from the Internet.

My business is now open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I can reach people in all parts of the world - and I do! I now sell to every country that has an Internet connection, and it doesn't cost me any additional money to reach this worldwide audience.

The Internet has completely transformed my business, just as it has for millions of other businesses around the world.

If I were to coach you on your current business, I would want to know the answers to the following questions;

Where do your leads come from?

Are you a word-of-mouth marketer?

Do you use traditional advertising?

How much do you use the Internet to build your business?

Are you avoiding using the Internet because you feel you lack the know-how to make it work for you?

If this last question struck a chord with you, you are certainly not alone! But if you don't make the investment to learn how to use the Internet to build your business, you will be alone – with a business that is simply not profitable!

You may well be scared right now to face the changes, but I'm telling you from experience, it's easiest to change your ways now. If you wait until you are forced to change you may not have the capital, the resources, or even the time to transform your business to take advantage of the new e-conomy.

You'll be like so many millions of people who buy the stock at it's highest price, only to watch it plummet the next day. Or you'll be like the hockey player who skates their legs off chasing after a puck they can never seem to catch up to.

Personally, I've transformed my business. I'm prepared for the new e-conomy. And I want to help you to be prepared too. This is why I created the Unlimited Leads Program.

You see, change is never easy, but I can tell you that change is much easier if you have the right person to guide you through it. My choice for the perfect guide or "coach" has always been a person who has mastered the task that I know I must complete.

Learn from a master.

I have been marketing online since 1984. I've helped sell over $100 Million in products and services over the Internet. I know what it takes to be successful and I will share what I know with you in over 3 ½ hours of intense coaching as you learn how to find all the leads you'll ever need using the Unlimited Leads formula.

It's very clear that the Internet has become the method of choice for a great number of consumers to locate and buy the products and services that they need most.

And, from what I can see, this trend is going to continue to build steam as times goes on. I put my entire business on the web and profits soared! Now I want to show you how you can do the same with your business too.

I encourage you invest in your copy of the Unlimited Leads Program today so that you too can learn how to build your business on the Internet and how to turn a profit from it now! It's the best thing that I can do to support your quest for success on the Internet without actually doing it for you.

Learn from a master. It's better than spending years of trial and error as you attempt to figure it all out for yourself.

Robert Imbriale

Article Source: http://sablehost.co.uk

Robert Imbriale is an internationally known Internet Marketing Expert who has written several books including, “Internet Marketing Secrets” which you can get FREE by going to GuerillaMarketingNow.com. A collection of Robert Imbriale articles rich of cutting edge marketing advice is available, free of charge, at www.DigitalEraMarketing.com.

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