Web 2.0: Are We Bowing To A False Messiah?

By Barry Densa (c) 2007

Are you absolutely beside yourself – giddy with delight because Web 2.0 has finally arrived to help you sell more, sell faster, make you richer, smarter, sexier, and lower your triglyceride levels?

Whoops, I'm sorry... do you even know what Web 2.0 is?

Web 2.0, in a nut shell, is the latest evolution in the online experience. The World Wide Web is now... ready... here it is: a tad more interactive, technologically speaking.

Where does Web 1.0 end and Web 2.0 begin? Beats the heck out of me! I'm basically your average techno-phobe – the proverbial anti-Geek, if you will.

Nevertheless, Web 2.0 typically refers to an assortment of internet-based communication tools and services – such as social networking sites, wikis, and "new and improved" chat functionalities.

Writing a book review on Amazon.com is apparently considered Web 1.0 technology.

I know all of this is a big whoop for some of you, but for others it's equivalent to the coming of the messiah (for either the first or second time, depending on which operating system you're laboring under).

Is Web 2.0 a Boon or a Bane for Consumers and Countries?

For most marketers, their company's website has been a rather static billboard of sorts. But now, thanks to Web 2.0, a website can provide visitors, prospects, customers and selected victims, with a certain degree of "give and take".

You can talk to them, they can talk to you; you can learn more about them, they can learn more about you; they can "experience" you, you can "experience them" – in short, the level of communication through a computer screen has been enhanced.

Some though fear that Web 2.0 will enable online marketers to become even more intrusive and annoying... or liberating. China, Saudi Arabia and other fundamentalist and ideologically illogical regimes could be in for a big-time headache.

Nevertheless, Web 2.0 will eventually give way to Web 2.5, then Web 3.0 and 4.0 and so on, until ultimately, long after we're all dust, a computer screen will become a real – not virtual – portal into whatever exists on either side of the screen.

Actually, there probably won't be a screen anymore; it'll be more like a turnstile. Yes, the veil will have been lifted. And the tag line, "Reach out and touch someone", will have reached its fullest potential.

Here's the Problem...

Nothing has really changed. Web 2.0 will not sell your product or service for you. Web 2.0 will not negate the importance of salesmanship in print, in video, in audio, or any permutation or combination not yet assembled.

All the "old" requirements and admonitions about how to sell, and sell well, are still in full force.

The Top 10 Steps to Sell Your product – Even When Using Web 2.0

1. You need to identify a qualified market – those who are ravenously hungry for your product or service. Throwing mud on the wall and praying it will stick, won't work – nevër has, nevër will.
2. You need a hi-quality product or service that will satisfy your market's hunger, or fix their pain. No snake-oil scams permitted.

3. You need to know how to grab your market's attention in a stimulating and compelling way, so they know your product or service exists. Waiting for the telephone to ring is not a marketing strategy.

4. You need to prove your product or service's value, unequivocally detailing at length – why and how your product is worth the price asked. Nothing is obvious when it comes to selling.

5. You need to make an irresistible offër. Why must your target market buy your product or service – and buy it now. Not to buy and not to believe is everyone's natural first choice.
6. You need to remove all risk – by offering a solid, confidence-building guarantëe. "Trust me" is not a guarantëe.

7. You need to anticipate all possible objections, and overcome them. And don't think for a moment there won't be any. There will always be objections and concerns – especially for a first-to-market product or service.

8. You need to ask for the order! Bashfulness and timidity has no place in sales. Ask, and only then shall you receive. Forget this, and you can forget the sale.
9. You need to clearly explain what your prospect must do, step by step, in order to buy, subscribe or inquire. Lead them to your order page.

10. Take nothing for granted.

Web 2.0 is a tool – another road to get you to market. It will not replace salesmanship. It can though make online marketing and sales more effective... if you know what it takes to wrap up a sale in the first place.

About The Author
Barry A. Densa is one of America's top freelance direct response copywriters. Visit WritingWithPersonality.com and see how Barry easily and quickly converts prospects into buyers using "salesmanship in print" – and while there, sign up for his highly regarded Free ezine, Marketing Wit & Wisdom!

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