To understand what is attraction marketing, let’s first examine the traditional method of getting orders. It starts with prospecting, cold calling or advertising to find leads. Then you qualify those leads, usually based on people’s urgency to buy and their ability to pay for whatever you are selling. You do a presentation to demonstrate the superiority of the product or service you sell. To convince prospects to buy it, you work on overcoming their objections.

Because prospects resist selling, salespeople are trained to be more persistent and to push harder. Sadly, the more you sell, the more people resist it …

People don’t like selling
Agree with me or not, selling doesn’t work as well as it used to. Today most people dislike selling on both ends. They don’t like being sold to and they don’t like selling to others. They are sick and tired of all those advertising, prospecting and objection-handling techniques.

Why?

It has a lot to do with the freedom we enjoy.

We are empowered and more sensitive to manipulation than our parents. We are also spoiled. We have more choices and we like to choose to do business only with those who care about us and who make the process of buying pleasurable - even fun…

People like to buy!
Interestingly, even those people who hate to be sold, don’t mind buying. Actually, more and more people LIKE to buy if the SHOPPING experience is fun and pleasurable.

Fun and pleasurable
Visit your local GAP store and take a closer look. It is a perfect example of creating a fun and pleasurable shopping experience. To begin with, GAP stores are meticulously clean and very well lighted. Chances are that when you enter, you will hear your favorite kind of music. Stores are very well stocked and rarely run out of your size…

But is there anyone bugging you to buy that khaki pants you look at? No. Someone trying to overcome your objections if you are simply not ready to buy? No way! GAP people just work hard on serving you - not on selling you. They will let you touch anything you want to touch, even if you “ruin” their amazingly folded stuff on display.

Why? Because they know that if you don’t buy today BUT you have a pleasurable experience, you will feel so attracted to them that you will come back. And they are right.

Want to see some online example? Take a closer look at the most famous: amazon.com — it’s a pure shopping pleasure! Their special programming remembers your preferences, so you get an intelligent, personalized advise each time you enter the site. They will tell you what people said about books they sell - whether it’s positive or not. Because they are there to HELP you.

And when you are ready to buy, they don’t offer you a long form to fill out but a process reduced to just one click!

Think like a leader - not a salesperson
As a small business owner you cannot create the same kind of shopping environment as GAP or amazon.com — they have more cash than you. But you can attract customers by making their shopping experience pleasurable in other ways.

Keep in mind that they start to shop before they are ready to buy. So, begin with identifying what are their frustrations associated with shopping for your kind of product or service. Share with them your knowledge of the industry. Advise them how to select the best service and educate them how to use and take care of the product to maximize benefits. Take them by the hand and lead them through the frustrating process of making an intelligent buying decision.

Your goal should be to solve your customers problems, and the key word here is “lead” - no “sell”.

Irresistibly attractive
Becoming irresistibly attractive is easy, once you take the dollar sign off your forehead and start concentrating on the people you serve.

It is not about being handsome, although it helps tremendously to have a good hair cut and tastefully selected clothes. On the Internet, an attractively designed web site and carefully formatted e-mail go a long way …

But it is not enough.
Not nearly enough.

It is your attitude towards others that makes you attractive. It is your cheerful and upbeat personality — BEING the type of person someone would want to do business with. It is not only about being very good at what you do, but also about being a giver — rather than a taker.

What’s in it for you?
Attraction marketing is the most natural and pleasurable way to grow a business. Yes, it takes work. And knowledge. You need to implement solid business systems to support your efforts. But it is worth the trouble.

You will be amazed how many great buyers you will ATTRACT to do business with you — and only with you. It is difficult to resist someone who offers so much value. Even people who will never become buyers themselves will send you referrals!