The 5 Pillar Marketing Guide

"How I Found SBI!" is a fascinating, telling thread that started in the forums back in 2005. The lessons in it are invaluable for you, the 5 Pillar Affiliate.

There is no other product that changes lives, that actually means something to your fellow human beings. You need to understand the power of the impact to PREsell effectively.

And more importantly, you need to understand how people find their way to SBI!. The more you know, the more effectively you can PREsell. That's why the "How I Found SBI!" thread is so invaluable.

Unique Yet So Much In Common

SBIers have clearly travelled their own paths to SBI!, each different yet with so much in common. SBIers reveal their dreams and their pains, their hopes and their worries, and most importantly, they reveal what they wanted before finding SBI!.

They unashamedly tell us where they stumbled... how they got waylaid by sirens singing songs of riches, by hawkers spinning yet another get-rich-quick (GRQ) scheme.

While each course may vary, each story has a happy ending. Ultimately, they found SBI!. And that is a key point. The "How I Found SBI!" thread is written by survivors, the ones who do find SBI!...

But for each single person who finds Site Build It!, remember that there are literally thousands and thousands who do not. They fall into one or more traps laid by industries with hundreds of millions of advertising dollars...

Trap #1 -- the mass-market/old-fashioned Web host's cheap-quick-easy message.

Trap #2 -- the brilliantly written copy of Get Rich Quick artist

Trap #3 -- expensive Webmasters -- (tens of) thousands of dollars

Trap #4 -- inbuilt customer base of eBay (welcome to the "new form of 9 to 5")

Trap #5 -- ready-made traffic of zShops, Yahoo! Stores and others.

Keep these traps in your mind as you PREsell SBI!. Your audience has probably fallen into one or more of them along the way. They will have doubts, questions and fears because they've been a victim of one or more of the above scenarios.

Use the case studies and proof site to show them how SBI! is vastly different than the old fashioned hosting companies and GRQ schemes.

Going Forward...

For each person who discovers SBI!, thousands won't. That ratio will continue(although we hope we can improve upon it). Millions more will fall into one of the above traps going forward.

They all start with eyes filled with excitement, spirit filled with motivation. They are all unaware of the barriers that are about to stop even the most determined.

Yes, persistence is a great trait. But...

It doesn't matter how determined you are when an immovable barrier blocks you. Bang your head against that solid brick wall all year long. It won't fall down.

Yes, the top 1% in tech-savviness, raw intelligence, and determination (along with some serious financial backing) might succeed without SBI!. Although even they would "get there" a lot faster and cheaper with SBI!. But we are not here for them...

We're Here For The Tortoises

The "sales cycle to SBI!" can be long indeed. Clearly, each new potential SBI! owner had to be ready to actually hear and believe the message. Some went so far as to thank the GRQ noise for pushing them to the clarity of SBI!. An interesting observation.

It takes time to realize that SBI! is real, but as tortoises, we have lots of that. We never try to SELL, nor should SiteSell affiliates. We merely match our message to what potential SBIers want.

And that is one of the big reasons for this analysis of the "How I Found SBI!" thread. If we refuse to let others set the agenda, if we do not let others make it complicated, if we shut out the noise of Madison Avenue, we can capitalize upon these truly empowering times.

The Analysis

So what does this thread tell us about SBIers?

They are smart. Raw-smart. Not necessarily "MIT-scientist smart."
SBIers know what they're looking for, even if not by name.
SBIers persevere. They rarely arrive here as "Internet virgins." They've been fooled and failed. But they keep on going.
SBIers do research. Tons of it. Sooner or later, they find SBI!.
SBIers recognize "SBI!." Its message shines though the GRQ fog and noise.

First and foremost, SBIers ultimately buy into the message that real business takes work. But you should not have to fight all the barriers to doing business online, anymore than you should have to assemble your car to make it run.

SBIers ultimately purchase Site Build It! due to a combination of sitesell.com content, free e-books, Masters Courses, the 5 Pillar Affiliate Program, and the low-priced e-books. These are important parts of the PREselling process.

While many SBIers do buy within days or weeks of first contact with SiteSell, it can take weeks or months to "make the decision"... even over one year.

SBIers find it, can't believe it, leave it. But something sticks deep in their minds as being real. They bookmark it. Then they come back to it.

And once they do choose to focus on SBI!, they focus. They are delighted to leave all the noise behind! Who has time to look behind when your focus is ahead?

So What Does This Mean For You?

Now that you've read the infamous "How I Found SBI!" thread, you understand the traps many of our customers go through just to make it to the SBI! order page.

And while the sales cycle may be long, the thread clearly shows how many people go from unsure skeptics who decide to "give SBI! a try" to elated customers who go on to buy multiple SBI! sites!

SBI! is head and shoulders about the rest, but it's up to you to educate them on how SBI! is different from the old fashioned Web host or the GRQ hype. Use the audience-specific landing pages in The SiteSell Promotion Center to educate those you reach.

The better you address their fears, questions and concerns, the better you'll convert those sales!