And they are,



Obtaining an Opportunity to Sell - Driving traffic to your website.

Closing the Sale - Making your sales presentation on your site.

Following Up on Your Maybes - Pick the ripe ones yes, but be sure to irrigate and fertilize the soil, prune and bug spray the trees with care, and nurture the all of the fruit along. In other words, capture email addresses and follow up.

Mastering all three of these activities is critically important to your success.

But when you're starting a new venture, which one do you master first?

In my experience, the overwhelming tendency is to start at the beginning. That is, spending maximum time and effort attracting traffic.

Unfortunately, this all to common approach often results in failure.

Frequently, those that go this route never really get off the ground, because they can't turn a profit. They invariably discover, after spending boatloads of cash, that some of the estimates they made in their business plan were off the mark.

Speaking of getting off the ground, allow me relate a story to illustrate my point ...

I'm betting you all know the story of Orville and Wilbur Wright. They went down in history as the first human beings to really fly. But how many people remember Dr. Samuel Pierpont Langley?

In 1896 the Wright Brothers, and Langley were engaged in a fierce competition.

Who would be first to conquer the skies?

Langley, a distinguished scholar and secretary of the Smithsonian institute was the clear favorite. He had already achieved impressive unmanned flight over the Potomac River with his steam powered Aerodrome No. 6.

Based on this success, Langley was able to raise $100,000 in funding, and set out to develop an extraordinary radial-cylinder internal combustion engine that would produce an astonishing 52 horsepower! In his estimation, capable of powering an aerodrome large enough for manned flight.

The Wright Brothers, by contrast were convinced that the secret to success lay in their ability to control the aircraft, once in flight. They therefore spent their time experimenting with gliders over the forgiving sands of Kitty Hawk.

For several seasons they worked on manipulating the wings, nose, and tail of the aircraft, so as to allow the operator to actively control it.

Wilbur, who most often piloted, suffered a multitude of minor cuts and bruises. But on each successive trial, much was learnt.

On October 7, 1903, it looked like the Wright's had lost, as Langley made ready his first manned launch. Langley's plane would go from a dead stop to the 60 m.p.h. flying speed in only 70 feet.

But the stress of the catapult launch proved greater than the flimsy wood-and-fabric airplane could stand, and the front wing was badly damaged on take off.

The nose heavy Aerodrome "A" then plunged into the Potomac.

A reporter who witnessed the event claimed it flew "like a handful of mortar".

Things went even worse during the second launch of December 9, 1903, where the rear wing and tail completely collapsed during launch.

Langley had succeeded in burning through almost all of his $100,000 in capital.

Just 8 days after Langley's spectacular failure, a sturdy, well designed craft, powered by a tiny 8 horse power engine, costing about $1,000, struggled into the air at Kitty Hawk, defining for all time the moment when humankind, mastered the skies.

Langley died in 1906 after a series of strokes, a broken and disappointed man.

"What on Earth Does Flying Wooden Airplanes Have to Do With Marketing My Online Business?"

The moral of the story is this.

Test, test, and retest your prime value proposition to be sure it converts customers, BEFORE committing yourself to major capital outlays, and the start of your campaign.

Will your site convert a high enough percentage of prospects into customers to make your campaign profitable?

Like the Wright brothers, who focused on control, versus brute force, you will dramatically improve your chances of success, if you make the development of a persuasive, and compelling closing pitch, your number 1 priority.

TESTED, to bring home the bacon! Don't even consider launching your production campaigns until this is done.

And then, BRING ON THE TRAFFIC!

It's all about your ability to control, influence and motivate the minds of your prospects, once you've attracted them to your place of business. Just the way the Wright brothers were able to manipulate the wings, rudder, and nose of the aircraft.

Copyright 2006 Daniel Levis