
As a professional coach or speaker, you are in business to make money. I’m really stating the obvious here, I know, but bear with me.
You have a couple of ways to earn revenue. You obviously sell your services as a coach or speaker, but you can benefit financially from your knowledge and experience by selling eBooks, info products, courses, and even video series’.
Now, perhaps you’ve already developed these items for sale (Gold star for you!), and you’re getting by for now with a PayPal button on your website.
Super. (Not really.) If PayPal is your only payment solution, I’m going to give you a bit of free advice right now. Save yourself (and those who work with you) the headache of managing sales that way, and invest in a proper eCommerce solution.
The main reason you should be switching to something more robust (I recommend either 1Shopping Cart or InfusionSoft) is that you will present a more professional presence. And, hey, people will be more likely to trust you with their money if you look the part!
Your accountant will find it much easier to track your sales as well. And you should always know where you stand financially. But I don’t have to tell you that, now, do I?
PayPal might seem like a less expensive route to go for taking payments, but it really isn’t for many reasons. Contrary to popular belief, PayPal fees can be much higher than merchant account fees. And yes, you will need a shopping cart, but … a shopping cart does so much more than simply collect money, which makes it more than worth any additional cost.
A shopping cart does so much more than simply collect money, which makes it more than worth any additional cost.Click To TweetDepending on the shopping cart you choose, there are many options available that aren’t available when simply using PayPal!
- Integrated Affiliate program
- Autoresponders/Email marketing
- Ability to collect email addresses
- Ability to target customers based on purchase history
- Customer database
- Order history
- Ad tracking
- Customization
- Will integrate with PayPal
- Full reporting capabilities
And … if you opt for a more full service, higher end shopping cart solution like InfusionSoft, you get the benefits of a full-fledged CRM, tagging/segmenting capabilities and oh, so much more!
There are also several plug-in options for WordPress, and other less robust, but fully functional shopping cart solutions available … what you choose all depends on your specific needs.
In a nutshell, the more control YOU have over your customer’s shopping experience – flow, follow-up, reporting – the more successful it will be!
If you find all of this technical stuff a little overwhelming, which many people do, hire a virtual assistant to get you all set up. (I, of course, could recommend a great one. Wink wink.)
An experienced VA can help you choose which shopping cart to use, as well as set up and maintain your shopping cart, products and email marketing system.
It all works like a dream when our coaches and speakers are working with a professional shopping cart. I just know that it would change the way you do business.
If you need more information or guidance about choosing the right shopping cart system, just let us know, we’ll be glad to assist.
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