Associations and non-profits are a powerful resource for building and expanding networking and business opportunities. Associations hold conventions, print reports and literature, promote their cause, and use your services!

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Do your web pages, sales letters or personal presentations include subtle distractions that unnecessarily cause you to lose sales?

Sometimes prospective customers get distracted during the selling process by outside interruptions. You cannot control those. But many sales-killing distractions are caused by what you put in your web pages and other sales messages ...or by what you say in your personal presentations.

Here are 3 unnecessary distractions you may be creating that sabotage your sales - and how you can avoid them:

1. Requiring Customers to Make Unnecessary Decisions

Design your selling process so prospects do not have to make unnecessary decisions.

Some prospects have difficulty making a clear decision when they have several options. They often react by procrastinating and never making a decision ...and you lose the sale you already made.

Tip: Promote only one product or service at a time. You can develop separate promotions for each product or service you sell. You can even combine several products and services into one package. But always limit your prospect's buying decision to "yes" or "no". Don't distract them with a "which one" decision.

2. Diverting Your Customers Attention to Something Else

Don't include anything in your selling procedure that can divert attention away from your selling process.

For example, I often see sales oriented web pages that provide clickable links to other web sites with the testimonials. Why would any marketer want to send prospective customers to another web site in the middle of their presentation?

Some prospects will never come back. And for those that do, the flow of the selling process was interrupted - reducing the likelihood of closing the sale. Clickable links have many advantages ...but not when they are in the middle of your sales presentation.

Tip: Review what you usually say in live sales presentations and what you include in your web pages and other sales messages. Look for unnecessary diversions you may have included - and get rid of them.

3. Presenting Unpleasant Surprises

Avoid including any unpleasant surprises in your selling process - especially near the end.

For example: Many websites do not mention shipping charges until the very last screen of the shopping cart. This unpleasant surprise is one of the major reasons why customers abandon online orders. You can avoid this by always including the shipping charge wherever you list the price.

Tip: An unpleasant surprise can kill a sale. But a pleasant surprise can help close a sale. For example, adding an unexpected bonus immediately before your prospect takes the last action to complete a sale will usually eliminate any last minute hesitation.

Don't ask your prospects to make unnecessary decisions. Avoid diverting their attention away from your selling presentation. And don't alarm them with any unpleasant surprises.

It's hard enough to get a prospective customers attention once. If you distract them unnecessarily with something else you may not be able to get their attention again ...and you will lose a sale needlessly.

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Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

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Ask successful online business owners, and they'll quickly tell you there are certain things that are imperative in order to reach your business goals. Some of the common responses to the question "How do you thrive online?" are: dedication, organization, perseverance, and street smarts. But what's love got to do with it?

Everything! The number one factor stated in regard to success online is "loving what you do." There are several reasons this is important. The first deals with the very nature of online business.

Burn Out

Most Web startups work practically 24 hours a day. Every spare moment is devoted to nurturing the new business. If you don't absolutely love what you do, you'll quickly burn out. Frustration, aggravation, and fatigue will set in and - before you realize it - you're on your way out.

Perseverance

Love of what you do also comes into play with regard to perseverance. Those who can't wait to begin work every day are more likely to persevere in down times than those who only do the work to get a paycheck.

Without a love for what you do, you are more likely to jump ship during rough times, reducing your chances for success.

Dedication

Dedication is only present when certain emotions are present. People will be dedicated when they have loyalty toward someone or something. People will be dedicated when they are feeling greed and want to achieve a reward. And people will be dedicated when they love someone or something.

Without some emotional backing, dedication is just another word. And unless you have dedication for your online business, it's just going to be something else to do.

Street Smarts

Everybody knows that experience is the best teacher. And just how do you get experience? By living life online and taking chances. But how likely are you to take chances and gain the street smarts you need if you don't love what you do? Not very!

Gaining that vital real-world experience you need to succeed only happens when you persevere and are dedicated to your business. That won't happen unless you love what you do.

Do you see a cycle here? Every element you need for success has one central foundation. love. You must love what you do in order to spend night and day building a prosperous business. You must love what you do in order to survive the tough times and gain the experience you need.

If you've been struggling with your online business, I'll give you a piece of advice. Look at what you're doing. Do you love it? If you could choose anything in the world to do, would this be it? If not, you might be wise to re-evaluate your online business. Making changes now could save you a lot of trouble in the future.

If you *do* love what you do, I encourage you to hold on. All the attributes I've listed above will help you succeed if you stay focused and keep the fire alive.

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Diane Hughes is an accomplished Internet entrepreneur and editor of the popular ProBizTips Newsletter. Subscribe to her newsletter for more tips, tricks, and secrets of the trade -- plus get HUNDREDS of eBooks, software, and tools just for subscribing! http://www.ProBizTips.com