The Art of Persuasion

We’ve all been there. You are about to walk out of the store, empty-handed, when the salesperson suddenly works their charm – turning your skepticism into a sale. Then you get home, look at your purchase and think: how on earth was I convinced so easily?

The art of persuasion might seem like an innate talent for the lucky, but any serious entrepreneur must hone this skill in order to find success, persuading others to invest, to support, to buy. So how do you convince more people to buy online? These three business experts reveal their secrets.

  • Peter Shallard explains there is only one question you have to answer to make a successful pitch: “Why?”
  • Brian Clark of Copyblogger explores some basic strategies to write more persuasively – including using story-telling, repetition, and comparisons.
  • The Six Minutes Blog lists several tips to become a more persuasive speaker, as Andre Dlugan emphasizes the importance of being understood, logical, and real.

Incorporating these techniques into both your website and your everyday life won’t be an overnight solution, but they will challenge you to look at your message through a strategic and more effective lens – no matter the audience.

When are you at your most persuasive? What was the last time someone used these tactics successfully on you?

Top 10: Our Best Small Business Blogposts

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Over the last year we’ve written a few articles on running an online business (hopefully you’ve found some of them to be helpful!). We have also had a few terrific guest bloggers and reviewed some expert speakers. Because our customers often email us with similar questions – about SEO, paid search, and the like, we thought it would be helpful to compile some of this information in one place. You might want to bookmark this post for reference!

#10 How to Boost Holiday Sales

#9 How to Optimize Your Website for Local Search

#8 New Year’s Resolutions for Small Business Success

#7 10 Free Software Apps to Manage your Business and Cut Costs

#6 10 Website Mistakes to Avoid

#5 Thoughts on Customer Service with Shep Hyken

#4 3 Secrets to Getting More Customers

#3 Using Paid Search to Increase Your Traffic

#2 How to Build an Army of Brand Loyalists (guest blog by Jonathan Kay)

And presenting the #1 blogpost of the past year…. *drum roll*

Basics of Search Engine Optimization (John Lyotier of MarketingClinics.com)

**Bonus** 3 Ways to Convert Website Traffic into Customers

Our Homepreneur of the Year, OvernightPetTags.com Visits!

Posted May 3rd, 2010 in Selling Online, Website Builder Features by Patrick

Last week we welcomed our 2009 Homepreneur of the Year winner, Marco Barberini (of OvernightPetTags.com), and his wife Heather to our Vancouver office – flying in all the way from Traverse City, Michigan. Marco quit his gas station job in 2007 to build an online business, which now grosses upwards of $8,000 per month!

As part of their prize, Marco and Heather stayed at the Pan Pacific Hotel on Vancouver’s Waterfront, were ferried around town in a limo, spent a day consulting with the CityMax.com team, enjoyed a sunset dinner at The Teahouse in Stanley Park, and checked out some of the ‘Olympic’ sights around town.

They even brought a custom pet tags for our two CityMax.com dogs, Jack and Farley.

Check out some of the pictures from the Barberinis’ trip to Vancouver!

Voting is Closed! Homepreneur of the Year TBA…

Posted January 7th, 2010 in CityMax.com News, Contests by admin

max-voteThe polls are closed and the votes are in! Time to tally them up and find out our Homepreneur of the Year…

Thank you everyone for sending in your emails, Tweets and even snail mail! We received hundreds of votes and messages of support for our intrepid finalists.

Later this month, we will announce the grand prize winner, who will be flown to Vancouver, Canada for the full red carpet treatment and a complete website redesign package!

The judging panel has a challenging decision ahead of them to determine the winner. They will be taking each of the following criteria into account:

  • innovation and originality
  • entrepreneurial ‘spirit’
  • revenues generated through home-based business
  • prior experience and success
  • business sustainability and scope
  • electronic votes via Twitter/email

Stay tuned to find out who the winner is, and congratulations again to all of our truly inspiring finalists!