I never paid much attention to thinking like a marketer when I started my business initially; it took me a while to fully understand how important it really is to effective internet markteting and actually making sales.

Now if you have an internet business or are thinking about one, that might seem like I'm stating the obvious but it's not something most people automatically think about when starting a business.  That's probably because most people never take the time to understand what that really means…       

Instead of wrapping yourself up in what to sell, building your site or figuring out how much money you will make, first begin to focus on what it takes to think like a marketer. 

Why is this important?

Because effective marketing is precisely how you are going to make sales, and lots of them.  You want to go beyond just selling stuff online, you have to market to people in such a way that they want to buy from you; and buy over and over again.

Salesmen are some of the highest paid individuals in the business world, that's because if they don't make the sales nobody gets paid.  If you don't focus on this aspect of your business first it's sort of like putting the cart before the horse.

So how do you think like a marketer?

I spend time watching commercials.  Huh … watch commercials?  Yep, stop looking at those ads as annoyances and begin to think about what might make someone buy the product being advertised?  What makes the ad peak your interest or not peak interest?

Try looking at various products on the market and try to figure out what makes them appealing.  Analyze why someone might want to buy it.

Think about what a sales process might consist of.  What's the step-by-step action you might have to take before someone buys?

Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes.  What would get you to buy a specific product?  Free gifts, discounts, trial offers are all common lures to get people to buy but there are a lot more creative avenues if you really think about them.

Do you know the reasons why people buy?  Emotions are a big reason and directly appealing to an emotion is almost a sure way to make a sale. 

Here are some things you should consider when you see an ad or a product:

• Understand what an ad is actually saying
• Understand how the ad making money
• Think about how an ad makes you feel?  Anxious, Secure, Scared.
• When you buy something think about why you are actually buying it.
• What caused me to want to buy this product?

These are all good marketer exercises. Get in the habit of looking at things with these questions in mind. 

To expand on this topic, these are excellent books to get a hold of.  You can also get these books from your local library, but picking up just one of them goes a long way in conditioning you on how to naturally think like a marketer.

Secrets of closing the sale by zig ziglar

How to master the art of selling by tom hopkins

How to sell anything to anybody by Joe Girard

The irresistible offer by Mark Joyner

Once you become aware of how things are being sold and the techniques used, you'll immediately notice the sales opportunities and it will soon become second nature to you.

Have fun with this.  Before you know it, you'll be a natural at making sales without even thinking about it.