The question of the day? "We are getting traffic, but no . . . => orders, e-mails, buyers, requests, inquiries <=."  Even the best looking, properly developed, cross-platform Auction Listings will not produce results if they do not relay the product or service offered in such a manner as to cater to what a visitor needs to know.  From the verbiage to the price to the calls to action (that do not exist on many auctions) you need to be able to properly describe, lure, and cajole your target buyers into wanting, better yet needing your product/service and contacting you.

All eBay Sellers really have to wash right out of their hair this idea that just because you put products/services up on eBay that buyers will show interest or place orders. So much of having an eBaY focused business has to do with your marketing plan and ability to run your listings as a business, which includes how to market your product or service in such a way that produces results.

Traffic is the first battle that you need to tackle which has to do with your on and off-line marketing efforts. But if you are not turning those hits into clicks to contact you or buy your product, you need to look at the guts of your listings. In this article I am going to assume you have nice looking professionally perceived listings, so that is off the plate (and you know if you do or not, be honest).

So you have this great looking listings and you're getting hits galore but no results. What could be the reason? Many times it is reasons -- plural. Here I will share with you the situations I run into on a daily basis where, when the traffic starts pouring in, the Seller experiences minimal results. Hopefully, this article can help you make sure you have these issues covered to make sure you have the best chance for ROI (Return On Investment).

Content/Verbiage.  Unfortunately, many eBay Sellers do not have command of the written word. Their language skills are so anemic they couldn't describe themselves out of a shoe box to save their lives. Creative writing, proper use of adjectives and grammar and tons of details, go a very long way to your perception of credibility online and successfully selling what you have to offer. When showing up at a listing, why would someone contact you if there were typos, grammatically incorrect use of words or phrases and a very poor or generic item description? There are tons of wonderful books on writing. Bone up on these skills or hire a pro.

Creative Writing from a Marketing POV.  With all the noise online, clarity in your writing that caters to what your target market wants to hear is very important to you getting a response. So many listings do not talk TO the Buyer; they talk AT them.  It is the Seller's version of what the Seller wants the Buyer to know - which many times is of no interest at all to the person showing up at your listings.

Buyers go to listing on a mission; they are looking to fill a need. When they get to a listing they want to see that listing talking to them about how that need will be filled, what the benefits are to them in working with you or buying your product over someone else's.  If you don't refine these points - there is no reason to do business with you. Those who land at your listing don't know you, they don't know how great you think you or your products/services are.  Having calls to action such as "Order now to solve..." or offering incentives such as "FREE shipping when you buy..." also go a long way to enticing a click.

Quality Photos.  Display of products and listing graphic quality are critical to reflecting that you have a quality product or service to offer. Graphic and photo display online is a skill in of itself.  Digital cameras are great but if you do not learn how to use them properly or are unable to "Webolize" graphics specifically for your listings, you loose the quality that your digital camera can offer. Poor quality graphics such as clip-art or scans of catalog pages will lend to the perception of poor quality products or worse yet a lack of attention to quality. Think of it his way; if someone where to have a listing with obviously crummy graphics, who knows what else they are not paying attention to or don't care about? Hmmm....

Offer a Sense of Security!  You need to ensure that your listings offer security, that you get your business and listings certified by eBay, PayPal, SquareTrade, etc.  This goes along way to adding that warm fuzzy for customers to give out their credit cards and to do business with you.  As part of relaying security, offer a clear guarantee and return policy and back it up.  I can't tell you how many listing I run into that do not give me the impression I am dealing with someone who is reputable.  No security; no Buyers.

Communication is Key!  Personal communication using proper E-mail Etiquette Practices, can lead to more Buyers -- and repeat business.  Personalize your sale confirmation e-mails, send a personal shipment confirmation to keep your Buyer's in the loop and informed on their purchase with you.  Write a personal Thank You! on the invoice copy you include with the shipment.  I am astounded at how many eBay sellers do not include ANY paperwork, business card or upsell with their shipments -- lost opportunity!

Competitive Pricing. If you have an item that is easily found at other listings you'd better make sure you are competitive in pricing.  If you have a unique item that is not as readily available make sure that your pricing is realistic. The number of listings where I see pricing that makes me wonder what drugs the Seller is on are astounding! Don't assume you can ask any price. This is business. You need to be competitive and you need to show that the price you are asking is one that is based in some reality and offers quality and value - or you won't get Buyers.  This investigation is easy enough to do -- simply search for the items you want to sell before you list them to see what others are doing.

Policies, Procedures, Terms and Conditions. You need to be very clear about these issues in each and every listing. You need to have your return policy and your shipping costs up front and visible. If customers do decide to buy your item and you whack them for shipping that is ridiculous (shipping should not be a profit zone, it should recoup your costs and compensate you for your time and materials but no more) they will not do business with you. Outrageous shipping charges are one of the main reasons customers will go order the very same product from another listing.

Customer Service. For all intents and purposes, orders and e-mail inquiries are pretty instantaneous. To think that you have days or that you can get around to responding to your Buyer's inquiries when convenient will simply hand over your potential new customer to your competitor who is "Johnny-on-the-Spot" and responds promptly and courteously.  Respond with an e-mail wrought with lack of punctuation, formality and errors means you probably will not hear back from your potential customer. Visit my eBay Blog: On eBaY, E-mail Etiquette Matters! to make sure that you have all these issues firmly in practice.

Attitude and Learning is Everything!  You have to want to learn, improve your skills and strive to be good business person to thrive on eBay.  More times than not Sellers resist learning something new; skills, software, methodology, how to read their stats - the list goes on.  If I had a dollar for every frustrating moment I didn't "like" or lesson learned that I didn't "like", or something I had to learn that I didn't "like" (Naw, that doesn't count, I love to learn!) or problem I had to tackle that I didn't "like", I would be comfortably retired!

The bottom line is technology is not easy -- it is very, very -- challenging and many times frustrating for each of us. If you don't want to deal with what you may not "like" or be willing to learn, apply and investigate, your results and ROI will reflect these decisions.

If you don't have the items above covered -- time to get to work.  This is not a build it and they will come and buy environment based on the fact that you've uploaded files on to some remote server on the Internet. This is business, where fundamentals of knowing what is successful for your niche, which requires the flexibility to change and an openmindedness to embrace sometimes frustrating new things will determine your level of success.

From a business point of view mastering the issues in this article will go a long way to turning all those hits into big-time clicks!