Over the years I’ve seen a ton of articles, forum posts, blog posts, even products on the topic of “If you were just starting out…,” or “If you had to start over from scratch…” how would you do it? What would you say is the most important “thing to know?”

Just today, I replied to a similar post. I replied because I’m a little shocked to see that many people offer a list of skills that have to do with … well … having skills. Things like research, and planning, and the ability to focus and take action, and “marketing;” how to sell.

A few mention “networking,” and that’s close, but this still doesn’t get down to the real heart of the matter, and that is this: if you want to sell, the one thing you absolutely must know is – PEOPLE.

When you know people and learn what moves them, you can sell them anything they want.

Knowing people and what moves them takes the guesswork out of ALL your copywriting efforts.

Knowing people and what moves them takes the guesswork out of ALL your email marketing efforts.

Knowing people and what moves them takes the guesswork out of ALL your article writing campaigns.

Knowing people and what moves them takes the guesswork out of ALL your pricing decisions.

Knowing people and what moves them takes the guesswork out of everything. When you KNOW, you know, you know.

The trick, then, is to find out.

People generally think only in terms of themselves, but the truth is You Are Not Alone. There are “other people” on the other side of your monitor.

Those PayPal notifications arrive in your inbox because of the desires and actions of those other people … not you.

If there were no other people out there, you could sell nothing, because there would be no one for you to sell to. Therefore, I say PEOPLE are the most important thing you could learn if you want to be successful … not just in Internet marketing, but in any business endeavor, and yes … all of life.

I’m a shy person myself, and not much “into” networking. But I do an awful lot of observing of others. I’m quiet. I listen and learn. So, also, should you.

You don’t have to be loud to be successful. You just have to know what to say and when to say it.

written by Tina Adams