PART 3: Your Sales (The Conversion)
If you misread that as “conversation”, then you’re right too. Sales today is more about having a conversation with your leads, versus the old way of shoving your offer in their face. (I like to think of it as the more human, dare I say feminine, angle of business that’s taken over. We’ve totally evolved.)
For some of you with simple products, driving your peeps to buy is as simple as showing them the goods and giving them a simple description and a way to buy. Whether you’re selling dog biscuits or roto-tillers or shoes. You don’t need a ton of information if what you see is what you get. A bit of copy is powerful though, and a story is always a powerful factor if you have one. (Think of the old J. Peterman catalogs, which have been recently resurrected.)
Even simple info-products such as ebooks and audios don’t often need a ton of information or a super long sales letter with 200 testimonials – they do need enough copy to explain what it is, how it solves the reader’s problem or what they will gain from it, some “social proof” in the form of success stories/testimonials, and exactly what the offer is.
My very simple sales page formula is “problem-solution-testimonials-offer”.
For those of you, who sell services such as coaching, consulting, or programs that teach something, and your price points are higher, you DO need to provide more education and information in order for your clients to make a decision to hire you or sign up. Your program may not be a “click and buy” type of offering.
If you’re offering a higher-priced service or program, and you find your sales page isn’t converting, even when it’s jam packed with info, you may just need more ENGAGEMENT in your sales process. Here are some ideas to spark your brain:
• Have the sales page lead to a free 15-minute phone consultation with you or a member of your team (this is great for services or coaching programs).
• Educate your leads via a free teleseminar that gives them great information and then invite them to enroll with a clear offer.
• Lead your peeps into a free video (or video series) that does the education and selling for you.
• If your business is local, invite them to a free local workshop that converts them to paying clients or customers on the spot.
• A hybrid combination is working best right now. Most of my industry peers share that a mix of online strategies leading to a phone conversation is what seals the deal.
For any conversation or offer, make sure to always give your leads a reason to act NOW. Remember we are all so busy these days, so you want to reward them for making a decision. Your choices are usually to either offer a discount or add bonuses if they sign up now.
For “Jane”, our local yoga instructor whom we used as an example in Parts 1 & 2 of this article series, her sales conversion process could be asking those who signed up for a free trial class to then enroll in her paid series. She has these people in the room, so it’s the best time to get them to sign up. Jane should offer a special package with either a discount or bonus for their enrolling now. Perhaps the package is 20 classes, and the bonus could be her yoga-at-home DVD and a yoga mat, or they get two extra classes for free.
Listen, there is SO much more we could cover here, but the idea was to get you thinking about the best ways for YOU to convert sales using your own models. (And if you want help with this particular process, I love working with clients on it. And so do my coaches. Write us for options at info@elevatebiztraining.com.)
Now that we’ve covered all three parts of your sales funnel, it’s a good time to look at your current process. I bet there’s room for improvement (there always is). Or if you’re starting fresh, take a few minutes to consider your best funnel to get started.
QUESTION: How are you currently converting your leads to sales? Do you do it all online, have a phone conversation, meet them in person, or use a hybrid process? Please join in the conversation below!
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© 2013 Ali International, LLC
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