The conversion stage is not like closing your prospects and customers in a traditional sales environment, but that said, it is designed to get them to ask for the business, ask for help, ask to be included in some program or project and perhaps to purchase a specific product or service.
Conversion is the stage that bleeds into the sales process. Marketing sets the scene, sends the message and prepares for the sale. Conversion is where the lead takes affirmative action that results in the sale. I want you to remember that conversion is the natural conclusion to each of your sales funnels that can be found on each step on the value ladder, with those most serious heading toward the ultimate act of joining, subscribing or buying the product you are selling on this particular occasion.
Considering all of the items discussed in this part of the course, everything leads to this moment, the moment of conversion from a spectator to a participant or prospect to a client. To get to this point, you and your prospect have been on a journey together, and this is a very natural conclusion to that process.
With traditional sales and face-to-face meetings, it would be ridiculous to go through the entire process of getting to the point of sale and then stop for fear of closing! You would be surprised how often this is the case. What’s worse is the number of people who do this online too. Online we seem to experience two extremes, equally wrong and equally damaging. I am talking about:
- Those who sell too much, too hard and too early and
- Those who never ask for the business expect the client to do it for them!
There is another sin that I want to talk very briefly about, and that is of directing your warm lead to your home page rather than to a specific distraction-free landing page designed specifically to gain the sale you have just been talking about.
How you pitch on your landing page needs to be well thought out and tested. The model we will talk about in some detail later is that of Hook-Story-Offer this model is perfect for this purpose as it will draw in the prospect and then tell them a compelling story based on the pain they are navigating away from or the goal they seek to achieve. The hook is the bait to draw them in, the story informs and creates in them the desire, and the offer makes them aware of the deal, which in the ideal world will give value that will significantly outweigh the price of the product or service.
When pitching in this way, it is important to find a balance that considers the all-important rules of selling, which we will look at in some detail a little later, but for now, I want to introduce you to the most important of all the rules, which states:
‘People Not Products.’
In other words, you should be focused on the people that make up your target market and what they want to hear and talk about rather than focusing all your attention on overt selling your product, regardless of circumstances. People, not products, is the way forward.
This is a big clue as to what you should be doing. We already know that people are going to buy due to the need to move away from pain or toward pleasure. We can then drill down and say that they will be motivated by a prevailing desire based on either wealth, health or relationship. We need to follow a simple process of getting to know the person first and then appealing to their need rather than ours.
I want more than a customer; I want an advocate, and I am sure that is what you want. If I get a sale, that is great but think about the added advantages and pleasure you will gain from creating an advocate. Let me explain this in a little more detail. When I refer to a client that is also an advocate, I am talking about a client that is willing and able to refer more business to me because they are such a fan. They will become fans because of how I treat them and the value I create for them. This value starts with the sales funnels and the offers you make based on the simple rule of giving value first. You can see then that creating a relationship, a connection online based on value becomes a vital part of this conversion process.
If I market well and identify the right people and then hit them at the right time in the right place with the right content, product and price, and then ask for the business via a truly attractive offer. If such an offer is packed with value that outweighs the cost, I have a more than fair chance of gaining the sale but also, and some would say, more importantly, gaining a fan.