The only thing he wanted was to look, try and, if necessary, buy some black shoes for the days of good weather. It wasn’t that hard. I entered that store that they had told me so much about ready to fulfill my mission. The manager, as soon as he saw me, asked me if he needed anything. I quickly replied that I just wanted to look, because it was true, at that moment I didn’t need anything else and I don’t like feeling cornered in a store. But Mi answer was not enough. A few moments later the manager began to tell me about some beautiful ankle boots that could perfectly match the clothes I was wearing that day. Keeping my cool and with a smile, I replied that I still hadn’t decided what to buy and to please give me a few minutes to look at what he had in the store. He didn’t understand my message, or maybe it went in one ear and out the other, because by the time I realized it, he was in front of me again. And some maroon loafers, ma’am? We just received the last of this collection. I’m going to get a pair in your size and I’ll be right back. “No, thanks. She’s very nice of her, but I have to go,” I told her.
I just wanted to get out of there and that was the only thing I could think of to say at the time. Who has not experienced a similar situation when buying or contracting a service? Because buying, we all like to buy. But that they sell us, that horrifies us. And yet, we live every two for three situations like these. Buy means control. Being sold means just the opposite. And in online stores, as in physical stores, this situation of feeling that you are being sold is exasperating more than necessary.
Tell me the truth, why do you really buy?
Maybe out of fear, out of love, out of boredom, out of greed, or whatever. There will always be an emotional reason on which your purchase decision is based; and then, through reason, you will justify that new acquisition. This is how you will buy new shoes letting yourself be carried away by the emotions that live in your subconscious. Maybe you bought them because you also want to have those loafers that everyone wears. You want to be one more and wear something that is currently a trend.
Will that be your answer when I ask you why you bought them? No, sure not. You will tell me that you needed to buy some shoes to retire the old ones. You will add that the good weather is coming and that you do not have comfortable shoes to combine with the clothes of the spring season.
Ok, where do you want to go?
Perhaps you are wondering why I am telling you all this or what this anecdote will have to do with the central theme of the post: the sales page. I was looking forward to getting to this point. If we were in the shoe store, the sales page would be that online conversation that the clerk would have with you as a customer. You have entered the store because you are considering buying the product in question. You are thinking of buying, but you have doubts and you need the clerk to assure you that you are in the right place. The mission of a good sales page is not to pressure or overwhelm a potential buyer with data, as in the shoe store example. What’s more, it doesn’t even try to sell.
It may be shocking to you, but it’s the truth. A sales page that converts visitors into customers must achieve:
- Appeal to the fundamental emotions of the ideal client you are targeting.
- Fight your fears and objections when buying.
You don’t need anything else. This is how this powerful marketing tool is responsible for convincing the visits that land on the page to complete a certain action:
- Subscribe in exchange for something.
- Buy your product.
- Register for a webinar.
- Test a service.
- Make an enquiry.
Discover the most common mistake made in the copywriting of a sales page
A converting sales page doesn’t need to be aggressive, it doesn’t need to be awkward, and above all, it doesn’t need to pull any rabbits out of the hat to increase sales of the product or service you’re promoting. To connect through writing with your ideal client, you only need to understand their needs and desires.
As simple as that. And as you have seen in the case of the shoe store, the person who served me at no time understood my needs or desires. What he wanted was to create that desire in a product that I did not have. Could I create that desire in my mind? Not if it didn’t already exist naturally. And this is transferred to your sales page in the same way. You will not be the one who creates the desire for your product or service in the mind of your ideal client, because it is impossible to create it if it does not already exist beforehand.
The only thing you can do is understand perfectly what that person needs, speak their same language and guide them through your proposal. For this you will have to go ahead, and in the research phase, find all that information to hook them later with your sales page. This is how you will show him that your product or service can help him fulfill those wishes that he has, and in this way, he will not need much more to end up accepting your offer.
Learn how to increase the motivation of a customer to buy what you sell
Surely right now you are wondering: and how do I know what is the deepest motivation of my ideal client? And his fears and objections? I have no way of knowing. I only know them when doubts arise, and then it’s too late to refute them. In truth, there are several methods that work to understand the motivations, fears and objections of your audience, although they are all based on the same thing: listening to what your customers have to say. Easy, right?
We are so concerned with getting across how wonderful our product or service is, that we do not stop for a second to think if it is really what our clients want. What do we do instead of listening and researching what motivates our customers to buy? Make guesses or assumptions. And also, with an unusual joy. We are connecting the dots and forming certain opinions (not always very accurate), without questioning them, assuming from the beginning that they are an absolute truth.
Because of course, between taking your time to thoroughly investigate who the client you are addressing is and making a conjecture, there is a very big difference. The latter is very easy to do, but the former is notor both. In fact, investigating is what hurts the most. As I say, it is what itches the most. Offer your customers what they want, not what you have. If you listen to your customers, it is very possible that you can change some of the characteristics of your product or service, and adapt it to what they are looking for.
3 formulas that always work to know everything you need about your client
These are three simple but essential techniques to find out what your readers or customers are thinking, and start creating those texts, products and services that will genuinely connect with their emotions.
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Surveys: the best method to find out what your audience thinks
We have the bad habit of not writing to our clients, let alone listening to them. It’s ironic, when they are the ones who keep all the answers we need. And what is best, they say it with a tone and language that hooks from the first moment. Why not use this information that they are already giving you for free?
Instead of racking your brain or, worse, making a series of guesses about what your customers want in less than 24 hours, you could get the most reliable information about what your audience thinks. Nothing easier than sending an email to your subscribers or creating a survey on your own page. If you also want to increase the participation rate of these surveys, do not forget to give something as a gift for participating. An incentive will motivate those people to fill in the information you need.
But also, remember that in surveys it is important:
- Write few questions and get to the point. It is important that it does not take more than 3-4 minutes to respond.
- Ask direct and simple questions that provide all the information you need.
- Create a blank space for the most talkative. There will not be many people who enroll, but more than one will appreciate an area where they can give you more information about the questions you ask.
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Voting: the fastest way to get answers on a specific question
You can ask which of your services is their favorite or at what price they would be willing to buy a new product that you are about to launch. Voting offers you the convenience of doing it at any time and on almost any platform. The return is almost immediate, and your readers will not find it difficult to complete it. Moreover, they will be curious to know the result. As an incentive, it is best to establish some kind of prize for the winner with a draw in between (free subscription to your newsletter for a few months, a free product or a discounted service, for example).
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Interviews: the technique with which more and better quality information is obtained
Select your best clients and ask them to dedicate some of their time to you. To convince them, the motivation must be threefold:
- Massage their ego: these interviews are only carried out with your most select clients, so by addressing them you are elevating them to VIP clients.
- Show them the benefits: with their help you will surely be able to improve your products or services and give them visibility as well. Let them see that on one side or the other, both parties win.
- Offer them a reward: these clients are important to you and the information they provide will be very valuable, so it is better to err on the side of being splendid than of being greedy.
As you can see, getting into the mind of your audience is in your hands. Know them better than they know themselves and you will be able to create a sales page that excites and converts your visitors into buyers. If you want to learn to write a sales page that converts for your consulting business sign up for My Consultant Academy Sales Pages Masterclass. Inside, you will find 9 modules in which I go step by step showing you how you can write and structure this very important page.