What Does It Actually Take To Make A Conversion
It takes a lot of behind-the-scenes work to turn curious visitors into conversions. If done well, a sales funnel should make conversions seamless and easy on both you and your potential customers and clients.
It all starts with the sales cycle. The sales cycle is the fundamental heart of your conversion.
Prospecting, initial contact, identifying needs, presenting your offer, managing any objections, and closing the sale are all part of the sales cycle. Prospecting and initial contact can happen organically as people visit your website and social media platforms. Advertisements are also a great way to get potential clients and customers to visit your site.
Identifying the needs of your potential clients and customers are key to building a tempting offer. You can do this through asking questions, taking surveys, finding patterns in comments (and criticism), or through your web traffic. A well-known recipe developer found that a majority of his Thanksgiving and Christmas visitors would go to the same twelve holiday recipes. He also found comments that asked if he would set up a prep and cook schedule for the days leading up to both holidays. With that knowledge he developed a holiday survival guide complete with a schedule as an opt-in offer. It was extremely successful and helped double his list in one holiday season.
Once they’ve opted in and are in your sales funnel, it’s time to provide a solid offer. Find the offers that matter to your customer. They need you to solve a problem. You started that with a free download, discount coupon, video series, etc. They gave you their information, so now you need to build on that.
Objections are a natural part of the process. There are usually three reasons a person won’t buy: 1. Conditions, 2. Stalls, and 3. True Objections. A condition is something that legitimately prevents them from being able to buy. Affordability, need, and buying authority all fall under this objection. Stalls are the most difficult to overcome. This is where procrastination comes in. Your opt-ins must be clear and concise in order to help navigate these rough waters. Giving them a limited time before an offer ends trigger the fear of missing out. Answer questions as they come up. True objections are definitive facts where the prospect doesn’t have enough time, money, need or faith in your product, or trust in you or your offer. Redevelop your offer’s value if you see too many of these true objectives.
When you overcome these objections, you gain a conversion. The sale may seem to be the end, but you are 60-70% more likely to sell again to a current customer or client than gain a new one.
Once you have conversions, you can gain repeat sales and build a referral network. Word-of-mouth is still king when it comes to organic conversion. But how do you take a prospect and turn them into a raving fan?
It starts with a solid foundation:
Landing page
Your landing page is a key aspect of digital marketing and your sales funnel success. It is the gateway for them to pass through. As such, it must have three things: a single call-to-action statement, an eye-catching offer, a distraction-free choice.
Opt-In for Conversion
The opt-in must be easy to see and click through. You want to have a simple layout and clean design. It needs to give a call-to-action sentence, state the offer up front, and offer an eye-catching tagline, image, and/or video.
Website
Must be mobile and user friendly. If 56% of all traffic comes from mobile devices, having a responsive site is a necessity.
Trust
You are asking a stranger to give you their time and trust. If you want their email addresses, you will need to offer up something of equal or greater value. If your opt-in form requires their name, address, phone number, and more, most people will move on. Trust has to be built, and offers have to make it worth it. Very rarely will you need more than their first names and email addresses for an opt-in. An opt-in isn’t a guaranteed sale, and if you push it too far, you may lose your chance. There are many types of offers out there, so how do you know which are good and which are flimsy?
Good offers vs. flimsy offers
A good offer provides a service they wouldn’t normally receive. Call it a convenience factor. A good offer is one that piques the interest of your prospect, and in turn, overcomes their objectives. Offering 50% off vs. 10% off is a significant example. A flimsy offer is one that doesn’t sway your prospect. You want to provide great value to them. At the same time, make sure you don’t cut yourself short, either. If you offer too much of a discount, potential prospects may think you’re trying to unload something quickly, and the trust factor will fall.
Do the work to develop your sales funnel, and your new clients and customers will thank you.