03.06.07
“Please! Sell me something!… Yeah, right!”
You’ve been there. You go to a web site and immediately you’re bombarded with a blatant sales page. Don’t get me wrong. Many sites only exist to sell something. Your customers understand this, but they respond better when you warm them into the sale. Let me explain.
Think about it. When going on a first date, how do you begin? You go out to dinner or a movie. You try to get to know your date. What you probably don’t want to do is try to begin the evening with a kiss.
Why at the end? Rest assured your date probably knows you might want some sign of affection if things go well. They know this at the beginning of the date.
Warm Into the Sale
The same applies to your web site. Does your site go for the sale too early? It comes as no surprise to your web site visitor that you’re likely to ask for a sale. Just make sure you warm them up first.
A sale is the natural result when you present your product or service in such a way that you show more value than cost. That’s "Sales 101." So don’t ask for the sale before at least some segment of your readers are likely to be ready to buy or take some other desired action.
First Impressions
As with a date, you begin by showing yourself in the best light possible. Don’t show up in tattered jeans if you’re going out to a nice restaurant. You’re probably thinking, "Well, duh!" So how does this relate to your web page?
It continues to surprise me to find even well-funded corporate sites with unattractive designs that look like a high school student’s first web page. For many of your future customers, your web site is their first contact with you. It’s their first impression.
So why do so many web sites practically scream to their viewers that they were done "on the cheap?" Sometimes there just isn’t the budget for a nice corporate look… or so one might think.
You can get great site templates at Template Monster. The templates include all the web programming and images you need for even the most junior of webmasters to make your site look great.
Most site templates cost between $60 and $150. If you’ve worked with a professional designer before, you realize many of them will charge that much for a single hour of work. In short, you can afford a great looking web site on almost any budget.
Get to the Point
OK, so now that we have first impressions out of the way, we move on to conversation. On your web site, you can’t afford to waste time on "small talk." You have your reader’s attention. Don’t waste it.
Few people would walk out on a date in the first few minutes because they didn’t say anything interesting. Don’t count on that courtesy from your web site visitors. There’s absolutely NO pressure to hang around if your site doesn’t speak to their needs right away.
Studies have shown time and again that if you don’t get your web visitor’s attention in the first three seconds, they’re gone. But who can really blame them? After all, they don’t even know you yet.
Most visitors come to your web site the first time directly from Google or some other search engine. Consider the context. They viewed a very brief description of what your page is about among hundreds, thousands, or even millions of other options. Grab their attention before they’re gone!
Capture Their Attention
Getting your reader’s attention is simple when you understand your audience. Ask yourself, "Why are they here? What are they trying to learn or what problem do they want to solve?" Make sure they see a headline, graphic, or other element that speaks to their needs right away. Remember, three seconds… the clock is ticking.
Describe the Problem Your Product or Service Solves
Before going for the throat and asking for the sale, describe the problem or challenge. Why? You’ll come across as siding with your reader. It’s your chance to play to their emotions, especially their past frustrations.
As my experience has made undeniable, "People buy on emotion and justify the purchase with facts." You can really only sell on one of two benefits, both of whch are more emotional than mental:
- Avoidance of pain
- The promise of enjoyment
Of these two, the first is the strongest. People work far harder to avoid pain than they do for enjoyment or pleasure. So describe for them the discomfort or inconvenience they now experience without the solution you offer. In words, make them play out in their minds past frustrations they experienced without your product or service.
Present Your Problem as the Best Possible Solution
Now that you have their full attention, make your case. Put your best selling points forward as soon as possible. Give compelling reasons why your product can solve their problems better than your competition even could.
Keep in mind that you’re building up to the sale. Each sentence should make it more and more clear that your product or service is the best one to solve their problem. Once you have presented your most compelling reasons and built value in your reader’s mind, you’re ready to ask for the sale.
Ask for the Sale
If you’ve engaged your reader’s emotions and given them your best reasons to buy, they’ll be looking for your call to action.
Make it easy for them to buy. Show them what they’ll get and how much they’ll pay for your product or service.
Above all, make it crystal clear what you want them to do. If you want readers to click on a link, make that obvious. If they are to sign up for a newsletter, give them a form to fill out.
The Wrap-Up
If you’ve successfully made a good first impression, called out to your audience, engaged their emotions, presented your case, and provided a clear call to action, you’re way ahead of the majority of web pages out there. Follow this natural progression and you won’t come across as pushy. Your sales pitch won’t be unwelcome.
Whatever you do, don’t waste your readers’ time with your mission statements, company history, or any of the useless information that drag so many ineffective sites down.
You have one chance to make your first (and only) impression. Use it wisely and you’ll have a much better chance for a "second date" with your customer.