Exposing Pain

What are some of the fundamentals that drive higher conversion ratios? The first, I think, is to reinforce your prospect’s existing pain. Here’s the catch. When you’re designing an online campaign, how would you know your prospect’s specific pain?

In one-on-one meetings, it’s relatively easy – you ask questions, lots of them. Here, I recommend the POCCAD approach, asking questions related to personnel, their organization, their current system, their current vendors, what applications they’re using, and who their decision makers are. Find their hot buttons and drill deeper.

Online, these tactics don’t convert well. Here, pain is relative to industry trends, and measuring that pain requires some research. I start with the search engines, typically Bing, Google and Yahoo, followed by industry specific forums. Pain can cover everything from slow Internet connections to issues related to their current provider.

Showing Value

Value is perceived. You may not have the best product or service, but the perception of those can be vastly improved with effective copywriting. Here, professional presentation is key. You need to capture your prospect’s attention, then emotionally motivate them to action.

Minimize their Risk

Trust is key to minimizing their risk. There are a number of ways to convey trust. One of those is via testimonials, while another is a guarantee. Testimonials lend considerable credence, especially if that business or organization is well known. Guarantees won’t completely ease the pain of making a bad decision, but it does give the prospect a way out, should the relationship sour.

Cap the Offer

By that, I mean make your offer limited in some fashion, either by time, event or availability. We see these tactics everyday in retail – when they’re gone, they’re gone. Don’t miss this chance to own this once in a lifetime deal.

Have an Exit Strategy

Either offer other related products (I see this all the time on sites like Amazon), offer a discounted price or offer some consolation for visiting your site – either a discount on future purchases or possibly a free report.

To your success

- Steve

I agree with you on most of the points except for capping your offer unless you really do it. I mean don't say that such and such an offer will be available only for another 10 days but it's still there 7 weeks later.

Free is always good, especially if you can set yourself up as an expert. This can be done via a blog attached to your main site and then offer a free report on something that really is difficult for most people to handle, especially beginners. You can include a one time offer of 50% off for those who download your report (remember to use an opt-in system so you can get emails as well for future marketing ) that will not be valid for more than 12 hours after download. Even three hours will be great because if they are really interested in buying and not just freebie info they will move and sign up.

About free things:

Maybe anybody remember when godaddy started its business?
Then they offered almost everything for free...

You make some great points, especially about capping offers. I see the same thing on lots of sites. It'll state the offer is only good today (insert date) and when you check back the following week, it's still there with today's date as the deadline. They know once the prospect leaves their site, they'll probably never return.

Thanks for the information

I do quite agree with the points you make. It's always tricky to bring good sales techniques into a traditional hosting site, but it is an important point nonetheless.

When your prospect measures your site against others they just visited, what compels them to act on your offer, and NOT move on to the next host's site. Is it your bronze, silver, gold and platinum offers? I doubt it .. the Internet is about information. When your plans blur with the competition, what's left? The answer is perceived value and an effective call to action.

I agree fully with you Steve. In fact, a traditional hosting site has many more options to employ good sales techniques because of the exact fact that many people have no idea what to do. It's all about added value (which I know I mentioned in another thread but it is very important) and there are so many things that can be offered as freebies in this business that are simple and quick to take care of but will have them beating a path to your door.

You have some very good points there my friend as this is a very challenging industry to compete in and people always want something for nothing.