April 2004

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2004</I></div> <div> <I>The following article was first published in the Eastern Daily Press' 'The Business' on 27 April 2004</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>What's in it for </B><B><U>them</U></B><B>??</B></div> <bR> <div> When I ask business owners what percentage of leads they convert to sales, I often hear (that is, if they even think about such things) “Oh, about 60 or 70%”.  But, when we begin to measure the actual figures, it's usually more like 20-30%!  For this reason, conversion rate is one of the first places I look for improvement - and the subsequent profit growth.</div> <bR> <div> Prospects buy from you because they expect to get something more valuable to them than the money they pay for it. You can assure them of getting that value - and increase your conversion rate - by answering seven important questions.  Prospective buyers usually don't ask these questions.  They may not even think of them.  But they won't buy from you until all seven questions are answered in their mind.</div> <bR> <div> 1.  Exactly What Are You Proposing?</div> <bR> <div> Prospects won't buy unless they know exactly what you're offering them.  Make your proposition simple and easy to understand. </div> <bR> <div> 2.   What's In It For Me?</div> <bR> <div> Prospective customers honestly don't care much about you or your company.  Everyone listens to that metaphorical radio station WII- FM - What's In It For Me?  They only care about how they can personally benefit by using your product or service.  Tell them what they want to know.  Describe in detail how their life will improve when they buy your product or service - and why it's worth the price.</div> <bR> <div> 3.   How Fast Can I Get It?</div> <bR> <div> The faster you can deliver your product or service the more sales you'll get.  One Internet marketer told me her orders increased almost 30 percent when she added the option for overnight delivery - even though she charged the additional cost to the customer.</div> <bR> <div> 4.   What If I Don't Like It?</div> <bR> <div> People are reluctant to risk the chance of not getting what they expect after buying your product or service.  Offer the most liberal guarantee you can afford.  An unconditional, money back guarantee will produce the most sales because it completely eliminates all of the customer's risk.  </div> <bR> <div> 5.   Why Should I Believe You?</div> <bR> <div> A prospective customer will not buy from you until you remove all doubt in his or her mind that you can and will deliver exactly what you promise.  Testimonials are a powerful tool you can use to accomplish this.  They provide proof you've already delivered satisfaction to other customers. </div> <bR> <div> 6.   Is My Decision To Buy A Good One?</div> <bR> <div> Customers usually make an emotional decision to buy.  Then they look for logical reasons to prove their decision was a wise one. That's the time for you to talk about how long you've been in business, how experienced you are or how much research went into developing your product or service.  It provides the logical reasons your customer needs to justify their emotional decision.</div> <bR> <div> 7.   How Do I Get It?</div> <bR> <div> Did you ever walk out of a store empty handed instead of waiting in a long queue for somebody to take your money?  I have.  On the internet many buyers abandon their orders at online shopping carts instead of trying to figure out the confusing instructions.</div> <bR> <div> It's a total waste to lose sales from ready buyers because the buying process is too complicated or lengthy.  Don't let that happen to you.  Make sure your buying (and paying) process is simple, easy and fast.</div> <bR> <div> A prospective customer won't buy from you until all seven of these questions are answered in his or her mind.  Make sure you've put enough thought into your sales process to ensure that radio station WII-FM is on the dial of as many prospective customers as possible.</div> </td> <td valign="top" width=180 BGCOLOR="#CC3333" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>