I will reveal the secret psychology that makes your customers buy.
And before you ask, “Does this work for coaches? Or web designers? Or how about physical products?”
The answer is YES.
Because it’s not about your product or the system you use to sell your product.
It’s about the psychology of your customer. Know what makes them tick, and you can persuade them to buy.
The best part? Do it once. Collect on it forever.
You see, there are three types of people who could visit your website.
The Three Types Of People Who Visit Your Website
* There are people who will instantly buy what you sell.
* There are people who will never buy what you sell.
* And then there are The Sideliners.
Even though we’d love for most people to visit our site and buy what we sell without a hassle, the harsh reality is, most people who visit your site will be what I call a Sideliner.
And there are four types of sideliners:
1. The Indifferent
2. The Skeptic
3. The Worrier
4. The Procrastinator
Who are they? And what makes them different?
I’ll explain:
The Indifferent’s biggest barrier to buying is the fact that they’re thinking: “Does this really matter to me? Do I need it?”
Sometimes it’s true. Sometimes it isn’t.
The Skeptic’s biggest barrier to buying is the fact they’re thinking: “Who are you and why should I trust you?” It’s not that they’re cynical, or paranoid, or anything like that. Often times, these people are just new to your company and they’re not sure if you’re someone they can trust… or someone who’s trying to dupe them.
The Worrier’s biggest barrier to buying is themselves. Whereas the Skeptic questions you, the Worrier questions themselves.
You see, when you’re selling something, people have internal fears about “being the type of person” who can benefit from it.
As an example, someone might see a GREAT new dress shirt, but they might be thinking, “am I the type of person who can pull this off?”
The procrastinator’s biggest barrier to buying is, as you might have guessed, procrastination. This is something all human beings wrestle with, and it’s largely because we’re resistant to change. And while they may want what you’re selling, spending money hurts, and they’ll delay experiencing that pain as long as possible.
If you want to build Yes Engines that turn prospects into raving fans and clients, you’ll need to know how to:
1. Make the Indifferent care
2. Make the Skeptic trust
3. Make the Worrier stop worrying
4. Make the Procrastinator act now
When we’re first getting started, we get excited about what we offer to the world. We think people care about the things we care about.
But that isn’t true. People care about what THEY care about and that’s it.
And that’s why today, I want to show you how to address the concerns of each of these sideliners.
Because I believe, if you can get these sideliners to buy, you will be able to build that six or seven figure business.
#1 How to Make The Indifferent Care
The Indifferent’s biggest barrier is that they don’t care about what you’re selling.
When The Indifferent visits your website, or reads your blog, or sees a Facebook ad, if they don’t immediately get why they should care, they don’t. They’ll just click away.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that they aren’t a good fit for your product or service. What it means is that you have to work a little bit harder to get The Indifferent to care.
Now, it’s tempting to blame The Indifferent for their attitude. We think, “If only they understood what I’m offering! If only they knew that I could help them! Why don’t they get it?”
But that’s an attitude that will keep The Indifferent on the sidelines.
The fact of the matter is that it’s not your prospect’s job to know why your product or service is great for them. They aren’t the experts. You are. So it’s your responsibility to show The Indifferent how what you sell aligns with their problem.
For example: I used to help a WordPress theme company market their themes to online business owners. But all they ever talked about in their marketing was how efficient their code was.
Newsflash: no one wakes up thinking, “I sure wish my code was more efficient on my WordPress site.”
People who buy WordPress themes for business want readers. They want to sell more products and services. They don’t care about efficient code.
So, in order to ensure that they were talking about their product in a way that their prospects would actually care about it, they started marketing it like this:
“Search engines openly admit they hate websites that have bloated code. And that they’d rank websites with bloated code lower than websites without it. It turns out most WordPress themes suffer from code bloat. We eliminate all of it from our theme.”
Once they aligned their product with a problem their prospects actually care about – ranking higher in search engines to get more traffic, readers, and customers – their sales went up.
And that’s what you have to do when you’re dealing with The Indifferent. You need to figure out what they really care about and then show them how your product or service will help them get it. You can’t make them want something they don’t already want. But you can connect what you sell with what they already care about.
This is, of course, something we cover in more detail inside The Yes Engines training that you’ll hear about next week. But for now…
Let’s move on to the next Sideliner: The Skeptic.
#2 How to Make The Skeptic Trust You
The Skeptic’s biggest barrier is that they don’t trust you. They don’t believe the track record of your company. They doubt your expertise. They may even go so far as to think you’re a scammer.
They’re putting a magnifying glass up to you and your business and trying to figure out if you’re the real deal.
Like with The Indifferent, sometimes we blame The Skeptics for their attitude and get defensive. We greet their skepticism with something like, “No, you’re wrong! I’ll prove it to you!”
This will only drive The Skeptics away. They’re already unsure if they can trust you. There’s no reason to give them another reason to doubt your expertise by reacting like a hot head.
Instead, you should welcome skepticism. The Skeptics already want what you’re selling, they’re just not sure if they can trust you yet. And again, it’s not their job to figure out whether or not they can trust you. It’s your responsibility to show them why they can trust you.
How?
By offering proof that your product or service works. Prove to them that you can deliver on your promise.
For example: You’re a health coach who sells an online membership program. One part of your program is a fool-proof method for exercising so that it builds muscle and burns the most calories in the least amount of time.
A Skeptic might think, “Why can I trust you? I’ve signed up for other online exercise programs before and they were terrible. How do I know you can get me the results you’re promising?”
So what should you do?
You need to give them some proof and show them how what you do can get them the results they want.
You can put together a free ebook with just a taste of your exercise program. Maybe you offer them 7 15-minute workouts they can do before they leave for work in the morning. Then, you can encourage them to commit to doing these workouts every morning for 7 days.
After the 7 days, if they see results, they’re going to trust you and invest in your online membership.
Now let’s talk about the third Sideliner: The Worrier.
#3 How to Make the Worrier Stop Worrying
The Worrier’s biggest barrier is themselves. They can’t stop WORRYING. They always think, “I’m not the type of person who can pull this off. What if I try and then I fail? Will I feel stupid later if I buy this?”
The bottom line is: Worriers don’t think they’re the kind of person who can change, learn, or benefit from your product or service. And that’s what keeps them from buying.
Now, most people think that the best way to deal with The Worrier is to tell them not to worry.
How do you think that plays out?
Instead of getting The Worrier to stop worrying, it pushes them away.
For example: You own an online clothing boutique. You discover that one of the big reasons for why people don’t buy is because they’re afraid they’ll make a purchase and then regret it. Maybe it doesn’t fit. Or they feel like they look bad in it. Whatever the case, that’s a huge worry that keeps people from buying.
So what should you do?
Well, you SHOULDN’T say, “Oh, don’t worry about it! You’ll look great in this!”
Instead, you can offer free shipping on returns to make it easier if they’re not satisfied with their purchase. Or you can offer a unique sizing chart so they know exactly what size to choose.
But the point is that you MUST anticipate and address the worry before your prospect even thinks of it.
Now, let’s talk about the final Sideliner: The Procrastinator
#4 How to Make the Procrastinator Stop Procrastinating
The Procrastinator’s biggest barrier is procrastination.
Unlike The Indifferent, these Sideliners already want what you’re promising. Unlike The Skeptics, they already trust you. And unlike The Worriers, they believe that they can benefit from what you’re selling…
…But there’s still something holding them back.
They think, “Do I really need this now? Can I wait and see if something better comes along?”
For whatever reason, they don’t see why a purchase has to happen right now, so they put it off forever.
How can you get The Procrastinator to act now?
Well, a lot of people go about this the wrong way. They use scammy tactics and say things like, “Only one more left, buy now!” when, in reality, it’s just not true. No one likes to feel pressured or manipulated.
The good news is that you can get Procrastinators to act now without being sleazy. How? You need to show them how acting now is in their benefit.
Let’s say you’re a personal trainer trying to fill your schedule with new clients. You know that a lot of your clients are Procrastinators.
They think, “Maybe I’ll hire a personal trainer next month. There’s no reason to pull the trigger now.”
What you can do is, for a limited time, offer them something in addition to personal training sessions. Something like, “If you sign for 5 sessions this week, you’ll get a free ebook with healthy recipes to supplement your training sessions.”
The point is that you can get Procrastinators to act now by giving them an incentive. (But don’t discount)!
Now that you know the 4 Sideliners and the psychological barriers that keep them from buying…
…Keep watch for more emails coming soon.
In the mean time, I have a question for you: what sideliner do you encounter the most in your business? How do you deal with them?
I didn’t know what sideliners are before! For start up internet marketers this is a definite read as you would have an idea on what type of visitors you have on your website and how you can be able to effectively reach out to them. Another good thing to do is install heat map tracking to know where they are clicking in and what interests them the most. Great job!
Another fun and informative article, Derek! I don’t sell stuff online but as a salesperson, I do encounter these different types of sideliners as well. The thing is buyers now know the market for the product like sales professionals know their personal market, but they have ideas in mind. It is our job as salespeople to know these ideas and give them solutions that matter to them. You have great suggestions on how to do that and manage these different types of buyers. Just want to share something beneficial to salespeople in managing their career. They can check out Invisume. It is designed for job watchers to connect with best companies while keeping all data 100 percent private.
Incredible post! I’ve got some new found ideas and ‘tactics’ to test out and see what benefit it can provide me with. I’m currently working in an industry that has a lot of sideliners and it’s been tainted by a lot of cowboys out there so even more trust is needed these days.
Thanks for the great post.
I find I get mostly skeptic’s responding to me. I can relate to them, but apparently that connection isn’t clear in my writing.
I pride myself on being an honest trustworthy person. So, I guess, I better get to work!
Very insightful post. We’ve got a lot of these kind of sideliners in our product but most of them are more on the side of procrastinators.
Thanks for this post and we will try using this when writing on our website.
I’ve know some people who just get anxious about stepping outside their comfort zone. They get wound up about all the things they don’t know: they may want to start a small business but don’t know anything about bookkeeping. It never occurs to them that they could hire a management service to do that.
Thanks for this Super Amazing article. What I found interesting is noticing what kind of buyer I am. This will help me as I move forward as the owner of my company who needs to be investing in myself. Understanding what holds me back is priceless.
And in relation to my clients and prospects, this is going to be so helpful as I craft my weekly content and offers going forward. Again thank you so much.
Hi Derek,
Very very interesting post, thank you.
We sell B2B, and meet a TON of worriers. They are interested in the product (which is a loyalty app) because its trendy, because they already have paper or plaastic loyalty cards, because their customers ask for it – but very many are resistant to change and many also worry whether they’ll be able to use it.
They’re scared it’s too techie, too complicated, too expensive etc.
Thanks for naming the category that most our customers/visitors fall into, it is helpful in visualising their thoughts when seeing our site and perhaps see some changes we can make.
Martina:-)
Hey Derek!
Your post is such an eye-opener for online marketers in understanding problems that clients face and how to deliver so as to aid these “Sideliners”. Great job!
Regards.
Awesome article! I’ve met all of these customers. I’ve even been all four customers. The solutions were spot on! Thanks for sharing.
Wow. Great post! I love how you categorize each type. A successful marketing plan takes into consideration how to convert each of these types.
Best, T. S.
To start off, I want to thank you Derek for the awesome content that you are providing.
I currently don’t have a running business, but I am in the process of starting my own clothing brand.
As I tried to forecast what type of sideliner I would have, I thought it would be a skeptic. I think they would be skeptical towards my product (is it good quality or not).
Thanks Derek
WOW!
Thank you so much for breaking that down! I can see each of those people in minds eye and their fears and motivators.
That was wonderful, can’t wait to read more!
Thank you, Derek!
This has helped me get into my customer’s head tremendously.
Often times, I think the biggest sideliners for my business are procrastinators and indifferent. As an automotive photographer, I know that obviously private clients don’t need my service. Indifferent. Many times my prices are set, and I’ve never thought about offering extra incentives to the procrastinators. This article was helpful and since I am moving to a new location in three weeks, I am excited to start fresh with a new view on bringing in more clients.
Thanks Derek.
Hi Derek,
I really liked your email, it wasn’t too long and I am definitely going to apply this information.
Katie =)
Thanks for the great lesson Derek
This is clearly relevant to all types of sales, not just on line sales and will be very useful training for my sales team.
Looking forward to your follow up emails
Hi Derek, I am an avid follower of your blog and I find all the infos inside it very useful. Great work man. For this article, I really appreciate the insights you put it unto this. Great work!
I have a few suggestions regarding your blog. I would like to share some of my insights on the technical and consumer standpoint. Maybe these can help make it grow more. Please email me if you would like to connect, I’d be happy to share. Cheers!
This is a great blog post – I’ve never thought about these sideliners before.
I have an ecommerce store, and I encounter the worrier all the time. They wonder if they’ll be able to use the product correctly, and if it’ll do what they want.
First of all, GREAT ARTICLE Derek! You definitely know how to practice the How of WOW! The lesson that Derek shared with everyone so far, including the people who have stepped up and responded with comments, is to simply offer your customer a way to improve himself/herself with simple instructions. “Keep it Simple.” Imagine you are trying to “sell” your services to a 9 year old. Young kids are pretty savvy these days – they are way smarter than me! But if you ever tried to really sell what you do on a day-to-day business to a 9 year old, you will find that all the glorious add copy you generate happens to be a lot of hot air – to them…your customer. You must think like your customer first. Ask yourself why should I buy from me? What’s in it for me? How can I use it to better myself right away – like giving out freebies – kids love free things. Adults love them even more! Give just enough to entice them to want more from you. I’m an architect/marketer who is always trying to find out the “WHYs” from my customers so I can convince them to act with a “WHY NOT.” If a customer doesn’t pay…walk away from them. They are not worthy of your time. Your time is to find someone who will pay for your services and the sooner you find those kinds of customers – “customers with money” – the better off everyone will be. Good luck and God speed to your various business endeavors, and hopefully one day you will encounter me trying to sell marketing and design services to a 9 year old.
Hi Derek,
I had a funny idea…
What if, when people sign up for a free newsletter for your website, you would include a simple (and elegantly phrased) question which would qualify them into 6 different categories. (Buyers, Never-buyers, Indifferent, Sceptic, Worrier, Procrastinator).
And then… Instead of sending 1 type of e-mail to all, you could send 6 different e-mails, where each is targeted at that exact category, so that each category of people only get the type of communication which is relevant for them. (instead of making 1 big e-mail trying to address them all) Thereby increasing the impact of the newsletters.
Do you think this would be worth it? Or will it just introduce too much “work” for people who signs up for your newsletter?
Forgot to mention: When I mean “your” newsletter, I didn´t specifically mean your specific socialtriggers-newsletters, I meant a more general “you”, referring to “me and everybody else”. (Just thought I would make that clear.)
Derek,
Thank you for this.
I just launched my site on Thanksgiving and it needs some CTAs–this really helped guide me as I was creating a landing page mockup today.
I run into the Worrier so I created copy next to an EXPRESS Wordboard™ {sample product illustration} that will read {{“Want to create something unique + beautiful but not sure you’ve got it in you? Make a statement. Use our drag-and-drop Wordboard™ Creator.}} and then the button right below it says “It’s EASY!”
And then I’m adding an email optin right below where they will be able to receive their FREE Design Like A Pro cheat sheet. 🙂
This is kind of challenging to verbally illustrate lol but hopefully it won’t be too long before it’s live…
Any suggestions? I’m open. It’s not too late to make changes and pass them along to my designer 😉
{{blessings + gratitude}}
Sheree
One of my biggest pet peeves over the past year is bloggers who don’t understand we don’t need more information.
That is why I really enjoy this post.
You reframed the whole “people not buying” dynamic, but then went on to explain how to correct it.
Helpful reframe. Awesome.
My biggest problem is people who already use another brand in my product category and are really happy with it. I thought they might have been indifference, but I think after reading the descriptions, they might be better classified as skeptics. And you are so right, saying my product is better than the one you are using, is almost going to annoy them into not wanting to try it because they just told me they are happy with it – that is so frustrating as a business owner when you know which brand they are using and that yours is SO much better! And if they are happy with it, non of the self confidence, feel and look good stuff works, they are getting it currently. I have started to include testimonials (words and pictures)from customers on the Facebook page and need to add it to the actual product page on the online shop – think trying the bonus with purchase might be a good way of getting them to convert. Cheers, thanks for the info
I’ve been all of those people and had to deal with them on sales level so it’s kind of like payback. I understand some of them but unlike many I did something most won’t do, research and educate myself. We are supposed to educate the potential customer, gain their interest and trust but sometimes you have to walk away. When someone tells me they would rather let someone die than use a proven method to save them it’s time to walk. Those are skeptics who refuse to get educated.
There is a product and method to stop Alzheimer’s in its early stages. It works and is not expensive yet people have refused to try it deciding to let their family members suffer for years to come and die. It’s easier to leave them in a home, visit once in a while and buy a coffin on layaway.
John’s observation of skeptics who refuse to get educated” is spot on! This reminds me of a quote I found on LinkedIn today which read, “Eyes are worthless if the mind is blind.”
For my business it’s the worrier. I teach voice over acting so potential customers have already developed an interest in the service I supply before they arrive at my site. And I’ve published many tips about the industry so they trust my expertise and skill at coaching. But they worry if they have the necessary talent and drive to succeed in this industry.
I’ve found that by offering a path that shows each step required to build a voice over career they become less worried. Breaking it down to small bite-sized tasks removes the fear of the whole process. And success at each step helps them gain confidence.
As for procrastination, most of my clients have to ruminate on this career path for a while before they finally jump into the pool. I’m just there to answer questions as they consider the possibilities. I let them build their own motivation.
Great article!
I haven’t ever broken down my audience into sideliner profiles quite like this, but off hand I’d say that I have a lot of procrastinators and skeptics. I have disarmed that (unintentionally I guess) to some extent by providing quite a bit of free content and really trying to help people out when they send me emails.
It’s really awesome to look at all of these as solvable problems – or even levers to get people more motivated to buy / sign up / etc – instead of barriers that keep you stuck in one place.
i am not sure which ones i have. i started doing direct sales and lots of people ask for a catalog of the candles I sell but never buy. I realized my mistake in not asking for contact information so i can follow up and am correcting it now. I am really struggling to sell. here is a copy of my ad can you tell me where i am going wrong? help me tweek it to do better.
Want a wax melt or candle that scents wall to wall? How about one that burns cleaner? If the wax spills on you it won’t burn you, if it spills on the floor it comes clean with soap and water. These amazing candles from Jewelry in Candles are all of this and more. Made in America, with soy wax in 55 amazing scents, you are sure to find one you love! As a bonus to all of this there is jewelry inside every candle and package of tarts. you can choose necklace, earrings, or ring (even the ring size). We also carry scents for Men that have Mens rings inside (you choose the ring size). https://www.jewelryincandles.com/store/edwardscandles
My two cents: People generally only care about what they want, not necessarily what you want. You want to sell candles, and for people who collect/live/breathe/eat candles this ad might be effective. But to the common person who is not a candle aficionado the answer to that first line is an immediate “Nope!”
The value to the average consumer is not necessarily the product or the service that you offer, but rather the problem that it solves, in your case maybe helping to relax or smelly rooms. If you can tell me how you can make my life better/easier I’ll be interested in making a purchase from you before I know what it is that you offer, so always paint value!
Hope this helps =]
Rebecca, my thought is that you’re trying to hit all bases (or needs/pain points of every possible potential buyer) with one, single ad. As Jodi mentioned, below, one particular benefit caught her attention, while a different benefit might catch another potential customer’s.
Try creating different ads with shorter, more narrowly-focused copy for each pain point, then (if you’re going to invest in social media ads) target specific audiences with each ad. Sounds like a lot of work, I know, but it’s really not, since you’re basically just reusing a “template” of sorts to create each ad.
I agree with Jodi about the jewelry…not sure it “makes sense”. Perhaps include a different bonus item that’s more closely-related to the candle market or a small (read: inexpensive to produce) sample-size candle of a different scent?
Best of luck!
Gwen, thank you I am now trying to do several different ads with individual points of information. thank you so much for the help it means a lot that you would take the time to read this and offer your advice I know you are busy.
P.S. the jewelry is about 1 inch into the candle wrapped in foil. customer gets to pick what kind. I think it makes it different from some of the other candle companies but there is some competition too.
Rebecca, I am sure you can do better once you really understand (and feel) the value of your candles. They should be more valuable than they are positioned to look when their sales website is posted as comment to an article meant to help you understand your customers.
Or maybe you tried to illustrate an example of how to create skeptical consumers?
I was trying to get feedback on what I am doing wrong with my ad thats turning off customers. That is the exact ad I used on social media. I was Not trying to sell them here. I am new to working outside a brick and mortar store for a salary and honestly trying to learn all I can. I am reading so many sites, watching videos along with the company training.I am not sure which type of problem customer I have since I have only made one sale. Others want catalogs and seem truly excited but never order.
I am no expert at this Rebecca, but I am a buyer of soy candles, I love them and have 3 or 4 in my house at any time. As a buyer, I kind of tune out in the first few sentences, I was interested at wall to wall scent, but then when you went on about the benefits, I forgot about the ‘wall to wall’ – I kept reading, but then got really really confused at the jewellry being in the candle. As a buyer of candles, I then went, so what is your point of difference, long lasting, house filling scent that relaxes me and has me dreaming of summer holidays, or the jewelry at the bottom? Anyway that is just my input as a buyer 🙂
so streamline the ad to hold attention. for me personally its the wall to wall scents that last a long time thats important but they also have jewelry in them so didn’t know which one to put the emphasis on… thank you soo much as a buyer you are in a great place to give feedback.
Jodi is spot on with her insight here Rebecca. Cut out a lot of your add copy and synthesize your message to one or two key points. Remember, you are trying to sell to a 9 year old mentality (i.e., a kid-at-heart) in a paying adult-sized body.
i streamlined it to “Relax with a Soy candle or wax tart that provides wall to wall scent that Lasts. As a bonus every candle and tart package has a piece of jewelry inside.” thank you all for your advice it really means a lot to me that you would take the time to help.
I’m a home improvement contractor for 20 years, I deal with #2 #3 and #4. The skeptic, the worrier, and the procrastinator. I build kitchens, bathrooms, extensions and additions. The customer is spending a lot of money and I have to sell sell sell and still no job no work after hours and hours of meetings and emails (Frustrating). Very important to build a trust and have a good reference base. I will follow Derek Halpern and hope i can learn to close more deals… this old dog is always willing to learn new tricks……. I agree with Stephanie breaking down different customer profiles is Brillient..
I really appreciate you sharing this awesome information with us!
I counsel parents with children who are picky eaters and who suffer from constipation and/or food allergies and sensitivities.
I find that procrastination is what keeps my potential clients from making a change in their family’s diet. Even if they know it will benefit their children, they find it hard to start making changes.
Thank you, Derek, for everything you do. I find some much useful information on your site!
Alina, so sorry…I accidentally resubmitted an earlier reply instead of sending the actual comment I wanted to send you!
I had a picky eater (he’s a late-teen now), tried all the suggestions. Best advice I EVER received was to put ONE TEASPOONFUL of each item I was serving on my son’s plate & inform him that once he ate everything on his plate, he could have seconds of whatever he liked. The premise is that parents put too much food on kids’ plates, overwhelming them. Just one teaspoonful looks much more manageable to a kid, but gets them to continue trying new foods to develop a taste for them from being repeatedly exposed to them over time.
Worked like a charm for my son! The first time I tried it, he came to the table, looked at his plate, and said (in the type of high voice used when describing anything REALLY small), “Tiny dinner!”
Good luck to you!
Jessica, perhaps you could create some “urgency” with the procrastinators by painting a picture for them of what happens when they do nothing/don’t take action now.
I show jobseekers how to get a job they love that pays what they’re worth by changing the hiring process from the outside-in and I’m already planning a piece to address this. I’ll talk first about the upswing in hiring that’s already begun for many companies as they brace for the full onslaught of the “talent shortage” they’ve been warned about and segue into what happens if they don’t act now: their cohorts will get hired (whether they deserve to or not, due to the horribly ineffective hiring processes companies still use) and they’ll be left with nothing but scraps.
People don’t change because they see the light. They change because they feel the heat.
Good luck!
I am in the process of getting my online Positive vibes wellness/coaching club set up and running. I think the “skeptical” sideliner will be my biggest concern. I plan on dealing with this by offering them a 7 day $5 positive thinking email course through Fiveer. It’s a course they will have to take before they can become a member anyway.
Also I was planning on using video in my emails, so potential clients can get a taste of what personal coaching with me will be like. I noticed you used to use video, but the last couple of emails I have from you do not contain video. Is there a reason? Is it best to use manuscript instead?
Thanks,
Cicely
I encounter the procrastinator most of all, then the worrier. I have a boutique, and I buy in the smallest quantities possible…most of my customers have learned that if they see something they like, they should buy it right then, others have not.
Breaking down the different customer profiles is brilliant. For me, because I’m consulting with people on career matters and helping them land the job that allows them to live their purpose OR find the confidence to launch the biz they’ve always dreamed of, I think I encounter The Indifferent the most. I get a lot of great feedback, but I think prospects often think: “wow that’s great and I would love those results, but if I do [X, Y, Z or the other thing] I’m sure I can get there myself somehow.” I’m still figuring out how to deal with them, but building trust first seems to be working!
Why not explain to your prospects why they NEED you? Simply explain to them that, yes, they can get there themselves, but after how much of trial and error? Show them your testimonials and explain to them that you could save them time(and dignity) by teaching them tested methods for finding their dream job and landing it.
Hope my comment is useful to you, because it sounds so generic -.-
Very useful, great point – thank you!
For sure it’s the procrastinator. I’ve worked hard to shorten my sales cycle so the procrastinator takes action sooner. But they often have some of the skeptic’s qualities too, so I have to build trust and rapport.
In my business I often encounter people who want their business plans done really quickly. This is usually because they procrastinated about doing it themselves for too long and now they have a deadline to meet, like a funding opportunity that’s closing, or a leasing agent that wants to see a business plan before they’ll hand over keys. Suddenly, the procrastinator is in a big rush. This often encourages them to take action.
But when there isn’t a deadline looming, they delay project launch because they don’t want to spend the $2500-4000 to get me to work through their business plan with them. I can shorten the sales cycle by showing them the typical pre-launch timeline for a business like theirs, which is often many months longer than they realize – from writing the plan to acquiring funding to getting a storefront if they need it to organizing permits and renovations to the pre-launch marketing campaign, it takes a long time. If they are serious about starting a business, they’ll realize that getting the ball rolling now is really going to pay off.
Hi Jessica,
I have just checked your website (landing page — it looks great). Would you share the secret with me… ? How did you design the page? I am particularly interested in the pop-up sign-up form? Would you recommend any tool? I’s really appreciate any clues. Have a nice day!
Jessica, perhaps you could create some “urgency” with the procrastinators by painting a picture for them of what happens when they do nothing/don’t take action now.
I show jobseekers how to get a job they love that pays what they’re worth by changing the hiring process from the outside-in and I’m already planning a piece to address this. I’ll talk first about the upswing in hiring that’s already begun for many companies as they brace for the full onslaught of the “talent shortage” they’ve been warned about and segue into what happens if they don’t act now: their cohorts will get hired (whether they deserve to or not, due to the horribly ineffective hiring processes companies still use) and they’ll be left with nothing but scraps.
People don’t change because they see the light. They change because they feel the heat.
Good luck!
Hey Derek,
Great post! It’s the damn procrastinators that drive me nuts. Just get in or get out!
I’ve actually given a bit of time researching the skeptical crowd. Turns out, if you can simply delay them from abandoning your website in the first 10 seconds, they become dramatically more receptive to your content.
If you can hold them for 30 seconds, then the fun really begins. Essentially, each additional moment you have with them becomes exponentially more valuable than the last. And on it goes.
– Seth