My biggest question is – can I convert prospects to customers without all the hype? (Maybe it’s a down under thing, but the sales letter hype style just doesn’t feel authentic to me :))
– Rochelle Dent, www.leapsnboundscoaching.com
I’m so totally with you Rochelle… I have a strong dislike for the whole ‘hype’ factor in sales, what I also like to call the ‘smarm’ factor. (Definition of smarmy as per the dictionary – exaggerated, self-serving, smugly agreeable or insincere earnestness)
You know the type, that *typical* sales person who turns on the smarm as soon as you walk in the door. I ran into a guy recently at my chiropractors office who was selling some kind of health supplements (not to me, to my chiropractor). Even just sitting in the waiting room I could feel the smarminess oozing off of him, ick.
We see the same thing selling online, in sales letters, ezines and the like. The same inauthentic, hypey, smarmy factor is out there in the online world loud and clear.
So how to avoid this in your online selling initiatives? Tis quite simple actually, as illustrated by this short audio clip from a recent Multiple Streams Membership class I did on sales pages:
A sales page is simply a conversation…
When a person visits your website you want to engage them in a conversation, person to person. Through this conversation you want to illustrate the benefits of what you have to offer, how it can help solve their problems and lead them to click the buy button if it is a fit.
How that conversation flows is up to you, it doesn’t have to be hypey, smarmy or inauthentic.
A good check-point I like to use when writing online (be it a sales page, article, ezine etc) is this:
Would I actually say this out loud in a conversation?
If the answer is yes, i’m golden. If the answer is no, I have to question my approach and perhaps look for an alternative.
Taking that even a step further – Would I say this out loud in a conversation with my mother/father/best friend/spouse/etc? Think of a person who knows you best – the *real* you – and won’t let you get away with any bs. 😉
You want to be authentic and realistic about what you are offering, and using the conversation check-point can help you to avoid the ‘smarm’ factor.
That being said, you also want to include proven elements and strategies that work in online sales. There is a formula for creating sales pages that helps increase sales and that you will want to implement as well.
The key is the *dance* between the conversation and the proven sales page forumla that works…. when you find that sweet spot you can enjoy increased sales and avoid the ‘smarm’ factor, best of both worlds!
So, ready to create that sales page? Go for it, and be sure to share the results by posting a comment below.
Looking for more information on the formula for a great sales page?
We will be covering this and more in our next Workgroup:
‘Completing Your First/Next Sales Page: How to Create a Compelling Sales Page that Sells While you Sleep’.
This Workgroup is for you especially if you already have a product and (1) just need a sales page in order to get launched, already! or (2) have a sales page that isn’t bringing in as many sales as you’d like.
Note that the focus of these Workgroups is *taking action*, so don’t bother joining if you aren’t ready to actually do the work.
However, if you are willing to do the work you will have a completed (or improved) sales page ready by mid-March… in time for spring sales.
Click here for details or to register now.