Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Business success is dependent on a solid financial foundation & success looks different to everyone & there is a lack of equity of access to resources and information for small business owners and independent contractors & there is a societal narrative making us believe “balance” is our ultimate goal & … There are so many “&”s that impact being your own boss. Let’s have some frank discussions on the basics of business with a holistic focus on everything that helps business owners define and find success.
Molly 0:09
Hello. I am Molly Byer, host of the Ambiguous &: Business Basics and Beyond, a podcast where we have frank discussions on the basics of business with a holistic focus on everything that helps business owners define and find success. There are so many ands that impact being your own boss. Join us as we explore all these ands and more. Like subscribe or follow wherever you get your podcasts, and let's explore these ambiguous ands.
0:38
Hello and welcome to the Ambiguous &: Business Basics and Beyond. I'm your host, Molly Beyer, and I'm here to lead you through frank and holistic conversations on the basics of business. Today, we're zooming in to view the buyer's journey through a micro lens. So we've talked about the bigger picture, but what about the smaller daily decision making process? People don't just wake up and make a purchase, they go through a predictable internal and information gathering stage before taking any action. In fact, 99% of your viable prospects are still investigating. They're researching, they're comparing, and they're looking for the best value. The problem is that if your website or marketing is just like every other business in your industry, customers have to default to choose based on price. The key is positioning yourself as the clear choice by strategically guiding them through that decision making process. So again, most businesses are really only focusing on that moment of purchase, but before that, buyers are moving through three key stages. The first one is awareness. This is when the buyer realizes that they have a problem but may not fully understand what it is that they need yet. An example could be an entrepreneur that's feeling overwhelmed and doesn't know if their solution is a business coach finding automations or hiring a virtual assistant. So your job is then to provide educational content that speaks to their pain points. The next stage they go through is consideration. This is when the buyer is actively researching their solutions. They're comparing options, they're looking for that value. So an example here could be a small business owner who knows they need marketing help, but they're debating between hiring a consultant, running their own ads, or just kind of learning how to do this on their own. So your job is to provide proof of expertise. You give them case studies, testimonials and value packed resources. The last stage that they go through is a decision. So this is when they are ready to commit, but they're looking for a compelling reason to choose you. So an example could be a fitness client that has decided they need a coach, but is debating between programs, so then your job is to make it easy with clear differentiation, urgency and an irresistible offer. The problem again, most businesses are only speaking to the 1% of buyers ready to buy right now. So if that 99% of viable prospects are still investigating we need to keep them from defaulting to choose based on price. The key is to position yourself as that clear choice by, again, strategically guiding them through their decision making process. So we're gonna go back to entering the conversation happening in their head. You demonstrate your unique understanding of their condition while drawing that straight line from that condition to what you do. So we're again going to use our market dominating position to create a compelling offer. Remember your market dominating position that is taking that simple statement about what you do, refining it down to that I help my ideal client to do what I do for them without the pain they want to avoid. So I'm going to do a quick reminder, because we've got our great three examples, we're just going to stick with them because of the market dominating positions from those three examples. Our business coach, their market dominating position was helping purpose driven entrepreneurs scale with strategy and collaboration so they can achieve sustainable success without burnout, guesswork or endless hustle. Our marketing consultant, their market dominating position helping small business owners create profitable, data driven marketing strategies that attract their ideal customers without wasting time or money on guesswork. And our fitness coach was helping busy professionals get stronger, leaner and more energized without hours in the gym or restrictive diets. So we're going to put these back now into a compelling offer, and we're going to use the conversion equation. Remember that it is to interrupt, engage, educate and offer. So we're going to use this framework to increase conversions by incorporating it into all of our marketing media. Into our website, into our social media, into anything that we're sending. Out even into our messaging as we're talking to people.
5:04
So our business coach scaling entrepreneurs without burnout, they can start out by saying something like: Overwhelmed by scaling? Stop spinning your wheels and build a business that thrives without burnout. Discover the simple framework to grow your business with strategy and collaboration so you can increase revenue without working 24/7, so we've grabbed them. This is maybe on the front of your website. So then what do you do? You give them case studies, you give them video testimonials, you give them a breakdown of your simple framework. And then you need to pull them in with your offer, your irresistible lead magnet. This is what is going to get them set to work with you. So here, maybe it's a free scale, smarter business growth audit and a 15 minute strategy call. This is not only giving them a free resource, it's also giving them access to you. Because remember, you need to tell them why you are the right person for them. We want to work with who we know, like and trust. If they get on a 15 minute strategy call with you, how are they going to say no? They're not. Because you are going to be able to show them exactly how you can help them by creating a relationship with them that makes them like you start to trust you, and you've already given them some of that trust and credibility by giving them free information, case studies and testimonials, you've brought them along. This is where you get them.
6:36
Our marketing consultant.They interrupt and engage; their headline, sub headline. Tired of wasting money on marketing that doesn't work? Discover the proven marketing system that attracts your ideal customers and turns them into loyal buyers without wasting time or ad spend. So here again, we're going to educate them. We're showing the proof of our superiority. Through client testimonials, through case studies, through common marketing mistakes. Our offer for them, our irresistible lead magnet for them, is going to be a five minute marketing fix guide and a 10 minute strategy review call. Again, we're giving them something free. They can start on their own, and then we're following up with that accountability of a call with us.
7:18
Our fitness coach. We're going to grab them with: No time for the gym? Get stronger, leaner and more energized in just 30 minutes a day, transform your body with science backed workouts and simple nutrition, no extreme diets, no wasted hours in the gym. So to prove to them our superiority, we're going to show them before and after client stories. We're going to give them video testimonials from clients, and we're going to break down the method that we use so they know what they're getting into. Our irresistible lead magnet then is going to be a 30 minute fitness blueprint and a free consultation. Again, we're giving them something free to start them off, and then we're giving them us, because we are who is going to sell our services. So the offer and lead magnet also serve the purpose of capturing contact information, usually an email or phone number, and that then makes it so that that is not the end of our engagement with them. Maybe they only download your resource but don't schedule a call. You then have their information to be able to follow up with them, even if they didn't take that next step. Because remember, we are trying to not capture that 1% who are ready to buy now with our compelling offer, we are taking those 99% who are still investigating and exploring, and we're leading them closer to us to complete that journey. Once a buyer enters your world, how are you, right now, keeping you top of mind for them?
8:54
The biggest mistake that businesses make is stopping communication at that first touch point. With social media and our increasing access to information, coupled with decreased attention spans, it takes anywhere from 20 to more than 100 touch points before a prospect makes their buying decision. It's proven that following the conversion equation reduces those touch points to closer to five to 12, and 80% of all sales occur between that fifth and 12th direct point of contact between a business and a prospect. So using that information that we have gathered, here's some ways that we can then increase our opportunity to get that 99% in those five to eight touch points. One strategy is to use an automated email sequence. So this is setting up a welcome email, and then a sequence of different emails that goes out to those leads every few days. And so you want to use a mix here of educating them, giving social proof, other information about the product or service itself, or soft offers to them, and you do that over several emails scattered throughout a few weeks. Another strategy is retargeting ads. So run ads to website visitors who didn't convert. You can use here video testimonials and facts and limited time bonuses are really helpful in these rerunning of ads.
10:23
Another strategy is social proof and authority. So share client wins and educational content on social media. This is a great way to engage with respective clients and to get extra touch points with people who are already in that space with you. And you can also go live and answer common questions or objections in real time. Another strategy is personal outreach. If a lead engages multiple times but still hasn't bought, sending a personal message or a direct message or something can be really helpful. You can just say, Hey, I saw you downloaded our guide, and I'm wondering what your biggest, biggest challenge is right now. That can start a conversation. You can give them your scheduling link to get them directly on your calendar so that you can have that final touch point and close that sale. So why does all of this work? It really comes down to just the psychology of buying. People don't naturally shop on price. They shop on value, and that's why we want to differentiate, so that we keep them from defaulting back to that shopping on price. The conversion equation works because it's tapping into key psychological triggers. It's tapping into reciprocity that gives free valuable content that really makes people feel way more inclined to reciprocate by giving you something back. It also taps into social proof, client testimonials, case studies, any expert positioning or research that helps to reduce doubt for your prospects.
11:47
Clarity and certainty, your buyers are much more likely to act when those next steps are simple and clear. And also urgency and scarcity. So things like limited time bonuses or only a certain number of spots, those do tend to also increase those conversion rates. So your next step is to take a real hard look at your current marketing. Are you really only talking to that 1% who are ready to buy now? Do you have any clear messaging that interrupts engagement, educates and offers value to your prospects, and are you nurturing your leads through their journey, proving why you are that best choice? So here's your challenge, review your website, review your social media, review all of your lead magnets. Does your marketing follow that conversion equation? If it doesn't, where can you optimize it? The businesses that master the micro journey are the ones that win more sales, they convert higher percentages of their audience, they build long term loyal clients. That is what we want.
12:52
Thanks so much for hanging out with us again today. We would love to hear your feedback on today's episode, as well as any requests for future content. Drop a comment or suggestion and join us next time for more frank and holistic conversations on the basics of business, please also like, subscribe, or follow so you never miss an episode and until next time. I am Molly Beyer, and this has been the Ambiguous &: Business Basics and Beyond. Have a wonderful day.