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Let’s talk sales pages.
You know those long-ass web pages that have a VERY specific job (ahem…to sell your thing). They’re ubiquitous in the online world. And, when done right, they can be one of the most powerful assets in your business.
Now look, there’s A LOT of things that can make or break a sales page. Strategy comes first, period.
BUT, if you have that in order, you’re getting traffic to your page, and still struggling to see those sales….here’s something to consider.
For the most part, humans are moving along day to day in a state of inertia—hangin' out in their comfort zone. It's business as usual... And, if we’re not stirred to action by something incredibly compelling, why change that? (You may remember me talking about inertia an older post. But that’s because it’s so dang important in understanding how to nudge your prospects and coach them toward the sale.)
Essentially, even in the midst of some our deepest pains, problems, bad habits, desires, and wishes, we’re all hangin’ around like this 👇
We probably know we have the option to make a change, but it’s so cozy here with our familiar little problems. Change requires action. Meh…
Effective sales pages push readers out of that state of inertia. Ineffective ones, miss the mark and lose the reader, essentially spelling your sales page’s doom.
So, let’s talk about what this looks like in real life…
THERE’S A POINT IN MOST SALES PAGES THAT GOES A LITTLE SOMETHING LIKE THIS:
“Imagine a business that fuels your soul, pays your bills, and has prospects lined up to buy.”
Not bad…but not great either.
Why? Because that’s a “could argument”. In other words, the way this argument is framed, says you could have a business you love that makes money. Or…you could not have that. Whatevs… It’s hypothetical, maybe attainable—but it’s not urgent.
When it comes to sales pages “coulds” are weaker than than a shitty cup of coffee. They do little (usually nothing) to stir that sense of urgency—that feeling that “I must solve this problem immediately!” Put differently, people read “coulds" and file those problems away, right next to a messy garage or an unsent letter (i.e. to be handled another day).
If you're framing your prospect’s problem as something that could change rather than something that absolutely must change…you’re losing your reader.
You’re losing the sale.
You’re losing the opportunity to make a change in your prospects life.
Bummer.
SO, WHAT WOULD MAKE THIS ARGUMENT ACTUALLY WORK?
What could we write instead that would shake things up, reach out and grab the reader? Simply taking that “could” and making it a “should”. When we do this, we’re appealing to the reader’s sense of injustice. They’re problem is no longer something that would be nice if it were different—it’s now a must, an injustice that needs to be remedied immediately.
That might look something like this…
“You’ve put in 100’s of hours and got that master’s degree—you’re a bona fide expert—but you STILL don’t have a profitable, soul fulfilling business.”
See the difference? The lack of a profitable business is now framed as something your prospect deserves. They’ve done all the things right and yet they STILL aren’t seeing results—the injustice!
If you're doing this, you've hooked your prospect and they're now perfectly primed for you to introduce your solution to their problem. Good sales pages are all about understanding psychology of your prospects and with a strong "should " you're tapping straight into some powerful motivation. And when it comes hawking your wares on the Internet, that makes all the difference.
