First, let me just say that you should not be trying to “get” people to buy from you. It sounds desperate and no one likes a pushy sales-person. You have to bring them on a journey with you so they will start to know, like, and trust you.
People buy from people the know.
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What can be easy to forget is these people don’t know you yet. They have not become obsessed with you as a person so they do not feel the draw to buy something you use or recommend.
That does not mean there is anything wrong with you it just means they need time to get to know you and fall in love with who you are.
To do that there is a path they have to go on. A “free to paid journey”.
Selling products or services to people you have never met might seem difficult and next to impossible. But, if you do it with love and care it won’t be distasteful.
After you work to earn their trust and build a relationship with them getting them to buy your products will come effortlessly. They will want to buy your products or the items you recommend.
Don’t want to forget this information? Save it to your favorite Pinterest board with the image below so you can find it later.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you chose to purchase a recommended product I will receive a small percentage at no extra cost to you. This helps me bring you great content every week and you can build a business and life you love.
Selling In Bad Taste
Who here likes to walk past people in the grocery store trying to sell satellite TV, or that other amazing thing that will “change your life”? Not me. I avoid those people like the pelage.
This is not the right way to bring someone on a journey with you. Those salespeople will often try to push things on you even after you have said you are not interested. Leaving the word “sales” with a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.
The customer has to know, like, and trust you before they are willing to give you their credit card number. This takes time and a fair amount of work to get to the point where people are waiting with bated breath to buy the next thing we put out.
Related Post: How to sell affiliate products without feeling salesy
There are four levels of creating your free to paid journey for your clients, audience, or readers.
Their journey starts at “the pool” then as they grow to love you they will be willing to commit to you (aka buy your stuff).
Pool
This is your free content that people can find and take in without having to give you anything, even an email address. There is no barrier between them and the content.
You want to put your best foot forward to pull people in rather then busing people up the hill to your content.
This can be anything you choose but often come in the form of blog posts, youtube videos, podcasts or any kind of educational content you share.
Your social media platforms are also your pool. You are casting a net and letting people into your life showing who you are as a person. This helps people get to know you as a person and become obsessed with you.
Opt-in
This content is free but you are taking them one step closer to trusting you. To get this content they have to give you their email address. You can use anything you like as your opt-in. But, it needs to be something that makes your audience go “WOW I can believe they are giving that away for free.
To deliver this freebie you need an email service provider. Most people have some kind of PDF that they give for free and it is linked in the email that is automatically pushed out when the person signs up.
I am currently using Active Campaign.
Up-sell
A product that is typically under $27 If you can create something great and sell it for less then $20 tends to convert even better. Your upsell should fill the gaps between the opt-in and your next step or the commit product. You want to make it packed full of information that they can’t help but buy the course.
Commit
First, know that it takes people time to get to this point. Especially if your product has a big price tag.
This is the high-end product or service you create for your audience. Products like online courses, coaching, lessons, or a bundle of products that complete their journey with you.
Related Post: How to attract clients with a customer experience.
Not Everyone Makes It To The End
Your free to paid journey will also have some casualties. (A little dramatic I know) A lot of people like free stuff but not everyone will want to pay for your offer and that’s ok. If they don’t then they are not the right person for you.
It is hard to be ok with at first because we want everyone to like us but the truth is we are not right for everyone. A good conversion rate is anything at or above 3% of people making it all the way to your paid offer.
Start Slow
Take it one section at a time and make each step of the journey flow into each other nicely. If you don’t know what your paid offer will be yet that’s fine. Just start building your list and creating value for them.
This will be your starting point to creating a sales funnel for your customers.
Related Post: Know what products to create
Building a successful business takes time and patience to get all of the parts to blend together because you are finding your voice and the community you want to build.
Keep experimenting and the perfect blend will come.