It's the day before Christmas and I've finished up my outlining and work for the three courses that I'm launching in the new year. I'll likely record them in the next couple days and get them on this site next week some time. Yet, even as I'm working on this, I have – like many of you – the normal fears. What if no one buys these courses? So today I thought I would articulate (for me as much as for you) the five reasons people don't convert. Why, when faced with an offer, they don't make the buying decision.
Let's get right into my list. As they review your offering, here's what they're saying in their head…
“I don't believe it will work for me”
The first of the five reasons people don't convert, for me, is applicability. No one is saying the product or service doesn't work. They're thinking that their own situation is unique enough that the offering isn't a good fit for them.
This is often because the marketing copy that we put on our offering pages is so generic that people with specific situations don't see themselves in the offering.
How do you resolve this? Either create better targeted copy, which I have written about before, or use case studies to tell the specific stories that can mitigate this risk.
“I don't believe you can deliver on your promises”
The second of the five reasons people don't convert is trust. Again, they're not saying that a solution like the one you're presenting couldn't work. They're saying that they don't believe your specific solution may not work because they haven't developed trust with you (and your brand) yet.
I like record players and vinyl records. It's a relatively new hobby (in the last year or so). And the one thing that gets me is all the online places where I can find listings of records that I don't buy from. It's not because I don't want the record. It's because I don't trust the site and won't be giving them my credit card – maybe ever.
Case studies help. The way you write your copy can help too. But in this case, it's often more about design and trust signals. Make sure you're designing your site to look as trustworthy as you can. A few video testimonials won't hurt.
“I don't have enough time to work on this”
As we get deeper into the five reasons people don't convert, we get to the ones most people talk about – effort (and money is next). Sometimes your offering sounds great. It looks amazing. I want it. I even think I need it. But as I dig into the details I see that this is going to require a serious amount of focus and energy. And that may delay me from making a purchase.
It's easy to think that we're at fault when people don't convert. But that's not always the case. Sometimes the delay in conversion is because of what's going on on their side.
But that doesn't mean we can't work to mitigate this issue by highlighting how easy it is to get started. We sometimes make the mistake of creating something “complete” to feel worthy of charging. But the flip side is that our complete solution now looks like it will take a ton of work.
As I was designing these three courses, I limited them each to 4 lessons. Because the data I have on my other courses is that people rarely got to lesson 23. The data says I'm not alone.
“I don't have enough money to pay for this”
Reason four why people don't convert? The cost. And you know my answer to that if you've been reading the blog this past year – we need to embrace product ladders.
Some people may really want what you are offering, but at your price point, they can't pull the trigger. The answer isn't to tell them to come back later when they have more cash.
The answer is to invite them to select an offering at a lower rung on the ladder – less for less, or partial results for partial pay.
That way you connect and start building the trust with them so that when they do have more money, they're willing to spend it with you.
“I don't need this (or can do it on my own)”
Have you ever watched a stand up routine where one whole joke segment doesn't hit? Comedians do the work to try to craft routines that apply to everyone but that's really hard. So every now and then, and I watch a ton of these routines, I end up watching something where I'm completely unengaged for a matter of minutes.
That can happen to someone who finds your offer page and it just doesn't connect. There's nothing wrong with this. It's the one that I don't have a perfect answer for, because in reality, some people will seriously just not need what you're offering.
But here's the thing – if you fix 80% of the reasons and this is the only one you don't resolve, you're going to be in a really good place.
All I'll tell you is that you can help connect prospects better if you're better at telling your story well. So make sure that's not the reason people aren't feeling connected.
The Five Reasons People Don't Convert
So here they are, in list form for easy review.
- Applicability
- Trust
- Effort
- Cost
- Connection
I hope this helps you as much as it will help me as I get ready to share some new products with you (both courses and plugins) in the new year.