Today we’re gonna talk about where your IDEAL clients are falling through the cracks in your sales process. I want to take you from the “I’m interested phase” to the contract being signed and investigate what your client may or may not be experiencing that could be costing you the sale. We’re going to talk about a few things, what you might be doing right, what you might be doing wrong, things to consider, as well as the little nuances in between. It’s my hope that you’ll walk away with a better understanding of how your ideal client goes through that journey and where you can make improvements.
Entry Point
It’s important to identify where your leads are coming into your world. It could be through word of mouth, a referral, social media, or maybe they’re on your email list. Unfortunately, we can’t always know who we’ve lost in the process, specifically at those beginning stages. But you have to understand that if you are not booking clients, chances are there are some issues with your entry points.
But let’s assume that the issue is not with your entry points. We’re going to assume you’re putting out great content, you have good messaging and everything is pretty much on point, but when they go to take that next step with you, you’re losing people. So let’s take a look at what comes AFTER they enter the awareness stage.
“Checking you out” phase
From that entry point, if they are interested, they’re gonna move into the “checking you out” phase. They’re going to look at your website, they’re going to look at your social media channels, they’re going to look at your freebies, they’re going to binge your podcast. They’re just going to kind of peruse everything you’ve got going on. This is what we call our online storefront.
Your marketing can be good and on point, but if your website isn’t clear, it’s hard to navigate, they can’t find the buttons they want to see, it’s outdated, you’re not showing your prices, they’re not going to book a call with you or go through the next step. These are the little areas that I’ve found in working with lots of women and finding these little gaps. If someone is interested in your services, they want to know what it’s all about. They want to know all the details, they want to know how to buy it. They want to know what happens after they buy it. If they can’t find out the information that they need, they are going to walk away.
Consistency
Your ideal clients are also looking for consistency across different channels. So if you’ve portrayed yourself really well in your marketing, but your website is not portraying that same authority, that’s an inconsistency that will cost you clients. It’s a red flag for a savvy buyer.
Build trust
If your service or offer can be bought with the click of a button, you need to put time and emphasis into your sales page, into your marketing and into your messaging. When you ask someone to hit a button, it requires a higher level of trust and that’s up to you to build that trust.
The “I’m interested enough” phase.
This is the phase where your ideal client is almost there. They are feeling like, “I’m 80 % there. I wanna hear more. I want to take it to the next step.” It’s our job to make sure that what we are providing enough information for them to take that next step, AND that the next step doesn’t create too large of a barrier of entry for them.
I’ve seen all sorts of things: fill out an application and I’ll get back to you. Fill out an inquiry form and you’ll get an email. Book a call straight away, send me a DM. There’s lots of different options here and none of them are wrong. Sometimes you want that barrier of entry to make sure that you’re getting the right people on a phone call with you. But it also can be a deterrent. The bottom line here is that you need to know your audience and understand what actions make the most sense.
The “Reaching out” phase
This is where I think many people lose their potential leads. “Fill out this inquiry form and I will send you information” or “I’ll send you the link to book a call” or something similar. When you make someone wait for more information, and there is a delay of information or of a link to book a call, you’ll lose people quicker and in higher volume. If you take 24 to 48 hours to respond to them or to say, “great, here’s the next step”, it’s very possible that they’ve already sourced someone else or their emotions have come down.
If you have an application or inquiry form, there should be an automatic email on the backend saying, “great, we got your application, looks wonderful. We’re excited to work with you.” If they’re not the right fit, you could email them and say, “thanks so much for scheduling this call, thanks for filling out the form, but based on some of your answers, I don’t think I’m a good fit for this reason.”
Overload of information
There might be a phase in your process where you send a potential client information, or you send them work to do prior to getting on a discovery call with you. They haven’t even talked to you yet, and maybe you’re overloading them with information. You need to be careful with that. Less is more. Be selective with those emails or that correspondence that might be too much information before the client has actually signed on.
Come back to creating connections
If you aren’t doing sales calls, I would love for you to consider adding that to your sales system. Why? Because everything is always going to come back to connection. Anytime you can form a connection with an ideal client, the more likely you will be to book that client. It could be by Voxer, DMs, or chats. Whatever option works best for you, use it.
On the sales call
If you’re not actively leading the call, then you are not portraying yourself as confident. Maybe you’re too casual, or maybe it’s a little chaotic in the background and you’re distracted. When this happens, you’re running the risk of losing potential clients. You need to show up confidently and lead the call from start to finish. At the end of the call, make sure that you have a clear call to action. So if somebody’s saying, “yes, I’m ready. Let’s move forward.”, you’re sending them the contract and the invoice immediately. If they want to see a proposal, you make sure you get that proposal to them ASAP.
Not losing leads is all about closing the gaps. It might be five different things. It might be one big thing, but the details matter immensely and not just in your sales process. Think about all the different areas of your business, the details in your foundation, in your business structure, in your offers, in your prices, in your messaging, in your content, and in your marketing All of these things add up to a really strong business that is sustainable and can grow. Let me know if you start to fill in those cracks and notice some differences. I’d love to hear that this podcast helped you.
