Writing a Sales Page: How to Get More Leads and Customers from Your Website
Want to get more customers? Start by writing a sales page that engages your ideal clients. In this article, we’ll discuss how to leverage attention-grabbing headlines, use pain-points and solutions, share benefits, establish credibility, qualify prospects, and craft irresistible offers.
Most people hate selling, but being able to talk about what you have to offer and how it can benefit your client is key to getting more leads and sales from your website.
Don’t think of it as SELLING. Think of it as SERVING.
First, figure out WHO it is that you serve.
IDENTIFY YOUR IDEAL CLIENT
Your ideal client is the person you like to work with the most—as well as the person you can help the most with your services and products. You might choose clients based on factors such as age group, gender, education, field of expertise, etc.
What group of people would benefit most from your services?
For instance, you might sell real estate, but there are several kinds of properties, such as upscale homes, commercial property, and senior communities, just to name a few. All of these buyers have different needs and comprise a special segment of the population.
Can you determine who the ideal client is on these websites?
http://mcamedicalconsulting.com
http://fengshuiinspirations.com
Brand Your Genius is geared towards consultants such as life coaches and people who want to brand themselves and stand out online as a leader in their field.
MCA Medical Consulting & More reaches out to the elderly (and to their loved ones who are responsible for their care) who are overwhelmed and need more help with medical needs and in-home services.
Feng Shui Inspirations taps the self-improvement crowd—mostly women—who want to clean up the clutter in their homes and improve relationships and finances.
WRITE A COMPELLING HEADLINE
There are two main ways to write a great headline for your sales page that will address your ideal client directly. You can either point out the problem or dangle a carrot.
In the first instance, you are usually asking a question that gets to the heart of their problem. Such as:
“Are you tired of being overlooked online?” (Addresses the problem of not standing out among the crowd)
OR
You could state the benefits:
“Look like the expert you are. Stand out from the crowd and attract your ideal clients.”
Or ask in the form of a question:
“Are you ready to share your genius with the world?”
Questions are great, because they engage your ideal client and make them think about the answer. Compelling questions entice people to keep reading, which is what you want!
POINT OUT THE PROBLEM, HEAL THE PAIN
Regardless of what headline you choose, you need to talk about your clients’ problems and explain how you can fix them. You need to show them why they need your services. Tell them that you understand their pain, because you’ve been there yourself, and you’ve helped yourself and others to overcome it.
You might write something like this:
“Do you feel like you keep attracting clients who don’t seem to appreciate what you have to offer? You have real value to share, but you’re not sure how to showcase what you do, so you can reach the clients you really want to work with—the ones who will love your work and pay you what you deserve.
You are probably casting the widest net you can to get paying clients, so you are offering lots of services, hoping to cover everyone’s needs. Maybe you are undercharging for your services and taking on any client just to make ends meet. I’ve been there! Watering down your brand to try to serve everybody doesn’t work.
It’s time for a change. Find out how you can stop being everything to everyone, and start doing what you really love while working with the people you truly want to work with. Discover how to express what your personal genius is and how to shine online, so you can attract your ideal clients.”
Notice that the text starts by pointing out problems and then teases the solution. Potential clients have to keep reading to find out more.
ESTABLISH CREDIBILITY
In order to work with you, clients have to believe that you can help them. When writing a sales page, you have to establish credibility and show how you are an authority in your field. Often this is done by stating how many years of experience you have. You can also use case studies and talk about how you helped your clients in the past. Also include testimonials from happy clients. Use their picture and get a good quote from them.
Even better, get clients to review your business on Google or Yelp. Google is probably the best site for reviews, because they show the number of reviews on your business listing that comes up at the top in searches. Yelp is second best, because it also comes up high in searches. But whatever you do, try not to get a bad review on Yelp, because bad comments are weighted very heavily and show up right on top. It’s impossible to remove bad reviews on Yelp, too. (Even more reason to pick clients who are a good match for your services and make sure they are satisfied.)
Use social proof. If you have a lot of followers on social media, show the numbers. Ask them to join you on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, etc. Only do this if you already have a significant following or lots of good content. If not, don’t use it.
ADDRESS OBJECTIONS
Your audience will probably have doubts. They may be thinking that they can’t afford your services or that your services won’t work for them. If you can think of roadblocks to people working with you, talk about those issues and soothe their minds.
For example, a Feng Shui consultant felt she needed to explain that her field of expertise isn’t a hokey practice, but a practical one:
“Feng Shui is both an art and science of moving your stuff to change your life. Far from being some kind of hokey “woo woo” practice, Feng Shui is ultimately practical. It only makes sense that if your living space is cluttered, you are going to feel overwhelmed and blocked. And when you remove the blocks in your room, you literally and psychologically have more space in which to move.”
While many things in her practice are symbolic, they actually reinforce the client’s mental projections, helping to bring about positive change. By talking about something esoteric like Feng Shui in a practical way, it becomes more accessible to clients, encouraging them to try it.
Some other doubts you can assuage:
- That it’s worth it (offer lots of proof, case studies, and reviews)
- That you are legitimate (offer social proof like lots of followers on Facebook, Google reviews, years of experience, awards, good press)
- That they can afford it (offer a discount or payment plan)
- That they won’t be disappointed (offer a money-back guarantee)
QUALIFY YOUR CLIENTS
Your ideal client should self-identify as your client when they read your sales page. To help them determine if they are a match for your services, consider writing a checklist of qualifications for them to meet.
The truth is that you ONLY want to work with IDEAL clients who are a good match for your services. If you take on clients who need more than you can offer, or who just don’t fit with your process, neither one of you will be happy. Unhappy clients talk and can ruin your reputation. You can also lose money by having to work extra hours to appease a demanding client who didn’t understand the scope of your offerings. Make sure you set their expectations before you work together.
This checklist lays out expectations upfront:
“Because I want you to succeed with your brand, you must be committed to the Brand Your Genius process. This process is right for you if:
- You are ready to evaluate your current work flow and choose a very specific niche to serve. (Narrowing your field actually positions you as an expert and helps you reach your ideal clients more easily.)
- You offer services to your clients, and you want to stop charging on an hourly basis and start charging for the value you provide.
- You are open to packaging your services in a new way that provides more value, so you can charge premium prices.
- You are willing to answer the BrandSparkTMquestions honestly, and to participate in a strategy call to shape your brand, so we can position you as a distinction in your field. (This process takes about 3 hours of your time.)
- You want to follow through with a BrandShineTMto showcase your new brand online with your logo, colors, graphics, and messaging on a website that helps you stand out as the expert you are.”
Notice how the items above are a bulleted list. You could also use actual checkboxes to make it look more like a checklist. This list lays out the whole process, so the client knows what they are agreeing to do.
Also note how this list talks about features AND benefits. It explains WHY clients should buy your services, not just what you offer.
LIST BENEFITS, NOT JUST FEATURES
In the list above we listed features (what we offer) AND the benefits of those features (how it helps the client). NEVER LIST ONLY FEATURES. While these things are important, clients only really care about how it helps them. They want to know how they can save time and money, find love, achieve their dreams, and make their lives better. Figure out how to help them do these things, and you will be successful.
Check out this clear list of benefits:
- Get rid of the stuff you don’t really love, and find things that energize you
- Clear out the clutter that’s blocking you, so you can get moving again—mentally and physically
- Take control of your space instead of feeling overwhelmed by it
- Feel truly relaxed and able to concentrate
- Remove blocks to creating more money
- Keep things clean and in working order, so your life runs more smoothly
- Attract the kind of relationship you really want
- Use colors and artwork that uplift you and stimulate you
- Make room, literally and symbolically, for new opportunities
Again we used a bulleted list and kept each item brief. This isn’t an accident. People like to scan content. Bulleted lists break up blocks of text and make them easier to read.
Use bulleted lists and short paragraphs to keep people reading your page!
USE CLEAR CALLS-TO-ACTION
A call-to-action is simply what you want your prospect to do after they read your sales page. It can be something simple like calling you or sending an email. Or they might sign up for a free trial of your software, or join your mailing list to get a free e-book. Sometimes you might just ask them to buy something outright.
Whatever you do, make it easy! You want to remove as many barriers as possible to help your client interact with you. If you want them to call you, put your phone number in large type at the top AND bottom of each page. If you want them to use your contact form to email you, have some nice big CONTACT US buttons sprinkled around your page. Consider having one at the top, middle, and bottom of the page. You want to give them several opportunities, so they don’t miss it.
At the very least, make sure you have a CONTACT link at the end of your main menu at the top of your site. People expect to see this link there, and if they don’t, they may get frustrated and leave your site.
When creating buttons, make them stand out. Pick a bright solid color for the button background. Make the text on the button easy to read. Buttons should be directives, such as: Contact Us, Get a Free Consultation, Sign Up Now, Start Your Free Trial, Get Started, Buy Now, Join for Free.
Notice how many of these buttons include the word “free.” Free is a magic word for people. Everyone likes to get something for free. It’s a great way to let clients sample your work and get to know you before committing fully to working with you.
If you can offer a free e-book or test or sample, you can also start a mailing list. Ask your readers to subscribe to your list in exchange for your freebie. Make it something compelling and useful. ALWAYS GIVE VALUE. Give them something truly useful and actionable—something they can act on right away to start improving their lives.
Some ideas:
A Daily Challenge – They get a series of emails from you with instructions on things to do for several days in a row that will improve their lives. (You can automate this and start a mailing list for free at MailChimp.com.)
Free E-Book – Write up some of your best tips and compile them into a PDF that they can download once they subscribe to your mailing list. (You can write your e-book in Word and export it as a PDF.)
Trial Membership – Ask them to Join for Free, and offer 15 to 30 days to try out your service before they become a paid subscriber.
Free Consultation – Offer a discovery call to find out more about their needs and see if you are a match for working together. These calls generally last between 15 to 30 minutes. You should share ideas about how you can help them, but you don’t need to give away actual solutions beyond offering some inspiration and a plan to help.
Free Quiz – People love tests! Write up a bunch of questions to help them discover something about themselves or their lives. Relate it to your services and offer them as a solution to any challenges they uncover.
Congrats, you are on your way to writing a sales page that’s strong and compelling to help you get more leads and sales on your website. Be sure to test it and ask clients for their feedback. Remember that this sales page is just a starting point. It’s a landing page where you can send people when marketing your site on search engines or social media.
Don’t worry about making your sales page perfect. The most important thing is to get something out there and GET STARTED NOW. You can continue working on it as you try new things and evolve as you go along. Writing a sales page, like living your life, is a journey, not a destination. Happy travels.
