3 Steps to Educating Your Potential Customers: Lead Them Out of Overwhelm and Into Oh-So Happy Purchasing Your Product

by Erica Wiley | Featured Contributor

Close your eyes for a moment and recall the memory of a time you got overwhelmed when trying to learn something new. Was it a teacher who gave too much content too fast? Was there a sales rep that seemed to flip switches, push buttons and fly right through a demonstration, leaving your head spinning?

Erica Wiley with client

Now picture your ideal client. Even if your offer genuinely interests her, she will still tune out and not buy if you overwhelm her.

If you’ve been following along in our website navigation sales process, you’ll recall we begin with an introduction on the homepage leading to content that will build rapport, getting the shopper familiar with you. Education is the third component of the sales process, so open your favorite note taking app or notepad and lets learn the 3 steps to educating your potential customers: lead them out of overwhelm and into oh-so happy purchasing your product.

Your ideal client is already familiar with the problem; it’s something she’s been experiencing. What she really needs is your perspective on her problem. What unique insight do you have on the situation that she hasn’t been able to solve on her own or with someone else’s method?  An extension of building rapport is showing you are familiar with the problem and see further into the situation.

Action Step: Write a 1 – 2 sentence explanation of your unique perspective into your target market’s pressing problem that your service solves. This could look something like: “Working moms experience burnout (ßproblem) because they are trying to prove themselves equal to male coworkers without giving up home responsibilities (ß your perspective on the “why”.)

After you show your potential buyer that you are on the same page, now you can make your offer subtly. Introduce your solution(s), your product or service, that solves her struggle. This is not your call to action. Imagine you go to a furniture store and tell the sales woman you are looking for a new couch. She nods her head, tells you they carry couches, guides you over to one, tells you the price and asks if she should write up the sales order.

Crazy, right? It’s the first time you are laying eyes on it. Is it comfortable? Will it look nice in your living room? You were never given the chance to understand and develop it’s relevance to you, personally. Doesn’t make the sales rep look too knowledgeable either. Yea, I’ve got a yuck feeling too and am high-tailing it outta there.

So back to your website’s services page. Action Step: With each solution you offer to your buyer, provide a description that relates to the buyer and her problem and infuse your theory, that unique method we mentioned earlier, as to why this will be different than what she’s tried before.

Will you humor me and imagine just one more time? Let’s go back to the furniture store, this time the rep tells us about the couch. “It’s ruby red, micro-fiber fabric, has a lever operated reclining position and comes with a 1 year parts warranty.” I look at you and shrug, sounds like any couch to me. You don’t look enthusiastic either.

I’ll let you in on a secret; I once worked a temp job as a furniture sales rep. And the way I sold furniture is the same way I teach my clients to sell on their websites. Create value by talking about benefits, not features.

If you had come into my store, I would have taken you to the furniture pieces you were interested in and asked questions that would give me insight into your life and the role this purchase would play. Once I got a feel for your taste and showed you matches, instead of talking about features, I’d paint a picture of you having family time, everyone lounging together playing Monopoly. About how the sectional sofa would accommodate guests for when you entertain. As often as possible, incorporate emotion into the benefits.

Action Step: Write the features of your service along with the benefits that those features create. Figuratively paint an emotional picture of those benefits for your ideal client. For example, my company offers tech training & website services that feature profitable, easy technology in a fun way. The value we create for our clients is tweaking their businesses to support their goals & vision, allowing them to spend time with their family and pursue interests, as opposed to sucking up all their time and resources.

Educating your website visitors about your product is paramount to closing more sales on your website. They key to successfully share your services without overwhelming your potential buyer is to clarify the problem with your unique method, describe your solutions supported by your perspective & expertise, and help her see the tangible benefits and value she can expect by choosing to buy from you.

Okay, okay. This geek has got one more bonus tip for you and it’s a tech one. You may be struggling with how to present benefits and value without getting to wordy. I recommend using an infographic to visually display the most important benefit data about your products. You can read more about infographics here. I also suggest you check out Piktochart and infogr.am, easy to use infographic tools.

Struggling to optimize your services page? Please share below; I’d love to help you!

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Business + Tech Geek – Erica Wiley of PROFITGEEKS – New York

Erica Wiley is Co-Founder and President of PROFITGEEKS, a unique web development and marketing agency that uses technology, biz savvy and good clean fun to grow businesses.

Erica blends her 10 years in sales & marketing with the unique experiences learned from working from home, homeschooling and managing a blended family of 7! She knows first hand the challenges that entrepreneurs face and teaches her clients how to use technology to streamline business operations, create a profit-generating online presence and have time for their passion.

Her work is her joy as she helps you demystify marketing and technology and create a customized system that will keep you focused, motivated and in action!

An all around geek, Erica is passionate about personal development, LOTR, Star Wars, white boards, productivity & planning apps, software testing, volunteering, tree climbing and currently, indie folk music.

For simple, practical and immediately effective tips, Tweet with Erica or find her on Facebook.

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