“Street performers draw people in, amaze them, and then ask for money.”
Make it Easy for your Fans to Buy From You and Buy Again: Appeal to Four Buying Styles
Dynamically move your “fans” through your persuasion process.
Engage them so they feel compelled to buy.
Again.
And, again.
Street performers persuade with their practiced bits — scripted modules arranged dynamically according to reactions by crowds of tourists.
B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore in their “The Experience Economy” explain:
“Street performers draw people in, amaze them, and then ask for money. Seemingly improvisational, street performers in fact stabilize their scripts. Every performer must have practiced bits to use as opportunities arise.”
Whether in downtown Aspen or on Pearl Street between 11th and 15th Streets in Boulder, Colorado, the one thing in common they practice is dynamically moving their audience through their persuasion process.
It’s what we thought leaders and experts must master.
Awareness – “What’s that crowd doing at the intersection?”
Interest – “Oh look honey, the magician’s flipping cards onto the roof of the BJ’s Craft Brewery.”
Liking – “That juggling clown must be the one cousin Al told us about. He’s awesome around those kids.”
Desire – “I wish I could sing and play the guitar like that – hope she makes it. Let’s put $5 in her guitar case.”
Trial – “Her card says you can buy more songs like the one she just sang on her website.”
Repurchase, Regular Use -”Let’s sign up for the early release of her next album too.”
Full Disclosure: Like nearly every other expert, advisor, consultant or coach I’ve known over the last decade, I hated to sell.
I loved my expertise, but I hated to sell.
So, unless I chose to starve to death I had to change.
Here’s what I discovered when I wanted to create my Knowledge ATM — another online income stream.
Someone smart told me there are basically four reasons why people buy:
The first one is price – the lower the better. Good for the consumer, bad for the provider unless volume is your game.
The second is service – the more personalized the better for time-starved
consumers of your content. Who has time to “Do It Yourself?”
The third is quality – we all know that cheaper doesn’t always last and then we have to buy again. If only we paid more for quality.
And, finally there’s exclusivity – we’re talking luxury, status, membership. If you have to ask the price, then, you probably know the rest — you can’t afford it!
Be clear about which reason your clients and customers will buy from you.
When you type “How do you fix a leaky faucet?” into Google, you get YouTube videos and screenshots of the repair process from a variety of sites.
Most people in a jam follow the same approach when they visit your site for the first time.
You want to create a chain reaction that moves them through the buying process they initiate when they:
Identify a problem – It may take several tries for them to word it right, but it is very specific.
Search for information – The tried and true, more immediate results. Or ask your “friends” on Facebook, or specialty apps like Yelp or TripAdvisor, for instance.
Evaluate alternative solutions – Check out Amazon, call your local hardware store, visit Home Depot or Lowes for pricing and shortcut tips.
Decide to buy — Select the fastest time-to-use option dictated by your sense of urgency. Consider shipping costs and tracking advantages.
Evaluate your satisfaction with the solution your purchased – Did it meet your requirements? Should you add your ratings to the recommendation site or sites you visited?
Is there a format, then, that you should follow that will appeal to almost any and all visitors to your site?
Can you keep them engaged long enough instead of clicking to other search result sites?
Sure.
Follow the modified time-tested journalism and teaching format — Why, What, How, and What If.
The last – When is now – at least you want your fans to take an action.
Back in the winter of 2007 – 2008, I found this template on “CopyBlogger,” by Brian Clark.
It matches up well to the buying process starting with identifying a problem.
And, it takes advantage of four “types” of learning styles — more specifically how to present content to be received unfiltered by each style.
Why?
Answer this, and your reader, fan or audience member will pause long enough to read a few lines.
You need to state the practical benefit at the git go.
In the early blogging economy and search engine optimization (SEO) days, key words tied to the reasons for searching sites, populated landing page headlines and opening paragraphs.
Answering why quickly and clearly is critical for attracting attention.
Roughly 35% of your readers or viewers want to know why they should believe you and how it will benefit them.
Another way of appealing to the “Why-Preferred” buyers is to spell out WIIFM — “What’s In It For Me.”
What?
You can’t stop with attention-getting benefits.
You’ve got to follow up with the substance or say “Buh-Bye” to your time-starved, but analytical readers and viewers.
About 22% will filter out your persuasion attempts, unless you show them the cold hard facts about your solution.
- Spell out the features.
- Provide supporting data.
- The numbers and the rationale behind your method.
How?
The “How” and “What If” buyers need to skim through the “Why” and the “What” first before they selectively filter your content.
But the “How” buyers are the common sense users and repeat buyers — about 18% compared to the other three types.
Good news?
They’re eager to dive in and learn by doing.
Bad new?
They don’t have the patience for reading or listening.
They want specific examples.
They only selectively filter content shown as it works in the real world – that YouTube for replacing your leaky faucet or installing a light switch.
- Give them step-by-step concrete instructions.
- Lists.
- Numbered sequences.
- Screen shots.
What If?
They’re looking for something that can be used in a different way.
“What Ifs” are resourceful.
Who knows why they landed on your site?
They just did.
As soon as they get it, they’re off on a new direction.
What if you skipped steps three through six and substituted something else?
Theirs is the second most popular learning profile.
About 25% use their intuition to apply what you’ve offered in new and and different situations.
In a classroom or in a forum they are the ones who pepper you with clarifying questions about certain points you make.
Or once they become clear on what you are proposing will offer up their own illustrations of how your product, service or approach worked for them.
Before they knew what you called it.
Remember, each of your raving fans, from 1 to 1,000 will prefer one way of getting the value of what you are selling and continue to sell.
But you’ll need to appeal to all four.
Doing the math for you …
- Your WIIFM headline and opening paragraph will snag 350 fans;
- 220 will be persuaded by your numbers;
- 180 will stick around long enough to buy your instructional videos and roughly
- 250 will suggest new and different ways to apply your knowledge products or convince you to expand into new niches even you hadn’t thought of.
Steps
(13) Make it easy for your fans to buy a piece of you, and then advocate on your behalf.
(14) Synchronize your selling process to your their buying process — master the chain reaction of Awareness – Interest – Liking – Desire – Trial – Repurchase and Regular Use.
An excerpt from Book Two in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you make more money from a lifestyle businesses you’re truly passionate about.