Your Sales Funnel isn’t converting? You’re not alone. Let me tell you a little story.

Have you ever been on a date that you’ve eagerly been waiting for days or even weeks, maybe? 

All that eagerness builds on to become a tingling, nervous excitement. And finally, the evening arrives. As you stand in front of the mirror, checking yourself out, with your best dress on – you feel a funny tickle in your belly. You try to breathe and relax. 

You feel the tickle morph itself into a churn when you see your date arrive, looking gorgeous in that black dress. And before you know it, you blabber your way into the ‘not compatible‘ section of her mind. 

Later, when the dust of the horrible date settles, you retrospect and say, ‘Damn, I should’ve talked less and listened more.‘

And you would be right. That is just what the doctor, or in this case, the love-guru ordered. 

An excited marketer is not unlike our nervous guy on a date. They have something crucial in common – the eagerness to impress their audience.  

It is easy to lose sight of the goal when marketers are desperately trying to communicate what they have to offer and why their product is the best fit for the customer’s needs.

Simon Sinek, TEDx speaker, and author of ‘Start with Why’ explains how successful leaders and organizations operate with a ‘Why first’ perspective. ‘Why’ is a powerful concept. It pushes us to dive deep into the psyche of our customers and develop bonds built on trust and understanding.

But most ‘excited’ marketers choose to focus on ‘What’. They prefer to shout ‘What products they offer’ rather than understanding the underlying needs of their customers. 

How do you think their funnels end up? Yup! They end up ‘talking’ a lot, so much so that they never stop to listen to their customers.

Did you roll your eyes? Yes, you did. You don’t think I see you, but I do. Okay, I don’t. But I would like to put forward a few words from ace advertiser Gary Bencivenga to corroborate my idea.

Let’s put this theory into perspective.

Marketers need to ask ‘Why’?

As Brian Clark, Founder of CopyBlogger puts it, People hate to be sold. But they love to buy.

Imagine, you are an online gaming service and you feel ready to take your services to the consumers. You visit your neighbourhood hot-shot marketer and communicate your requirements.

At some point in your discussion, the marketer is going to give you this advice: “We need to give your brand a personality.”

That’s a sound piece of advice. I have nothing against personality. After all, you dress well for your date, right?

What’s next, you ask? You will be told that your website needs a facelift. “We need to give your customers a journey to experience.” Another fine input.

Are you with me? Good. Because this is where things usually go downhill.

A Sales Funnel is put in place and you wait for your business to blow up. A few weeks go by since you launched your campaign. And then another few weeks. Nothing!

Your conversion rates stay miserable and you see customers falling out of your funnel. “What went wrong?” you confront your marketer, disgruntled. Chances of you not getting a satisfactory response is well, quite high. 

Let me tell you what went wrong!

Your Sales Funnel turned out to be a talker. Enter Billy. 

Billy is a 45-year old investment banker who missed a good part of his son’s childhood, chasing a corner cabin in a silicon-valley tower. Now, he aspires to reconnect to his 11-year old son, Dane, who aspires to be a gamer. He visits your website and begins exploring options that would help him get to his boy’s right side. And what does he find? 

He finds another gaming service, just like the twenty other he visited before you that screams, I am the best. Take me home. I am the cheapest on the block. Etc.

Too much talk. Too little differentiation.

Imagine if you heard what Billy had to say. Would you tell him that you’re the best gaming service on the block? Or that you’re the cheapest. After all, he has a corner office. He doesn’t care about money. Not when it comes to his son. If you did listen to Billy, your top-funnel would say something like:

“Hey Billy, We bring friends close and families closer with our online multiplayer gaming service.”

And Billy would have gone, “Woah! These guys know their stuff.“

And just like that, you would have made a loyal, returning customer. 

But, only if you just listened to Billy. I mean data, of course. Duh! The marketers focussed a little too hard on ‘What you are selling?‘ when they should have converged on ‘Why is the customer here?’

If marketers focus on the ‘Why?’, we would have gotten a tighter funnel and higher conversions. Then you, the seller, wouldn’t just be a seller. You would be a storyteller; your funnel would be your story. 

To conclude, I would leave you with a few words from the master-

People do not buy good or services. They buy relations, stories and magic.

Seth Godin

Over and Out.

Dev

I am a Freelance writer and filmmaker. I spend most of my time reading up on history, science, personal growth and the cultures of the world. Writing fiction sets my soul on fire and sometimes, I wonder if I am playing the right character in my own story. Travelling is how I find meaning and playing my guitar is how I communicate with the Universe. Gratitude is my go-to place when I close my eyes.

You’re welcome in my world of thoughts and words! For freelance writing gigs, you can write to me at dev@writor.in