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This is Part Two of the “Conversion Crushing Secrets” article series. Part One is available here.
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There is no such thing as happenstance or chance when it comes to increasing your conversion rates. It is work. But it’s not the mind numbing, bone crushing work we’ve all tried to free ourselves from at one point or another. It’s a labor of love, and it is fiercely rewarding when it’s done well, done right. We are here to help you do it correctly, sooner, and Crush those Conversions.
Last week, we talked about The Muse. This week, we drill into The Possession!
To talk about Possession, we have to talk about THAT friend. We all have THAT friend. Ima go ahead and say it… The Arse.
THAT friend who does the stupidest of the stupids ALL THE TIME. THAT friend who has a huge heart but can flock it up worse than any screwball comedy act.
How many times have you had to ask THAT friend, “Whatever possessed you?”
Whatever possessed you to do that to your hair?
Whatever possessed you to flash a cop?
Whatever possessed you to move in with that guy after two days?
Now that I think about it, my friends are really super judgey (sad face).
Anyhoo, the reason I bring this up is because I want you to think about what that expression means.
Whatever possessed you?
Literally speaking, what we’re actually asking is: “What kind of supernatural entity took over your brain and forced you to make that decision?”
It’s kind of a strange thing to say, right?
But, as Internet Marketers, if we’re being honest about what our goals are, when we make videos or host webinars, we ARE attempting to temporarily “possess” our customers… Juuuust long enough to move them to make a purchase.
We sometimes talk about Marketing as the “Art of Persuasion”. We persuade people that they need to buy our product and dissuade them from allowing their objections to get in the way.
Sometimes we execute this process so well that after the purchase the customer experiences actual regret. It happens so often we even have a name for it: Buyer’s Remorse (we hate buyer’s remorse, but must acknowledge it’s a thing).
Maybe that’s why this industry gets a bad rap? In reality, marketing is ethically neutral. It can be used to persuade people to make good decisions, just as well as bad ones.
So… warning! What we’re about to discuss involves invoking abilities that can be used for either good or for evil. I trust that you’ll only make the wisest of decisions.
The Critical Components of Possession
To effectively possess your customers and, as a result, increase your conversions (let’s not lose sight of the true endgame), your sales pitch must include two critical components.
Leave one of these out and you will be leaving money on the table. Just sayin’.
- Demonstrate the Process
It’s not enough to showcase your product or service and assume that your audience will automatically figure out the benefits. You have to really spell it out. Detail the minutiae. Show your product working. Show it solving your audience’s problems. Show it increasing pleasure or reducing pain.
- Forecast the Results
The first part is fairly obvious, but this second element is a true multiplier, like a Mogwai when you get him wet. If you get the first part right, adding this second part will explode your conversions. All it requires is to invoke in your audience’s mind a vivid picture of what life will be like, in the future, with this product in their lives.
This second step is where “The Possession” is the most powerful. You’re effectively taking the audience out of their present world, into a future one where your product has already had its positive impact. That future world is so compelling and so appealing, that your prospect doesn’t want to return to the present.
What does your customer have to do to stay in that future world?
Purchase your product.
That’s the story that you need to conjure in the minds of your customers. An ownership experience that reveals itself, not just in the immediate advantages, but also the long-term benefits. When your customer imagines making a purchase, they must be able to visualize what happens tomorrow, next week, next month, and even six months from now.
Fitness equipment and DVD infomercials do this really well. They show the product in action, they demonstrate how and why it works, and THEN they show the long-term outcome you can expect IF you use the product.
For the guys, that’s rock hard six-pack abs and jealous side-glances from their friends. For the girls, that’s a flat, defined stomach with no lower pooch and… well… jealous side-glances from their friends.
Who doesn’t love those Before and After transformation images? If you say those don’t light even a little fire in your belly, you lie.
Even the most cynical consumer will find it hard to sit through one of those commercials and not be at least a little bit tempted to buy it. Why? Because the marketing has possessed them and got them thinking about the end result.
The future world just looks so… freakin… good.
The Echo Effect
If you still have doubts that the Demonstration/Forecasting technique is the best marketing strategy for your video and webinars, there’s an additional effect to consider.
Marketing possession is possible in emails and sales letters, but they’ll never be as effective as video or webinars, because the latter allows you to demonstrate and forecast to a degree of specificity that isn’t available in the written word.
I can use all the adjectives I can think of for rock-hard abs (ripped, tight, chiseled, shaped, firm, yummy), but a 10-second video clip of a six-pack is always going to have the superior effect.
An effect that sticks.
Think about it. When was the last time you read a sales letter, and thought,
“That was amazing, I must share that with all my friends!”
Probably, never.
But what about a funny or clever ad or commercial? How many of those have you shared or had shared with you?
Look through your social media feed for the last few months and you’ll probably find more than you think.
Super Bowl commercials are an excellent case in point. Although they may not use the Demonstration/Forecasting technique every time, because they’re so flippin’ awesome, these videos get shared even if people aren’t interested in purchasing the product.
That’s the “Echo Effect.”
It’s a little-considered fact that when a prospect DOESN’T make a purchase, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re not REALLY interested in your product. They might not have the money available right now, or they might want to do more research, or they might have just purchased a competing product and they’re waiting to see how it pans out.
Whatever the reason, if someone likes your product and doesn’t buy, if your video is interesting, educational, and entertaining, there’s a good chance they’re going to share it on Facebook or Twitter.
And some of the people that see the video as a result of that sharing WILL become customers.
Which means both your direct AND indirect conversions increase.
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That’s powerful stuff, right?
At Genesis Digital, Marketing Possession has produced conversion rates that smash every other approach we’ve ever tried. And, since video and webinars have such a profound effect on your conversions, check out WebinarJam and EverWebinar and see why they’ve become a necessity in our Company Tool Kit.
Coming Next Week… Conversion Crushing Secrets Part Three: The Fourth Dimension