Sales pages are an important part of your sales funnel … they handle most of the selling.
Of course, how you treat your leads up to that point plays a huge part as well, but the sales page is the final step. It needs to do a good job of handling final objections and creating a desire to buy or your sales funnel will suffer.
It's the exact point where a lead becomes a customer.
The thing about sales pages is that there are a lot of ways to approach them. There are short sales pages, looooong sales pages, video sales pages/letters (VSL), and everything in-between.
Depending on the product you're selling and the market you're selling to – the format of your sales page may change; however, the overall content wont.
People are still people and they all need to read/hear/see certain things in order to feel comfortable whipping out their credit card and purchasing your product.
By following proven sales page formulas, you'll be able to hit all the points that make people buy.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
I came across these 2 sales page formulas while listening to episode 36 of John McIntyre's podcast, “The McMethod Email Marketing Podcast”.
These formulas come from Michel Fortin, a very well known copywriter and Internet marketing strategist. He's been at it for the better part of 25 years and has a lot to offer. You can learn more about Michel at SuccessDoctor.com and Fortinize.com.
OATH Formula
The OATH Formula is essentially the starting point before you get into developing your sales page.
It's at this point where you figure out “where” your audience is in regards to the buying process.
Knowing “where” they are will help dictate the type of content you'll need to include and the length of your sales page.
Oblivious
They have no clue there is a problem, so they're definitely not looking for any solutions.
You have to educate them on the problem. Define what the problem is, show them that they're actually suffering from it, and how bad it really is.
Apathetic
They know they have some sort of problem, but they don't really care about solving it. You need to make their problem more urgent, bigger, and “blown up”.
The Problem-Agitate-Solve formula performs well here.
Thinking
They know they have a problem. They know there's a solution for it and they may even know your solution; however, they're just kind of thinking about it. They're not really “ready” to make the jump.
This is where you would need to add a sense of urgency whether through promotions or by really explaining why they need to solve this problem now.
For example:
- Promotions: The course is closing in the next 72 hours, get in while you still can!
- Why Now: Every cigarette you smoke today will shorten your life by 3 days. You need to stop now or die sooner than you should.
Hurting
Ideal scenario. People would purchase your product/service even if you only had a “Buy It Now” button on your site.
QUEST Formula
After using the OATH Formula to figure out “where” your audience is in the buying process, you can get to work on the development of your sales page.
Qualify
When people land on your sales letter, they should know instantly that “this is for them.”
Curiosity works well here, because if you're able to spark someone's curiosity, it's because there is some sort of interest.
Example:
Initial Headline: Do you have hair loss?
It's OK, but it doesn't spark any emotion or really call any attention to the pain/problem.
Final Headline: Suffering from hair loss?
Boom! I am suffering, this ad is for me! How can I stop suffering?!
Understand
Use empathy, talk about the problem – make sure that they know, that you know you understand their situation.
Tip
Call and interview people that have had success with your product or service and prod them to the point where they're selling you on why your product is so great. Capture their emotions before your product entered their life compared to afterwards.
Educate
Once the connection is formed from empathy and knowing that you understand their problem, it's time to educate them on the solution.
Educate on both the potential solutions and your own solution.
Stimulate
Explain why your solution is the best and start the ramp up to get them excited about purchasing your solution.
Transition
Transition the individual from a user or lead into a customer or client.
The Call-To-Action (CTA) or the close.
Questions To Ask Yourself
Here are a few question Michel asks his new clients when he's writing copy for them. They can help you get started in the right direction:
- What are the 6 most common misconceptions about your product?
- What are the 6 ways that clients tend to confuse you with your competitors?
- What are the 6 biggest features of your product and their related benefits?
- What are the 6 most common questions people ask about your product?
- Who are your 6 best customers?