Most Friday evenings, you can find me at the beach with friends, having an al fresco cocktail or two. What started as some socially distant fun has become something of a tradition, which now includes bottles of mini Prosecco, snacks and great views.

In fact, we’ve started to upgrade our picnicking experience even further, which brings me to The Chair That Nearly Defeated Me.

As we’re all getting on a bit, I decided to invest in one of those nifty little camping chairs that miraculously packs down to handbag-sized..

It didn’t come with any instructions, but honestly, how hard could it be to assemble? It’s only got two pieces. 

Reader, it was hard to assemble. Almost impossible in fact. 

Other people tried and failed and then simply sat back and enjoyed watching me struggle, week in and week out, as I wrestled with that $*@!*?£* chair for over a year.

Sure, I’d get the thing assembled eventually through sheer brute force but only after a minimum or 20 minutes of red-faced swearing.

I was ready to give up and throw it away. I tried my last resort – YouTube. 

And the first video I found started with these 5 blessed words.

“First turn the chair upside down”.

It will come as absolutely no surprise to anyone, that I had been doing it all wrong. I just needed that crucial piece of information to put me in control of the damn chair. 

Here’s the chair-sized lesson. 

There is a right way and a wrong way to build or re-design your website if you want to make sure that it’s going to convert visitors into buyers. 

Without creating a buying journey and a clear narrative, your visitors will get tired of wrestling with your website and just give up.

In this post, I’ll be talking about:

• How to build a compelling homepage that handles objections from the start
• Why you need a services or sales page that creates desire
• How to create a selling tool for other people to use to sell YOU

Your Home Page

The only job your home page needs to do is to win just one click.

But….it won’t be the same click for everyone.

Because not everyone is at the same stage of their journey with you.

In marketing terms, we can divide your visitors into 3 different groups – cold, warm and hot – and they all need different things from your home page. 

Cold Audience

Your cold audience doesn’t really know much about you yet. Maybe they’ve found you through Google search or maybe you’ve been recommended to you. Either way, by the time they’ve scrolled your home page, they need to understand exactly what you do and believe that you can help them. 

Features:

• Immediately address the problem they have
• Allow them to self-identify as the ‘perfect fit’ for what you offer
• Tackle their number one objection
  (If you’re struggling with this, try saying to yourself, ‘most people think’… as a prompt for uncovering their biggest objection.)

The best call to action for a cold visitor, from the top part of your home page, is to your sales or ‘experience’ page. 

Warm Audience

Your warm audience knows you and your work already. Maybe they follow you on social media or perhaps you’ve even met them in real life.

These people have higher trust, are willing to scroll further and are looking for evidence.

We’re talking:

• Prominent links to your portfolio
• Case studies
• Testimonials
• Facts and figures
• (Carefully selected) blog posts 

Hot Audience

Your hot audience visitor is ready to buy. They have been to your website before, probably several times, and they are looking for that final piece of information that’s going to spark them into becoming a buyer. 

They are looking for a nudge to take real action and to be able to mentally compare what you’re offering with other alternatives they are considering.

They need:

• A quick summary of your product on the home page
• A brief outline of your process & deliverables with a link to your sales page
• Answers to their key objections
• An easy way to ask you a question
• Social proof

Calls to action they will be looking for include FAQs, Testimonials, Buy Now or Book A Call buttons – whatever your preferred conversion event is.

Why you need a sales page

Are you a creative business owner who thinks you don’t need a sales page? Think again. 

A lot of people think sales pages have to be exceptionally long, VERY salesy and full of ‘buy now’ buttons.

Sure, some are like that, but they don’t have to be. A sales / info / experience page (whatever you want to call it), has a significant role to play

A sales page will:

• Examine the problem your audience has
• Explain what will happen if the problem isn’t solved
• Establish your credibility
• Lay out the solution
• Introduce the product that is the solution
• Provide proof that it works

Done well, it should take your website visitor on a journey that ends in an invitation to take the relationship further.

Now, I’ve written about creating a killer sales page at length in this blog post, so I won’t repeat it but do revisit your current pricing or info page with a view to transforming it into a longer-form sales page that will give your prospective client a crystal clear idea of what it would be like to work with you.

BTW, if building a sales page seems daunting, don’t worry. All of our templates come with pre-written copy prompts ready for you to just fill in the blanks.

Check out this sales page in one of our beautiful Divi templates.

How to turn your website in to a selling tool for other people to use

If you’re selling any kind of creative service that costs several hundreds or thousands of dollars, then chances are that the final decision maker isn’t necessarily going to be doing the initial research. 

Whether it’s wedding photography or web design, usually one person will be compiling a short list ready for a friend / partner / colleague to help make the final decision.

Don’t leave your new salesperson hanging! 

Here’s what they need to do a great job selling you:

A well-curated ‘best-of-the-best’ portfolio.

Don’t leave them to wander around your blog, hunting down a particular image or project. They’ll simply get bored and leave

A selection of carefully-curated blog posts.
Don’t just leave your latest posts on show. In key area, like your home page and on your portfolio page, make sure that you are showcasing your best work for ideal clients who you want to book more of.

And if you need help creating a high-converting website, sign up for my free web design classes. You can sign up and grab the replays by heading here.