Sales Rule #2 for Woman Entrepreneurs: Confused Buyers Don’t Buy

The words ‘sales’ and ‘selling’ are two of the nastiest words for most of the women entrepreneurs that I know. Those who struggle with saying these words all too often struggle with generating sales as well. They tell me these words make them feel ‘dirty’ and sometimes even ‘sleezy’. They tell me they don’t want to come off as ‘pushy’ or ‘money hungry’. They try to convince me, or rather themselves that they are happy just focusing on ‘putting stuff out there’ in the hopes that eventually the money will follow, but it almost never does. If you are like them, let’s take a minute to talk about what’s really hurting your sales, why more people aren’t buying your stuff and how you can fix this major problem that many women entrepreneurs face.

For my fellow online entrepreneurs who want to make sales, but hate selling I have a rule for you today that I want you to take note of and take to heart.

Sales Rule #2: Confused Buyers Don’t Buy
Among the many things entrepreneurs say when it comes to struggling with sales, I often hear things like, “They aren’t buying because the site isn’t working” or “they say it’s too expensive.” While these statements are true sometimes, I think it is also worth mentioning the very popular marketing truth, “Confused Buyers Don’t Buy.” For this reason you should avoid trying to create offers that appeal to every person in the hopes of widening your target audience. Think about the cereal aisle at your local supermarket. It is chock full of different items that appeal to different people; this same statement should hold true when it comes to the items that you sell.

If you try to create generic offers in the hopes of reaching everyone, you will unfortunately reach no one. If your offer has too many bells and whistles in the hopes of trying to impress them, you will more than likely over stress them. Customers abandon carts all the time for a myriad of reasons, all too often it is because they feel confused, overwhelmed and unconvinced that your offer is something they really want or need.

Following this same concept, if your business title is too long, meaning you are the ‘author, coach, mentor, hair dresser, consultant, speaker, healer of the world’, their eyes will glaze as you painstakingly try to explain who you are and what you do. Let’s be clear that 9 times out of 10 you lost them after the first title, which means it is unlikely that they will remember or truly understand what you really do when they need something that you actually offer. Start defining and describing yourself using the KISS method, keep it seriously simple and elaborate more as needed.

The one item fits all approach to sales simply doesn’t work and in most cases does more harm to your business than good. When trying to sell your offers keep your statements clear, concise and specific to one offer that meets one specific desire or need for one specific type of person. Using this method over time you’ll find you’ve created your own mega-marketplace of diversified offers that appeal to the varying needs of the people within your ideal target market. This is the most effective way to resonate with buyers; focus on selling one unique offer at a time vs trying to market one offer as the solution for every person.

Last but not least, you have to be honest with yourself. Are you currently confused about what you should sell, what you are selling or how sales really works? If you are confused, but are trying to sell regardless, I want you to keep one thing in mind. When you attempt to communicate your offers to prospects, more than likely your confusion is becoming their confusion. If you aren’t clear about what you offer and why they should value your business, you can’t expect your potential clients to be anything but confused. As an entrepreneur one of your many roles is that of the leader. And we all know that the blind should never lead the blind, so before you try to make a sale take the time to get crystal clear about what you really do and who you wish to serve. The more you understand your value and their needs, the better your conversations and conversion rates will be. In short, it’s vital that you work on scripting out your value propositions before you go out and share them with the world. Clarity and confidence work hand in hand. Together they can significantly reduce buyer confusion and as a result help to boost your overall sales.

Let’s really dig into the topic of sales, here are a few SistaSense Resources that may be of interest to you: