The Ability to Sell Through Messaging – The Key to Success
Effective communication with clients can significantly impact sales conversion rates.
Let’s consider the average market situation:
- A product priced at $400
- The conversion rate from inquiry to sale is about 1%
- Lead cost of $5
- The cost per Order will be around $500
Thus, with an advertising budget of $5000, you will get 10 orders.
However, if you optimize your sales department, improve scripts, and eliminate common mistakes, you can increase the conversion rate to 5%.
With this conversion rate and the same initial conditions:
- The cost per order will be about $100
- With a $5000 budget, we will get 50 orders
Not bad, right?
How Clients Come to Purchase
Every sale happens in stages – buyers always evaluate options, compare them, and smoothly move through our sales funnel.
The sales funnel is a model that describes the client’s journey from the first contact to the deal closing. We need to clearly understand at which stage of the funnel the person we are communicating with is – this will make the communication most effective.
One of the main rules is – at each stage of the funnel, we sell the client the next stage of the funnel, not the final product right away.
Imagine you are trying to sell a car. Instead of immediately pushing the person to sign the contract and buy, you invite them for a test drive.
This is exactly how we lead our clients to purchase.
Purchases are not made immediately. Clients need time to choose, compare, and think through their decisions. Our task is to accompany them at each stage of this journey, helping them make the right decision.
Basic Rules for Communicating with Potential Clients
- Respond quickly: The longer you take to respond, the less likely the sale.
- Take the initiative: Ask questions to clarify the client’s needs and determine if the lead is targetable.
- Don’t sell immediately: Offer low-stress steps like free consultations.
- Write clearly: Use simple words and break the text into paragraphs. One paragraph – one thought.
- Help clients decide: Ask questions and clarify their needs, offering other options.
- Attach links to the message: Provide a brief description and a link, so it’s clear what and where is located if you direct the person to view a product or service.
Standard Dialogue Structure in Messaging
1. Introduce yourself and establish initial contact
Friendly greet the client and introduce yourself without being too formal. Just say what you do and how you can help.
Don’t forget to adapt the message to the potential client’s inquiry.
2. Ask questions and identify the need
Clients usually write things like: “How much does it cost?”, “Can you do this?”, “Do you have…?”
Here, you need to gain the right to ask questions and clarify the client’s needs.
- “I will ask you a few questions to calculate the cost and better understand what suits you.”
- “To better select the product for you, please answer a few questions.”
Take the initiative and ask not only technical questions but also questions related to the emotional aspect.
3. Consult, show expertise, and build trust
It’s better to name the price right away and then list what it includes / what the person will get.
At the end, ask the key question: “Does the price suit you?”
If the answer is positive, move on to the next key stage of the funnel (consultation, test drive, etc.).
If the answer is negative, move on to handling objections.
Another way to guide the dialogue is to ask, “When do you plan to do this?” or something similar.
In this case – an inquiry about iPhone repair:
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4. Handle fears and objections
To know the pains and fears, research the target audience. For example, one of the fears – poor-quality product/service.
Explain why it’s worth choosing us/our product.
List the client’s choice criteria + add relevant facts about us:
- Links to satisfied customer reviews
- Help with any questions related to the repair
- Convenient location
- Authorized Apple service center
- Small gift (discount on next purchase, free protective screen installation)
- Fast repair
- Warranty
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Another common objection: “Too expensive”
- The client really doesn’t have the money or the full amount right away.
- It’s expensive compared to competitors.
Options for handling the “Too expensive” objection:
Directly ask:
- What budget are you considering?
Based on the answer, decide if it’s worth working with the client. Sometimes we can offer a $10 discount, and the client will agree.
But there are cases where the client has no money and wants to buy a product worth $500 for $100 – in this case, this is not a target client.
Clarify:
- So, you’re ready to buy the product, the only issue is the price, right?
- Is this the only thing stopping you?
- I understand you have already checked prices elsewhere and found cheaper options?
Then you find a comfortable price for both.
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Additionally, to address this objection, you can offer:
- Installment payments/Financing (if available)
- Cheaper alternatives
- Discounts
5. Move to the next stage of the funnel
Firstly, what is a Key Funnel Stage:
For example, in legal services, the next step after messaging is a consultation.
In phone repair, this will be a free diagnostics.
Correspondence sales generally don’t work anywhere right now, so it’s important to move the customer smoothly to the next step in the funnel.
If the person is ready – close on free diagnostics, any other variant of the key stage of the funnel.
If not ready – offer them something appealing, like subscribing to a newsletter with ongoing promotions.
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6. Upsell
A well-organized upsell increases the average check and reduces the cost per inquiry.
Offer additional products that complement the purchase. It’s especially great if the upsell also solves a client’s problem.
7. Close the deal and payment (If the product is inexpensive and we can complete the sale right now)
If the client is satisfied with all stages, they are ready to make a purchase. It’s important to try to close the sale right now; otherwise, there’s a high risk competitors will take them away.
8. Follow up
Not every inquiry leads to a sale, so remind the client about yourself if they go silent.
Use the information you gathered about the client’s needs to help solve their problem.
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Keep reminding the client at least 3-4 times to get the most out of all leads:
- The day after the first contact, if the client hasn’t responded.
- After 3 days, if the lead is still unresponsive.
- After a week, preferably with information about attractive offers or promotions.
- A few days before the expiration of any offer or important date to encourage the client to make a decision.
