You Obviously Do Not Understand Your Potential Clients
That Book a Consultation button will never work!
Sorry not sorry for being so blunt but you clearly don’t understand that most people who come across your book a consultation button are seeking knowledge rather than anything close to an immediate purchase.
This is particularly true for service-oriented businesses like digital agencies, consultants and coaches.
The gap between what you’re offering and what your potential clients are actually looking for is not just a small oversight; it’s a fundamental misalignment in understanding their journey and needs.
Online, every click, every search, every interaction is a part of a larger narrative.
It’s a journey of exploration, information gathering, and decision making.
When you place a ‘book a consultation’ call-to-action front and center, you might think you’re being proactive, but in reality, you’re jumping several steps ahead in your potential client’s journey.
Let’s break it down.
When potential clients land on your site, they are often in the initial stages of what us proper marketers call the ‘buyer’s journey’.
They are explorers in an ocean of information, seeking to understand their challenges and identify potential solutions.
At this point, their objective is not to find a service provider per se but to arm themselves with knowledge that helps them find the right solution for their needs.
By pushing for a consultation, you are essentially asking for a commitment when your potential clients are not ready.
It’s akin to proposing marriage on the first date – premature and likely to scare them away.
This misstep is not just a small glitch in your marketing strategy; it’s a significant disconnect that can cost you valuable leads, sales and clients.
Understand Your Potential Client’s Perspective
Your potential clients want to feel confident in their choice.
They are looking for evidence of your expertise, success stories, insights into your approach – in essence, reasons to trust you.
They are not yet ready to jump into a consultation, which, in their eyes, is a step towards a significant commitment – everyone knows it’s a thinly veiled sales call.
Your website and its content should be less about selling your services and more about addressing your potential clients’ needs and questions.
It’s about demonstrating your understanding of their challenges and showcasing how you can guide them towards a solution – at a pace that makes sense for them.
The current disconnect between what you’re offering and what your potential clients are seeking is not just a minor issue in your marketing approach; it’s a fundamental misunderstanding of your audience’s needs.
To bridge this gap, you need to realign your strategy to focus on their quest for knowledge, building trust and showcasing expertise long before you invite them to ‘book a consultation’.”
Learn Your Buyers Journey
Your potential clients are often voyagers on the vast sea of the internet, seeking lighthouses of information to guide them. In these initial stages, their primary goal is not to find a service provider but to gather knowledge that will empower them to make informed decisions later. This is a delicate phase where pushing for a commitment, like booking a consultation, can be more of a deterrent than an attraction.
During this information-gathering phase, the intent to purchase or engage is significantly low. Your audience is not yet ready to leap into the commitment that a consultation implies. Recognising this reluctance is key to tailoring your approach in a way that resonates with their current mindset.
The path your potential clients tread is not linear; it’s a journey through various stages of awareness, consideration, and decision-making. Understanding these stages helps in aligning your marketing strategies effectively.
Let’s take a look at the three basic stages of a buyers journey…
Interested in learning more about this, watch our free training here.
1. Initial Interest
In this stage, your audience is just becoming aware of their needs or challenges. They are not actively seeking solutions, but rather, they are gathering information to understand their situation better. This is your opportunity to introduce them to your expertise without overwhelming them with direct calls to action.
2. Understanding the Options
As they move to the consideration stage, your audience starts exploring different solutions. They are not ready to commit yet, but are open to learning about the various options available. This is where you can subtly introduce the value of your services.
3. Making a Decision
Only in the decision stage are your potential clients ready to engage at a deeper level. This is where the offer to book a consultation becomes relevant and effective.
The Pitfalls of Premature Calls to Action
“Book a consultation” might seem like a proactive call to action, but it’s often misplaced in the customer journey, especially for service-oriented businesses.
The issue with the “book a consultation” offer is its high commercial intent, presumed at a stage where the potential client is not ready for such a commitment. It’s like asking someone to marry you on the first date; it’s too much, too soon.
This offer often fails to provide immediate value to your audience in their early journey stages. It overlooks their current needs, which are more informational than transactional.
The Power of an Effective Lead Magnet
A well-crafted lead magnet is like a key that unlocks the door to a potential client’s interest and trust. It’s about offering them something of value that addresses their immediate needs.
Your lead magnet should be a solution-centric tool that addresses a specific problem your target audience faces. This approach not only showcases your expertise but also directly responds to their current needs.
By offering valuable insights or solutions, you position yourself as an expert in your field. This builds a foundation of trust, crucial for any future business relationship.
A relevant and useful lead magnet is more likely to engage users, guiding them smoothly down the conversion funnel. It’s about creating a journey that they are willing to embark on with you.
Learn exactly what makes an effective lead magnet by watching our free training here.
The Master Key to Effective Marketing
Understanding and aligning with your potential clients’ informational needs in the early stages of their journey is vital.
It’s about meeting them where they are, not where you want them to be.
Get your eyes off their wallet and get to know them.
While immediate conversions are appealing, building a relationship with your potential clients promises more sustainable benefits.
A lead magnet nurtures this relationship, increasing the likelihood of future conversions.
While “book a consultation” might have its place, it is often less effective in the early stages of the buyer’s journey.
A well-constructed lead magnet, on the other hand, bridges this gap by offering immediate value and nurturing potential clients towards making a more informed decision.
It’s about understanding and responding to your audience’s current needs, and guiding them through their journey with expertise and trust.
This is Better Than a Book a Consultation Button
Check this out…
Go to this page and watch the free training on effective marketing strategy and online business building.
If you watch and listen closely to this training, you won’t even need to consider hiring ASN to help you.
But, if you watch that training and decide that you would like to learn more about what we do apply for a Free Marketing Attraction Audit (underneath the training video).