People buy because they are persuaded to buy. This holds true on or off the web, you can have the best and cheapest product in the world, but unless you have a persuasive sales approach no one is going to buy. Period. Cool web sites do not sell. That's why over 90% of web sites do not produce results.


Persuasive web sites sell products. Amazon.com, Dell.com and the others are using proven influence and persuasion strategies to coerce you to buy. What makes a web site persuasive? It used to be that selling on the web was a "show me" kind of thing. The cooler the site - the more people reacted. The novelty has worn off, today the web has become a "touchy-feelie" thing. Visitors now have to "feel good" about the buying process.

The basic premise of persuasion is emotions. People buy for emotional reasons and justify it with logic. You have to give them both, stir up their emotions and justify the sale with facts. Works every time. Has for hundreds of years.

Here are five basic steps toward a persuasive web site:

1. You have to make the visitor like YOU.

People buy from people they like. They don't buy from companies or web sites. They buy from people like you and me. Small businesses often make the mistake of pretending they are big companies by saying: "We offer..." and consultants say: "Mr. Jones has been a consultant for 15 years......" STOP THE INSANITY! Get personal. Put your picture up on the home page and say: "I am Joe Blow and I am here to help you......" Develop a personal relationship with visitors as if you were standing right there talking to them. The web is a one-to-one relationship thing, not a mass media. Make'm like you.

2. Know their problems.

Selling is a "HURT'EM and HEAL'EM" process. No matter what you sell. After you make them like you, make their HURT painful. Say" I know it's frustrating to find the right car for your family because I have been through what you are going through many times and failed. I don't want you to make the same mistakes I made." Make it hurt. Then you offer the solution: "That's why I am here, to make the process smooth and painless - and, I'll show you how you can get the best price on the car you want." Oh What A Relief It Is!

3. Prove it.

Now you have the visitor interested. He or she feels the problem, and you claim you are the healer. The protective shield comes up - "All right.... How do I know I can trust you to heal me? I really want to get healed, but I don't want to get hurt by a scamster."
Unless you are brand new in business, this is where you invoke the powerful "Social Proof" influence strategy. People react favorable to your proposal if they know other people just like them were healed the same way. So you say" I know you are doubtful, but read what others say about......." You want them to say to themselves "Hey, that's me!" Or better still, say "845 of people with the same problems you have don't have them any more. They got their car without being pressured."

4. Make it scarce.

One of the strangest things in the world of persuasion is the "SCARCITY" factor. People will always want things more if they feel they might lose the opportunity to have it. I have always found this to be weird - why do things increase in perceived value because there is only one left? It must have something to do with the built in need for freedom. If you take away my freedom to choose....I want to exercise my rights and buy it. Right Now. Faster if possible. Make your product scarce. For a limited time, exclusive to certain people, make them qualify to get it are all proven strategies to make people act.

5. Make it easy to buy.

You never know when a visitor is ready to buy. Make sure they are only one or two clicks away from the BUY button. On your 'CLOSE' page, re-establish how you are healing them and the guarantee, then ask for the order. Don't be afraid. If people want to buy, they will. If they don't want to buy, it doesn't matter what you say anyway. So ask for it.

Put these basic influence strategies to work - and you'll sell more.

Copyright, August 2006, Ingvar Grimsmo, Chief Ideasmith of InfluenceTactics. Ingvar closely scrutinized thousands of web sites, successful ones and not so successful ones. Ingvar then created a matrix of what makes a site compelling and persuasive. http://www.influencetactics.com

Having problems selling your idea? Do you have a "great" product but a poor close ratio? Do you feel you are being manipulated? Don't you just HATE being SOLD.....
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