Do you wonder if your marketing efforts are working? Have you been tempted to change your offer or lower your prices because you don’t feel like you’re getting results? I’ve got some concrete steps for you to take before you make any big changes to what you’re doing.
If you’ve ever worried that you’re not reaching enough people, building your email list fast enough or making enough sales, you’re not alone. On this episode, I’m helping you cut through the emotion surrounding your marketing efforts and giving you practical steps to evaluate what’s really happening.
Before you change an offer, drop your prices, or get discouraged, I urge you to start with some data.
What My Network Marketing Experience Taught Me About Assessing What’s Working
Back in the day when I had a network marketing team, part of my role was to help them get started and get their businesses off the ground.
One of the things they needed to do (and I did too) was make phone calls to set appointments with people to see an overview about the biz. They didn’t need to sell anything on that first call – just set an appointment.
I would sometimes get calls from frustrated team members telling me that “I can’t get anyone to schedule..everyone is saying no!” Here’s how I helped them work through the issue.
Step 1: Look at the numbers!
How many people did you call?
How many people did you talk to? (voicemail doesn’t count!)
How many people said yes to an appointment and how many said no?
Often, I’d find that only one or two people actually said no, but since they had gotten voicemails, or someone asking them to call back another time, and hadn’t secured any appointment yet, it felt like everyone was saying no. The solution: up the volume of calls!
Step 2: Look at the content of the calls.
Often, they were trying to sell the person on the company or the products rather than just setting the appointment.
Once we worked through the wording they were using, I would tell them to go ahead and make a few more calls and then touch base and let me know how it goes.
They needed to have a reality check that no, not everyone was saying no. But yes, some people would say no, and we just wanted to work on increasing the likelihood of someone saying yes.
“If we look at the data first, and the numbers, we could actually make a better decision that would help us to move forward more quickly.”
How to Assess if Your Marketing is Working (or Not) in Your Biz
So let’s apply some of this to you and your business. So often I see people shifting and pivoting or creating a whole new service or product because they don’t think what they are doing is working. But often it’s simply a matter of needing to look at the right data in order to make the best decision!
The truth is, we can’t just base these decisions on how we feel about it. We need to look at actual numbers to discern what’s working and what’s not.
So let’s walk through 3 scenarios that I’ve helped clients or members of my upLIFT Mentormind work through.
Example 1: Is Your Email List Growing?
If you have a goal of growing your email list, how can you tell if what you’re doing to accomplish that is working?
Step 1: Look at the numbers & determine the conversion rate of your landing page.
How many people landed on your landing page?
Let’s say it’s 100. How many people opted in? Maybe it was 25. Okay, then that is a 25% opt-in rate. You might think oh no, only 25 people! But a 25% opt-in rate on a landing page is good!
Generally we want 20% or more on a landing page. If you can get to 40-50% you’re killing it! (note: if you just have a form embedded on your website, you can expect the rates to be 1-5%)
So if you look at your numbers and you see that 100 people saw it but only 5 people opted in, now you know you need to make a change.
Step 2: Look at the landing page content.
Now we want to look at the content and design of the landing page.
Is the landing page set up in a way that makes it easy for people to say yes to giving you their email address? There are many factors that play a role here, but I’ll just mention a few:
- The headline – the first thing people read – does it draw them in and make them think they need to keep reading?
- The call to action – are you clearly asking them to sign up to get your free gift?
- The overall design – is it clean and uncluttered? Is the opt-in spot near the top of the page (before they have to scroll) so that it’s easy to see?
- Is there a visual representation of what they will be getting and/or what they can expect from the free gift?
Step 3: Evaluate the free gift you’re offering (i.e. the ‘offer’).
Next, analyze the freebie or the Audience Attraction Magnet as I like to call it.
Look at the actual free gift and see what it’s titled, what does it include, etc.? There are several ways to make joining your email list irresistible and create an audience attraction magnet that people actually want. Is yours enticing enough?
If you’re not sure, grab my free guide to help you get there: estherlittlefield.com/email
If the conversion rate is 20% or more, the landing page is good, and the freebie is good… you just need more traffic. So then it’s a matter of figuring out how to get more people to the page so you can continue growing that list.
Example 2: Should You Lower the Price for Your Services?
“Esther, should I change my price? The last person I talked to didn’t choose to work with me and I’m concerned my rates are too high!”
Hold up. Before you change your prices, be sure you’re making an informed decision.
When a client brought this issue up recently, I asked her how many people she had actually had conversations with (discovery calls) about the service she offers.
She told me 3 or 4. And how many people have said yes and ended up working with you? 2. That is a 50% conversion rate… and that is awesome! So I advised her NOT to change her prices.
“In any kind of service-based business there are going to be some people who say no.”
Step 1: Look at the numbers and determine the conversion rate of your discovery calls.
As a coach or service provider, it’s essential to track your numbers:
- How many discovery calls are you having each month?
- How many people are booking a service?
If you only have 1 discovery call and that person says no, that doesn’t mean you need to go changing your pricing or worse go changing your offer or creating something new! It means you need to get more discovery calls!
Step 2: Look at what’s happening on the discovery call (i.e. how you’re selling your services).
Now, if you have 10 discovery calls and only 1 person says yes, then there are definitely some things to consider.
Maybe have someone you trust go through your discovery call with you and help you analyze the content. You might need to tweak your offer, or make some changes. You may need to change your prices, but don’t jump to that conclusion without the data.
Step 3: Evaluate the service you’re selling
If your conversion rate is low but your discovery call process is solid, then you may need to look at changing your service offer or price.
If you are a service provider or coach/consultant, start by tracking your numbers!
Make a column for discovery calls and then a column for booked services and start to look at %s. I would say that it’s great if you can be at about a 50% conversion rate but this could vary based on industry a bit.
Example 3: Are you making enough sales of your course or digital product?
When we sell a course or digital product, it can be discouraging if we don’t get many sales. So we decide that this course is not the right thing – we must have made a bad course and therefore we need to make something new or different.
I’ve seen people create tons of different courses but none of them are actually selling. So how can we waste less time and make a better decision about this? You guessed it. It starts with the numbers!
Step 1: Look at the numbers and figure out the conversion rate of your sales page.
Your first step is to find the conversion rate on your digital product or course sales page. When you have a sales page, you can expect to have a conversion rate of 1-10%. If you have 100 people land on the page, you might have 1 person buy. And you might feel discouraged, but you’re actually still within the norm.
Maybe you have 500 people land on the page and you only have 3 people buy. In that case, you have a .6% conversion rate, so that definitely means we need to look at the sales page.
Step 2: Look at the content of the sales page, namely the sales page copy and design.
The sales page design and copy are important. Some of the biggest issues I see on sales pages are copy that’s too vague, doesn’t address the real pain points and problems your potential client is experiencing, or gets to the “selling” part too quickly.
Step 3: Look at the offer itself.
Lastly, look at the offer itself – what are you selling? Often the offer does not need to be completely changed… it might just need to be tweaked!
But there ARE times when the offer itself is not good enough to sell – and in that case, you may need to revamp what you are offering.
This is why I don’t recommend creating a big course when you’re just getting started and then trying to sell it. Validate the offer first before creating something big!
If you want some guidance on how to actually create an offer that will sell and write sales copy that will convert, I recommend the Offer Cure course from Funnel Gorgeous.
I’m an affiliate because I’ve used this and many other programs from Julie & Cathy. I’m also currently certified in offer creation and copy… so I love to help my clients with this stuff.
Remember:
When you feel like something might not be working, don’t jump in and make a knee-jerk reaction! Look at things objectively so that you can make an informed decision.
Recap of the Steps to Assess if Your Marketing is Working
- Look at the conversion rate
- Look at the way you’re selling it (landing page, discovery call, or sales page)
- Look at the offer itself
If everything is working and hitting the conversion rates you want, then you’re good to go, and you just need to increase traffic to it!
Faith Focus
“Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.” – Proverbs 16:3 (ESV)
I pray about my life, personal things, church things, ministry, and commit them all to God. But sometimes I don’t remember to commit my business and my work to Him too. All the things I just shared with you are helpful strategies, but ultimately I want you to commit what you’re doing to God. Do the part you can do with excellence, then commit the results to Him.
Shine A Light
I want to shine a light on Wren Robbins, host of the Friends of a Feather podcast and podcast coach who works with female entrepreneurs who want to launch a podcast. She offers 1:1 coaching as well as VIP days.
She is such an amazing person. I love her energy and smile, and I love having her in my Uplift program!
You can check her out at https://wrenrobbins.com/
Connect with Esther:
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