As an expert in your field, you have a lot of valuable knowledge to share. You know how to help people solve problems and get results, and you know that your service is more than worth the price you’re asking. So why are so many of your potential clients NOT signing up with you?

Many entrepreneurs find that when they explain their products or services to their potential clients, the other person’s eyes go blank, and they get confused, start politely detaching themselves from the conversation, or both. On top of that, they work hard on their website and marketing materials… only to find that they don’t bring them as many clients as they’d hoped they would.

When people ask me to help them attract more clients, I often find that their marketing materials have a certain set of problems. Below I’ve provided you a quick checklist of problems to look for in your website, emails, blog posts, sales conversations and other marketing, as well as four questions you can ask yourself to make sure that you’re writing and talking about the right things.

Here are 3 of the problems I often see in marketing materials and conversations that don’t make sales:

Problem #1: They focus on the process

If a person who wants to get married could start a relationship with the perfect partner tomorrow, WITHOUT having to learn how to get phone numbers, remove the habits and emotional blockages that are holding them back from love, or take action to meet the right people, would they do that?

If a person who feels heavy, tired and unattractive could become healthy, confident and energetic WITHOUT changing their diet, exercising, working on their self-image, or overcoming a health challenge that makes it hard for them to reach their desired weight, would they?

“Instead of focusing on how much you can accomplish, focus on how much you can absolutely love what you’re doing.”
― Leo Babauta

Of course they would! These scenarios illustrate the fact that the process by which you create the result is NOT your best selling point. It isn’t what your clients actually want. What they WANT is the result that they get from the process. So when you’re making your offer, be sure to discuss the results they want before explaining the means by which they reach that goal.

Problem #2: They aren’t self-explanatory

As I mentioned before, you’re an expert. You probably know most or all of the jargon, industry phrases, and advanced concepts that are taught in your field. The trouble is, most of your clients probably DON’T have that knowledge. And if they can’t immediately and easily understand the terminology you use, that confusion is more likely to turn them off than make them curious.

The same goes for getting fancy and poetic with your phrasing, or trying to work your slogan in at the expense of clarity. If something sounds pretty or catchy, but it tells your clients nothing about how your product will improve their life, you’re better off using that precious conversation time or space in your materials to talk about something they desire and will understand.

Problem #3: They don’t demonstrate how the product affects the client’s life

This is closely related to problem #1. Before someone is ready to buy your product, and before they’re even really interested in hearing how it works, they have to know what it will do for them.
The effects of your product on your client’s life fall into two main categories:

1. What problems will your client no longer struggle with? When choosing which problems to talk about, remember that they should be self-explanatory, important to the client, and results-oriented.
For example, having subconscious mindsets and patterns that sabotage their relationships is a problem that many people have, but a lot of them don’t even realize that they HAVE that problem.

Also, fixing the problems in their mindset is only a means to the end they want – which is loving, healthy, lasting and passionate relationships. Therefore, subconscious relationship-blockers aren’t self-explanatory or results-oriented, and they also aren’t important to the client because the client usually isn’t aware of their existence.

When you’re describing the problem you solve, use those three criteria to test the quality of your description, and focus on how the problem affects your clients’ lives in visible, tangible, observable ways.

2. What specific, observable, positive experiences will they have? Will they fit into their favourite outfit again? Have enough time to partake in all the activities they enjoy? Travel the world? Marry their soulmate? Hop out of bed feeling refreshed, and continue to feel healthy and energetic all day long?

As with the description of your clients’ problems, your description of the results you help them get should be self-explanatory, focused on the detectable day-to-day experiences they’ll have, and centred on things they KNOW they need or want.

“If you’re a good marketing person, you have to be a little crazy.” – Jim Metcalf

Here are some questions you can use to improve your sales conversations and marketing materials:

1. Is this phrase self-explanatory, even to a person who’s never heard of my field or company before?
2. Is this selling point or benefit what my clients actually long for, or is it just a means to an end?
3. Am I giving them a clear picture of what benefits they’ll receive, what problems they’ll no longer struggle with, and what their daily life will be like after they work with me? (This should be something they can hear, touch, taste, see, or otherwise actually picture themselves experiencing.)
4. Is the problem I’m discussing something my clients KNOW they have, and urgently desire to solve? (This is especially important in situations where your clients are aware of the symptoms they’re experiencing, such as bad health, low finances, or failed relationships, but they don’t know what the root cause is.)

By using these four questions and keeping an eye out for these three problems, you can make sure that you’re talking about the things that will make people want to sign up with you.

What problems are you running into with your marketing and sales? Leave your thoughts below!