Selling to strangers is a lot different to helping people who already know, like, and trust you.

This is, of course, why we put so much effort into building authority. It is just easier on both parties when the trust is already there.

We do not always have that opportunity, however.

This isn’t even about cold-calls or cold emails.

How can we get people to take action, when this is the first time they have become aware of you and what you can do for them?

Why Sell to Strangers?

The first question comes to mind, if selling to people who know and trust you is so much easier and better, why pitch to people who do not know you at all?

Consider when someone arrives at your website for the first time. Wouldn’t it be lovely if the majority of those people, or at least the ones with the best fit, opt into your email list?

That requires you overcoming their natural hesitation so that they input their email address into your little newsletter form.

Or maybe your product is not something where you have a lot of opportunities to educate and inform?

A lot of online tools fit that category, such as document converters, or templates, worksheets, stock photography, spare parts, and so-on.

We laugh about YouTube when you search once for how to repair a noisy fridge and suddenly the algorithm thinks that we are obsessed with appliance repair. It’s funny because there are some topics that we only think of rarely, and only when we have a problem.

Our dog is one year old and is still a barky and play-biting monster. In fact our new neighbour at our workshop complained about her (with wild “I want to see the manager” dramatic exaggeration, of course).

When researching solutions, we were not looking for a relationship with a service provider, just a solution. And fast.

That is not to say we won’t come back if we find something or someone that works, and that is an important point that a lot of people overlook.

An impulse purchase can be the best way to form a long term and loyal customer relationship.

If you have difficulty getting people to take a chance on your high ticket offer, solve a smaller problem for people then provide the logical next step for people who are ready to take it further or go deeper.

End the struggle, frustration, and overwhelm.

Get the help and advice you need to take your business where you want it to be.

You Have 15 Seconds

There is a story that goes around marketing that says you have X seconds for the prospect to not click away, but it is more subtle than that.

First, at a glance, your prospect will look at your page and either get the ‘ick’ or will start to read.

So ignore the exact timing, you do not know exactly how long the prospect will take to make a decision, just consider they are going to make an immediate judgement and then a follow up quick judgement if you pass the first stage.

1. Responsiveness – How quickly does the page start to load? (A visitor who is not invested in your solution has many other options, probably ones that don’t test their patience)
2. Fully Loaded – What is the wait before the page actually becomes useful? (The site might respond quickly but if the visitor has to wait for huge images and click through a barrage of popups and legal disclaimers they will not hang around)
3. Stable – Does everything shift under the visitor’s mouse or finger? (Don’t you hate it when you go to click and the website sends you somewhere irrelevant because the layout shifted on you?)
4. Sniff Test – How do you look? Trustworthy or like a scam? (Much like more … adult … topics, you know it when you see it, but there are some common traits we can check for, see below)
5. Relevance – Do you address my burning need, and convincingly? (Only now we get to the content of the page!)

How to Not Look Like a Scam

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of scam websites?

A big one is “too good to be true” claims, and that is a very real issue – heck I have had to tone down my testimonials a couple of times because people either didn’t believe or couldn’t relate to them.

After the headline there are more red flags to be aware of:

• Anonymity – Scammers are unlikely to give you enough information to track them down. Real people have social media profiles, and maybe an address and telephone number.
• Generic – Much like the first point, if they are not real then they cannot provide anything specific and factual. Even the case studies, photographs, and testimonials will have the whiff of fake.
• Emotional – To convince people you can use a mixture of facts and storytelling, but a scammer either has to steal facts from a real provider or they have to heavily lean on the emotion.
• Urgency – The scammer can’t have you thinking about things too much so they will go heavy on the fake countdown timers, “In 7 shopping baskets“, or one time offer urgency.
• Vague / no guarantees – Vague or hidden refund policies. Clear policies provide reassurance, but a scammer will do anything to hold on to your cash.
• Weird payment methods – A good sign you are being scammed is when the seller has been banned from regular payment providers so asks for wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or prepaid debit cards, which are harder to trace and reverse.

Notice I didn’t mention website design?

Often actual scammers know enough to pay for a designer or use an off-the-shelf but professional looking template.

Pricing Impulse Purchases

The most popular way to overcome resistance and risk in purchases is to make the product cheap.

A weird paradox of pricing products that are meant to be bought on impulse, though, is that you can make them too cheap.

How can that be true?

It makes more sense when you think of the two parts of a product and its price.

There is what you pay (price), and what you get (value).

If you get to the end of a sales page expecting to see a four figure investment and instead see “Buy now for $1” then a lot of us are going to think “What is the catch?“.

You don’t necessarily need to address this with a price change or a change in package, though those are the obvious go-to solutions.

One option is to come out clearly and state “What is the catch?”.

Most times I will launch an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) at a stupidly low price because I want to know what I am creating really helps people and has no gaps. The closer you are to a product the harder it is to know if you missed something.

I will say something along the lines of “In return for your feedback and your patience while the course is completed, you get the best price and the ability to shape the education to your needs“.

Another justification for having a low price is where there is more value for everyone if a critical mass of people are involved. For example an online discussion group is much more lively, and more likely to create interesting conversations, if you have 150 members rather than 10, unless those 10 are super motivated and chatty.

Sell More with Referrals

Much of the buying resistance goes away if the customer is referred by someone they trust, especially when that someone can vouch for effectiveness and not just honesty.

This is why affiliate marketing and influencer marketing are such a big part of the modern media environment.

Sometimes all it takes is to ask your happiest customers to tell their friends.

Putting it All Together

Selling to strangers is not vastly different to selling to people who are familiar with you, it is just the stakes are ramped up and you don’t get a second chance at a first impression.

1. Focus on one customer, one problem, one solution – Pick the most compelling thing you can offer to the prospect who is most in need and most ready. Show that it is real and that it works.
2. Be you and be real – Show up as an obviously real person with a history. If your sales page could have been AI generated then go back and start over. Can you add your postal address and telephone number?
3. Back up your words with verifiable proof – Not every testimonial will allow their real name and photograph, but work hard to get the ones who will. Share data, graphs, KPIs, before and after results, whatever you can to demonstrate you and your product are the real deal.
4. Take away all fear – Have a clear refund policy and address all questions that the customer might have. Provide social proof so the prospect can see you helped people just like them.
5. Interact with the community – Give people who might be on the fence the ability to research about you and your offerings. Show that you are a person with expertise rather than an avatar conjured up in a call centre.

Even if your product or service is too high-end or long term to be an impulse buy, it’s worth taking this advice as a checklist for your sales material too.