By: Lisa Kaslyn
My sales coach, Rochelle Carrington of Sandler Training, always says people buy emotionally and make decisions intellectually. It's true! Essentially, if someone is angry, frustrated, scared or in PAIN, they are going to be at a high motivation level to fix whatever it is that's causing that emotional angst. My point is, just as in sales, when you are trying to get a prospect to convert from browsing your site to buying or taking some action, you need to first connect them to their pain, and then bridge to the solutions you offer that will heal them.
Many of the websites I encounter as part of my client interactions focus first on the products and services they are selling and how wonderful they are. Unfortunately, they miss the mark with their key audiences because they don't create a story about the business or consumer problems they solve.
Enterprises - large and small - will deliver more resonant messages and content if they create a website that helps potential customers identify their issues through the stories, case histories, blogs, etc., that are featured on the site.
Lisa Kaslyn is principal and creative strategist at Kashen Communications.
