When we put out an offer into the world, our excitement can verrry quickly turn to disappointment if customers don’t buy and our sales are lower than we expect. Our natural reaction? To chase new leads and give up on the customers who didn’t make a purchase.
But just because someone didn’t hit “buy now” on your offer, doesn’t make them any less valuable than anyone else in your community. We should never give up on prospective customers—there are a whole bunch of reasons people from your list may not have purchased initially. And if we just let them sit there and languish without any attention…well, that’s a sure fire way to lose out on sales.
That customer is still just as important to us as someone who purchased immediately.
And we as business owners need to start treating them with the value they deserve. And guess what? If you do that, there’s a pretty good chance they might just turn into a paying customer very soon.
To help you avoid missing out on the potential of these customers, let’s dig into the reasons why customers don’t buy in the first place and the actionable steps to make sure they *do* buy your offer in the future.
Why Customers Don’t Buy Right Away
There are many reasons why a customer might have decided not to buy your offer initially. People may even have multiple reasons for not buying, with some stronger than others. But it’s important to know what they are so that you can change your approach accordingly.
1. The value of your offer was unclear
We know that price is rarely the reason people don’t buy (just look at how many people are willing to fork out for iPhones!)
One of the biggest reasons why people aren’t purchasing is because you have not dialed in your messaging enough to make the value clear. You may not be speaking in terms that resonate with your target audience, or taking into account what your target audience’s wants, needs, and biggest fears are.
In the Circuit Sales System, one of the first big things we dive into is market research. So many of us *think* we know our target audience because we were once trying to solve the same problem as them.
But the truth is, we often forget that time has moved on, you’ve grown, you’ve learned a lot, you’ve experienced your own transformation, and now built a course to help others do the same. That means you might be more out of touch than you think with the language that your audience is now using about that topic.
2. There’s no urgency in your offer
We see this a lot when people “go evergreen” with their programs. They put the offer up on their website and think it’s great that when people discover them, they can purchase right away. But that’s not how human beings work. We need deadlines in order to take action.
But remember that those deadlines have to be authentic—fake deadlines don’t work. If you say, “This is the last day and then tomorrow it’s going to disappear” but then you never take down that sales page or you don’t have a system that automates that for you, it does not look great for your integrity.
You’re teaching your audience that they don’t have to listen to you when you say “it’s the last day.” And when your audience starts to lose trust in you, that can seriously impact your sales.
This is exactly the same with price, too. If you tell people “This is the lowest price you’ll ever see” and then they see it discounted a week later, their trust in you starts to erode. You have to hold true to what you’re saying—especially so that people don’t think that a better price is coming. If you tell them that there’s no better price, then there better be no better price!
3. You’re targeting the wrong buyers
Whether it’s through ads or through your organic messaging, it might be that you’re saying the wrong things and therefore getting the wrong people into your circle.
It can be VERY easy to waste a lot of time and energy on social media if your messaging is bringing in the wrong people. It’s also easy to throw away a lot of money on ads if your targeting is not dialed in and you’re trying to sell to the wrong people (more on how to avoid that here).
4. Customers don’t know what differentiates your offer
This is another reason for customers not buying that stems from poor messaging. Your customers may not be clear on why they should purchase from you versus your competitor because you haven’t explained what the value is that you’re bringing to them.
If you’re offering healthcare coaching, for example, what is going to make them want to work with you as opposed to someone else? What are they going to get from you that they can’t get anywhere else?
5. It’s simply not the right time for them
In the marketing industry, there’s a tendency to think we can overcome any objection. But sometimes it just genuinely is not the right time for someone to purchase. They may have found you and really want your program, but they truly don’t have the time to do it, or they don’t have the money to buy it right now.
How to Encourage People Who Didn’t Buy to Make a Purchase
No matter what the reason is for someone not making a purchase, we should not give up on prospective buyers forever. Once someone has registered interest in us, whether they followed us on social media, signed up for our email list, or reached out to us in some way, there is still the possibility for them to purchase from us at some point in the future.
And there are things that you can do to help encourage them to make a purchase later. These people are likely still interested in what you have to offer. They’re still a warm lead, and they might still be engaged and opening your emails. They’re a valuable part of your community and it would be a shame to just let them go (unless they turn out to be a major pain in the rear end, of course).
Address the Reasons Why They Didn’t Purchase
Fundamentally, after they make the decision not to purchase is where you begin the process of educating and supporting them to buy the next time they have the opportunity. And this is also a really great time to get some information from them. You should be doing market research calls, not just with people who’ve purchased in the past, but also with people who haven’t purchased (or had the opportunity yet to purchase).
You can send out surveys and see if you can get people to answer why they didn’t purchase. What were their concerns? What questions didn’t you address? You can certainly use that information to go back and put it into your initial sales sequence, but continue to address these questions until their next sales sequence opens up so that you are nurturing, supporting, and preparing them to make the purchase next time.
Repeat your Messaging Multiple Times
People don’t see every single message that you’re putting out there. And even if they do, they might need to hear that message multiple times before it sinks in. It’s easy to forget information when you’ve only seen something once. And so these folks might need to see reminders of your core messaging points, testimonials, or even what your course platform looks like so that they remember what they’re getting.
Seeing that messaging again, potentially in a different format, helps them to retain it and start to believe that this *is* the right program for them.
Talk to People In Between Sales Periods
You see this a lot when companies have a big launch and—if you’re on their list after that—it’s crickets until six months later when they have another big launch. But during that whole time, you could have been learning from them, seeing customer stories and thinking “When this opens up again, I definitely want to buy!”
In this time, you have such an opportunity to build a relationship with prospective buyers and demonstrate that you’re continuing to show up for them.
Dial in Your Customer Service
If people are writing in to your customer service, make sure that you are taking their concerns seriously and that you are adjusting your canned responses as needed to answer people’s questions.
It’s also important to ask yourself “Is there something deeper behind the question they’re asking?” Try to understand where this person is coming from and the real motivation behind their enquiry. Don’t be afraid to ask follow-up questions if needed to dig a little bit deeper because initially, you might not have the full context of why someone isn’t purchasing.
And with every question that comes in, answer it well, and then share that messaging with the rest of the community. Even people who haven’t yet purchased are still highly valuable members of your community. They’re still just as worthy of support as someone who purchased initially.
It is so common for business owners to give up on customers who don’t buy right away. For any of the reasons we mentioned above, they weren’t ready to purchase at the last opportunity they had. But they still bring tons of value—not just monetarily but in terms of the impact on your community.
So don’t give up on them. Give them the support and the messaging that they need. And you might just find that when the next sales period comes around, they’re ready to become part of your paying community!
Read More
In this blog post, you’ll learn more about the messaging tactics that will help you convert more customers.
Watch More
In this Energize Your Online Business podcast episode, Nicki and Kate explain why giving up on prospective customers could be costing you sales. Listen in to discover the reasons why someone might not have made a purchase initially and the practical steps that will ensure they *do* buy your offer in the future.
Your Turn!
What steps are you taking to ensure you don’t give up on prospective customers? Let us know in the comments below!