This is hefty. Don’t freak your little self out. Read in chunks, think about it, and come back to it as you can.
Understanding the buyer journey will help every stage of your funnel. When you have a real understanding of each stage and each milestone, you’ll get better at successfully taking each person through it and ending with a conversion.
So what makes a buyer buy?
We are gonna take a deep dive into the process of what takes a buyer from point A all the way to the happy dance at the end when they click “purchase.” And because I’m a visual learner and I like examples and outlines, I’m going to break it down for you so that it isn’t vague and actually has merit to qualify it.
Buckle up and grab a notepad (…do people even use those anymore?) because we are going to get detailed about key milestones along the buyer’s journey…AND how to use your messaging as a way to fuel it. We’re gonna build momentum so that you can move someone along the path from point A to happy dance.
Excited by new outcome
Look at the path above. You’ll see that point A…They have the golden ticket and hopped onto the buyer train. Then we see the second hex…excited by new outcome. This is where we validate them in their current experience. We gotta get them to a place where they feel seen, heard, and understood.
They become excited because you’ve confirmed their current situation to them. You’ve confirmed their reality of outcomes and their pain. You’ve made them reflect on it, you’ve validated it…and this is what makes them trust you enough to continue the train to the next station. This is what takes them on the journey with YOU…because you’ve promised them this new, cool outcome.
Committed to new outcome
So once we have that excitement from them, we want to get our reader committed to that new outcome we are promising. And we want to get that commitment in the most resistance free part of your funnel. NOTE: this is very important. You’ve not given them an offer yet in this stage of the buyer journey. You’ve only promised them this glorious outcome that’s made them super excited.
This makes them believe that it’s actually achievable. They get hopeful and then they become committed to getting that outcome. This is where you want them before you present your offer. Get them committed to achieving the outcome and THEN present the offer.
If you get them to commit to the outcome, you reduce the chance of resistance to your offer. They want the outcome and are committed to it…they get to that point before ever opening PayPal.
Belief in new outcome
Then we have the next big milestone which is belief in outcome. It’s this unwavering belief that the outcome is possible and WILL happen. Excitement and commitment exist before the unwavering belief that it’s possible.
And that, my friends, is hope. Your reader hopes it will happen. At this stage in their journey, they’ve heard arguments of why it’s possible. You’ve made their dream become more of an achievable reality. They finally see this as THEIRS. And they get there by taking the practical steps that your service will later give them in order to make their dream outcome possible.
So we make this happen through a series of lightbulb moments, intuition, and beliefs. The pre-launch is really helpful in delivering this. They will be going from inspiration to aspiration, which is really more powerful. They see this new shiny version of themselves…not as a fake dream but as an actual tangible reality. That has real possibilities and real impact for their life and business. They have this new shiny version of themselves to become and YOUR service will get them there. So this is a critical crossroad. And it’s our marketing that’s makes it attainable.
Inevitability of outcome
Aaaaand this brings us to the next milestone, which is the inevitability of the outcome. This is where the buyer’s journey reaches a turning point. This is where they go from believing it’s possible for them – to realizing it’s inevitable for them with your service. Because your service gives them a unique experience and benefits, it makes their aspirations become strategy to manifest.
Because they’ve already had excitement and commitment prior to your launch, they know exactly why they haven’t achieved this outcome yet and they know that YOUR service is going to make it inevitable.
HOWEVER……This…this is where it takes a dark turn. The thing we all fear…the dreaded downward spiral. While some may be excited, committed, convinced, and ready to purchase…other’s will not. This is where last minute self-doubt and sabotage comes in. The thoughts of “this won’t really work for me” or “I’m scared to invest” or “I don’t know about this after all…” It’s human nature, unfortunately.
And unfortunately, this is where we, as the service provider, feel desperate. We start to use scarcity tactics and FOMO to get them to join, but we end up just scaring them off. Now, don’t get me wrong, these can be done tactfully and in certain moments. But right here, at this stage in the buyer journey, it doesn’t belong.
Safety in the outcome
They are in this self pity, scared, apathetic state and they are battling negative thoughts. They are dealing with resistance. What they really need here is SAFETY. Safety in the new outcome. They need to see how this outcome will impact them for days, months, and years. They need to feel like they will have a repeatable, predictable outcome because there is safety in that promise.
So, we make it known to them. We make them feel safe.
We go beyond case studies and social media. We go deeper. We re-empower them to make the choice. We give them the chance to make the choice on their own, without being forced or scared into it. We allow them to hold our hand so we can help them do it themselves.
And then finally, we have vindication. They feel redemption. They started the journey with validation and they are ending it with vindication. That all the stress, failures, doubt, and resistance is okay. It’s all come to this very moment. We are giving them this awesome gift, and it’s finally theirs.
Think about in movies, when the man and woman fall in love and they say “I’ve finally met my person.” The word finally is their moment of vindication. Everything that led up to that moment was WORTH IT.
At the end of the day, you’ve given them meaning to their struggle. It’s truly a beautiful gift.
and finally…happy dance
And then they finally purchase your service. They do their happy dance. They receive the transformation and outcome they’ve been seeking so hard…and you’ve impacted them greatly. (and here it’s okay to do your own happy dance.)
So I’ve taken you through the buyer journey. It’s a lot to understand at first, don’t feel overwhelmed. Break it down and apply it to your real life business and real life audience and it will make more sense as you think on it.
Keep an eye out for more info over at: www.sladecopyhouse.com/blog
