In any given market only 3% of people are in “buying mode”.
If you pick up the newspaper, watch TV or even do a search on Google you will see many ads claiming “we have the biggest range and the best prices”. They are directed at that 3%.
The problem is, if you split up that 3% of customers between you and your competitors you’re never going to make much money.
The key is to capture the other 97% of customers. But how do you do that?
Simple. You make sure that when the other 97% of customers become ready to buy (which could be very soon), they’ve already decided to buy from YOU.
And the kicker is, by planting this seed to get them to choose you when they decide to buy, you’re actually speeding up the process for them to go from “research phase” to “buying mode”. Let me explain:
The “Larger Market” formula breaks down the entire audience of buyers in any market into 4 key categories:
- Percent who are interested in buying “right now” = 3%
- Percent who are in “Information Gathering Mode” these are window shoppers who are open to considering such a purchase = 17%
3. The percentage who are “Problem Aware” meaning they might know they need a new car, need to lose weight etc but aren’t actively researching or looking to buy = 20%
4. Then the other 50% of the market who aren’t “problem aware” or looking to buy.
The goal here is to move these potential custom- ers UP the
pyramid faster.
The bonus, is by doing this, you’re also making sure that when they hit the “buy now” stage, they’ll be most likely to buy from YOU. But to do this your message has to be powerful and it has to be education-based to resonate – not simply a promotional piece about your company.
You see, when a prospect isn’t informed or knowledgeable on a subject, they are in a state of uncertainty, and people don’t buy in this state. So the key here is to teach your potential customers or “prospects” what they need to know to make a smart buying decision and posi- tion your solution as the “obvious choice”.
One of the key ways to educate your prospects is to o er insights and education to help people make a better buying decision when the time comes (and to move them up the pyramid quickly).
A great way to educate you market is in the form of:
- Videos
- Cheat Sheets
- Free Report
- Webinars
- Seminars
If you then present “public service announcement-like” information you’re guaranteed to stand out from the crowd in a huge way.
Now you have their attention, you can include in your report information that will help move them up the pyramid faster.
If you can actively and skilfully move people up the pyramid you can shift a lot of the 97% of prospects out there from “not buying right now”, or “not even thinking about it”, to becoming your client or customer right away. And the best way to do this is through what we call a Sales Funnel, that uses this technique to shift a prospect up each stage of the pyramid over a period of a few weeks. Done right, you’ll easily see your sales double without having to spend much, if not any more on your advertising.
