I’m gonna talk for a little while, probably about 20 minutes, on the small adjustments that we can make to our language to be sure that we’re talking to people who are ready to buy now. And let’s think about what we’re doing as learning to play the game of marketing because it’s the best way to approach it in a playful and experimental manner.

What I’m gonna offer you are some hacks, some slightly different ways of looking at the work that you’re already doing to instigate a small and subtle shift in language that has the potential to completely change how your marketing converts. It certainly made a huge difference to my business when I kind of realized what I had slipped back into habitually doing.

Now, I’m sure you’ve heard me and other marketers as well talking about speaking to people who are ready to buy, speaking to your ideal client. But that can be, I know that that can be really confusing, a really difficult concept to grasp. Well, how do I speak to those people? I’m doing my best, but apparently they’re not hearing me. How do I speak to those, in a targeted way, to those people? That can seem like a really difficult concept to grasp if you are not already immersed in the marketing world, if you’re not a copywriter.

But I want you to just trust me for now because it’s gonna become clearer as I speak. But this is not about skill as a copywriter. You absolutely do not need to be a copywriter to do this. But this is, we’ve all done lots of ideal client avatar exercises. This is the most useful one you’ll ever do because it’s about identifying your ideal client as being not just somebody who matches the personality and the belief systems of the people who you love to work with. But also for most of us, our ideal client is also somebody who is motivated, who’s excited to work with us, who has money to invest in it and is ready to spend.

So these attributes, excited, motivated, committed, ready to invest, are the other traits that we’re gonna be primarily focused on in this lesson today. So it’s a slight shift, it’s subtle, but it is so, so profound like all of the best subtle shifts are. And we’re doing the background work that makes that shift come really quite easily, quite naturally.

Again, this is not about being a brilliant copywriter. I have a client right now who’s selling out her programs and will be the first to admit that she is by no means, by no means a copywriter. But she really has mastered this idea of speaking to people who are ready to buy now, okay?

How do we speak to people who are motivated to buy now? We need to understand what their decision-making process is. We need to understand what they are thinking, feeling, looking, doing, looking for, doing right now. If we don’t understand those things, we can’t begin to tailor our approach to somebody who’s ready to buy.

And the way we tend to default, what I found with working with lots and lots of people on this, what I found is that we tend to default to speaking to people who are nearly ready rather than really ready. If we focus on the people who are really ready, it will help move along with people who are nearly ready as well. And then there’s a whole other section of our audience who are not nearly ready, but they will be. And I think it probably goes without saying why exactly we want to focus on the people who are really ready to buy, because that means more sales, more conversions, more easily. And cash flow is the number one thing that we want in our business.

The first thing to understand is the hotness, the hotness of our leads. Now, you’ve heard in marketing us talking about cold leads, warm leads, hot leads. What do we mean by that? It’s like the, I don’t know if you used to play this game, we used to play this game as children where somebody would hide something in a room. And I’m laughing because it’s so million miles away from the experience that my children are having now growing up. Hide an object in a room and as somebody was searching for it, as you would get closer, you would say warmer, warmer, warmer. And then as they moved away from it, you’d go colder, colder, colder. So think of your leads on that kind of a continuum from cold, which means they are a stranger to your work, know very little about you through gradually, you know, they might be cold, cool, warm, very warm, hot, hot, hot. And the very hottest leads are the people who are just like on the brink of signing up. They’re on the brink of saying yes.

So, excuse me, within your audience, within your audience, my audience, any audience, there are some people who are entirely not interested in working with us at all. Some who are curious, some who are very motivated to buy now and everything in between. Every person in your audience has a different level of intent, a different level of interest and a different proximity to that buying decision, how close they are to making that decision. And of course, individuals move between those levels of intent. They move between that hotness, I’m about to buy, coolness, oh, I’m changing my mind, I’m drawing back. It’s a fluid situation is what I’m saying.

So imagine a significant purchase of your own. Maybe, you know, you’re thinking about buying a new car or something. So you will move between levels of intent. So while your current ride is, you know, running well, it might be you’re like idly thinking, oh, I would really love to own a red convertible or whatever it is. And then but you’re really just window shopping and browsing the market. But then when there are, you know, some catastrophic mechanical fault happens in your car, then your intention to purchase, your hotness as a lead for your local car dealership goes way up because you are suddenly very motivated to buy. So our audience – people within our audience – are shifting between these categories all the time.

So let’s talk about the categories. So I look this up and obviously within any audience – some people put the number at 30 percent, that sounds reasonable to me – 30 percent of people are never going to work with you. They’re in your audience for other reasons than because they want to work with you. Could be family and friends who wish you well. Could be competitors. Could be people who are interested in your work but are working with somebody else and they’re very committed to them and not planning on switching. So about 30 percent of people in your audience not going to work with you at all. And we assume that most of them aren’t going to be in your audience forever. Ultimately, they will get bored and move on or switch to, you know, they will become a higher intent. And then of those that remain, so about of the 70 percent of people in your audience who remain of those, it breaks down roughly like this.

So 40 percent of people happy to know you’re there, interested in theory in your work, but they are not currently purchasing. They are window shopping at best. They’re keeping an eye on what you’re doing. They may want to purchase at some time in the future, but it’s not currently on their radar. (Sorry, I’m just smudging my lipstick.) And so that’s 40 percent. And so, yes, 40 percent of the 70 percent who are potential customers.

Another 40 percent of those people are browsing. They’re interested. They know that they that they’re looking for a solution to something or other, but they’re not super, super motivated at this time. They are looking around. They’re weighing up their options. They’re trying other things. They’re probably trying to fix whatever’s going on themselves, you know, by free workshops, consuming content. They’re trying to figure it out themselves.

Then about 15 percent are strongly considering making a purchasing decision. They’re kind of like, they know that they want this fixed and they are in the process of decision making.

And 5 percent of people actually have their wallet in their hand and are ready to pay. So I know that’s four categories there. But broadly speaking, we could also break those categories down into low, medium, high levels of intent, purchasing intent or cool, warm, hot leads, for example.

So, yes, this level of intent, their temperature to the temperature of the leads, the level of the intent, whether they’re low intent, medium intent or high intent, that’s referring to the combination of their need for a solution to their problem, and their desire to actually get that solution quickly. So you can see that there’s a that there will be a direct correlation with how likely and, you know, somebody who has a strong need and a strong desire, that’s going to correlate to them making a quick purchasing decision.

Knowing this means we can tailor our marketing messaging systems, processes, offers, everything to the people in our audience who we know are there, who we know intend to buy. And if we can speak to those people effectively, that is going to obviously directly impact how quickly you are able to sell to those people.

Sometimes it can be really useful to just compare what cool and what hot looks like.

So somebody who is, for example, OK, let’s take a really obvious one, a cool lead. So somebody who’s in your audience but not really like reading any sales copy, not responding to any offers. They may not be aware that they even have a problem. If they are, they may not be aware that there is a solution to a problem. And even if they are aware and they’re in this like cool leads category, solving it is is not a high priority for them. The problem that they’re experiencing might be an annoyance. It might be bugging them a little bit. It might be niggling them that they need to take some action on it, but it’s not it’s not a top priority.

So obviously to turn those people into customers. And this is where a lot of marketing kind of by default ends up being pitched at these people. But obviously these people are going to require the most resources to get them over the line. They are going to have the longest sales cycle because even if you were able to capture and hold that person’s attention, you’ve created a lot of work for yourself in first of all educating them that they have a problem and that there is a solution to the problem. And there would probably need to be some pushing on some pain points to let people to kind of agitate the need to solve the problem. We don’t like doing that. A lot of inexperienced marketers do teach people content strategies, messaging strategies that are unintentionally aimed at this buyer.

So that looks like explaining to people what they are experiencing, explaining to people that their problem can be solved, explaining to people why they should want to solve their problem. But as I say, the sad truth is if you’re speaking to people who don’t want, who aren’t feeling that sense of urgency to solve their own problem, it is going to take a long time to get them over the line and equally important, it actually repels, like all of this is happening in kind of split-second unconscious decision, but it actually repels the people who are ready to buy because they already understand everything you’re saying to these low intent, cool, cool leads. They already understand that there is a problem. They already understand that there is a solution. They have already gained that wisdom and are ready to buy.

So it’s not like – it’s not that they’re looking at your marketing content and going, “ew, ew, ew, no, that’s not it.” That’s not what’s happening at all. As I say, it’s split-second decisions on an unconscious level. But when they see that copy that’s explaining to people that your solution can be solved and here’s why you should want to, here’s why you should pursue that. It’s just, it’s not resonating with them because they have already gained that level of wisdom. They’ve already walked that part of the journey and are now on the brink of launching themselves into the next chapter, which happens as soon as they make the purchasing decision. So while you’re busily convincing people that they can solve their problem and here’s how they could do it, those people who are ready to buy have moved on because you’re not speaking to them.

So think of a low intent, a cool lead, low intent buyer or cool lead like as a window shopper. They’re enjoying the scenery, enjoying the environment, enjoying browsing, but we’re not going to spend a lot of time, money, energy, resources trying to gain their attention and keep hold of it. It’s an uphill battle and we don’t have time for that. Whereas compared to somebody like – think of yourself when you have decided to find a solution to whatever challenge you’re dealing with on a mission, actively seeking a solution, researching, researching maybe between a few different service providers, looking for the perfect fit, ready to spend. Not overly – of course budget is going to come into it – but not overly concerned with budget because they’re actually looking at the transformation on offer and are determined to find the offer or service that’s going to be the perfect fit.

So what we can see is that the problems that people have are different according to the levels of intent. And this obviously affects the way people make decisions, which means that the way we speak to the audience as a whole is going to have to change because we want to, as I said, right from the top, we want to optimize our message and our language for the people who are ready to buy. This is our goal from here on out to only be speaking to hot, hot, hot leads to people who are ready to buy.

And we do that by understanding the journey that they have been on up until this point. And your messaging will let them know that you understand them in a way that nobody else does. So just let me know. Say yes. Give me a thumbs up. Let me know that you can see that it makes sense that we’re reverse engineering our message to develop a strategy for the people who are most ready to buy, rather than focusing on anybody who needs to be convinced, explained, anything else like that. I mean, of course, we need – that there’s bound to be a little bit of an explanation, explanation about how your solution works and why it’s so unique and why it offers a permanent solution and why it’s all the reasons that make it so brilliant. But we’re not in the business of trying to convince people that there is a solution and that they should want to solve their problem.

OK, so we are still going to have a customer journey. We are still going to have a nurture strategy that supports those that the nearly ready, the people who are nearly ready, but they’re not all the way ready because some people just take a little bit longer to make a decision. And we can absolutely create a strategy that gives those people the love and the nurture and the deepening relationship and helps them get familiar with our work. And ultimately, we hope convert them over time so we can have these two pathways, a pathway for people who are ready now and a pathway for people who are nearly, nearly ready. But those window shoppers, they’re going to window shop anyway and they can lead themselves through that process of going from window shopping to actual shopping.

OK. Because when you’re talking to people who are ready to buy, their decision making process is like, how can we compare that? Let’s compare that the decision making process between somebody who is really ready versus nearly ready. The person who is really ready is open. They want to hear about your offer. They want to hear about it. They have already decided to purchase a solution and so they decide much, much faster. They’re wide open to hear about your offer and they will make a decision about it very quickly. And because you’re talking to people who will make a decision quickly, you can see the effects of your marketing and your position, your positioning much more quickly and much more effectively too.

So these people, your hot, hot leads, they are excited to get started. They’re keen to solve as quickly and effectively as they can. They’re fast to convert. And again, hence the focus of our intention. And remembering, just repeating myself again because it’s so, so important. When somebody comes across your work and they are actively seeking a solution to the problem you can solve, they will be turned off by content that is talking to people who don’t know that there is a solution or need to be persuaded to do something about it. OK. That’s not interesting or new to them. They have been on that journey. It’s not going to get their attention. They will move on.

So in this lesson, in this workbook, we’re just going to go through a process to, I’m going to describe the process that we go through to uncover the language that your hot leads speak and understand when they are at the point of deciding and making a change. They’ve been through this whole journey to get here. And now you are here to just help them over the line to make that decision, to get to the outcome, the transformation, the solution that they want. So we’re slightly pivoting, like even within ourselves, to be supporting people who are ready, who are actively seeking solutions, who are ready to say yes.

And what that looks like is basically three key things that these people need. People who are on the brink of a decision, these are the three key things they need. They need to shift their beliefs about what’s possible. They need clarity on what is really behind the challenge that they’re facing. And they want a unique, innovative – I was going to say interesting – but a unique and innovative solution that makes sense to them. That they can look like, even if they don’t understand all the components of it, they can understand how this unique and innovative solution will get them from where they are right now to where they want to be.

And this is what it means to have premium clients. It’s a horrible phrase and in many cases quite meaningless, but it’s not about your fee and it’s not about their income level. It’s about the level of their desire and their intention to take action. It’s really important for your sales, obviously, but it actually also impacts the top of your marketing funnel. It impacts the types of leads coming in because when you’re speaking the language of people ready to buy, you attract more people who are ready to buy. And it actually even makes the delivery of your work better because the journey that your clients have been on up to this point means that they’re joining your program with commitment to the work. You haven’t had to do any convincing or persuading of them in any way. We’ve all worked with those clients who we kind of had to convince or persuade and it almost never works out well. The clients who get the most from our work most of the time are people who are really motivated and excited and eager and who are really decisive that your solution is the right one.

OK, so a bit more about understanding the difference between high and mid intent or warm and cool. In the workbook, I’m going to ask you to start thinking about things like, I’m going to give you an illustration for this one, but what is somebody who is actively seeking a solution doing right now? What are they doing already and what have they already done to try and solve their problems? So let me try and explain the difference using my audience. So it would be using my audience and my business.

So it would be very reasonable for me to say that my ideal clients are doing their best with a lot of kind of piecemeal marketing advice. They are DIY-ing a marketing strategy. They are attending lots of free and low cost workshops. They’re consuming lots of free and low cost content, maybe self-serve courses as well, and they are piecing it all together. That sounds like a reasonable ideal client avatar for me, right? In fact, I classify those people as being nearly ready. If they are still in that headspace of being of like, “I have time to figure this out. I’ve just purchased this course and I’m going to this workshop and I’m going to test out this new platform.” If they are still in that space of being, “I can figure this out alone,” they are not an ideal client for me. My ideal clients have decided that they’re not going to do that anymore. And one of two scenarios, either they’ve been doing that for a long time and they are now sick and tired of it, or the thing that they want to achieve is so important to them that they don’t want to go through the whole trying-to-piece-it-together-myself kind of thing.

Another great example is somebody trying to get in shape. He decided to try and get in shape. The difference being between somebody who says, “You know what? I’m just going to download the Couch to 5K app and I’ll just work on it over the summer and then reassess where I am in October.” OK? That’s somebody’s ideal client, but it’s not a personal trainer’s ideal client. The personal trainer’s ideal client is somebody who has tried Couch to 5K, who has tried gym membership and they just find that they don’t stick to it or that their form is bad and they keep getting injured, or they’ve been for a checkup with the doctor who says, “Listen, you really need to get in shape right now.” So in that scenario, the ideal client is somebody who’s tried the easy way, who’s tried the DIY method, the “I’ll just sort it out myself” way, and they are now, either because it’s taken too long and they haven’t got what they needed, or it’s so important to them that they need to get it right from the beginning. And so they are actively in the market looking for who’s going to be the right personal trainer to show up at their door on a Monday morning and say, “Get your running shoes on. Let’s go.” OK? So these are the questions that we’re asking in our In the Copy Workbook. What are these people already tried? And having already tried what they’ve already tried, what are they now looking for? What cues are they listening out for? What questions are they asking about the people whose work they are looking at it? And the more we understand this, the more we can use it in our marketing.

So think about this. If I were to introduce you to somebody right now who had the exact problem that you can offer a solution to, and they have the money and they have the commitment and the motivation, and they are actively in the market for a solution, but they don’t know your work, where would you be able to send them to get them to a yes as quickly as possible in the fewest number of steps? So the fewest number of steps to describe and explain your solution and give somebody the opportunity to buy something as easily and with the least amount of you need to get 14 emails or you’re going to need to wade through my YouTube chat, you know, through 15 videos on the YouTube. What’s the easiest way? If somebody came to you today and said, “I really am looking for a solution to this. How can we work together?” Where could you signpost them to which would give them the most concise and elegant possible explanation of your solution and next step?

So as an example, a video training that describes your methodology with a link to book a sales call, right? That would be an obvious way to do it. Or an e-book that describes your methodology with a link to book a call or a document. Doesn’t even have to be as long as an e-book, but what would be the simplest way to explain your work to somebody and lead them to a yes? And if you don’t already have that, think about how we can set that up in your business. Obviously, this requires having a methodology and that’s part of the work that we’re doing here. But the principle to have in mind is getting people from entering your world, getting those ready-to-buy people, from entering your world to a “Yes, let’s work together, here’s my money” as quickly and kind of smoothly as possible.

And then the next question, of course, is what are we going to do with the people who are nearly ready? The people who are very, very interested but need a little bit more nurturing. And that could really be the same training, the same resource, the same video or e-book or document. But this time, you could have two links on there. So a link to book a call for the people who are ready now or a link to, for example, join your Facebook group for people who need a little bit more warming up.

Between this lesson and the workbook, I want you to understand what it means to focus on telling your message to those hot, hot leads who have already decided to solve their problem, who don’t need an education or convincing that they want to solve it or why they should want to solve it. This is what most people who are struggling with marketing need. It can be difficult to understand what we’re doing that keeps attracting people who are not ready to say “Yes”. So this lesson and this workbook is going to help you develop that language for your content such that it starts to attract the right kind of leads, the people who are ready to buy.

And once you’ve worked through this, obviously it means you can look through all of your current messaging. I mean, obviously, social media content is quite ephemeral and fleeting. But if you write blogs, it could be the messaging on your website, the messaging on your sales pages. It means you’re going to be able to update all of your current messaging to replace some of the language.

Okay, I’m going to quickly recap and conclude.

Essentially, what we’ve talked about is a way of evolving and refining your message with the intention to attract and engage leads who aren’t just interested, but who are ready to make a purchasing decision right now. And we’re doing that because it makes the sales cycle more efficient and shows the most possible profit per hour of your marketing time. It’s a lot. Mercury is supportive. Do the workbook. If you feel like you don’t know your audience, then go back to market research. And let’s talk about this in the group. I’m particularly interested in seeing your side by side comparisons of nearly ready versus really ready.