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A Powerful Strategy For People Who Didn’t Buy

When we do a promotion, we’ve always got those who buy and those who don’t. What do you do with those who don’t buy? In this episode, I’m going to break down a strategy for you in terms of what you should do and why, because those non-buyers can be one of the biggest gold mines in your business.

Big Ideas

Interesting stats you should know [1:07]

Before we dive into it, let me give you some context. Way back in Episode #51, I talked about a friend of mine, Susan Garrett, who shared with me something that had been a discovery from her most recent launch at the time. She was looking at the numbers and the stats, and she saw that close to 30% of the people who bought during this particular promotion had been through the exact launch at a prior time. They didn’t buy it then, but they bought it this time.

Fast forward to today, I had another friend of mine, who was debriefing and sharing some behind-the-scenes stats of their most recent launch for a membership site, where they welcomed over 1,500 new members. When I was looking at their numbers, 70% of the people who bought this time around had been on their list for more than three months. In fact, only 19% of the people who bought came from this particular promotional list. What’s even more staggering is when I dug into the numbers even further, I could see that 21% of the buyers from this promotion had been on their email list for more than three years. Let’s unpack this because there are three lessons that I want you taking away from this.

If they didn’t buy today, it doesn’t mean they will never buy [3:49]

Number one, just because they didn’t buy today doesn’t mean they won’t ever buy from you again. The natural thing to think is that if they didn’t buy now, they’re never going to buy. And so, we’re always focused on getting more people, new people into our world instead. But many times we forget that just because somebody didn’t buy today doesn’t mean that they won’t buy ever again. And maybe those people just need time. Maybe for whatever reason, something is going on right now. They just may not be ready, whatever it might be, but don’t give up on those people. So, the first lesson is this – just because they didn’t buy today doesn’t mean they won’t buy from you ever again.

Give a thank you gift [4:44]

Second lesson, give those people who don’t buy from you a thank you gift. Susan Garrett is the one that taught me about this once she made that discovery about 30% of the people who bought being on her list prior to that. She realised she has to play the long game, which means that those who didn’t buy just need nurturing to stay connected and to stay top of mind. After a promotion is complete, people are feeling a lot of different emotions. Obviously, the people who buy are super pumped up and excited. And we’re excited for them because we’re going to be able to help them. Typically, I’m 100% guilty of shifting all of my energy and focus to those people who buy. It shifts to fulfilling and creating an amazing experience for them.

But Susan taught that it’s important to remember about those who didn’t buy. She taught me to intentionally create a gift that you can also give to your non-buyers as a thank you for participating in your launch, for being part of the whole experience, for opening your emails and engaging in your lives and asking questions. “The amazing part about this is it doesn’t have to be a huge, gigantic gift.” In her case, she pulled together a valuable resource, an e-book that she had been selling before, and she gave it to her non-buyers as a thank you. In the same way, what could you give as a thank you gift, as a natural next step to help people continue on their journey? “When you cement that relationship at that point, it really validates that you are in it for their best interest. You’re in it to see them win.” That creates trust and that trust is one of the most valuable things that you can ever gain when it comes to serving your audience.

Build follow-up campaigns [7:54]

Number three, and this was really hammered home to me by Amy Porterfield, is to make sure you have follow-up campaigns for all those people who don’t buy. Everybody’s timing is different, and it may not be a matter of IF someone’s going to buy, but WHEN someone’s going to buy. The goal is to stay top of mind, continue to nurture that relationship and serve those people. When Amy Porterfield spoke at one of our TRIBE Live events, she talked about the importance of what happens in between promotions and in between launches. So, think in advance what kind of an email sequence could you provide? How could you continue to carry forward the momentum from a launch forward for those who do not join you for your particular offer, and deepen that relationship?

If you build on what we talked about in tip number two, the first email would be that free gift. But then what would come after that, and after that, and after that? Write a few emails and create a campaign ahead of time knowing that once the promotion is done, these emails can go out and continue nurturing your audience. And more importantly, I would encourage you to schedule it so that when you’re caught up in the excitement of a particular launch, that campaign kicks off and automatically continues to serve and nurture your audience behind-the-scenes.

Remember to play the long game [10:02]

If you want to know why people didn’t buy and get into that psychology, and if you want to speak to that in follow-up sequences, I would encourage you to check out Episode #196. That’s where I talk about the three reasons why somebody didn’t buy. Part of your follow-up should probably speak to those three reasons, not because you’re looking to sell, but because you’re looking to continue to develop and deepen that relationship, and continue to build that trust.

Bottom line is that one of the biggest gold mines that you are sitting on right now are all the people who said no. I know that’s completely counterintuitive, but when you are playing the long game, you want to remember that a huge percentage of the people who are going to buy during your next promotion have been watching and soaking up your wisdom for many months, maybe even years. And even though they didn’t say yes during the particular promotion that you just did, there’s a very good probability that they will say yes down the road as long as you continue to nurture them.

Memorable Quotes

“Just because they didn’t buy today, it doesn’t mean they won’t buy from you ever again.” – Stu McLaren

“Don’t give up on those that don’t say yes this time around. Remember, it’s a goldmine as long as you continue to nurture and deepen the relationship with your list.” – Stu McLaren

Resources

Episode #51 – The Forgotten Asset
Episode #196 – 3 Reasons Why Someone Didn’t Buy From You

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