Why You Don’t Get the Sales & Leads You Want

Plus, 36 ways to fix it.

You’ve got a great product or service, but not enough people are buying it.

Unless you’re a marketing service, you may not know how to promote your business and sell your products.

Luckily, you can always improve your sales conversions! Let’s dive into what may be stopping you from getting more sales and leads!

36 Reasons Why You’re Not Selling Enough

Yes… price points are big in sales, but with the right copywriter, you can prove the value of anything to customers! So, don’t assume you’re pricing too high.

If you’re proactive and would rather get a free marketing review, let’s do it. Otherwise, keep reading the possibilities as to why business sales are low.

1 - The website copy isn’t good.

Most business owners know a website is absolutely necessary for online sales. And while some hire a copywriter right away, others put something up on the website to “get it done.” Are you guilty of that?

Your website copy on the homepage, about page, service page and product description may be the top reasons you’re not selling as much as you want.

The Fix: Check your website traffic analytics. If people are coming to your website, but leaving before they convert, then the website copy is stopping sales. Start with your homepage. Need some tips? Check out this post about 5 tips for a great homepage.

2 - You’re missing the real customer problem.

What problem do you solve for customers? Is that the real problem?

It’s insanely important to understand how your business will make a customer’s life better. Do you bring them happiness? Do you help them lose weight? Can your service optimize a company’s workflow?

Take my business as an example: As a copywriter, I help businesses generate more sales and customer loyalty.

You may be struggling to get enough sales or need help with scaling up. My writing service gives clients the convenience of having me write their marketing materials… rather than them doing it (and pulling their hair out).

The Fix: I help my clients fix their marketing problems. If you need more sales and leads, find out what real problem you solve. Need help? Let me know.

3 - Low website traffic with low sales.

Ouch, right? You can analyze low website traffic in a number of ways. Then you fix it, and move on!

Maybe you haven’t used keywords to optimize SEO. Maybe your website needs to be mobile friendly. Maybe you just need to think out-of-the-box with great blogs that your audience will love.

The Fix: Boost website traffic by increasing the content on your site (but make sure it’s really good). Blogs and articles are a great way to add keywords, get your customers to notice you and make shareable content for social media.

Want a whole content marketing strategy plan to set you up for 3, 6, 12 months out? Contact me to get your website content generating more leads.

4 - Website traffic? Yes. Sales? No.

Easy fix. E-A-S-Y. The copy on your website is likely subpar.

Your messaging is not resonating with people who get to your site.

Or, your site is hard to navigate. In that case, you need a UX copywriter and graphic designer!

The Fix: There are key things you need on a functional website to grow online sales. Make sure you have these business website basics. Using a professional copywriter to write your website will help you generate more leads, conversions and sales.

5 - People don’t trust you.

It’s not a knock against you personally. Buyers are always very skeptical of businesses. Blame it on scammers, gimmicks and salesy advertising of the last several decades.

Customers need to feel like your company is run by real people who are not just obsessed with getting a sale.

The Fix: The best way to do that is by introducing yourself on your “About Me” page. People want to see a face and know your backstory. But make sure you don’t have a bunch of BS on your “About” page! Customers won’t be able to differentiate you from the competition otherwise.

6 - You’ve got bad links.

Sales will plummet if your website, sales funnels and landing pages are laced with broken links.

I’ve heard horror stories from business owners who had a bad “Contact Me” link.

The messages from the contact page wouldn’t go through. Needless to say they missed out on clients FOR MONTHS.

The Fix: Check every single external and internal link on your entire digital presence. Make sure people understand where a link will take them. Nowadays, people are terrified of ambiguous links and not knowing where a click will take them.

7 - You’re too clunky to function.

Again, not you personally. Your business. Customers need the buying process to be super smooth, straightforward and clear.

Basically, if it takes too long to get where they want or they get confused on how to pay, they’ll leave and abandon the cart.

Everything from your website to sales funnels to blog links to social media ads need to get them to your call-to-action in the fewest steps possible.

The Fix: That can be really hard to do, but a UX copywriter (like me!) and designer can help make sure you’re not missing out on sales just because of some technical issues.

8 - It’s hard to buy!

This is an extension to the idea above, but it’s about your purchase page.

The purchase page is your end-all, make-or-break page. The messaging needs to be super clear. The design needs to be super clear.

The Fix: If you want them to get their credit card out and hit that buy button, that page needs to be so good. SO GOOD. Let me take a look at it, contact me to talk.

9 - Checkout is untrustworthy.

If you’ve got a lot of abandoned carts, you may need to look at your purchase page.

There may be something on there that’s freaking people out: bad copy, typos, odd pay options, sketchy stuff.

The Fix: When it comes to your purchase page, don’t play any games. Keep everything straightforward, easy and professional. No one wants to put in their credit card information if the page is tricky to understand… or too casual.

10 - You don’t have a website.

Nowadays, every legit business needs to have their own website.

Sure, Facebook pages and Etsy shops can still help you generate cash, but having your own website is an absolute must.

That’s how you scale your business, get more eyes on your brand and ensure you have a digital hub dedicated to you (without the competition being just clicks away from customers).

The Fix: Don’t want to dedicate the time and effort into a new website? You don’t have to. I write them for you (and I’ve got designers to get them up) - in just a couple weeks! Let’s get your website going. If you’re going to do it yourself, read my post about what you need on a good website.

11 - SEO? More like SE… No.

SEO is the way of the world. And while some businesses spend $1000s to make sure they rank higher on Google, there are small (free) things you can do to improve SEO.

The Fix: One of my favorite free courses came from Neil Patel. I took some of his suggestions and saw results on my own site! He also has a free SEO tool too. For more free business tools, click here for a list.

12 - Lack of UX means lack of sales.

UX (user experience) helps a customer go from your landing page to the conversion you’re looking for.

A clunky purchase process isn’t the customer’s problem, because they’ll leave in milliseconds if something is too hard to figure out.

The Fix: UX copywriters and designers work together to create a fluid sales funnel to minimize bounce rates and increase conversion rates. Sometimes the solution is simply cleaning up what you already have — and you make way more money.

13 - How do they access your product or service?!

Honestly, someone should come to your landing page and take 1-2 steps to convert.

It also needs to be clear how to get your product or book a service. If they can’t figure out where you want them to go within seconds, it’s not clear enough.

The Fix: Make the call-to-action super clear over and over again. If the conversion process starts on the homepage, here’s 5 tips to make it better right away.

14 - The product descriptions don’t sell it.

You want them to buy your product? Tell them why!

Product descriptions are no place to play. Don’t just list the specs. Product descriptions are the place to sell them.

The Fix: If someone is on the fence about buying your product, this is where the copy has to work extra hard. The copy there can make-or-break a sale (and multiply that by 1000s of sales… then you got a problem)! If you need a product description writer, hire a marketing writer.

15 - Why buy?

Why should someone buy your product or book your service? If you’re not clearly answering that, they won’t buy from you.

Every business, product and service serves a purpose to a specific customer. Even luxury brands need to answer the “why buy.”

The Fix: Figure out what problem you solve or what void you fill for your clients. Once you figure it out, tell them that over and over again. Once they see how you make their life better, your value (and price) will be a no-brainer.

16 - Social media ads don’t get clicks.

Do you create a Facebook ad, make it live and sit there — praying you’ll get some online sales? Then you check a couple days later, disappointed in your click-through-rate and conversions.

Soon it’s a cycle of necessary evil. You know social media marketing works, but how? You keep throwing in an extra $5, $10, $50 per week.

The Fix: It’s so easy to lose money on Facebook ads if your ad copy isn’t professionally done. And the longer you wait to hire a social media copywriter, the more money you lose and the more sales slip away. I do social media ads. Let’s get going!

17 - Your landing page has a high bounce rate.

Your landing page needs to be sticky like a trap (and I don’t mean gimmicky).

My point is, your landing page messaging should instantly grab them and compel them to take action, even if it’s just to learn more.

The Fix: Hit them with a great headline, compelling offer and a super easy way to access it. Great landing pages get people landing and converting!

18 - Your email funnels are too salesy.

No one likes an in-your-face salesy offer. And luckily, you don’t have to do that to get conversions! Promise.

Your offers can be so perfect for your subscribers — so smooth and filled with value. No need to feel guilty asking for people’s money!

The Fix: Take a look at your marketing emails and email funnels. If they’ve been underperforming, it’s time to make them personalized, beneficial and so not salesy. If you want a pro to take a look, contact me for a free marketing review.

19 - Your deal just isn’t that sweet.

If your deal or discount sounds really good to you, you’re doing it wrong.

Every incentive needs to be sweet for your ideal customer.

If you’re selling to people 65+, is it really a good idea to do an e-learning course? (Hey, maybe you’re targeting tech-savvy seniors!)

The Fix: Market research on your target audience is really important. Find out where they get their information, where they shop and how they shop. Figure out how to create a perfect marketing campaign around your perfect product.

20 - You don’t stand out from your competition.

It’s hard when the industry is crowded with competitors!

Everyone is targeting the same people and trying to stand out themselves.

But, many times the desire to be different ends up with everyone saying the same thing.

The Fix: Find your true unique selling point. Look at all your competitors, write down what they say and then find something different to say. Think about your prices, your position in the market and anything else that truly makes you stand out — truly.

21 - Big-ticket items don’t use big-mama marketing tactics.

Chances are, if you’ve got a pricey item, you’ve got a whole lot of buttering up to do.

Even if you’re targeting customers with a high annual income, you don’t know what they’ll prioritize and purchase.

That’s why high-ticket webinars and courses only do well if you really work them up to it.

The Fix: It’s time to get a whole marketing strategy going. Target people who are ready to buy, but also who may be just browsing or wanting to learn more. One big thing that will help draw more awareness to your brand is a great blog program. It’ll also get more traffic heading to your site.

22 - Your pitches are about you.

Sure, you’re supposed to pitch your services, but the last thing your pitch should be… is about you.

It’s all about them. How you benefit them. How you make their lives better. Catch my drift?

The Fix: Just like a customer buying a product, you need to sell them on your services. Clearly show them your benefit to consumer. Any service can be essential to the right person!

23 - You don’t say enough.

Yes, great copywriting is often short, succinct and easy to read.

But, people need to hear enough details about your product or service to want to buy it.

The Fix: Find the balance between saying only the key points and saying everything you need to land a sale. (Yes, easier said than done.)

But, just remember that your customers aren’t always thinking about your company like you are.

They don’t understand your product like you do. When all else fails, explain it as if they were 5 years old (not the tone, but the basics).

24 - Where are the perks and freebies?!

They work like a charm. They instantly warm up interest and/or a sale.

Luckily, if you’ve got a freebie to sign up for your email program, your newsletters can do the heavy lifting and land a big offer.

The Fix: Give a little to get a lot. Need some ideas for easy lead magnets that get more email subscribers? Here’s a list of 20 awesome lead magnets.

25 - Your brand voice isn’t fully developed.

Loyal customers flock to brands that are recognizable and relatable.

One way to create a memorable brand is by creating a unique and uniform brand voice.

This brand voice should be all over your social media ads, email marketing, website — everywhere!

The Fix: If your brand speaks, you say it in brand voice. Need help creating brand voice? Contact me. I’ll help you make your campaigns cohesive and conducive to conversions.

26 - Missing your target audience.

Before you can even think about having great sales, you need to know your target audience like the back of your hand.

In fact, you should know almost everything about them: income, what kind of place they live in, what magazines they read… the list goes on and on.

The more you know about your ideal customer, the more effective every ad campaign will be.

The Fix: Create a detailed, robust customer persona. If you’ve got several target audiences, you’ll have to do it for each.

Trying to create a marketing campaign to cover multiple audiences will only lead to poor sales on all fronts.

You could probably create a persona guide yourself, or you can have a professional do it so you know it’ll be effective at directing your marketing efforts and getting the most conversions possible.

If you want a professional persona guide, that’s a really quick project! Let me know.

27 - You stick the landing, but not the sale.

Maybe you’re actually getting people on the landing page, but they’re not completing a sale. This is better than having a high bounce rate on your page, but it still means $0 in the bank.

There must be something that’s specifically deterring a sale.

The Fix: If you’ve rewritten that page over and over and it’s still not converting how you want, it’s time to have a professional look at it.

As a copywriter myself, I’m all about making sure your messaging is on point — that way your landing pages are working as hard as possible and getting more people to convert. Get a free review of your landing page.

28 - Gimmicks.

You may be unintentionally making marketing mistakes with gimmicks and bad tactics.

If you’re intentionally trying to mislead people to get more clicks, shame on you (and don’t call me).

Gimmicks, false promises and clickbait are all really bad copy tactics.

The Fix: Don’t do them. While you may get 100,000 clicks with “see nude models here,” it’s shallow and unlikely to lead to sales. In fact, gimmicks can make people hate your brand. Learn more about bad copy tactics here.

29 - You’re just not promoting enough.

Whether you’re pitching or promoting, you have to cast your net far and wide. You’ll throw it out there to 1000s, but only 100s (or 10s) will actually buy.

A few social media posts and 1 ad isn’t going to help you scale up business. Plus, even if you make an ad live, not everyone will see it on the first go-around.

The Fix: A well-rounded marketing strategy filled with valuable, new or up-cycled content and copy is a must.

You should have tons of touchpoints between you and your customers. If you’re ready to take your marketing to the next level, let’s get a systemic content marketing strategy in the works. Hit me up.

30 - There’s no reason to buy right now.

Great! You’ve got a customer in your vicinity. They’re considering the product or service. Thinking… thinking… Maybe they’ll buy it later.

Consider that a lost sale because “waiting until later” means “not coming back.” People need a reason to take action right now.

The Fix: Add urgency to your marketing (the more subtle, the better). Get your customer and tell them why they should buy right now instead of in 10 minutes or tomorrow.

31 - There’s no gift to join your email list.

Yes, even just asking someone to type in their first name and email address should come with a gift.

If you’ve got a lead magnet that leads them into your email list, you’ll have way more email subscribers ready for direct marketing.

Plus, they’ll be really excited to get your emails, and your email open rates can be awesome…

The Fix: The important thing is that your lead magnet is so specific and in tune to what your target audience wants. After all, if they think your lead magnet is “meh,” they’ll have no reason to sign up for future perks. More on great lead magnet ideas here.

32 - Your big sell isn’t big enough.

If you’re doing a big ask to get people to purchase a webinar course or a high-ticket item, it has to be more than just an email.

You need to groom people, get them to trust you and want to purchase from you. That’s a really big task! We’re talking freebies, email funnels, testimonials, webinars, FAQs… the works.

The Fix: In general, the higher the price tag, the more nurturing you’ll have to do. But… you may be able to cut down on nurturing with the right messaging from a great copywriter.

They’ll still need several touchpoints to purchase, but if all your marketing copy is super effective, you might be able to take out some steps in the purchase process — and improve UX.

33 - No strategy behind your launch.

If you want to make money like a big company, you have to think like a big company. Nike doesn’t just throw ads out on a Monday and see how it goes that week.

Successful companies follow a marketing strategy, where every piece of copy has a purpose.

The website serves as a hub for everything. Ad campaigns are joined together with blog posts, social ads and a big sell to get on their email list.

The Fix: Even if you’re a small business, you should have strategy behind your marketing. When you strategize your campaigns, you can systematically see your sales increase.

Plus, if something isn’t working, you quickly identify it and fix it so that you won’t miss out on too many sales.

34 - You don’t have a content marketing strategy.

Let’s piggyback off the one above. Content marketing strategy is so important, it needs it’s own number on the list!

You need a plan to connect your copy, content and customers and carry them along the purchase process.

This way, you’ll be able to quickly find people who are ready to buy and nurture people who are not totally ready, but get much closer now that they have you in mind.

The Fix: Find someone who can put all the pieces together and give you a plan to carry you through the rest of the year.

Copywriters, content marketers and content strategists are the people to help you plan. Content writers and copywriters can write the content, but there’s a big difference between them.

Learn more about content writers vs. copywriters and which ones your business needs.

35 - You’re talking, but not resonating.

It’s a waste of money to put out ads that aren’t right for your target audience.

Every single target customer has a specific set of ideals, language and pain points that will resonate with them.

If you’re not speaking in a way that they’ll link up to, you’ll lose them.

Even if you spent hours figuring out your target audience and you know everything about them, they won’t convert if you don’t deliver a great message that they’ll “flex” with.

The Fix: This is all about execution of your brand voice in a way that your target audience will relate to. A really tough task.

And honestly, if you’ve been targeting the right people and they’re not converting, it’s time you hire a copywriter to do your messaging. I’m telling you: Your ROI to pay a copywriter will be massive.

36 - The wrong people are reading your blogs.

Blogs are meant to educate, entertain and inspire. But only using them in that way may be preventing you from getting more customers.

Money-making blogs are based on SEO keywords… and those SEO keywords should be based on intent. (Yes, complex).

Just throwing up a blog post can attract readers who are not ready to even think about converting.

There’s a big difference in a blog post about “What is a mountain bike?” and “What are the best mountain bikes?”

The Fix: You should have all sorts of blogs that cover really great topics for your audience. But these blogs should be strategized based on the intent of your readers.

Make some blog posts for people who have no idea about the problem. Make posts for people who are aware of the issue but need information on who will best solve their issue. The list goes on. It’s all part of a stellar strategy.