A Recipe For A Simple, Effective, & Human Sales Page

For the past eight years I’ve been booked out anywhere from 4-12 months at a time with 1:1 clients and my 1:1 offerings have evolved quite a bit over the years so I’ve had a lot of experience of writing sales pages that resonate and connect with dream clients and invites them to say hell yes to working together when the time is right for them.

And I know from my clients how so many of us can feel really stuck and overwhelmed when it comes to writing a sales page, though at this point for me now 8 years in I can happily say it’s quite an easeful and intuitive process for me now.

For today’s episode I want to share with you a recipe for a simple, effective, and human sales page so that you can have a little guidance for the next time you’re stuck creating one in your business too.

I have the most experience creating 1:1 sales pages so that’s the recipe I’m walking you through today but I do adjust this, sometimes quite significantly, for my 1:many offerings too so hopefully it can be of some support and jumping off point for whatever sales page you’re working on next in your business.

Before we dive into the recipe I have four things I want to clarify.

First is that this is not a blueprint. I’m calling this a recipe for a reason - these are the ingredients I’ve mixed together in a particular order that works best for me in my business, but I am in no way saying this is a step by step process you have to follow because the truth is the perfect sales page formula doesn’t exist because everyone's business is unique to them. But if you’re stuck on where to start my hope is this recipe can give you some jumping off points.

Second is that I have a very slow, gentle, and human approach to marketing. I believe in connection over conversion, I don’t agree with the advice to tap into people’s pain points, and I also don’t believe in making extravagant promises we don’t actually have the ability to guarantee either. You probably already know all of this about me if you’ve engaged with my work for a while now but I wanted to clarify this because I see sales pages as invitations, not as persuasion tools.

And I believe in this approach because I’ve seen the results in my own business, I consistently attract dream clients who want to go on this journey with me and not because I’ve made a big extravagant promise but because they see my experience and my approach and they trust that I’m the person to go on this journey with them and I have found that’s a beautiful breeding ground for delightful client relationships too.

And third, something to keep in mind is that your sales page is the final destination in your customer journey, it’s not going to do all of the work for you.

I write my sales pages in mind for the person who has already engaged with my work, they’ve listened to my podcast, they’ve read my blog, they’ve subscribed to my weekly letters or followed me on Instagram. Yes some brand new people may come straight to the sales page but I’m creating it for people who already have some connection to my work and I see this as the final invitation to go deeper together if and when the time is right for them.

And then finally, my biggest encouragement when it comes to a sales page is to not imitate your competition. And I actually really hate the word competition so let’s use the phrase industry peers instead. But so often, especially for people earlier on their business journey, it’s so easy for their sales page just to read like the business owners they look up to in their field.

But it’s very obvious when your sales page is trying to imitate someone else more experienced and established in your industry and it does nothing but actually hold your business back from thriving in the way it’s capable of.

So this is where getting really clear on your own business vision and message and approach is key, and yes there’s always going to be some similarities with others in our industry but the more you identify what the magic is in your work the more that will be an undeniable lighthouse to your hell yes clients in your business.

So take this recipe as just that, a recipe. Make it your own, find your own version within it, but if you’re feeling really stuck right now with bringing a sales page to life I hope this can give you a little structure to be working with.

Okay, I’m going to break this down in sections.

Section one is your opening statement and invitation.

I like to open a sales page with an opening statement and invitation to the offering. So for example for my 1:1 offering I open with the statement: “because you don’t need to do this on your own anymore…” As that is the core invitation of the offer, to feel deeply supported in your business journey.

I then expand on it by saying: let’s spend three months together moving your business forward with intention, focus, and joy.

So for you your opening statement and invitation may be to go a branding process together, or develop copy for their business that feels like home, or invest in a custom art service, the list could go on and on.

Think about what the core invitation of your offering is, what the need your offering meets, what problem it solves, and open with that. It sets the tone for the offer and clarifies what it actually offers to the client too.

Then for section two I like to paint a picture of possibility.

This is where I ask what someone would hope to be possible for them in this season of their business, and illuminate what has been possible for clients who have worked with me before too.

My biggest encouragement here? Don’t make promises you can’t keep. I know it feels good for marketing to make big, bold promises but if you can’t actually keep them you will either attract bad fit clients who expect you to or you’ll feel so out of alignment with the offer that you shy away from actually sharing it.

If you have a very clear deliverable - for example you’re a designer, or a copywriter, or an artist - it’s a lot simpler to paint this picture of possibility as you can highlight the deliverable and what’s possible on the other side of that. And then if you’re a coach or a mentor or a guide for example there’s less of a concrete deliverable and more of a transformational picture to paint.

Then for section three I like to include a testimonial.

You’ll see that I typically include a lot of testimonials on a sales page as I find that it’s a great way to really illuminate what is possible through the offer and someone else saying how impactful our work together has been will always be more powerful than me saying it myself.

If you’re just getting started though and don’t have that many testimonials - that’s okay. You’ll build up to this.

And then for section four I like to introduce myself and clarify my role and experience.

This isn’t a mini about page, it’s instead a very focused way of clarifying what my role is within this offer, what my zone of genius is, and a little more clarification of what the invitation of the offer here is too.

I always include this section in a sales page because it’s a friendly and personal way to break up more of the sales-y sections and just connect as the human being who is inviting them to this offer.

I think one of the main questions we have to answer through our sales page is why us, because the majority of us will be existing within very crowded industries so we’ve got to make it easy for our hell yes clients to know that we’re actually a hell yes for them.

This section is helpful in really highlighting our experience, our approach, and the core invitation of our offer again too.

Then for section five I include another testimonial.

Depending on your industry you may find it more impactful to highlight portfolio work or have a more in-depth case study for example.

For section six I like to share what I believe is possible for my clients through our work together.

Sometimes I keep this quite short and sweet, sometimes this is more of an extended section - it totally depends on the offer and the sales page but this is where I really like to highlight and clarify the possibilities the offer is inviting someone to discover for themselves.

Then section seven is another testimonial.

And then section eight is where I clarify what will be explored or delivered through the offering.

So for my 1:1 offer I outline the different topics and areas we can dive into during our calls together, if I’m offering a program or course this is where I’d outline the specific topics or modules, for you this is where you may highlight the deliverables of your offer.

This is the stage in the sales page where your potential client or customer has got a good idea for what the invitation is and now you can really start to clarify what they will actually experience and take away from this experience.

Then section nine, another testimonial.

And then section ten, this is where I include a clear breakdown of the offer.

So this is the ingredients list, so what the takeaways and deliverables are of this offer. This is the ‘here’s what you get’ section so the potential client or customer knows exactly what they’re investing in. If it’s a 1:1 offer you’ll break down how many calls or access they have to you and then any final deliverables or resources they have access to, too.

If you’re selling a program or a product this is where you’ll break down the modules or the physical item.

I like to include this further down because I like to paint a picture beforehand of what the invitation of the offer actually is before I then very clearly map out what’s included. Some people do it the other way around, there is no right or wrong way here this is just my personal approach. I would actually say almost all of these sections are interchangeable, apart from the opening statement and invitation as I always do think they are most powerful at the top of the page.

I also include the pricing in this section and whatever payment plan may be available too.

And then immediately below for section eleven I have the direct invitation.

This is where I clarify my upcoming availability and invite someone to fill in a form and get in touch if they’d love to work together. This is my approach for a 1:1 offer, if it’s a program or a course I will have buy now buttons throughout the entire sales page and then immediately below the clear breakdown will be the most prominent invitation to buy now.

Then below this for section twelve, another testimonial. As I’ve said this is just how I like to break it up, you may prefer to group your testimonials or portfolio pieces in a different way this is just how I like to do it.

Then section thirteen, the FAQ.

This is where I dive into the questions I’m either actually frequently asked or the ones I want to clarify - for example I have a question in my FAQ about what results I can guarantee and how the answer is actually zero as it’s really important to me that clients know that the magic isn’t in me through our work together, it’s in them and it’s my job to hold space and guide them in their business but my clients success and growth always, always, belongs to them.

With your FAQ section think about what you want to clarify about the offer - so perhaps who you do and don’t work with, or what access someone has to you, or your refund process perhaps.

And then for section fourteen, I usually include a final testimonial

And then section fifteen, especially for a 1:many offer I’ll include a final invitation to buy now too.

Hopefully what you can start to see here is my basic recipe for a simple, effective, and human sales page. But how it’s also not set in stone - for example for my quarterly coaching sales page which is something I only open up now and again I have a much simpler and streamlined page for that offer and historically it books out just as much as my main 1:1 offer does so there’s pros and cons to both.

I also have some other sections I add in depending on the offer, especially if it’s a group program or course. These tend to be a who this is and isn’t for section, which is a great way to clarify who your hell yes people actually are, if the sales page is quite long I may recap what’s included again further down.

I may also include a very human final note on the sales page too if I want to really clarify something about the offer, this is something I’ve done at the end of my sales page for my new group offering Your Simple & Spacious Business which will open its doors for the first time next month as I wanted to really clarify what the invitation of the offer was for when someone is deciding whether or not it’s for the.

So as you can see, sales pages are not a sure science. I have my basic recipe that I tweak and expand or simplify depending on the offer and I trust it because I have been so consistently booked out for almost a decade now that I know it works for me.

But your business is your business and you have to develop your own recipe that truly works best for you too but I hope that can illuminate some frameworks and ideas to get you moving forward if you’re currently really stuck on bringing your sales page to life.

And know that it’s always evolving, that your sales page will get stronger and stronger the more you deliver the offering and gain more clarity around who your dream clients are and how your offering can best deliver it’s magic for them.

Good enough is always a good enough place to start so don’t wait to have the perfect sales page, write your first draft and grow from there.

And remember: make it 100% you. Don’t imitate others in your industry, all that will do is dilute your own magic. You don’t want to exist in anyone else’s shadow - lean into the magic of your own work and your own message and approach and go from there.

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Jen Carrington30 March 2022