Does your ecommerce store have a washroom?

Oh my god I have to go…I have to go…

You know that feeling when your bladder is about to burst?

I had one of those times when I had to pee so badly that I started to undo my belt and top button of my pants…( I hope I’m not the only one)?

I had to do what I could in preparation for the big reveal.

Imagine this…

Last year I was at the local car dealership down the street to kick the tires.

I had a long day of running around, doing errands and things and my schedule was thrown off a bit.

Just before I got to the stealership, I had a #2 combo from Wendy’s, with a large ice tea.

It’s odd that I can’t remember what the combo was, I just remember it was a #2.

So anyways…I’m at the dealership and talking to the sales guy, let’s call him Jim.

And Jim…he was a talker, and fast too.

And Jim O’boy was a stereotypical used car salesman.

As bad as the rep is for used car salesmen, you’d think Jim would do something to change up his game?

Nah…

He had greasy hair, a plain white shirt with a brown pencil tie and he looked like had just polished off 2 or 3 honey glazed donuts (beard leftovers).

Now that I think about it and given his behaviour…

ole Jim may have been snorting some blow in the backroom?

hmmm…

But I’ll give Jim the benefit of the doubt and assume they were donuts.

So Jim is rambling on and on about how the engine has V-Twin compression or something or other…

But I had only one thought on my mind.

And those thoughts were the rushing water at Niagara Falls…bursting over the edge of the falls in all its glory.

I had to go so badly, but Jim was so wrapped up in his “sales presentation” that he was completely ignoring me and my obvious body language.

I couldn’t take it any longer and just turned around and bolted for the frontdesk 

BTW – the receptionist could obviously see the sign written across my forehead that I had to go and she just pointed to her left…no words needed.

To say I was relieved is an understatement…but I was still pissed at Jim.

You see…

It never ceases to amaze me how some salespeople will drone on and on doing their sales pitch and never stop to check in on their prospect.

Have you ever had this happen? 

It’s one thing to be doing this online, on a website where you have no direct interaction, but in person is just ridiculous.

But in a way, this is similar and so important when it comes to ecommerce and especially with email marketing.

Because online, we have no idea if your prospect loves or hates your product or service.

The prospect might not even like you (or your brand’s personality).

Now this is where guys like Jim should have an advantage. 

Because in sales, ideally you’d have a 2-way dialogue with your prospect.

You know…ask relevant questions about their wants and needs.

Getting the prospect actively involved is a huge step in getting them closer to the sale.

What you don’t want to be like is Jim…that’s called a monologue and can hurt sales.

So how does this relate to your ecommerce brand?

On your product page, you want to go through it, as a prospect would.

Remember, prospect’s aren’t logically thinking…they may not be scrolling down, step by step.

They could be jumping around your site.

Is your product page answering the questions going on inside of the prospects head?

Think about your welcome sequence and your abandoned cart sequences…

Again, how can you get the prospect involved?

Now if you’re just selling $5 chotskies, then maybe it’s not a big deal.

But if it’s a bigger ticket item where the prospect is comparing you to 5 other competitors…then you’d better get him involved.

By doing that you significantly increase your chances of making the sale.

And more importantly, you’ll know if your prospect has a simple question of…

Where’s the bathroom?

Chat soon,

Mike