The Confirmation Process vs. the Buyer's Journey

Your digital presence must confirm your professionalism.

You’ve probably heard of the Buyer’s Journey, which has several stages:

• Awareness: a buyer becomes aware of a problem
• Consideration: a buyer defines their problem and considers options to solve it
• Decision: a buyer evaluates these options and decides on the right provider to address the solution.

When someone lands on your website, you don’t know where they are in their buyer’s journey. Accordingly, your website’s content must address the visitor at each stage in their buying process.

Let’s flip this journey around to give you the leading role. I call it the Confirmation Process.

Its objective is to confirm for the buyer that she has located the appropriate resource.

Through a yet-to-be-determined channel, a visitor comes to your website, starting the journey or process:

• Awareness: a buyer learns about you
• Consideration: a buyer conducts research about you
• Decision: a buyer contracts with you.

A prospective client arrives at your website in several ways:

1. They met you at an event, heard you speak on a panel or podcast, or read what you wrote in an article or newsletter
2. They were referred to you by a mutual contact
3. They searched on the internet for a professional like you.

Now that they found you, they want to confirm:

• You are the person they heard about/saw/read about
• You are the professional they seek/need because you have the skills to solve their problem
• You are the person you say you are.

Here’s how your website operates in the Confirmation Process:

Are you the one they heard about?

Yes. Your photo matches the image of the professional they met or saw speak. When the person talked with you at an event or attended your panel, they had an opportunity to connect with you. Perhaps you exchanged business cards.

Speaker bios, podcast show notes and articles usually include a photo and the URL of the professional’s website, email address and/or phone number, precisely so that listeners and readers can contact the individual for further information.

Are you the professional they seek/need and do you have the skills to solve their problem?

Yes. State your services, cite your education, note your certifications and licenses. Your case studies of client successes, newsletters and articles are additional proof of your skills. List your clients by name, when permitted, or by industry.

All these describe your background and demonstrate that you operate from a solid knowledge base, with proven experience to address the potential client’s particular situation, although you do not yet know what their problem may be.

Are you the person you say you are?

Yes. Your workshops and podcast appearances show that others in the sector value your insights. Your testimonials prove you made your clients look good to whoever mattered to them: a partner, business owner, supervisor or investor.

Congratulations! You’ve checked all the boxes of their confirmation search.

This Month's Tip

Review your website and see how it corresponds to the Confirmation Process with a current photo, lists of services and clients, plus publications, newsletters, workshops and case studies. Additionally, look over your LinkedIn profile and ensure it, too, adheres to the confirmation approach.

Contact

Show the world you are the professional who can solve a certain problem. Confirm you are the person you say you are. Contact me at [email protected], set an appointment here or call me at 212.677.5770. Let’s compare your digital presence to the confirmation process. Together, we’ll help potential clients check the boxes of their confirmation search so they may connect with you to resolve their issue.