Are your answers obvious?

Do you record your sales calls?

I know, I know… No one wants to hear themselves (and yes, it’s cringy for all of us!). But, like it or not, there is untapped gold in those recordings.

This week I put myself through the torture of listening to my last 10 sales calls — but this time I was on a mission to uncover the specific questions my prospects were asking.

This year I’m working on rebranding my agency and completely redoing my website. If I’m going to go to all that trouble, I figure I ought to try to do it right.

Guided by the book ‘They Ask, You Answer’, I went through all the calls and wrote down every question my prospects asked. My purpose in this was to see if my website was already addressing all these questions.

Despite being a champion of this book for years, my site is completely falling short.

Embarrassing? Absolutely. But, I’m not alone. I went on to go through a couple dozen agency websites and realized that we’re all burying crucial answers in blog posts, footnotes, and gated behind lead magnets.

Do we seriously expect our prospects to go on a digital scavenger hunt?

Here’s my working hypothesis: The agency that straightforwardly answers the most common questions will win the job 9 times out of 10. Why? Because clients hate surprises — especially when their hard-earned money is involved.

By making this information clear up-front, we set a foundation of trust and comfort.

So, what are these top 5 questions, you wonder?

1. What is it, and what’s included? A clear winner. Prospects want to know exactly what they’re signing up for.
2. Who’s it for, and is it right for me? They may not phrase it like this, but they’re essentially trying to gauge if they fit the bill.
3. How much does it cost? The age-old question that’s tricky but not impossible to answer transparently.
4. How long will it take? Expectations vary wildly here – from a week to a year!
5. Can you show me examples? Portfolio items, case studies, and testimonials are your best friends here.

Nothing revolutionary, right? Yet, most of us are missing the mark.

While we’ve been busy trying to outdo each other with witty copy and intricate designs, our potential clients are still searching for straightforward answers to the most basic of questions.

Take a few minutes today and glance over your service pages — are the answers to these 5 questions obvious?