Sarah Fejfar (00:52.51)
Have you ever missed out on something that you actually wanted because of a tiny obstacle, turns out it is all too common to inadvertently insert those tiny obstacles into the event registration process.
I want you to listen now as we tackle streamlining ticket sales for maximum conversions, removing the friction and creating unforgettable experiences for your guests. So this week I bought a cake, but it wasn't easy. I called up the cake bakery. Actually first I called up the grocery store because my kiddo loves this specific slice of cake that is offered at our local grocery store. They have all different flavors.
this one flavor, the yellow cake with the chocolate frosting, especially desirable. So I wanted to order cupcakes for an event we have this weekend out of that particular cake. So I called up the grocery store, asked, where do you get that slice of cake? Like who makes it? Because I want to order cupcakes from them.
And they said, and I said, can I do it with you? And they said, no, we have to go do it directly with the bakery. Here's their name. Here's their number. So easy peasy. So I called the bakery and I say, Hey, I want to buy the yellow cake with the chocolate frosting. Uh, and I was told, no, we don't make that. So, well, actually you do because, uh, it's, it's something for sale on an ongoing racist at the grocery store locally. And they said it comes from you.
So you must be making it because they have it for sale like right now. And so I'm put on hold while this woman goes and figures out if they in fact make this cake. And it was many, many minutes of being on hold. And then it comes back on and says, yep, actually we do. Oh, great. Okay. I would like to order said cake as cupcakes. Can you do that?
Sarah Fejfar (03:03.338)
No, we can't. We I can get you vanilla cake with vanilla frosting cupcakes. Well, actually, no, the yellow cake with the chocolate frosting is what I'm after here. So how can I buy that? And then was told, well, we can get you a, I said we have about, you know, this is the size of our group. They're like, okay, great. That's about a six inch cake. Okay. How much is it?
and I put on hold because she doesn't have a code for the cake so she can't give me a price. So I'll put on hold for another few minutes. Okay so gets the code tells me the price. Okay great you know I'm thinking that yes maybe six inches is going to serve us but let's make sure we have leftovers and like enough so let's just order the next size up. Eight inch is that a thing?
She goes, no, we make nine inch cakes. OK, great. I'll take a nine inch. Well, I don't know if we can make that in this cake flavor. Are you kidding me? She puts me on hold again to go find out if they can make the size now. Another couple of minutes passes. She comes back on. Turns out, yes, they can make a nine inch cake and have it ready by today for me to pick up. OK, great. And.
Sarah Fejfar (04:29.214)
Now we're at the point where I pay and get off the phone and I check the time and it has been 18 minutes. 18 minutes to order a cake. I was put on hold three times. The person didn't know if they made the cake, what size or shapes they made it in, and also what the price would be. And I was also told, even though I was specific, that
yellow cake chocolate frosting is what I'm after, that when I asked for cupcakes was offered something totally different, white cake, white frosting. And I tell you this story because it was fascinating to me how much friction was put in between me and buying the cake. I was on a mission, that was the cake that my kiddo wanted and I needed to pick it up by today
Sarah Fejfar (05:28.93)
from them. There was just no other option in my head. Like, this is what we're getting. And so I was willing to put, to jump over all the hurdles, do all of the waiting. But if I didn't care that much, if I wasn't a mom who loved their kid truly, madly, deeply, it would do anything, I would have abandoned mission like very early on in this conversation. And it was just laughable.
how long it took and how many times I was put on hold and how unexcited the person was who was taking my order. I mean, I'm ordering cake. In most scenarios, cake means celebration. Cake is exciting. And I think kind of like almost like flowers, right? Like the exchange should be upbeat and exciting and what are you planning? And oh, how fun and yay, like celebrate with me.
None of that. And I think it's a lot like registering for an event. There are times when we inadvertently place hurdles in front of our potential guests and don't even realize it's happening. Today, when I went and picked up the cake, it was at a wholesale cake baker. They make not only this.
the cakes, but they also make other kind of bakery items and they serve lots of grocery stores in the area. And so they have kind of a very big book of business and a big kind of warehouse, non-sexy type building. And I go in and they have a bank of three people who are answering phones. And it made me think, well, gosh, well, what if their manager knew...
or like the owner of the cake bakery knew what it sounded like to the customer over the phone that day. Would they be proud of how that interaction went? Would they be cringing? Like, oh my gosh, we're going about to lose this sale. Don't put the customer on hold one more time. And so let's translate that and have a conversation about what that looks like.
Sarah Fejfar (07:52.966)
when there's friction in the event registration process. I thought we'd talk about like what happens before your guests even get to your event and how the registration process can make or break the experience and definitely impact conversions, right? So let's talk about why reducing friction here is critical. First step, put yourself in the shoes of your event guests.
Think about this, what hurdles do they have to jump through in order to register for your event? And this can be things like psychological hurdles and also things like logistical hurdles. So what does that even mean? Psychological hurdles. It can be things like decision fatigue and fear of commitment and stuff like that can result in potential guest questioning.
the value or the necessity of the event. Logistical hurdles can look like things like technical issues with just the tech systems that you have in place to deliver the information and take payment, unclear instructions, an overly time consuming process and hurdles like that can...
discourage potential guests who have already jumped over all the psychological hurdles or most of them at least and they're ready to just jump over the logistical ones and make it happen, it can lead to registration abandonment. You've heard of cart abandonment, right, in the online shopping world where it's the same thing in event registration world. So what do we do about it?
I want to talk about a couple of things. First, this is a big culprit for me, which is an unclear sales page. And then we're going to talk about the checkout page, which I'll get on my soapbox for that one, I promise you. And then we're going to talk about clear expectations. So first up, sales page. We're talking about sales pages.
Sarah Fejfar (10:09.73)
biggest problem I see is an unclear or cluttered sales page, which can be a turn off to potential guests or it's not even turning them on is the problem. There's just not enough information there or it's not organized well enough. Presentation matters. It's kind of like how we judge a book by a cover and branding and clarity and copy, they tell a story about what your potential guests are getting themselves into.
when they register for the event, especially if it's an in-person event. That's huge, right? I mean, we're putting ourselves out there, but I decided to get on a plane or a trainer into our car and go into a room that's foreign to us. So let's talk about a few tips about crafting a sales page that communicates the value of your event effectively and really clearly. First.
branding and clarity. I love having all of your event registration materials branded and your brand of your company may be different from the branding of the event. Like you might kind of make a play off of your branding and colors and
do a little different treatment for the event. And I actually kind of am a huge fan of that so that the event kind of stands out from all of your other branded materials that you're posting, especially on social media and in the inbox. The landing page, it looks a little bit different, but I like all of those pieces to be pages in the same book, if you will. I want them branded. I...
I even recommend a branding style guide for the event itself. Make it once, use it event over event. And I think that having not only all of your materials branded in such a way that it looks like one cohesive unit, but also a well-designed page, not only the branding treatment, but the design treatment can...
Sarah Fejfar (12:32.962)
convey a sense of professionalism and reliability. And I think that's super, super critical in the event space because status is big for us as humans. And we don't want to go into a space or put ourselves in a room that doesn't elevate our status. And if it doesn't look legit,
and exciting or educational and useful, helpful, whatever the thing is for your coaching event, that you are, you know, the outcome that you're delivering. If you're not able to convey that with a well-designed page and it's lacking a little, a level of professionalism and reliability, could be a turnoff for people. And the same...
as same goes for, you know, as branding design, also copy. So having that copy that's really clear and communicating exactly what your event offers is so important. I can't underscore enough how this isn't the afterthought, the sales page for your, you know, your event registration page, it should not be an afterthought. You should really put so much.
effort into nailing it and making it something that you can wash, rinse, and repeat event over event. You're not just putting this work in once. You can continue to enhance it year over year, event over event. And I see coaches make this mistake over and over again where it's the afterthought.
And then they come to me in a panic, wondering why it's just a couple of weeks before the event and their numbers, their registration numbers are not what they had hoped. And I look at the page and I go, but look at the page, like who's gonna look at this and see themselves in that space? It gets lacking. I know you have that super clear vision in your head for how the coaching event is gonna go.
Sarah Fejfar (14:58.23)
but did it get over here onto the page? Because that's all the people have to go from. And I mean, yes, you may be posting a lot on social and in email, but the registration page is gonna be where they go to confirm their decision, to confirm that referral that they got from someone who's gone before, that, hey, it was awesome, you should go.
So think about all of that in the bucket of branding and clarity. Think about branding, design, copy, because it's a big deal. The next thing in the sales page bucket that I would wanna cover is the power of storytelling. And I think that it's extremely useful to have testimonials.
on that page that are tying back to results past event guests or if this is the first time you're doing this particular event guests of other events you've hosted or clients who've received results with you or clients who've gone through one of your programs and gotten results you have to have something on there that's kind of reaffirming your potential event guest decision.
to go through all the work of getting into the room. And we know it's work, right? They have to, like we talked about at the beginning, move through those psychological and logistical hurdles. They're thinking, like, am I good enough to be in this room? Can I do the work once I'm there? Like, am I at the right stage in acts in order to be going to an event like this?
Am I too advanced for an event like this? Will I be able to get time off of my other commitments in order to do this? Logistical stuff like in their personal life, like having to arrange for transportation and paying for all the things and rescheduling stuff and getting people to cover for them, whether it's in childcare or in work.
Sarah Fejfar (17:19.478)
and all those logistical and psychological hurdles are coming up and having another layer to your sales page of stories of people who have been there, done that, gotten the results is really helpful in reaffirming, yep, I'm gonna continue to move through this process and register because it feels like this is for me. I'm gonna get something out of it.
and so it's worth jumping over the hurdles to get there. The other thing I want to talk about when it comes to sales pages is visuals. So break it up. Of course, love to have images of all of your guest speakers there as well as their bios. Love to have images of the vibe, the vibe that you're going for.
And even if this is a coaching event, it's like personal development related for women over a long weekend, perhaps the pictures aren't all students in chairs looking at the stage. Perhaps it's enjoying an after-session beverage surrounded by
women that are kind of going through similar struggles or taking a selfie in front of a really cool backdrop. We have to sell not just the transformation, but the experience of being there because a lot of people, especially when they're going to a coaching event.
Might not be one of the psychological hurdles that might be jumping over through is like I don't even know if this is totally for me But like a girls weekend away sounds like something I need and want and so
Sarah Fejfar (19:26.306)
The vibe is really important and selecting visuals for your sales page that match the vibe. And maybe it's a meditation retreat in Sedona and then it's very like calming and peaceful and serene. Maybe there's even naturey images because you'll go on a hike. But be really selective with your visuals.
And I don't think you can overdo it. And video here too, of course. And I love it when you have the budget and foresight to hire a videographer and a photographer to follow you around for an event to capture this kind of almost B-roll style and a vibe check photos and videos that you can then
enhance your sales page with.
And then, because I really think it helps people visualize their experience and jump over more of those hurdles that they have in their own life. And it's kind of when we're doing the sales page right, if you will, we're doing it well. The we're removing.
hurdles, we're removing friction because they're able to see themselves, they're able to answer the questions that are in their mind, and they're able to identify it's for them. And it's like all of these little boxes that we're checking of what questions are they going through in their head and how can we remove any blocks that are there to them getting those answers in.
Sarah Fejfar (21:21.666)
the copy, in the visuals, in the testimonials, in the stories from past guests, in the branding. And of course, following a long form sales page format helps immensely with slight shifts to tailor it to your event. And I think that's a whole other podcast episode right here. If enough people DM me, I will make it because I think that could be fun if we went.
kind of section by section of an event registration page. But I'll leave it there for the sales page. I think you get where I'm going here that.
Do a brain dump of hurdles that guests could be having to jump over in order to get into the room for your event and how can you remove those with the clarity and the copy and the graphics and the videos and the stories and copy and such that's on your sales page.
Let's move on to the checkout page. And this is where I will get up to my soapbox and say, name an email, credit card, period. Don't ask for more. This is not the time. A complex checkout sales page can be a nightmare for both you and your potential guests. You've heard me preach on this in the podcast in the past about how capturing someone's t-shirt size has no place.
on a checkout page. So let's talk about what should be there. And I'm thinking you all know what shouldn't be there, but first, minimal information. I can't stress enough the importance that keeping that checkout page minimal and straightforward is so important. Ask for the essential information that you need, like name and email and credit card details.
Sarah Fejfar (23:31.566)
Have it be your primary focus and know that this is not the last opportunity that you will have to talk with your guests. You can follow up on the thank you page with additional information they need to fill out. You can follow up by email. But let's get them over the psychological and logistical hurdles of pressing the buy button and...
then we'll take care of all the other things. What sessions do you wanna be a part of? What's your t-shirt size? Do you want a room with somebody? So let's just save that for later.
Other thing on the checkout page is just really work to optimize that page in terms of form and function.
Sarah Fejfar (24:28.462)
clarity of fonts and colors, user-friendly layout, follow best practices for copy and language on the buttons and make it so easy to move through that page. And again, use the thank you page to your advantage. Everyone in those 24 hours after purchase...
when we really want to be reaffirming their decision and getting them so darn excited to show up. And so I actually think it's a great time to be following up with, hey we've got your registration we're so excited that you'll be joining us and in order to get even more ready for you to be with us, answer this quick survey. We want to gather some more information from you, like your t-shirt size. Do you what?
food do you want to eat, whatever it is that you need. And that can be really great way to check that box on touching base with your new guest and really leveraging that 24 hour period post purchase where they're at their most excited perhaps at
of what they just did and also at the same time questioning if they made the right decision. And then of course, and I know you, you're already on this, but make your order bump and your one click upsell easy, breezy, beautiful. And now I sound like a cover girl commercial, but that's
Sarah Fejfar (26:27.55)
another experience there. Maybe you're adding your VIP at the one click upsell. So think about making sure that those are utilized and also super clear and easy. Now let's move on to expectation. So we've touched on this a little bit while we're talking about the sales page, but.
I want to have a conversation about how reducing friction is all about muting all of those why nots that are rolling around in people's heads. And that ties to the importance of setting clear expectations. And I can't underline this one enough. Setting and resetting expectations is a job that is never ever done in this event space because you all know I've spent.
thousands of dollars before for event tickets and then not gone. We're we're constantly selling. We're not just selling them registering for the event or selling them showing up. And then we're selling them on staying engaged. And we're selling them to show up the next day and to show up on time and come back after lunch. All the things. But.
for purposes of our conversation today, specifically about the registration process.
expectations to set are things like the basics. I want to relieve pressure on your customer service team during this process. I want you to be including basics like duration, location, attire, meals, the overall experience. All of that is super important and...
Sarah Fejfar (28:27.858)
helps guests prepare and participate more comfortably. And I know that all those things may sound kind of silly, but again we're talking about removing friction during the buying process. And just like when I was put on hold three times and it took 18 minutes to buy a cake earlier this week.
the, I had no, there was no way I was not gonna like wait for this process to end because I wanted it that badly. Like I was gonna jump through all the hurdles. But there was so many times where I would have given up if I didn't care so much. And remember we can't change their room if they're, remember we cannot change their lives if they're not in the room. And
So we need to reduce friction and that means eliminating all of those why nots that are just tumbling around in their heads as they're thinking about is this for me and should I go ahead and register. And the setting out all of the expectations that you can on the sales page and you can hide them behind like cute little collapsible buttons so that
You know at the bottom of a long form sales page where there's all that Q&A section, people usually have the question behind a collapsible menu so that the paragraphs and paragraphs of information are all kind of tightly, like nicely hidden behind a one question thing and then there's like stacks of them. I would do that on your sales page too, because then...
it just removes friction because then they can get their answer, right?
Sarah Fejfar (30:27.234)
There's so many people trying to decide, can I do this? It's just in the coaching space, we're coaching them to make massive shifts and transformations in their daily habits, whether it's life or business. And people can get hung up on a tiny little thing.
I was watching yesterday the stories of Jesse Itzler and he was wrapping up the Running Man Festival, the first one, and his social media manager was answering people's questions while at the festival and what she was doing was...
eliminating any of those why nots out of people who are thinking about who are just getting FOMO watching the stories of all the people having an amazing time this week and helping reduce more of those why nots out of their brain eliminating those so they can get in the room next time. And one of the things she was doing was showing off the showers and
because there was a question somebody had posed of, well, how are people showering out there? Is it private? And so, of course, that's friction. And somebody's had, and if one person's asking, many people are thinking about it, how are we going to shower? We're out in the middle of an open field, in the middle of nowhere in Georgia. And I like to shower every day, especially if I'm running.
running all day and getting in a cold plunge in a steam room so Our Asana, why do I shower and she's showing off how they transformed these old horse stalls into temporary showers how they are private with walls and curtains and how It it's clean. They've got like a nice rocky bed and nobody's been complaining and that was just an example of
Sarah Fejfar (32:47.342)
muting some of those why nots out of a portion of their audience who's not there right now, can't experience the showers, but thinking, gosh, it would be really fun to go to this festival next time. I wonder if I could do it, but you know, I really need to shower every day. So how would that happen? And, you know, Jesse did it in advance of the event too. So I was noticing that
Sarah Fejfar (33:17.126)
anybody. You could run or you could walk, you could PR or just come to have fun. And he told several stories within his Instagram stories over the course of the open registration period. And that was all about hitting home that point that everyone's welcome. And you can even come if you don't know anybody because we'll make sure that you meet people. And
I thought that was a fabulous example that speaks to inclusivity and also setting expectations for people so that they can really clearly so that they can decide, oh yeah, this is for me. And no, it's not a why not if I'm coming alone and I don't know anybody. It's not a why not if I've never run a marathon before.
He's saying I could just run as far as I want or he's saying it's not a why not for me if I'm just walking and don't want to run. And I just thought it was fabulous. I think also on the expectations front, what I want you to do is I want you to communicate expectations in the lens that I want you to.
put on is United Front. And I want you to, yes, you're gonna make this beautiful sales page that's so clear and full of all the information that you need, but as you're communicating expectations, I want you to think about all the places that you could communicate them and have a United Front lens about it, meaning...
There's lots of different platforms where your community is hanging out. And that could be social media, that could be the event page, that could be pre-event emails, it could be welcome materials. And all of those places are places to be putting this information and putting it in. It's just going to change how bite sized or verbose it is. Right. But I think people.
Sarah Fejfar (35:46.982)
Seeing it in lots of different places helps reconfirm for them, oh, yep, this is for me. And nope, that why not that I was thinking about, not a worry, because it's okay, they've got it covered. I can go. And don't discount how many times people are rechecking in with themselves to be like, oh, yeah, I do want to go to this event.
and yep, it is for me. So make this kind of the sales page, have it be your kind of one stop shop. It's got all of the things, but then you're taking slices of that and putting it everywhere all the time. Remember how we've talked about filling events is kind of like, you know, making a plan and.
sticking to the plan and, you know, working the plan. And you just have to keep communicating. Well, when we make that great sales page, one-stop shop with all the information, it allows us to have all of this content that we can cut clips of essentially and go put in all the places. It's like huge amounts of valuable content that
can really fill up your marketing calendar for the lead up in the registration process. The other thing I wanna touch on before we wrap is open communication. I would love to encourage you to ensure that there's a way for potential guests to get their questions answered. And I think fostering open communication with potential guests eliminates
more friction. So encourage them to ask questions whether that's saying that they can DM you on Instagram, maybe they you have a phone line available to them, maybe you have a chat box on that's staffed on your sales page but explain how they ask.
Sarah Fejfar (38:10.53)
questions that aren't covered that haven't found an answer to so that they can clarify any doubts that they have about the event and
and it'll lead to a smoother and more positive experience and actually more conversions. So I think that I have rambled long enough about streamlining event ticket sales and removing friction for higher conversions. So I think it's a good place to stop and put a bow on things for today. I think...
Hope that you found some valuable insights and on the topic of removing friction and enhancing your guest experience and I want you to take action on this one. If you have questions that came up while we were talking today, I want you to share your questions or your thoughts on the topic with me. You can do it over on Instagram and my DMs. It's actually me answering them.
And that's it. I hope that it was valuable and I appreciate you hanging out with me today and I want you to make it an outstanding rest of the week. Take care.
