Are your prospects going from you sales letter to your online shopping cart and then leaving forever. You’re NOT alone — Here’s a question from a very frustrated online business owner:

Eric,
I’ve spent a lot of time and effort creating great sales pages that lead prospects to my shopping cart. The only thing left is for them to put their credit cards into my shopping cart software and so I can hear the computer go “ka-ching.” Except I can’t stop prospects from abandoning my website.

If you are like most online marketers, 80 percent of the people who see your order page will abandon your online shopping cart.

But…

Eric Says You Can Stop Shopping Cart Abandonment

I was just like you and most online marketers. My abandonment rate matched the industry average.

But, being average is not acceptable when it comes to sales. When you think about it, if you’re shopping card abandonment rate is 80 percent, you’re losing 8 out of 10 sales. So, why would you want to be average if you can improve your conversion rates and make more money?

Fortunately, I received some good advice from experts like PR LEADS Founder Dan Janal who have increased their order completions. By applying these tips to my order page on shopping cart software, MyEasyOnlinesStore.com, I boosted sales from 20 percent to 70 percent almost immediately!

I’m happy to share the ideas that I received from PR LEADS Founder Dan Janal…

7 Ways to Stop Shopping Cart Abandonment

1. Make sure your order page looks and feels like the rest of your web site.

When Dan first started his PR LEADS business he made the mistake of using the generic, default order page on his  shopping cart. It didn’t have his site’s logo or colors. Whereas his site was bathed in blue and gold; the generic order page was black and white! Can you think of a more stark contrast? People must have wondered if they were still on his site because they abandoned like crazy! When his web consultant added his logo and website colors, sales went from 20 percent to about 33 percent. Now, that’s a massive improvement!

2. Make your order form sizzle.

The golden nugget of advice here is that the order page has to sell as well as your sales page! People have buyer’s procrastination when they see the order page. They ask themselves, “Do I really want this?” “Do I really need this?” “Does the site really deliver what it promises?”

3. Add powerful testimonials.

At an Internet marketing conference that Dan I went to we  heard a speaker  say that he got his sales to increase when he added a testimonial and a picture from a happy customer. Wanting to increase his sales, Dan followed his advice. His sales shot up to 70 percent! That’s incredible! That meant that only 30 percent of the people were abandoning the cart. Other companies would kill for that!

Dan chose a testimonial from a very well-known consultant in his industry. If you can use the law of celebrity to help you, then do it. If you don’t have a celebrity, don’t worry. People like to identify with people “just like themselves” so you can use a good testimonial from a person who isn’t well known. Use the person’s full name and company name to improve credibility. Don’t use the rookie mistake that a lot of people make: “Joe. Z. from Scranton.” No one believes that’s a real person.

4. Put a guarantee on the order page.

Just like you want to restate the offer on the order form, put your guarantee on the order page. Do it even if you put it on the sales copy before. People want to be reassured. So, don’t let them think twice!

5. Start the order form with “Yes, I want to get the benefits of…”

This will automatically hit a psychological trigger in your prospects mind that will make them say, “Yes, I want your product or service. I want to be able to…”

Plus, you will reassure prospects of what they are buying and what they are getting. This is the exact same copy that you see on direct-mail forms and magazine subscription cards. Learn from the best.

6. Add thumbnail images of your products on your order form

While in the middle of the buying process, the potential purchaser has another opportunity to see the product and visualize ownership. The availability of product photos is a powerful completion tool for all shopping carts.

7. Use the correct shopping cart software program.

Dan uses MyEasyOnlineStore.com, which lets him customize the way the order page looks and feels. He can add text and pictures to make the page do what he wants it to do.

I also use MyEasyOnlineStore.com for my Internet marketing products and services on EricSaysYouCan.com

Other shopping cart programs do not have this flexibility. You can’t add text or pictures. Some carts won’t let you customize the design so it won’t look and feel like the rest of your site. This will lead to abandonment and lost sales.

Be sure your shopping cart puts your sales in the best possible light. You need every advantage possible to make the sale.

You can improve your sales closing rate if you use the right online shopping cart and follow the 7 ways to stop shopping cart abandonment.

Just to let you know Dan Janal is testing other ideas now to see if he can boost conversion rates even higher!We’ll also be doing lots of testing on this site as well — and will be reporting back to you so you can make more money online.

About PR LEADS Founder Dan Janal

Internationally recognized speaker and serial Internet business entrepreneur, Dan Janal has built multiple six-figure income businesses using MyEasyOnlineStore.com. Now, for the first time ever, he’s revealing the hidden truth behind automating your business & making more money online. Get his free special report at http://www.OnlineShoppingCartHelp.com

Tags: ecommerce, increase conversion rates, shopping cart abandonment, Stop shopping cart abandonment

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 20th, 2008 at 8:53 pm and is filed under Stop shopping cart abandonment. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.