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Several years ago in Ohio, a fire erupted in the kitchen of a one-floor house. Firefighters raced to the scene and began dousing the flames. Suddenly, the fire chief realized something was wrong. He ordered all his men out - now. After the whole crew had spilled back into the yard, the kitchen floor - the very one they had just been standing on - collapsed. It turned out the fire was in the basement, not the kitchen. How did the fire chief know?
How We Reach Conclusions
This story appeared in Malcolm Gladwell's best-seller, Blink. According to Gladwell, all of us are not only capable of making such spot-on decisions with little information - we actually do it all the time. It's not something we try to do; it's just how our brains are hard-wired. The information that feeds in to our decisions is often so subtle that we don't even know what it is. We just get a "gut feeling." In the fire chief's case, he picked up on minor details about how the fire was behaving, the nature of the smoke, the sounds of the blaze - all so subtle that he wasn't even aware of noting them.
The Same Is True When People Search for Accountants
When folks look for accountants, they use the same decision-making mechanism as the fire chief. Sure, they may think they're judging a professional based on logic - the accountant's credentials, experience, and testimonials. And those things do matter. But subtle, seemingly unimportant details matter just as much, if not more. What the CPA looks like, what clothes they wear, what their voice sounds like, the words they use, when they smile and don't smile - these are all the factors that help people determine, on an unconscious level, whether they like and trust that person. And it happens in a matter of seconds.
What Accountants Need to Understand
Obviously, folks looking for an accountant don't go from office to office so they can size everyone up in 30 seconds. That would probably be useful for them, but they just don't do it. No one has the time. So they use the next best thing: your website. And once on your site, they make decisions the same way they would if they were meeting you face-to-face. They observe subtle details that help them learn your personality.
3 Out of 4 People Won't Call You Unless They Can Judge You
A recent survey found that 76% of people want to have a sense of a service professional's personality before contacting them. If a prospect can't get a bead on your personality, and whether they would want to work with you, then they just won't feel confident enough to get in touch. As strange as it sounds, the secret to getting clients to call you is to give them an easy way to judge you.
But They Can't Judge You on Text and Pictures Alone
A lot of websites have what I call a "wall of text" on their home page: paragraph upon paragraph of copy explaining who the owner is and what they do. The problem with this approach is that it doesn't allow the visitor to make a snap judgment. You might think this is a good thing - that all that text is allowing the reader to learn logically about that person. But in fact, although people might think they want to make decisions based just on factual information, they actually need some indicators of personality to feel comfortable.
How to Immediately Convey Your Personality on Your Home Page
There is one feature you can add to your landing page that allows visitors to judge you the way they need to: a short, professionally produced video. It doesn't take much - just a 60-second clip that gives people a chance to watch you in action... talking, smiling, looking professional.
Consider this statistic: 1 in 5 people who view your video will give you a call. (BIA/Kelsey User View Study, February 2010)
If your website gets just 100 visits a week, that's a whopping 20 calls per week generated by your video.
Take Advantage of This Quirk of Human Behavior
Over 75% of people won't call you for an initial appointment unless they know whether you're likable and friendly. And - like all humans - they're going to decide whether they like you based on subtle details, details they're barely even conscious of taking in. Work with this fact about human psychology. A video on your home page allows prospects to size you up quickly, the way their brain wants and needs to. From there, it's a short hop to hiring you as their accountant.
How We Reach Conclusions
This story appeared in Malcolm Gladwell's best-seller, Blink. According to Gladwell, all of us are not only capable of making such spot-on decisions with little information - we actually do it all the time. It's not something we try to do; it's just how our brains are hard-wired. The information that feeds in to our decisions is often so subtle that we don't even know what it is. We just get a "gut feeling." In the fire chief's case, he picked up on minor details about how the fire was behaving, the nature of the smoke, the sounds of the blaze - all so subtle that he wasn't even aware of noting them.
The Same Is True When People Search for Accountants
When folks look for accountants, they use the same decision-making mechanism as the fire chief. Sure, they may think they're judging a professional based on logic - the accountant's credentials, experience, and testimonials. And those things do matter. But subtle, seemingly unimportant details matter just as much, if not more. What the CPA looks like, what clothes they wear, what their voice sounds like, the words they use, when they smile and don't smile - these are all the factors that help people determine, on an unconscious level, whether they like and trust that person. And it happens in a matter of seconds.
What Accountants Need to Understand
Obviously, folks looking for an accountant don't go from office to office so they can size everyone up in 30 seconds. That would probably be useful for them, but they just don't do it. No one has the time. So they use the next best thing: your website. And once on your site, they make decisions the same way they would if they were meeting you face-to-face. They observe subtle details that help them learn your personality.
3 Out of 4 People Won't Call You Unless They Can Judge You
A recent survey found that 76% of people want to have a sense of a service professional's personality before contacting them. If a prospect can't get a bead on your personality, and whether they would want to work with you, then they just won't feel confident enough to get in touch. As strange as it sounds, the secret to getting clients to call you is to give them an easy way to judge you.
But They Can't Judge You on Text and Pictures Alone
A lot of websites have what I call a "wall of text" on their home page: paragraph upon paragraph of copy explaining who the owner is and what they do. The problem with this approach is that it doesn't allow the visitor to make a snap judgment. You might think this is a good thing - that all that text is allowing the reader to learn logically about that person. But in fact, although people might think they want to make decisions based just on factual information, they actually need some indicators of personality to feel comfortable.
How to Immediately Convey Your Personality on Your Home Page
There is one feature you can add to your landing page that allows visitors to judge you the way they need to: a short, professionally produced video. It doesn't take much - just a 60-second clip that gives people a chance to watch you in action... talking, smiling, looking professional.
Consider this statistic: 1 in 5 people who view your video will give you a call. (BIA/Kelsey User View Study, February 2010)
If your website gets just 100 visits a week, that's a whopping 20 calls per week generated by your video.
Take Advantage of This Quirk of Human Behavior
Over 75% of people won't call you for an initial appointment unless they know whether you're likable and friendly. And - like all humans - they're going to decide whether they like you based on subtle details, details they're barely even conscious of taking in. Work with this fact about human psychology. A video on your home page allows prospects to size you up quickly, the way their brain wants and needs to. From there, it's a short hop to hiring you as their accountant.
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