Purpose of a sales page
A sales page isn't just another page on your website—it's your 24/7 salesperson. Its job is simple: to get people to take action by enrolling in your course. Once you understand the role your sales page plays, you'll be ready to build one that actually converts.
Lesson aim
By the end of this lesson, you'll understand the job your sales page needs to do and how it helps turn curious visitors into paying students.
What is a sales page?
First, let’s define what a sales page is. A sales page is a standalone page that has one sole purpose: to sell your course. It’s not a blog post, a homepage, or a product page. It’s a page that’s designed to persuade people they need your course and to get them to take action.
Picture your sales page like a salesperson.
A good salesperson introduces themselves, understands the customer’s needs, and then presents the product in a way that makes the customer want to buy it.
The same goes for your sales page. It needs to build trust, frame your course as the solution to their problems, and then make it a no-brainer decision for them to enroll.
Where a sales page fits in your marketing
Even though your sales page is often the first marketing asset you’ll need to create, it should be one of the last assets your audience sees as they move through your marketing funnel.
Important 💡
Your sales page is a bottom-of-the-funnel (or BOFU) asset. By the time someone lands on your sales page, they should already be primed for conversion.
This doesn’t mean they need to arrive on your sales page with their credit card in hand, but it does mean you should already have built a relationship with them and established your authority and credibility before they get there. Sales pages are not for cold traffic.
Example: Buying a car
It’s easier to understand the role of a sales page when you think about it in the context of a real-world scenario. So let’s use the example of buying a new car.
Scenario 1
You’re in the market for a new car because your old one is on its last legs. You’ve done some research and narrowed it down to a few models you’re interested in. You remember the name of a local dealership after seeing their ads on TV and hearing good things from friends.
You go to the dealership and a salesperson approaches you.
They ask you what you’re looking for, show you a few models, and explain the features and benefits of each. They answer your questions, address your concerns, and make you feel comfortable. You test drive a few cars, and after some back and forth, you decide to buy one.
- ✅ The whole interaction was positive because you were already interested in buying a car—the salesperson just helped you make a decision at the end of the process.
Scenario 2
You’re walking down the street and a salesperson approaches you, clipboard in hand. They ask if you’re interested in buying a car, and starts listing off the features of a car you’ve never heard of. After all, you were just on your way to the grocery store.
Here’s the thing…
Even if you were in the market for a car, you’d be put off by this salesperson.
Sure, it’s been on your to-do list to buy a new car, but you had no intention of buying today and you certainly weren’t planning on buying from a stranger on the street. You don’t know them, you don’t trust them, and the timing is all wrong.
- ❌ The interaction was negative because the salesperson tried to shortcut your decision-making process and sell you something you weren’t ready to buy.
Key point → Nudge people over the finish line
Like a salesperson at a dealership, your sales page is there to help people make a decision they're already leaning towards. It's not about pitching to people who don't know you yet and may not be ready to buy. It's about making it easier for warm leads to say 'yes'.
Summary
A sales page goes at the bottom of your marketing funnel, and its one job is to persuade people to enroll in your course. Your audience should already be primed for conversion by the time they land on your sales page—and your sales page should make buying a no-brainer.
Next, we'll look at how your sales page should be structured to maximize conversions. Because yes, there's a science to it and plenty of proven frameworks for you to follow.