analysis paralysis is the enemy of sales

Hi {NAME}, I hope your 2021 is off to a great start! If it isn't, realize that the year's only 9% done. Also you get a second chance at New Year's resolutions because Chinese New Year is next week :-). Here's my annual planning guide in case you haven't made one for the year: [My Step by Step Annual Planning Guide](. Today's email: 1/ Boost conversions with tactics designed to reduce analysis paralysis 2/ Thoughts on all the investing craziness // Choices are Costing You Sales There was a study done a few years ago in a grocery store. The researchers wanted to understand the relationship between number of choices presented and how it affects sales. They did a split test where they tested two options: Table 1 featured (15) different types of Jam vs. Table 2 featured (5) different types of Jam (For my international friends: Jam is crushed fruit. Most people like to spread it on bread to eat) Table 1 (15 Jams) got more attention from people. However, people ended up buying more Jam from Table 2 (5 Options). This is because people at Table 1 were overwhelmed by 15 different choices. Feeling overwhelmed -> analysis paralysis -> I rather not make a choice that I'll regret Hick's Law says that the more options presented to someone, the longer it'll take for them to make a decision. [image] Think about how this would affect conversion rates on a website. You all should know that reducing loading times will increase conversion rates. Have you thought about ways to reduce a customer's decision time? Let's get into what causes analysis paralysis. To keep it simple... - They don’t want to feel buyer’s remorse. I'm always visiting MetaCritic for recommendations on what to watch. It pisses me off to pick a movie, and then I realize it sucks an hour later. I wasted an hour of my time. Now imagine that the stakes are higher when it involves moonlah. People don't want to feel regret. They're looking for reasons not to buy. - Making decisions is hard. If someone doesn't have experience making a choice in this, it takes valuable brain power. Too much brain power means they'll leave. People don't want more choices. They want more confidence in their choices. Got it? Enough theory. How can we put this into action? 1/ Implement a Quiz One of the first ecom quizzes I ever took was for buying coffee. You can imagine how difficult it is to buy coffee since we can't taste or sample it. I couldn't tell the difference between beans from Colombia and beans from Kenya. And I wasn't coffee educated enough to understand the differences. So Blue Bottle Coffee had a pretty detailed quiz that ended up giving me a recommendation. Something awesome that they do is that they dumb it down for people. One of the questions they ask is "what's your favorite salad dressing?" and it helps the algorithm create a better match. [image] So if you have a lot of options for your customers, consider adding in quizzes to help their decision making. Plus, the right quiz can drive a ton of email leads. If you’re on Shopify, you can use an app such as [Octane.Ai]( (not sponsored) /2 [Store's] Choice One tactic Amazon uses is they apply the “Amazon’s Choice” label to their highest reviewed products. It's telling the person, "Hey this is the best." I have a page where I recommend marketing software. I have a label called “[Ngo’s Pick](” to make it easier. Are you partnering with an influencer? Considering curating a list or bundle of their favorite items. /3 “Best Selling” or Most Popular List I buy sneakers every few months. I’m not into fashion that much so I have no idea what's cool. The last thing I want to do is get roasted by Gen Z’ers asking "WHAT ARE THOSE?!?". So whenever I’m shipping at Adidas or Nike, I sort the shoes by the Best Sellers and pick from there. Sharing what everyone else purchases feed into social proof. /4 Comparison Tables This one’s simple. Create a comparison table that highlights the differences in your product / services. I don't want to go back and forth between different product pages to see the difference. Tip: You don’t need a fancy app or coding. Create a table in Google Spreadsheet and take a screenshot. Want it fancier? Send the screenshot to a designer on Fiverr. /5 Starter Kits and Bundles I love the concept of a starter kit. A customer wants to get into the “lifestyle” but they have no idea where to start. A curated bundle eliminates several decisions for them, and increases your average order value. One company that does a great job with this is Organifi. Check out this bundle they offer: “[Sunrise to Sunset](.” The value proposition makes sense: there’s a different powder for morning, noon, and evening. They did the thinking for me. Another idea I've seen is to offer sample packs. If you have a consumable product that's different flavors, offer a bundle that has one of each flavor. // $GME and Investing The Gamestop Stock went from: $18 at the beginning of the year -> $347 on Jan 27 -> $62.87 as of 11:34am EST today. Some people got filthy rich from investing in GME. But your average guy didn't hear about it until it was > $250. During the same week, I saw a lot of people on my Newsfeed lose money on pump n dumps like XRP (Ripple) and Dogecoin. So I just wanted to share some thoughts on investing: 1. Get the fundamentals down. Pay off your debts. Max out your retirement accounts for the year. Make sure you have a solid emergency fund. THEN you can speculate with a portion of your portfolio. 2. Investing vs Gambling. It's easy to confuse investing with gambling. I remember that "high" I got when I used to gamble in Vegas. You feel like the king of the world when you're on a roll in Craps. And I felt like a king when some of my alt coins exploded in 17'. But then what goes up, must come down. I've realized that if it gives you a dopamine rush...it ain't investing. 3. Know your circle of competence, and stick within it. This is a quote by Warren Buffett. It means to invest what you know. I don't know shit about the market - I have zero edge. That's why I invest in index funds to match the market. I rather invest in myself and my businesses. Here's a story about psychology and risk. Rajat Gupta was the former CEO of McKinsey & and Co. and sat on the board of Goldman Sachs. Banks and hedgefunds were crashing hard in 2008. Rajat was at a Goldman Sachs board meeting and got valuable information: Warren Buffet was going to save Goldman Sachs by investing $5b. Immediately after the meeting, Rajat called his friend who owned a hedgefund. He told him the news and they both made bank from investing in GS before the announcement was public. Well....both of those men were convicted of insider trading and were sent to Prison. One big question is why Rajat did it? He didn't need the money. My man was worth over a hundred mill at this point! Here's something I pulled from his Wiki: Gupta reportedly began to express a certain resentment about money, as his peers in Silicon Valley and Wall Street (including McKinsey's private equity clients) at the time "raking in staggering amounts of money while Gupta soldiered on with a mere senior partner's millions" He felt that he was "behind" because he wasn't worth a billi. He was comparing himself to billionaires and felt insecure. When you feel like you're behind, then you feel the need to take bigger risks to catch up. It reminds me of when I used to play Poker. If I'm behind on chips, then the proper strategy is to start taking more risks. I'm going to start bluffing and going "all-in" more or else I'll be at a permanent disadvantage. That's what I'm seeing now with a lot of people that are investing too aggressively. They feel like they're "behind" in life and they have to catch up by taking on more risks. Bigger risks comes with a price: GME, XRP, and Doge all crashed within days. Remember that there is no "behind" in real life. It's a social construct. We feel like it because we don't own a house by a certain age. Or our net worth doesn't match what some online article says we should have. Is that belief true or is that something society and others told you so? We all have our own path. Become a better investor by keeping your emotions out of it. The emotions of FOMO, and the emotions of "being behind" will end up costing you. Stay focused, Charles p.s. 新年快乐 Gong Hei Fat Choy Chúc mừng năm mới to all my readers celebrating! 2021 is going to be Amazing. Let's get it!!!!! Did you enjoy this email? Do me a favor and forward it to someone who might find it useful. 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