Don't Make This Mistake When Selling on Instagram (That Keeps Your Warmest Followers Watching & Never Buying) [ep. #10]

[00:00:00] Stop measuring whether people see your stories. Start asking whether your stories made anyone feel something different. Start asking whether people are staying with you. Start asking whether you are activating or disrupting enough to stop them from checking out. Your stories are the most intimateselling on Instagramspace that you have, more than your feed, more than your emails, because you have that daily opportunity to sell to people.

[00:00:22] Welcome to Rich Work, the podcast for established female entrepreneurs ready to turn their expertise into premium clients and consistent high ticket revenue. I'm Rachel Pearson, global brand and business strategist. Skincare obsessed and always distracted by booking the next mini break.

[00:00:45] Here you'll learn how to position like a luxury brand, attract clients who love to invest, and build wealth that actually lasts, so you can create the business and life you want, not someone else's version of success. This is where premium positioning and building wealth meet for women who are rewriting the rules.

Let's get into it.

Your Ideal Clients Are Already Watching Your Stories So Why Aren’t They Buying?

[00:01:04] This is the final episode in this mini themed series around storytelling. Stories are one of the most underutilised ways of positioning your business, helping your potential clients understand what you do and feel activated by what you do. And in today's episode, we're going to specifically focus on stories through Instagram.

[00:01:33] You have been told that your hottest audience is watching your stories on Instagram, and they probably are. So you may be thinking, why aren't they buying? You are consistent in what you do. You are sharing the behind the scenes, doing the polls, maybe adding the question boxes in. You're looking at what the algorithm is doing, putting the little stickers on to get some engagement, using all of the tools that Instagram has added in.

[00:01:59] It may be that your views are fine, but the people voting on your polls are not the ones that are going to come into your sales. And in today's episode, we're going to be looking at the difference between engagement and buying behaviour, and that someone who is tapping on your poll is not necessarily moving closer to a purchase decision.

[00:02:21] Your stories are not selling right now because they're not stories. I'm going to explain what I mean by this. Why the information that you're giving out on stories is not activating those premium mindset buyers to come into your DMs and ask about ways to work with you or simply buy from you. We're going to be talking today about pattern disruption.

My Story View Average Is 100, and Guess What? It's Fine!

[00:02:44] Let's start with the metric that everyone is obsessed with around stories, which is views. I have very low views on my stories. I'll be very transparent about that. I think I average around a hundred. I would say they sometimes drop down to 30 or 40. That's quite common for me, and I think it's important to say this because a lot of the programmes and teachings on how to sell on Instagram stories focus on how many people are in your stories and what to do to fix those low views. I'm here to say to you, it's okay. It's okay if you don't have thousands of people watching your stories. It's more important who is watching and what they're coming in to do inside those stories.

[00:03:33] How many people tap through is not a metric that I look at. I'm not bothered about how many more eyes I get on my stories. The entire conversation around Instagram stories engagement has been about reach, getting seen, and being visible.

Premium Clients Need a Reason to Stop Scrolling

And when I look at it from the viewpoint of premium clients with a buying mindset, so those clients who have already decided that they want to make an investment and are simply looking for who is this investment with, what is the offer that I'm investing in, they are people that are probably already watching your stories. They're in your audience. They are tapping through your stories right now.

[00:03:57] So it's not about how I get more people watching. It's about why are those people that are already watching not staying long enough to feel something?

[00:04:16] That's what I said at the beginning of this episode. The reason that your stories may not be converting is because they're not stories. They're information. When I look at stories, I look at retention and not reach. And this is what makes this so important right now.

Instagram's Algorithm Decides Your Reach Based on Whether People Stay, So Make Them Stay

[00:04:34] I've been teaching this way around Instagram story strategy for a couple of years now. Those of you who have been through Influx, which is my programme on how to sell through stories to premium buyers, I taught that two years ago, and it's still relevant now. However, it has become even more relevant because of the way that the Instagram algorithm has shifted.

The platform now weighs the opening moments of your content more heavily than ever. It's predicting within the first few seconds whether someone is going to stay or move on, and that prediction shapes who sees your stories next and how far your stories then travel.

So this isn't just my opinion about how you need to engage people and disrupt what they're doing. You need to interrupt to get their attention. The platform itself is measuring retention. It's measuring whether people complete your stories. It's measuring whether they reply, whether they DM you, whether they stay through the sequence or drop off at slide three.

[00:05:33] Retention is where the money is. It's where the investments are being made. Because someone can see your story and feel absolutely nothing. They can tap through 10 slides and absorb none of it. I'm sure you've all been in that position where you've just been going through the motions of someone's stories and then actually can't remember anything that you've just watched or listened to.

They can watch every single day and still not buy from you. And it's not because your offer isn't for them, or there's something that needs to be shifted in your sales page. It's because nothing in the experience of going through your stories interrupted their default state. They're scrolling, they're passive, they're consuming, and your stories are letting them stay there.

If They Watch Every Day and Don't Buy, The Problem Isn't Awareness

[00:06:06] So think about it this way. If someone's watching your stories every day and hasn't bought, the problem isn't awareness. They're aware of what you're doing. They're aware of what you're selling. The problem is that your stories aren't creating a shift. Nothing in the sequence is pulling them out of passive watching into active wanting.

That shift doesn't come from posting more stories. Thinking, how can I get more views on my stories? It's not from more information, and it certainly doesn't come from a poll asking which colour they prefer, or what you should name your next programme. It comes from disruption. Something that breaks the rhythm. Something that makes them stop, really stop, and pay attention differently.

Pattern Disruption Is Not a Content Tip, It's a Selling Mechanism

[00:06:50] This is what I mean when I talk about pattern disruption as a selling mechanism. It's not a content tip. It's not "here's what to say in your stories to get people to buy." It's not "here's how to change the background colour of your story so that it keeps things fresh." It's understanding at a psychological level that buying happens when something interrupts how a person sees themselves. They change how they see their situation. They change what they see as possible.

Your stories are the place where that interruption can happen daily. That is why your hottest buyers can be there. It's not because they're most aware of your content. It's not because they like you the most. It's because they're in there daily and you have a daily opportunity to disrupt their thinking, their feeling, and activate what they see as possible for themselves.

But that is only if you stop treating it like something that you've got to post every day because you have to show up in stories because that's where your hottest buyers are.

[00:07:51] Can we please get out of the passive motion of just posting stories daily because that's simply what you do.

A Story Should Transfer an Experience, Not Information

So the thing that I will say about stories, and if you haven't listened to my previous episode about what really makes a great story and how it's not about relatability but about affinity, go back and listen to that episode. It will be hugely relevant for storytelling in general.

But the thing that I'll keep coming back to about stories is that a story is not about telling information. It's about transferring an experience. When you recommend a book to someone, which book do you recommend? The one with the best information, or the one that makes you feel something?

[00:08:24] You are going to be recommending the book that enables them to take in the information, whether that is the way the story is told, whether that is a book about a place and going on a trip. If you're doing it old school through a book, then you want the information to make them feel excited. It doesn't need to be a really dry way of going through things.

How to Give Your Audience Something to Feel

[00:08:45] So it's no news to anybody that people tend to buy with emotion and then justify with logic. That's nothing revolutionary for anybody here. But most people's stories are still structured entirely around logic.

Here's my offer. Here's what's included. Here's the price. Here's a testimonial. Here's the call to action. Link in bio. DM me this keyword. It's not a story. It's not an experience.

[00:09:04] And adding a poll halfway through doesn't change that experience. Adding a question box doesn't interrupt them. Those are interaction tools. They're not emotional tools. They give someone something to tap, but they're not giving them something to feel.

Tapping is engagement. It's not buying. I'm not saying don't use the tools that Instagram gives you. But if your Instagram story strategy is built around those tools and those engagement features, then it's no surprise when you feel like you're getting Instagram stories engagement but you're not getting those buyers who are saying, "Right, I know that I need to work with you. How can I make that happen?".

A story moves somebody from where they are to somewhere else, to where they want to be, to where they aspire to be, and it does it through emotion. It does it through showing, guiding, creating an experience.

The 4 Part Story Framework That Turns Viewers Into Buyers

So here's how you bring that into selling on Instagram stories. We're going to take the concept of pattern disruption, how you need to create an experience through your stories, how stories are shifting somebody. They're not telling. They're not about engagement. They are about shifting into what's possible, into buying behaviour.

Now let's look at how that comes into Instagram stories. Your Instagram stories need a thread, not a topic. It's not "I'm going to sell this offer" or "I'm going to talk about my one to one today." That's a topic. That's information. We need a thread, an emotional through line that pulls someone from the first slide to the last because they're feeling something building. They're not just reading it unfolding. They feel it. Build that thread in.

Instagram Story Framework Part 1: Curiosity

The way that I look at stories has four parts. This is a framework that I use and I teach, and I'm going to give you the shape of it for Instagram stories because it changes how you approach the stories that you post and will give you lots more Instagram story ideas for business.

[00:11:12] So the four parts that I look at with Instagram stories are curiosity, connection, desire, and demand. So stay till the end of this episode because you're going to get the full picture. I'm going to explain how you can best use it.

Curiosity is why someone clicks and stays. Remember I said that the algorithm is now weighing heavily that first moment of interaction. They want an indication that somebody is engaged in your first story.

So it's the opening. It's not "here's what I'm going to be covering today." That's a table of contents. It's signposting. Curiosity is a question or a statement that speaks so directly to your person that they cannot scroll past it. Those opening moments, it's not just about your audience. It's about whether the platform then decides to keep showing your content.

Instagram Story Framework Part 2: Connection

[00:12:04] So there's one thing about me telling you that this is so important in terms of how people buy, but if you are on Instagram, this is how the algorithm is also deciding who to push your content out to and how far it can reach.

Connection is where you show them you see where they are. It's not the surface level problem. It's the frustration underneath it. If you haven't listened to my episode on the Catalyst Client, I highly recommend that you go into that because it will explain the difference between these surface level problems and the frustration and tension that sit beneath them.

For premium clients especially, this isn't about speaking to the struggle. It's not "I see where you are, you are posting and you're getting crickets. You are launching but you are getting no inquiries." They don't resonate with that. They're going to scroll straight past it. It's about recognising what they've already achieved and painting where they could go next. Connecting in with "here's where you are, here's the gap that you have, but here's where you want to take it to."

Instagram Story Framework Part 3: Desire

Desire is where that shift happens. This is where you stop talking about what they want and start speaking to them as if they already have it. You speak to their future identity, not their current frustration.

[00:13:20] We want to move on from connection. We've painted that picture of where they are, what's not happening for them right now, what they want, and now we're speaking to them as if this is how they already see themselves. This is what creates that emotional pull. It's not "imagine having this." It's "you are this person."

Direct, clear communication is so important for a premium buyer mindset. They don't want fluff. They want you to be certain that you are speaking to them.

Instagram Story Framework Part 4: Demand

And then demand is the fourth part, which is the activation. It's not the scarcity of just "two spots left." For premium clients, this is about exclusivity. It's about making the invitation feel like it matches who they see themselves as.

[00:13:59] "Two spots left" says anybody could take them. An exclusive additional deep dive says "this is for you specifically."

So this is the overview of how I look at creating my own stories. I will think about taking people on this journey. I'll think about the experience that I'm creating, and I will make sure that every story has this follow through thread. So that they stop being content that I'm delivering, and it starts to be this experience that my potential clients, my people watching, connect with. Something that moves them, that makes them feel something as they are moving through, so they're not mindlessly tapping.

Why Pattern Disruption Matters More Than Pretty Design on Instagram Stories

[00:14:42] Now, the other layer to this is a piece that I add on. So we have curiosity, connection, desire, and demand. But what most people don't understand is how to create an emotional experience when they are working within frameworks. And this is where pattern disruption becomes essential.

It's not a design thing. It's not about making your Instagram stories look amazing. This is about making sure somebody is locked into what you're saying when they start to get into that passive place of just tapping through.

The attention of somebody coming into an Instagram story doesn't just need to be captured at the start. You need to keep it. And the way that Instagram stories are designed is they want you to keep moving through. The way that they're so short is so that you recognise there's a next thing coming up. The behaviour they are instilling in you is to continue to tap.

So imagine somebody viewing an Instagram story. Their brain is already wired to look for a reason to move on. Not just to your next story, but onto the next person's, because they've seen that little ring go round. They know that somebody has put something new up, something fresh. They're feeling the FOMO. They want to get into that.

So your job is not only to get their attention and make them click on your stories. Your biggest job is to keep them there. You need to keep interrupting the impulse for them to click off and go into somebody else's story.

Buying at a Premium Level Should Feel Like an Edge, Not a Comfortable Decision

[00:16:11] Disruption does something deeper than just "keep your eyes on this screen." What it does is it mirrors what buying actually feels like. Buying, especially at a premium level, should feel like an edge. It should feel disruptive. It's a break from the current pattern. Someone deciding that what they have right now isn't enough and committing to something different.

[00:16:40] You may have experienced this yourself where you've made a stretchy investment. You've invested in a mastermind. You've paid more for something. Even if it's a product, maybe you've invested in a brand that you really love, and the first time that you buy from it, it feels different. It changes something in you because it's not the safe option. It's not the thing that you always buy. It's not the easy investment that you could be making.

So if that's the feeling that somebody is going to get when they buy from you, we want to start creating that even in the selling experience, even in the way that they're interacting with your stories as part of your Instagram story strategy.

How to Break the Pattern Before Someone Taps Away

[00:17:18] When I talk about disruption, I'm not talking about trendy transitions or shock tactics. I'm talking about intentionally breaking the pattern so that somebody reengages their attention at exactly the moment their brain is about to check out.

This could be a change in format. If you've got three talking head slides, then add a sharp text slide that lands a single sentence. Disrupting through format. It could be a question that stops the flow of information and asks them to think in a way that is confrontational.

It could be showing something visually unexpected, not because it looks fancy, but because it's pulling their eye back in. It's making them look at it harder. I will do this where I use patterns in the background sometimes. If I've had several colour block slides, then I'll use a pattern which will disrupt because it's changing what somebody is looking at.

Stop Optimising for Who Sees Your Stories and Start Optimising for What Happens to the People Who Stay

[00:18:00] So I have a programme called Influx, which goes much deeper into the mechanics of all of this. The framework that I took you through, the specific story arcs, the visual strategy, the language shifts, the disruption approach. If you are interested in finding out more, it's well worth looking at. You can send me a DM to find out more about Influx.

But what I want you to take from this episode is this reframe. Stop measuring whether people see your stories. Start asking whether your stories made anyone feel something different. Start asking whether people are staying with you. Start asking whether you are activating or disrupting enough to stop them from checking out.

Your stories are the most intimate space for selling on Instagram that you have, more than your feed, more than your emails, because you have that daily opportunity to sell to people. They're there daily, they're sequential, and they disappear, which means every single one is an opportunity to create an experience that is going to move somebody in a different way.

If you treat them as information, if you treat them as updates, if you treat them as announcements, if you're going through the motions of putting something on your stories because you haven't posted today, they're not going to be received that way.

[00:19:20] You have to treat them as stories. Give them a thread. Build in disruption. Stop optimising for who sees them and start optimising for what happens to the people who stay. Because those investments don't happen at the call to action. That call to action on your final slide should just make it easy for them to buy from you. It happens on every slide before it. That's what builds it up.

What If Your Next Story Made Someone Think "This Feels Completely Different"

So hopefully this has disrupted how you see your Instagram stories. Maybe it has reinvigorated and created some excitement about new ways that you can start thinking about how to market your business on social media through your stories. That you show up, whether it's today, tomorrow, on those Instagram stories and people go, "Whoa, this feels different. This is not what I was expecting. This is a depth, this is a different visual. This is something that I just can't help but consume."

This is how we build these communities of people that are really loyal to your brand, that don't just want to check in with what's going on. They want to be in your world. They want to feel like they belong. They want to see what's coming next. They're excited. They can't wait to get into your stories and they can't wait to vibe.

I'm Rachel Pearson and this is Rich Work. Thanks for tuning in to Rich Work. I'd love it if you left a review. It helps other women to find us. In the meantime, follow me on Instagram @rachelpearson.co for a different take on premium positioning, one that's not about fitting a box.

See you next week.