Why do so many users drop off before paying?
My current user flow at MentorCruise.com is as follows:
1 - Users Register
2 - Users find a mentor
3 - Users apply to a mentor
4 - Mentors accept the application
5 - Users get a mail, approve payment
6 - Done
At Step 5, most people drop off. Setting up payment is really easy, takes two clicks. I even reach out if they are stuck at this point for a few days, but rarely get an answer. How can I find out what happens? How can I improve it?
People are cheap and don't want to pay, wasting your mentor's time. Make them pay at the start of the process, not the end.
This is great advice. It will reduce the drop-off rate significantly, and if you communicate any refund policies (in case they don't find what they're looking for) right from the beginning, churn will likely be low.
I would likely position payment right before you involve the mentor. That way, the user already has some incentive to pay (as they know who their mentor might be), and the mentor will also have more faith in the relationship working out.
I see in a different light. Maybe the first iteration should be FREE (like 5-15 minutes). If the mentor doesn't agree the founder could fill the spot on the first interview to get more info. It could be something like "introductory" mentorship.
It's not a simple answer, but the only way to find that out is by talking to those that have signed up and those that have yet to sign up - getting on a call or a chat and really getting to know them. Remember the idea here isn't the sell to them, but to find out more about them and their needs/goals.
Like you've encountered most won't reply to you, but you only need to engage with 4/5 people to get a much better idea what the problem is.
You have Drift so I'd start to use that to reach out to people more aggressively - especially those that returned multiple times after signing up. Continue to follow that up with some personalised emails and you'll eventually start to get answers.
In the grander scheme I'd start to try and foster your own community around mentorship - its difficult sure, but once you get one you'll be able to get feedback on these kinds of issues a lot quicker.
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I'll level with you though; I went through part of the process myself and I found it surprisingly daunting. I suspect the problem you have is deeper than when you ask for payments.
If I was in your position I'd look to take a step back and answer the following questions:
What's the vision for mentor cruise?
Who is it trying to help?
What are the problems it's trying to solve?
From their I'd start to engage with people more to understand if the current product is solving those problems.
Hum... Maybe many of those users change their mind after waiting... what if users had to submit their payment right after step 3? That would make the users to comeback...
Maybe because (if I’m understanding this correctly) you’ve matched them with a mentor, but that in itself provides little tangible benefit to the end user. The value in their minds will be in the mentors advice, if they prove to be valuable. Like a previous poster said, people reasses the value at the point you ask for money. Maybe you’ve got to provide more confidence that the mentor will work out for them.
Basically, the request for payment triggers people to re-question the purchase. At this stage, people drop off, as the value is not clear in their mind.
As other allude, if you place the payment request before confirmation of mentorship, you'll select for more motivated customers.
The real question though, is how can you increase confidence in you offer and win those wavering potential customers. Have you considered offering the first session free, or pherhaps having each mentor include a video to demonstrate their value?
Did you try to move step 5 after step 6.
Provide a 2-3 min trial (if your model is like clarityFM)
Let them exchange 1 email for free
Jump (you as the person who built this) into the dialogue before your user gets to talk to a mentor and tell them why they need to pay (sell them your product with your heart on a plate)
Would these work? Have you tried any of these?
Let me know if it makes sense to you or if any of these tests failed, why?
I just signed up an tested the steps. I see mentors and their prices, which is fine, after that I click apply, fill out the form and after I click the apply button it's sent.
I think here is the problem, I would create another step after filling out the form and show an overview of what they filled out and how much it will cost if the mentor accepts.
People are used to getting an overview before they really buy something. Obviously, at this point a lot of people will drop off, that is just normal. How many times did you put something in the basket in an online shop and did not click the buy button?
I would also consider tracking people who left at this point, so you can send them a followup mail in the next couple of days.