Curious Conversion Rates for Opportunities 

Most of us are bombarded almost daily with opportunities such as 'Buy This"., "Subscribe to", "Sign up" , at times this "offers" can be very tempting until ones dives a little deeper. For example, "Buy this lens it will transform your photography"!   "Attend this workshop for this fantastic speaker (or model)".  The real question here is, what is your conversion should you jump into the offer?

By conversion, I mean what is in it for you? Sure, it is certainly nice to support others within the community but many of us have limited time, money, or other resources. Conversion can come in many forms including emotional, social, professional development, and certainly financial just to mention a few conversion benefits.

Suppose you get an opportunity to make a trip to a place that you have never visited, and it likely that you are not going to visit again at least for the foreseeable future.  This could potentially hit several levels of conversion, but at least it would convert to an emotionally satisfying experience. You may make photo's and have pleasant memories, even if there is no material benefit. The conversion of your time and expense would convert to a very positive experience.

What about attending an event? Similar events may be occurring, but can you convert this into a valuable social networking experience? Is there an opportunity for professional development if he event provides a valuable learning experience? Are there people at the event which you would like to meet for personal reasons? If you are a photographer who photographs models and you attend an event with a particular model, what benefit(s) are you receiving? If you let the images sit on your hard drive without looking at them for months, your conversion rate is probably pretty low.

On line opportunities may present themselves on a daily basis. When looking at a sales pitch, is it really hype or would purchasing that item convert into a means to increase the quality of your work, or possibly productivity? Would it make your life easier? Are there competing services or products that would be a wiser investment for your purchase?  As mentioned above sometimes an efficient professional network can help you may a wise decision here. 

We all need financial resources for a great number of reasons. Can the opportunity convert into a financial reward that can either make that special trip possible, help with professional goals, or just pay daily expenses. This of course may get back into looking at your current and potential clients as well as your general target audience. Other elements of conversion such as the emotional, professional certainly are in play equally here as well.

Some financial experts also look at this as a cost:benefit ratio. What will it cost you in time, resources, personal commitment, and money in order to take advantage of (or convert) it into a benefit to you.  With common approaches such as 'limited time' or "scarcity" it can be a difficult decision to make at times. Some people are clearly more impulsive than others and even fall prey to what seems at first to be a unique and valuable opportunity.

Future investments such as purchasing a piece of equipment or computer app may be a good option to convert it into a valuable asset for future projects. Then again, if you don't practice with the equipment or use the app for months it's value may not have been as good as one may think.  You may find yourself actually at a loss if trying to learn something at the last minute only to find that it really does not meet your needs.

Often it is wise to take a breath, do a little research, and see if the presented opportunity can really convert into a positive experience for you!