Taking the Mystery Out of the Sales Funnel

Taking the Mystery Out of the Sales Funnel

I frequently am confronted with two misconceptions regarding sales funnels: They’re incredibly complex, and they’re attached to a specific platform.

Neither of these assumptions is true. And, removing these misconceptions will free you to create an effective sales funnel that drives your business.?

What is a Sales Funnel?

Simply put, a sales funnel is a step by step process that guides your customer to take action. Your sales funnel exemplifies your customer journey. As with all marketing, there is a psychology to it. You must account for where people enter into your process, what is the best option for them, and how you will take them from a cold lead and warm them up to the idea of spending their hard-earned money on your product, service, or solution.

Why is it called a Sales Funnel?

The funnel is symbolic of what you’re doing in your business. You’re taking a larger group of prospects and whittling them down into a smaller group of high-quality customers who will buy from you.

You will lead them through four steps before they become your customer.?

1. You introduce them to who you are and what you do.
2. Identify your audience’s problem and explain how you can solve your audience’s problem.
3. Demonstrate why you are the best solution to their problem.
4. A call-to-action to purchase your product, service, or solution.

Why is a sales funnel important?

Here’s the truth: If you have a business and customers, you NEED a sales funnel. And, in reality, EVERYONE has a sales funnel. It may not be automated. It may be offline. But, everyone--yes, even you--has a process where they take their customers from introduction to sales. In this process, you create a customer journey to turn cold prospects into long term customers.?

But, when your business gets to a certain point, it becomes unrealistic to manually take each customer through a customer journey--your funnel. Therefore, it becomes necessary to create an automated, digital funnel that focuses on creating an amazing customer experience.?

An effective sales funnel enables you to have a clear plan for how you interact with prospective clients and to have clear sales goals that you can track and adjust as needed.?

This is why an automated sales funnel is so helpful. It allows you to track who is entering your funnel and how they respond. And, based on your findings, adjusting your sales funnel gives you the opportunity to create a holistic customer journey that optimizes your funnel to turn your leads into buyers.?

What are the three primary steps to Conversions Sales Funnels?

1. Acquisition: Turning Cold Prospects into Leads

An acquisition funnel helps you bring in as many new leads as possible. Once they’ve entered your funnel, you are able to nurture them to lead them into the next step of your funnel.

1. Activation: Turning Existing Leads into Buyers

An activation funnel allows you to take your existing leads--the people who haven’t yet purchased from you--and turn them into recent buyers.

1. Monetization: Turn Your Buyers into Multi-Buyers

A monetization funnel generates revenue from existing buyers and subscribers. This type of funnel helps you maintain relationships with your customers and establish customer loyalty.?

When done correctly, a sales funnel can put you in the top earning bracket faster than any other type of marketing. Therefore, it’s worth it to invest your time in building an effective, automated sales funnel for your business.?

So, hw do you create a successful, automated sales funnel??

The key here is to really consider your purpose. Think of your why. When you lead from a place of authenticity, you’re able to create a strong customer journey that connects with your prospects and allows your business to thrive.?

3 Most Important Things to Focus on Before Building Your Funnel:

1. Your Message: Your message is where everything starts, so dive deep into your messaging. This is the foundation of your funnel. If your messaging at the top doesn’t connect with your audience, you will not be able to drive them down your funnel.?

Authenticity is critical to your messaging. Remember, your audience wants to feel understood. This is where you hook them to get them to pay attention, exemplify why you’re unique, and explain what’s in it for them to convince them to sign up/download/purchase.?

Diving deep into your messaging allows you to consider whether your offer, your funnel, and your target audience align. Consider whether your messaging allows people to connect with you and feel understood by you.?

1. Your Goals: Set goals for your sales funnel. When you know what success looks like for your funnel, you will know when it’s working. And, you can adjust it if you’re not meeting your goals. If you’re unsure what your initial goals should be, take an educated guess. But, don’t skip this part. It’s so important to the efficacy of your sales funnel.?
2. Your Strategy: Keep it simple. Don’t over complicate your sales funnel, especially when you’re just getting it started. Furthermore, make your sales funnel YOURS. Avoid trying to emulate someone else’s funnel. Why? They’ve set up their funnel to work for their business and their customers; therefore, what works for them likely won’t work for you. And, if you try to do exactly what they’re doing, you’re going to struggle.?

Instead, create your own strategy that’s tailored to your business and your customers. Doing so, will help you create an effective sales funnel that resonates with your audience. Authenticity at every point of creating your sales funnel--from your messaging to your strategy--really pays off.

Most importantly, when it comes to your sales funnel, make it authentically yours. When you start from a place of truth and a real desire to help your customers, your value will shine through and capture the attention of your audience.

Feeling overwhelmed by creating a sales funnel? Contact me today! I’d love to chat, answer your questions, and help you set up a sales funnel that drives success in your business

For more information about your sales funnel and so much more, listen to the Marketing Matchmaker Podcast