The One Thing Your Sales Funnel is Missing
So I am here to demystify sales funnels. This sounds oh so super boring, but I promise to keep it super informative, crazy easy to understand and most importantly something you can start implementing immediately in your business.
My background is in design with a minor in business, but in general my “business” knowledge is from real world experience and lots of rubber to the road. When I decided it was time to talk about sales funnels, it kind of made my stomach churn. Why does it have to be so complicated? Why are there a million and one ways to do it but none seem easy? How can I make this so simple that regardless of industry, expertise or specialty you can implement this immediately?
So let’s start at the beginning.
What is a sales funnel and why do you need one?
A sales funnel takes a blind gal off the street who knows nothing about you, your business or your products (services). Over time the funnel inches them not only through a sale, but all the way down to raving fan – the kind that comes back (to buy more and more often) and tells all their friends!!
Here in lies the problem. Most of us when we start a business are like I need a:
Cool Logo – check
Website – check
Social Media Profiles – check
Products or Services – check
The problem is not only is that list much longer, but to actually make sales you have to put a system in place to get people not just interested but jumping for joy to give you their credit card information.
Sales Funnel Basics
So my guess is you are wondering what the heck is this magic bullet that will get people to say YES YES YES! Well folks, bad news. It is different for every business. Some funnels are short and fat, while some are long and skinny. Others take 2 months to travel through and others may only take 2 minutes. However, despite all these crazy differences they all have the same goals in mind.
If you were to go through the most basic exercise your funnel may only have 3 layers – awareness, consideration and purchase. But not only do I think that is skipping some major important steps, I think you are forgetting you can’t leave and let out to dry your loyal customers who have bought and maybe are already a frequent customer. You cannot miss this crucial piece of the puzzle!
The Layers
Each layer of the funnel represents an important step in the buying process and should signal you to start treating that person a bit differently. Would you thank your grandma who bought you an ornament the same as your husband who treated you to a Caribbean getaway? No, so why treat your varying level of customers the same. (P.S. This is not an excuse to down grade your customer service, but rather upgrade your VIPs to first class!)
Awareness
Building awareness is always a key first step. Consider this your handshake or your wave hello. Someone may fall into this first layer if they have just discovered you on social media or came across your blog. This is where you need to start telling your story. Let them get to know you. At this point they are still anonymous to you, you can’t necessarily name them and you definitely don’t have their contact information. If you flop here you definitely won’t get them down to the next layer – first impressions are everything and yes, people definitely judge a “book” by its cover. This is why every good marketer pounds in your head the importance of quality social media!! I would also add, the importance of a strong brand appearance across platforms and a website that beautifully composes the whole thing together.
Consideration
At the beginning of this phase they now know who you are, but don’t yet “care” about you or what you have to offer. If you made a quality first impression they will probably breeze through this portion rather quickly. They begin to be interested in what you actually have to say – queue happy dance!! You made it past level one. Now to seal the deal here you need them to hand over some personal details. But to get them to do that you need to offer something of value, you guessed it, FOR FREE!! Some of my favorite ways to give something away and gain their super valuable contact info is to have crazy amazing opt-ins – such as a free guide, e-book or even a webinar.
Stumped what that could be? I have you covered. Here are some proven ways to grow your list overnight.
Interested in hosting a webinar, but have no idea where to begin? Start here.
Preference
Fabulous!! You know have a growing list of leads (they get the name lead because you can actually now get a hold of them). To get them qualified for purchase you need to start testing the waters. See they already got to know you, and they decided they liked you, now you need to get them to really trust you.
Now is where you need to begin using that contact info they gave you and using it to your advantage. Create custom content just for subscribers, drip on them with super sweet emails – no not the sales-y kind, the kind they search for because they know what day of the week it arrives. Give them exactly what they are begging for!
For my super sweet, crazy awesome followers who have made it to this level I offer Back Stage Access which grants you into a hidden world of amazing downloads, fun checklists, worksheets and even educational webinars and free e-books! Oh and did I mention these people get my one-on-one attention every day in my private Facebook group, the Think Creative Collective?
Ready for the awesome!! Visit bossproject.com/community
Already a member? Tell your friends how they can get in on the action!
Purchase
Woah, they made it! And it wasn’t really that painful, was it? These qualified leads are primed for purchase. Now is the time to make your big ask! They might still be playing the field and comparing you to your competitors, but it is time you showed them TODAY IS THE DAY! Give them an easy way to say yes with a pretty painless first purchase. For some of you that may be an item that is just a couple of dollars, or even a paid version of an e-book. For others your “first” purchase on the low spectrum may be a couple hundred dollars. This may seem scary, but if you have a bad-ass funnel, they are just waiting to hand you the mulla, so let them!
Many of my first time customers are interested in my one-on-one strategy sessions because we really jump in assess the situation with a pre-consultation guide. Run through exactly what you are interested in covering in a in depth in person or Skype session. And to make sure you didn’t miss a thing, I make sure you walk away with an action packed guide, custom made just for you with next steps. See how you can snag a seat today, these tend to fill up fast!
Occasionally people will skip the line and jump right into the big guns. For my amazing small business owners who are ready to buckle down I offer custom logo design, other branding and marketing services and most popular website design. See all my custom design and marketing services.
See one of my recent website launches! I LOVE celebrating with my people!!
Loyalty
I am not a burn ‘em and churn ‘em kind of sales lady. I want my clients to love the process so much they come banging down the door to get started on the next project. Gaining loyalty takes patience, but most of all it takes a kind a caring person. Take care of your customers. Give them perks for coming back for more. And no loyalty does not necessarily equal punch card or frequent flyer miles.
We are in a whole new era. See what big name New York Agency Gurus think you should do next! It is going to take a brand new loyalty paradigm!
Advocacy
You have hit the jackpot. The gold at the end of the rainbow. You have trenched the murky waters and you have come out on the other end shining! You have found clients (or customers) who not only think your awesome, are willing to come out again and again, but are willing to shout it from the roof tops!! They offer referrals. They share their social proof. They are at your finger tips waiting to be utilized. Ask these VIPs what they would like to see next from you. Ask them for testimonials. Ask them to be beta testers. Buy them dinner. Give them presents. Treat them like you would your BFF! See the way funnels work is, people naturally go down them, however there are only few people that make it to this stage. So treat them like the kings and queens they are!!
Mine know exactly who they are!!
Put It To Work
I hope you found this mystery debunked and this crazy concept simplified! You are now ready to rock the world of online sales. Go out, write down your plan. See who you have at each level and continue to grow grow grow.
I am ready to watch you shine. Let me know how sketching out your sales funnel goes! Write it all out and tag me on Instagram @BossProject!
