Entrepreneurs and marketing teams have a common goal – making a great sales funnel. They want a machine which takes in leads and churns out customers. And who wouldn’t? But there are more misunderstandings about sales funnels than you would care to believe.
I’m going to show you what makes a good sales funnel. And I’m going to show you what you need to know to create working sales funnels time and time again.
I just want to be ultra clear. I’m talking about sales funnels here, not marketing funnels. The two are different!
The odds of creating a successful sales funnel are against you…
There is a lot of complexity surrounding sales funnels.
Creating a working funnel is a complex task. And you need a unique skill set to craft the perfect funnel. These skills don’t often come as a natural “gift”, but you can learn them.
I’ve seen a lot of sales funnel “experts” in the time I’ve been in business. They often tell you how easy it is to create a simple funnel.
Therein lies a potential problem. A simple funnel will produce simple results.
This might be all you need, and you can build a simple funnel if you only need simple results. I’ve got no problem with that.
The thing to remember is this, simple funnels don’t deliver spectacular results.
Let’s get onto making your first funnel.
1. Start with a plan…
One of the most common causes of failure with sales funnels is the simple fact that you need to plan them out.
- What goals are you trying to reach with your funnel?
- How can you break that down into steps?
- How will you present each of these steps?
Planning you funnel is the most important part of creating the funnel. If you fail to make a decent plan you can miss sales and marketing opportunities.
And missed opportunities equals poor return on your investment.
2. Where does a sales funnel begin?
One of the simple truths of marketing is that you can catch the right fish with the right piece of bait.
That’s not a new idea. But there are far too many businesses out there that don’t use the right bait. To capture the attention of your ideal customers you’ve got to offer them something they want.
So how do you create this perfect bait?
With surveys. When you ask your target market what they want, they will tell you. People love to give their opinions on things. And some people even make a living on giving survey responses.
Market surveys are what the big companies are using to find out how the public sees them and what they want. They don’t have to be complex. They just have to be well written.
Get the bait right and the right customers will follow.
3. There will be Follow Up.
The purpose of a sales funnel is to strip away the need for manual actions in the selling process. And the end result is that you get to deal with the qualified prospects who are ready to buy.
There is a golden rule in sales. It’s misunderstood a lot by people who don’t have a sales and marketing background. And the rule is that buying is a process, not an event.
The are several milestones in every sale, and you can break these down further. But these are the absolute basics.
- The client realizes they need something (or you convince them they need something).
- They buy into your USP.
- They make a decision to buy.
The main part of your sales funnel happens around point two above – buying into your USP.
And this is where your follow up comes into play. A sales funnel shouldn’t stop after a couple of interaction. Because neglecting to follow up means lost opportunities. You just never know when the customer is going to make the final buying decision.
Your First Funnel Won’t Be the Last
It is satisfying to watch leads run through your funnel and turn into valuable customers. And as you keep creating funnels you will realise that you can tighten them and get even better results.
Remember simple funnels produce simple results.
So, if you sell more than one product it is best to create a funnel for each product or service. Not only does this give you more control but it also gives better results.
The more you automate your marketing the more effective your sales team will be. Because the sales team will be dealing with the most qualified leads possible.
Are you ready to get started?
Good luck! And let me know in the comments if you run into any difficulties.