Over the years, I’ve seen a number of perfectly good sales funnels fail… in fact, people often come to me and say that their marketing must be the problem – because they’re just not making sales.
The truth, however, is that in order to make money in your business, you just need two things:
- An audience / steady traffic
- An offer that solves an immediate problem for them.
So if it’s that simple, how is it that some sales funnels just don’t convert?
- Growth: Remember that your sales funnel and your traffic/lead generation strategy are two very separate things. Spending money on Facebook Ads without a successful sales funnel will not make you money. Likewise, having fantastic sales funnel that no-one ever enters will also not lead to selling successfully – you must have both lead generation and a funnel that works.
- Nurture: Does your funnel nurture your audience? Some of your audience are going to be really warm when they get into your new funnel… and others will only have ‘met’ you in an advert. So you’ve got to make sure that your sales funnel actually nurtures the relationship that you’re trying to build as well as offers profitable opportunities for your business. A customer has a lifetime value – and by building better relationships with them, we build better revenue generation too!
- Sell: Is your funnel selling appropriately to your audience – and are you making the most of each opportunity? For example, there’s a new trend to add four or five up-sells into your funnel. But statistically, cold audiences can get turned off if they go straight into a large list of up-sells. So remember to sell with value first. Keep your up-sells to things that are relevant or that expand on your initial offer, rather than things that the customer suddenly ‘must have’ in order to make the most of their initial purchase. We want them to feel great making the purchase and nothing leaves a sour taste in the mouth quite like an irrelevant up-sell or finding out that the product you just bought actually doesn’t work without XYZ webinar package/ e-book/ service.
And if we start to look at sales funnels as long term relationship builders, then we can start to use strategic sales and relationship building strategies to enhance the experience of the buyer – and increase your profits too!
For example, the highest converting funnels in my business performed exceptionally well due to three key elements that we have tested extensively over the last three years.
- Personalize: Everyone likes to be identified as an individual – so please remember to grab their first name in your opt-in process. Your audience like to buy products or services that are tailored to their needs and anything that you can do to make the buying process more personal will reap rewards. Advancing technology means that it’s possible to use names, tailor videos and even send e-welcome cards and this all goes a long way in the eyes of your potential client.
- Pathway: Give people a clear path and they will follow. Make that path engaging, interesting and relevant and they’ll stay on it forever! With my funnels, the aim is to enhance the customer experience across a variety of platforms. So I ask my audience to join our Facebook community, get onto my email list, join me on Facebook Live training/webinars… and the variety and value of activities (plus the different offers that they’re exposed to,) lead to longer term relationships, raving fans and higher profits. We also conduct regular market research to make sure that we’re creating the right offers for the right members of our community. Having a clear roadmap/ path for your audience members mean that they purchase the products/ services that will give them the greatest benefit and keep coming back for more.
- Profit: My key phrase is ‘Sell Everyday’ because I believe that normalizing the pitch/ sale for your audience makes the experience less frightening for them. My audience knows that whether they land in automated or proactive sales funnel, they’re going to be exposed to pitches and offers – and they enjoy the experience. We also maximize profits by having a clear value ladder – which means that a lot of our revenue is generated after someone gets into the funnel and continues to purchase at a premium price point.
So if you’re struggling to see why your sales funnel isn’t converting, take it back to basics.
Are you generating high-quality leads and moving them through your funnel?
Is your funnel nurturing them and making them feel good… or is it crammed with tripwires and a ‘buy, buy, buy’ mentality?
Are you selling regularly? Or are you adding lots of value but rarely selling – and inadvertently terrifying your potential buyers?
On implementing these simple but insanely successful sales funnel strategies, your profits start to skyrocket – and more importantly, you create a community of ideal clients that want to buy from you every time you make an offer!
About the Author
Jessica Lorimer is a Business Strategist and sales funnel expert who works with coaches to develop proven sales strategies to attract premium clients with ease so that they have more time, money and freedom and don’t have to worry about finding new clients every month. Jessica manages a thriving online Facebook community, The Smart Leaders Sales Society where she shows up daily and delivers training on attracting premium clients with ease. Connect with @jessicalorimer on Twitter.
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