You’ve heard about these all-powerful “funnels”, but aren’t entirely sure if they would work for your business. Or perhaps you’ve tried it out, but it didn’t quite get you the results you wanted. Or, maybe you’ve created an effective sales funnel, but are at the point where you are looking for a more modern approach that will speak to a more targeted, ideal client.
Whatever stage you are in, if you are looking for information on creating and implementing a sales funnel, you’ve come to the right place!
So a sales funnel, quite simply, is the path through which a prospective customer becomes a buyer. There are 4 main parts to the sales funnel - Awareness, Interest, Decision, Action.
To implement an effective sales funnel into your business could be the difference between success and failure. However, it’s much easier said than done.
Step 1. Awareness
When a person becomes aware of your business (through paids, SEO, word-of-mouth, walk-in, etc), they’ve reached the first step of the funnel!
At Emerald Fox, we love creating quick (15-ish second) promo videos to attract your ideal client to your website or landing page. (For beautiful landing pages, check out https://stickymarketingtools.com/ and click on Sticky Folios.) Pro-tip: For higher conversion rates and a longer bounce rate, put a brand message video from Emerald Fox Productions on your landing page!
The trick is to lead someone aware of your business into the ‘interest’ part of your funnel. One easy way to do this is to offer them something in exchange for signing up for your e-mail list and/or following you on social media.
Offer a free guide that your ideal client may find useful:
A fitness gym could offer a guide on simple dieting tips
A chiropractor could offer a guide on at-home exercises to supplement chiropractic care
A restaurant could offer a copycat recipe for a favorite menu item
Offer a coupon
20% off
Buy one, get one free
Sponsor a Contest
Enter to win a (high value) free product or service
Once you have a prospective client’s e-mail or they follow you on Social Media, they convert into a ‘lead’ and you can begin working on the next step.
Step 2. Interest
Interact with your leads during this part of the sales funnel! At Emerald Fox, we suggest interacting with your leads through at least three mediums: Facebook, at least one other social media account (Instagram, TikTok, SnapChat, etc.) and e-mail marketing. Send out relevant (and hopefully engaging!) e-mails and social media posts to your interested prospects/followers.
Sign up for Sticky E-mails at https://stickymarketingtools.com/email/price/ to create easy and automated e-mail sequences. StickyMarketing is aimed at wedding photographers, but it is a solid platform that could work for many businesses!
So, what information can you send and what should it be about? First, what is your brand? Are you an industry leader? Are you every man’s best friend? Are you a mom that was thrown into entrepreneurship with a solve-it product? Create content based on your branding. Here are some specific examples:
A b2b manufacturer can send tips on onboarding new employees into the ins and outs of their products or information on how their products are produced ethically.
A Clothing boutique can send quick fashion tips or ‘you are beautiful’ pick-me-ups
A yoga studio can send daily affirmations or tips on nailing a specific pose
Invest in video marketing to showcase your products/your brand/yourself!
I have so many ideas! If you are struggling with this step, feel free to reach out to me for help! Contact Me Here.
This step is probably the most time consuming and may be where a majority of your prospects hang out for awhile, so make sure that you put some thought and hard work into this!
Step 3. Decision
When a consumer decides they would like to become your customer. How can you convert all of your leads into customers?
This answer is different for all of us, but Robert Cialdini came up with 6 principles of influence that are now considered the basics of consumer conversion. Check out this article for more information: https://cxl.com/blog/cialdinis-principles-persuasion/
Step 4. Action
When a consumer actually goes through the buying process and completes the transaction. One big considerations in this step is to make sure that your buying process is completely clear and accessible. (Psst… video can assist with this step if consumers are having trouble figuring out how to purchase!)
Now that the sales funnel has been laid out, are you ready to launch yours???
Not quite?
It’s a little overwhelming, right? Let me turn this entire sales funnel into a real world example.
Let’s use a fitness gym as an example. The action that the gym owner wants at the end of the funnel is for his leads to sign up for a monthly subscription.
Step 1: The Gym owner creates a 15-minute, explosive and fast-paced promo video featuring a tour of his space. The ad copy touts all of the benefits of a gym membership - access to the sauna, salt-water pool, fitness classes, etc. When interested prospects click on his ad, they are led to a landing page.
The landing page contains a longer brand message video showing the gym owner and one of the lead trainer’s talking directly to the camera. A gym patron claims that she has found her ‘home’ at the gym. A pop up offers a free guide on a pre-workout nutritional program in exchange for sign up for the mailing list.
Step 2: As soon as a prospect signs up for the free guide, they are sent an e-mail welcoming them to the club and promising a series of information on the pre-workout nutritional program over the next couple of weeks.
As e-mails are sent out about the at-home program, gym membership benefits are highlighted that can supplement the program.
The last e-mail is a video in which the gym owner speaks directly to the camera, personally inviting the lead in for a personal tour and free fitness class, but the offer is only available for the next 48 hours.
Step 3: The lead takes advantage of the free workout and personally meets the gym owner from the video. Before the lead leaves the gym, the gym owner personally goes over membership benefits and asks the lead for the sale.
Step 4: The lead decides to invest in the monthly subscription and (hopefully) continues her subscription for months and months.
So, let’s say the gym owner spent $5000 on the ads, video creation, time to create the at-home nutritional program, etc. The ad got 150 clicks, 75 e-mail subscribers and managed to convert an initial $150 monthly subscribers who stay for a year, on-average. That’s an initial $9000 in sales that more than cover the cost of creation! And the best part is that the gym can continue using the sales funnel over and over again!
Still need help? Contact us for help creating your very own sales funnel!