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Stuck In Sales Funnel Hell? This Is For You

create-a-sales-funnel-rachelle-deem

Sales funnels are a pretty hot topic lately in a lot of the business groups I hang out in and I love me a good funnel. But I know that not everybody is in the same boat as me.

If the thought of someone asking you about your sales funnel has you shaking in your boots… or if you don’t want to admit that you have no idea what a funnel even is, I’ve got you covered.

What the heck is a sales funnel anyway?

When you’re trying to understand the concept of a sales funnel, the easiest way to start is to imagine a real funnel. The top of the funnel is wide and can take in a large volume of the particular liquid. As it pours into the funnel, it filters its way down to a single endpoint, where it runs out of the funnel. 

A sales funnel is shaped the same way. 

The top of the funnel is wide, to capture a large volume of people who don’t know you or your business.

As you start to engage with the people in your funnel that large group that came in at the top will begin to filter down. People that don’t resonate with you or your brand will drop off. People that don’t need what you’re selling will leave. People that don’t think you’re the person to support them won’t stick around. And that’s okay…it’s actually perfect.

We want the people getting to the bottom of the funnel to be the ones who are going to become our raving fans. They will be the ones that purchase from us!!

Now if you’re thinking that you don’t know any more about funnels then you did before 🙂 I was leading up to the good stuff.

It’s time for show and tell

Here is a visual representation of a sales funnel. The little people walking along the top are strangers to you and your business. They don’t know you, don’t know what your business does, they don’t like you, and they don’t trust you…YET!

Somehow they’ve become aware of your business, and this is the first stage in the funnel…awareness.

This awareness comes through some kind of magnet which attracts them to you. They are coming at you with a problem and you’ve got a solution to that problem which they’re attracted to.

No doubt you are super familiar with lead magnets…even if you don’t realise it. Chances are you’re receiving emails from me because you downloaded one of mine. It may have been my automation guide, Systems 101 or my personality quiz.

Whatever your magnet is, it is grabbing the attention of leads and bringing them into your funnel. They are aware of you…big tick!

Now is not the time to stop in celebration of all these leads coming into your funnel…quiet the opposite. You’re not going to convert these peeps on awareness alone. They’re looking for value before they part with their money so you need to keep moving them through this funnel.

Time to get them interested.

How do we do that? It’s all about the emails lovely.

They need to feel like they can relate to you. That you understand what they’re going through and know exactly how they feel. This is a critical step in the interest phase of the funnel.

While you want to position yourself as an expert, if you come across as unrelatable and unapproachable they are going to say “see ya”.

Tell them your story, explain the why of your business. Be transparent and vulnerable…

I get that this can seem overwhelming but I promise you, if you can find a way to convey your story and be super relatable, they’re going to want to stick around for more.

Now they’re interested, they’ve started to get to know you, and if you’ve been open and relatable, no doubt to like you too. It’s time to get them to trust you enough to make a decision to keep moving towards you.

One of the best ways to build this trust is to share with them the results and words of other people you’ve worked with. Once they start to see how you’ve helped others like them, they are more likely to want those results too.

The final stage of this funnel is having them take action.

A physical funnel only has one spot that the fluid exits the funnel, and your sales funnel should be the same.

You should know exactly what action you want these people to take even before they come into the top of your funnel. You will already have nurtured and encouraged them towards that action and now is the time for them to take it.

Typically that action will be to purchase your offer.

Of course, whatever you’re offering to them has to be irresistible. If they don’t want what you’re offering, you could love them up till the cows come home – they’re not going to buy.

Once they’ve purchased, they’re out of your funnel and hopefully, you’ve converted them to raving fans. Their words and recommendations will bring new people into an awareness of your business.

Now don’t be misled. It may seem simple, but there is a lot of work that goes into getting someone from the top of your funnel to the bottom. You will need to test and tweak and retest and repeat until you’re getting the best results from your funnel.

And know what your numbers are…how many people are coming in vs how many people are becoming clients.

If you wanted to get 5 clients from your sales funnel, you would need to get around 100 leads into your funnel (5% conversion).

So lovely, are you feeling ready to get cracking with your sales funnels? Even if you’re not, hopefully, you feel a little more ‘in the know’ about sales funnels and what they actually do.


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