What Is A Sales Funnel?

Examples for Digital, Physical and Services

12 · 15 · 20

Social Media Marketing · Website Strategies and Tactics

Why Build Your Brand A Sales Funnel?

To Convert Conversations Into Sales, Faster.

Once you have a funnel in place, you have a blueprint that shows you a proven process that you can repeat over and over again, which saves you time converting leads into sales, which increases your revenue more quickly.

And yet most businesses don’t have one.

Say goodbye to those long slumps without cash flow and worrying about paying your bills.

WHAT IS A SALES FUNNEL?

It’s a term used to help you visualize the steps you take from finding a lead all the way to closing the deal.

At the top of your funnel, you’re casting a wide net, sending your message to as many people as you think might be interested in what you’re selling. Each step you take after that initial contact you’ll notice the people that aren’t ready for your offer will start ‘dropping off’.

Finally, at the bottom of the funnel, you’ve got the people that have purchased your product.

But how to get from the top to the bottom? Click on the tabs below to get started.

Although the steps in a funnel may vary depending on your goals, there are some parts that pretty much stay the same regardless of industry. The top and the bottom.

The top is creating awareness for what you’re selling. The bottom is when a customer has given you something, usually money, for the thing you sell.

STEP 1: Awareness

That old adage “Time is Money” never seems to ring truer than when you’re working for yourself. No more dawdling til 5pm – every minute counts. So why waste time trying to get people to like your Facebook Business Page, or wait for people to follow you back on Instagram, or connect with you on LinkedIn? Twitter is the most open platform and best for reaching the largest number of people quickly.

To build awareness around your brand, start with Twitter and jump in with both feet. You will be rewarded by the Twitterverse. If you need help with this part, check out what I have here.

STEP 2: Interest

Once you’ve got people’s attention from Step 1, the question becomes, can you hold their interest? Have you explained to them why they need what you’re selling? Can you keep them coming back?

STEP 3: Consideration

Now they know about what you’re selling and they think they might need or want it. Now they’re weighing the pros and cons about buying it.

STEP 4: Purchase

Bingo! The moment they actually make a purchase from you! A lot of funnels end here, but I feel like there’s one more step you should take.

STEP 5: Loyalty

If you’ve gotten to this step, you are golden! You have a fan! Someone that went through all the previous steps already trusts you and is ready to purchase from you again.

Be sure not to ignore these people. Keep them updated via your email list, but even more importantly, stay connected to them by engaging them on the same social media platform they were on when you made that initial connection. If you’ve done your job well, they’ll become unpaid cheerleaders for you and send referrals to you whenever they can.

SOCIAL SELLING vs SELLING ON SOCIAL

In case you missed the memo, in today’s world, you can’t just put up a single ad and post it over and over again [Selling on Social] and expect people to buy from you. People expect to have some kind of interaction with you before deciding to do business with you. They want to get to know you, to feel connected to you in some way [Social Selling].

The best place to start building relationships and start a conversation on any subject is Twitter.

The best place to start creating awareness for your product or service is Twitter. Click To Tweet

SO WHAT’S THE FIRST STEP?

Before you take Step 1, we have to back up a little bit and get into a funnel mindset.

Imagine this:
You’re in charge of the cross-country family vacation this year. Everyone excitedly jumps in the car. They’ve got their seatbelts strapped on and everyone’s staring at you with big goofy grins. Now what?

A few things you should have figured out before this point might be:

What’s your destination?
What snacks will you have in the car?
When do you stop to eat?
Where do you stop to eat?
Where do you sleep tonight? And tomorrow night?
Are reservations necessary?

The list goes on, but I think you see where I’m going with this. Once you’ve got everything pretty much figured out, what you have is a vacation funnel.

Let’s Be Logical About This. Let’s Start At The Finish Line.

The look of your finish line and funnel will look differently depending on your business. Do you sell digital products? Do you sell a service? Do you sell physical products?

If you sell a digital product, your finish line is going to be an online shopping cart of one kind or another.
If you sell a service, your finish line might be an online payment or a check in the mail (people still do that, right?), or a credit card swiped across your phone’s virtual terminal (like Square for example).
If you sell physical products that can be purchased online and then shipped, your finish line is like #1 above. But if your physical product is something more along the lines of a house, your finish line is closing day.

Selling A Digital Product?

Let’s start with a digital product. Let’s say your product is a book. Before you start developing your sales funnel, you:

Write the book
Upload the book to a secure online area
Setup your download and payment options
Add tracking code if you plan on using any
Have the link to your book copied somewhere that’s easy to access

Now We Follow The Path.

You’ll want to begin where it’s possible to get your message out to the most people. This place is Twitter. If you don’t know why, I have an entire rambling post on the reasons here which includes my 5 Rules of Engagement.

Start engaging with your target audience with Twitter (need some help? Head to Conversational Twitter)
Add links in your tweets to blog posts that make people realize they need your book
Share links from other sites that provide more reasons why people need your book
Add links in your tweets to your sales page
- Your sales page should have a link to your order page/shopping cart
- You should have their email address so send them a thank you email. Ask if they’d like to get emails with more information on a topic they’re interested in.
- Stay in touch with them via your email list and be sure to send them an email with info on your next product

Selling A Service?

Are you a business coach? A fitness trainer? Before you start developing your sales funnel, you should:

Determine what services exactly you are going to provide
Create a website that explains what people can expect when working with you:
- Your website should include testimonials and an obvious way you can be contacted
- Add tracking code if you plan on using any
- An About page that shows people the benefits they’ll gain working with you
- Blog posts that show you’re an authority in your field
- Have a lead magnet that people can only access after giving your their email address
- An automated appointment scheduler for phone or in person appointments
- A widget that allows immediate chatting for people who are thinking about hiring you but have a quick question

Now We Follow The Path.

Again you’ll want to start with Twitter to get your message out to the most people. Unlike LinkedIn, where you have to wait for someone to accept your connection request, or accept your Friend request on Facebook, etc, Twitter is wide open, ready for you to follow anyone you want and to chat with anyone with a Twitter account. (OK, some are private accounts, but not many). So Twitter is the best place to get the most attention, especially when you’re first starting out. If you’d like to know more I have a post on the reasons here which includes my 5 Rules of Engagement.

Start engaging with your target audience with Twitter (need some help? Head to Conversational Twitter)
Tweet things that aren’t salesy but let people know what services you provide
Add links in your tweets to blog posts that make people realize they need your service
Share links from other sites that provide more reasons why people need your service
Add links in your tweets to your services page
Your services page should have information on how people should contact you that’s easy to find
You should have their email address if they decided to download your lead magnet. Be sure to ask if they’d like to get emails with more information on a topic they’re interested in.
Stay in touch with them via your email list

Selling A Digital Product?

Let’s start with a digital product. Let’s say your product is a book. Before you start developing your sales funnel, you:

Write the book
Upload the book to a secure online area
Setup your download and payment options
Add tracking code if you plan on using any
Have the link to your book copied somewhere that’s easy to access

Now We Follow The Path.

You’ll want to begin where it’s possible to get your message out to the most people. This place is Twitter. If you don’t know why, I have an entire rambling post on the reasons here which includes my 5 Rules of Engagement.

Start engaging with your target audience with Twitter (need some help? Head to Conversational Twitter)
Add links in your tweets to blog posts that make people realize they need your book
Share links from other sites that provide more reasons why people need your book
Add links in your tweets to your sales page
- Your sales page should have a link to your order page/shopping cart
- You should have their email address so send them a thank you email. Ask if they’d like to get emails with more information on a topic they’re interested in.
- Stay in touch with them via your email list and be sure to send them an email with info on your next product

That’s Just The Tip Of The Iceberg

Posting on social media can be fun, and yes, I’ll admit some days it can be stressful. But if you’re posting without a framework or process in place, you’re wasting time online when you could be closing deals.

The Number 1 Mistake

The number one mistake I see lots of folks making is buying into the idea that the entire sales process, from finding a customer to getting money into your bank account, is going to be all online. In many businesses, a phone call or in-person meeting is necessary to close the sale. If that sounds like your industry, then think about the steps to get them there – does an email to phone call to in-person meeting make sense? Then be sure to adjust your posting strategy accordingly.

If you feel like you could use a little guidance with putting a framework together for your business, reach out to me at liz@askforliz.com and let’s talk.

Do you have a process in place that allows people to go from stranger to happy customer? Share it with me on Twitter at @AskForLiz. I’d love to hear what works for you.