Most business owners are familiar with the concept of the “sales funnel”: You attract interested prospects to the top of the funnel, and continued nurturing helps them reach the bottom (the “commitment” or “sale” phase). But what are the steps required to create this process? The following example can help you build a sales funnel that is mutually beneficial to you and your prospects.

 

Step One: Create a High-Value Offer with Instant Access

You’ll need to spend some time thinking about this.  If you’re attempting to generate leads from a cold market such as Social Media, offers like “a free consultation” or “a free whitepaper” are rarely going to tilt the scale in your favor.  After all, whitepapers and consultations are abundant online and they do nothing to set you or your services apart from the competition.

Commonly, people who are nearing a buying decision for the products or services you sell are online looking for information that will confirm their buying decision.  Those who do the best job at providing the information will be more likely to get that sale.

So with that in mind, ask yourself:

“What questions might your target audience have as they approach their buying decision?” 

Armed with this information, you can now begin to craft your offer.  In today’s environment, a smart delivery method is an educational video or webinar presentation.  If you decide to go this route, and we highly recommend you do, then here are a few things to consider…

  • Record it so that people can have instant access 24/7.  Don’t make them show up “next Tuesday at 5:00pm” in order to get the information.
  • Aim for a time of 20-30 minutes, to hold their attention.
  • Include calls to action; ask participants to contact you to set an appointment, provide a link to your website, or provide a scheduling link where they can immediately book a convenient time to meet with you.
  • Remind your audience that you can delve into the topic further and answer their specific questions one-on-one.

 

Step Two: Build a Registration Page (landing page)

Your audience will want detailed information about your video or webinar before they sign up for it. This registration page should provide reasons why they should watch your presentation. Explain what they will learn and how it will benefit them. At times it might be more appropriate to call your presentation an “online workshop” or “video course” rather than a “webinar”, if you feel that the terminology would appeal better to your desired audience .

 

Step Three: Integrate Email Software Into Your Registration Page

Email software, such as Active Campaign, allows you to automate an email drip campaign that initiates immediately after someone registers to watch your presentation.  This is a critical step because more often than not, attendees will need to be nurtured and require multiple touches before they convert.

It is often said that the strength of your online marketing lies in the size of your list.  This strategy helps you to build your list and will serve you well as your business continues to grow.

 

Step Four: Create Your Email Messages

Use your email software from Step Three to create a series of emails based on your presentation material.  These should be informative and educational in nature. Embedded videos, while not absolutely necessary, will boost your view and response rate.

These emails should have subtle calls-to-action and follow up offers, but they must provide education and value to the recipients. Schedule them to be delivered about every 2-3 days for a minimum of 4-6 weeks, after which you can add the recipients to a longer-term campaign, such as a monthly email newsletter.

 

Step Five: Use Paid Social Media Ads to Drive Traffic

A simple ad budget of $10-20 per day is usually sufficient to get the word out to existing clients, prospects, and referral partners. Facebook, LinkedIn and other platforms offer you the ability to select your demographics, so you can typically reach the right audience for your presentation with a well-worded ad and the proper ad setup.

 

This strategy ties together both lead generation and lead nurturing, so that you first attract interested parties to the top of your sales funnel and then progress them toward the bottom. For more information geared toward your specific business and industry, contact us and we can provide examples of how this type of sales funnel can work for you.