What is a Sales Funnel?
For an online entrepreneur, a sales funnel is probably the most important marketing tool you have. And yet many entrepreneurs – both new and established – have no clear understanding of what a funnel is or how it works.
As you can imagine, failing to fully understand this critical part of your business means fewer sales, lower profits, and ultimately, an unstable business. My intent with this post is to demystify the sales funnel process and purpose.
A Simple Sales Funnel
At its most basic, a sales funnel consists of free content, which typically requires nothing of your readers. Many sales funnels begin with blog posts, YouTube videos, Facebook content, short reports, and other information readers may access at no cost. This is the “top” of your funnel.
Next, you’ll have an attractive offer that requires a very small “payment” of sorts, which is typically a first name and an email address. You’ve seen this type of offer on websites all over the internet, and probably even signed up for some. This is the free eBook or guide, short report, video series, checklist, workbook, or other valuable content that is available in exchange for “opting in” to an email list.
Once on your mailing list, you’ll then present your readers with a series of low-cost offers. Perhaps you have a low-priced eBook or a trial membership.
Customers who purchase your low-priced product move further down the funnel, and are presented with more, higher priced products. As they continue to buy, they move closer and closer to your top-end offers, which make up the bottom of your funnel.
How Your Sales Funnel Works
If you imagine your funnel as looking like, well, a funnel, it’s easy to see that your free content—at the top—is consumed by the largest number of readers. Below that, your extreme low-cost item (available only for the cost of an email address) attracts a smaller subset of the true freebie seekers. Next, your low-priced products bring in yet a smaller group.
Finally, as you near the tip of the funnel, only the loyalest of fans and customers will purchase your highest priced offers.
Your job, as the business owner, is to ensure that your funnel leads buyers naturally from the top, free offers all the way to the bottom. The more buyers you can keep in your funnel, the more money you will make.
Most new—and even established—business owners can easily envision the top of the funnel, but if you truly want your business to grow, you must master the entire process, and that starts with understanding what a funnel really is and how it works. Now let’s get more advanced and I will share what works in the real world…
Flipping the Sales Funnel!
I am going contrarian here when I tell you that the key to earning more income is to flip your sales funnel and allow people to enter your world at any place they desire. The idea of forcing prospects through the various steps and stages is ludicrous and totally absurd! Make it simple for people to jump the line and come in wherever fits best for their needs. I have done this for more than a decade and will tell you that it is quite effective in serving people. What are your thoughts on this?
I’m author and online marketing strategist Connie Ragen Green. I work with entrepreneurs to create multiple streams of online income and would love to connect with you.
Pick up my Online Entrepreneur’s Blueprint and get started right away.
Leave a Reply