What Is a Sales Funnel and Does Your Business Need One?

Hey guys! This is going to be a two-part post as there’s a lot to talk about when it comes to sales funnels. Be sure to read this one first if you’re new to sales funnels and then hop over here when you’re done!

Remember the days when businesses existed solely in brick-and-mortar buildings and you actively had to sell yourself, your products, or your services face-to-face or voice-to-voice? The Internet has changed all of that.

These days, we can sell to people through a variety of digital channels — the most important of which is the website.

But did you know that websites can become even more powerful sales tools for businesses with the addition of something called a sales funnel?

In this guide to sales funnels, I’m going to introduce you to what they are and why they’re so beneficial for generating leads and revenue for your business.

What Is a Sales Funnel?

Sales funnels are a lot like funnels you’d use in the real world. However, unlike those funnels where the aim is to slowly and steadily pour something through a funnel into a container, a sales funnel works both as a funnel and sifter.

The ultimate goal of a sales funnel is to:

• Get as many leads to enter the funnel as possible.
• Keep prospective clients from making it to the bottom who aren’t ready for your services or are a bad fit for them.
• Steadily push the rest through it until they reach the funnel’s opening.

There are four key stages of a sales funnel that enable you to do this:

Stage 1: Awareness

You receive hundreds to thousands of visitors to your website each day. There’s a lot of potential here to turn them into paying clients, but you have to first get visitors to actually enter your funnel.

To do this, you’re going to introduce them to a valuable solution.

If you’re brand new to the space, it might be a good idea to offer something for free. Like a downloadable checklist or 15-minute video tutorial. In return, you’ll get their email address.

That said, if you’re well-established and know it’ll be easy to sell people on your products or services if only you can make them aware that they exist, then you can go bigger. These are what we call high-ticket sales funnels. With these, you’ll give away something like a webinar, introductory program, or a DIY blueprint in exchange for a nominal fee.

 

Stage 2: Interest

You’re going to use their email address or social media (if they shared it with you) to build a relationship with your leads.

You’ll “drip” out messages at a steady pace to keep their interest piqued in what you have to share. Storytelling and copywriting are going to be your best friends here.

Just remember that this isn’t about pitching your services or products every time you connect with your leads. This is about making meaningful engagements and continuing to give them information that makes their lives better and the impending decision they have to make easier.

Stage 3: Decision

To help prospects make up their minds to work with you (or, at the very least, sign up for a discovery call), you need to give them a good reason to do so.

You’ve done the work to build trust and authority. Now’s the time to strike.

At this stage, you might use social media to serve them a retargeted ad with a personalized offer that reminds them of what they originally found on your site. Or you could send them an email that lures them back to your website — and a custom-made sales landing page — with a deal so good they can’t help but bite.

 

Stage 4: Action

This is the final part of the funnel where prospects take action (i.e. they take the final 

step and becoming a paying client).

The easier you make this for them to do through your website — whether it be signing up for discovery call, booking a paid appointment, or buying your product/service outright — the more of these highly qualified prospects are going to convert. So, make sure you have landing pages that look amazing, forms that work, and tools that simplify the whole process for your clients as well as yourself.

Want to see examples of how to build a profitable sales funnel? Prepare to have your mind blown.

Why Do You Need a Sales Funnel?

You might be thinking this sounds like a lot of work. It is… but only when you first create the sales funnel. That’s the beauty of this whole thing. Build it once and then you can sit back and watch the leads and clients roll in.

There are other reasons why you need a sales funnel, too:

• It allows you to start the customer experience off on the right foot (by providing a ton of value for free).
• You’ll automate a lot of the sales work you’d otherwise do, so you can focus on building customer relationships instead of actively selling every day.
• Sales funnels get you better quality leads (since you’ve done such a good job educating them this far) which means more money for you.
• Sales funnels lead to seriously fast business growth.

Sounds awesome, right? Well, I’ve got good news for you.

I’m working on a new funnel formula program for coaches, fitness trainers, and wellness professionals. When you sign up, you’ll get access to all the tools and strategies you need to use sales funnels to grow your business.

If you’d like to join the launch list,

Sign up here