If you have spent any time online lately, especially in the internet marketing niche, you have probably heard a lot of buzz going around about sales funnels, and with good reason.
So, What Is A Sales Funnel?
A sales funnel is a series of steps that you take your prospects or customers through while they are online. There are several different types of sales funnels. For example:
- Opt-in Sales
- Affiliate Marketing Bridge
- Network Marketing Bridge
- Fishbowl (Local Businesses)
- Webinar
- Automated Webinar
- Product Launch
- Real Stuff (E-Commerce)
- Best Selling Book Funnel
- And more
What Are You Trying To Accomplish?
The type of sales funnel you use really depends on the type of business you have and what you are trying to accomplish. For example, if you are trying to get people to join an email list, you would direct them to an “Opt-In Funnel.” If you are trying to introduce them to an affiliate business or a network marketing business, you would use a “Bridge Funnel.”
If you are trying to promote local business, you would use a “Fishbowl Funnel.” When trying to get people to sign up for a live webinar, you would use the “Webinar Funnel.” To get prospects to watch a recorded webinar, you would use the “Automated Webinar Funnel.”
Right before launching a brand new product, you would use the “Product Launch Funnel.” In situations where you are selling physical products, such as through Amazon, Shopify, or e-Bay, you would use the “Real Stuff” funnel. Do you have a book for sale? Use the “Best Selling Book Funnel.” And most importantly, when trying to get potential customers to purchase something, you would use a regular “Sales Funnel.”
No Matter What Type Of Business You Have …..
There Is A Funnel For You!
So, what is the difference between sending people through a sales funnel and sending them to your website? If you send people to your website, they may or may not find what they are looking for. But with a sales funnel, you are directing them to exactly what they are looking for at that exact moment. Most funnels, other than direct sales funnels, will usually offer people something for free to introduce them into their business.
This is otherwise known as the “bait.” The purpose of the bait is to provide free value, have the opportunity to introduce your business to them, build trust and build relationships. Once you have a person inside of a sales funnel, at that point you can take them up something called the “Value Ladder,” where you would give them more choices. Those choices will cost more money, but at the same time, offer more value. Whenever you go up in price, this is commonly known as the “upsell.” Whenever you offer something lower in price, this is known as the “downsell.”
The Main Goal Of A Sales Funnel
The main goal of a sales funnel is to get people on to your email list. Once they are on your email list, you have the opportunity to sell to them over and over again.
You also have the opportunity to build and ascend your relationship with them. They will have the opportunity to get to know you, and the idea is for them to begin to know, like and trust you. As your list begins to grow, you now “own” this internet traffic, making your business much more valuable and effective.
Following Your Prospects
Savvy marketers will place something called “pixels” on each step of the sales process, tracking how far the prospect made it through the “funnel.” Pixels are a way that a marketer and begin to “retarget” those prospects.
For example, if a prospect has made it so far through the process but never did purchase anything, at that point, they will begin to see the same ad appearing to them everywhere they go, after they have left your site.
If the prospect actually buys something, this gives the marketer the opportunity to “follow” them with more ads, but this time having the opportunity to sell them something different. So it works something like this – you place an ad, either on social media or through paid advertising.
Then you would direct the prospect to a “Landing Page” that will pique their curiosity, offer them something of value for free, capture their attention and get them to “take action” and “opt-in.” The “Landing Page” is also known as the “Squeeze Page,” or the “Opt-In Page.”
How Times Have Changed
Not too long ago, people were paying literally thousands of dollars to an expensive web designer to build these sales funnels for them. But today, thanks to some of the latest developments in internet marketing software, you can now create your own beautiful, professional looking landing pages for a much more affordable price.
Likewise, not too long ago, those who could not afford to hire expensive designers were attempting to build their own sales funnels through something called HTML editors.
The problem with this method is that it is extremely time-consuming because HTML editors do not always cooperate (or act right) and it is very difficult to get the landing pages and other pages of the funnel to “look right.”
The good news is that within the last three years, a new software came along that will help you create beautiful, professional sales funnels within an hour at a very affordable price! Sales funnels will often (but not always) lead people to a purchase page, where they can actually purchase one or more products.
The idea is to “break even” on the ad campaign, and then earn money on them later in the process. Once you have people on your list, you know longer need to spend money to advertise to those people. At that point, all you need to do is send them other offers through the email, as well as educational, informative and entertaining emails.
What The Top Successful Internet Marketers Are Doing
This is exactly what all of the top and most successful marketers have been doing. To learn more, get your free copy of this book: Dot Com Secrets.
They have been drawing people into their businesses with free valuable content. But also by building up trust and relationships, and then selling to those same people over and over again. Those who send people straight to an offer or affiliate link miss this valuable opportunity. For that reason, it is much more difficult to turn a profit.
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