Sales Funnels for Beginners: How To Build A Sales Funnel & Increase Profits

Summary

This video simplifies the concept of sales funnels for beginners. Sherman from Life Marketing explains how a sales funnel guides customers through a journey from awareness to purchase, emphasizing the importance of having a predictable process to increase sales. He discusses common misconceptions, breaks down different funnel stages (awareness, engagement, conversion, and advocacy), and provides examples of effective funnels. Sherman also offers practical tips for customizing funnels based on business type, pricing, and sales cycle, stressing that a well-structured funnel is crucial for growing and scaling any business.

Takeaways

• 😀 A sales funnel is the journey a customer takes to purchase your products or services, helping businesses turn potential leads into paying customers.
• 📊 Sales funnels consist of several stages: Awareness, Engagement, Conversion, and Advocacy, all of which help guide customers down the funnel.
• 💡 Relying only on word-of-mouth or referrals without a sales funnel creates an unpredictable and risky way to generate consistent sales.
• 📈 The more people in your funnel, the higher the chances of converting leads into customers, as only a small percentage of people at the top will buy.
• 🔑 Engagement through valuable content, such as blogs and videos, builds trust and credibility, increasing the likelihood of conversions.
• 🚀 Conversion happens when engaged users, often influenced by email marketing and retargeting ads, are ready to make a purchase.
• 📧 Email marketing and retargeting ads are crucial to keep customers engaged throughout the funnel and encourage conversions.
• ⚖️ The steps and methods in a sales funnel vary based on business type, product pricing, and the length of the sales cycle.
• 🔨 Building a sales funnel requires mapping it out, creating landing pages, producing content, and driving traffic to these resources.
• 📢 Traffic generation through SEO, social media, and digital ads is essential for bringing enough people into your funnel to increase sales.

Q & A

What is a sales funnel?

A sales funnel is the journey a customer takes from becoming aware of your product or service to ultimately making a purchase. It typically has stages that help guide customers through the buying process.

Why is a sales funnel important for a business?

A sales funnel is crucial because it provides a predictable system to generate and convert leads into sales. Without a sales funnel, businesses may rely on word-of-mouth or luck, which can be unpredictable and risky for growth.

What are the four basic steps inside a sales funnel?

The four basic steps in a sales funnel are awareness, engagement, conversion, and advocacy. These stages help guide potential customers from first learning about a business to becoming loyal advocates of the brand.

Why is the funnel wide at the top and narrow at the bottom?

The funnel is wide at the top because many people will initially become aware of your business, but only a small percentage will eventually make a purchase. The narrowing reflects the decrease in the number of people as they move through the stages of the funnel.

What methods can be used to increase awareness in a sales funnel?

Awareness can be increased through digital marketing activities such as SEO, content marketing, and digital advertising. These methods help get your business in front of potential customers.

How can engagement be built with potential customers?

Engagement can be built by providing value to potential customers through content creation, such as videos, blogs, webinars, and other forms of helpful information. Engagement helps build trust and credibility.

What is an example of a sales funnel that successfully converted the speaker?

The speaker was converted through a sales funnel by Andrew Argue. It started with a Facebook ad leading to a landing page, followed by free training, an application for a program, and a scheduled call. Although the speaker didn’t initially purchase, persistent retargeting and email marketing led to two purchases after two years.

How does the cost of a product influence the structure of a sales funnel?

Typically, the more expensive a product or service is, the more value needs to be provided in the funnel. This could mean more steps, such as educational content, trust-building, and nurturing leads over time, to justify the purchase.

What tools can be used to map out and create a sales funnel?

Tools like Funalytics can be used to map out the sales funnel steps. For creating landing pages, popular tools include Leadpages, ClickFunnels, and Kartra. These tools help design and manage the funnel process.

What is the role of email marketing in a sales funnel?

Email marketing plays a significant role in the engagement and conversion stages of a sales funnel. It helps keep leads engaged, build trust, and move them down the funnel by providing valuable content and offers.