Most businesses begin their online journey with a simple requirement – get more leads! This wonderful idea leads to the invention of some incentive to get customers to click a business’s ads, social media posts, or organic search results. Those clicks should take the customers to a thoughtfully built landing page, where you hope they’ll purchase your product, sign up for your email blasts, or at the very least enter their contact information so your company can send them emails or give them a call.
But how to get the customer from the landing page to your intended result? Whether you’re collecting lead information or trying to sell a service or product, the best way to take a customer from point A to point B is to utilize a sales funnel. Sales funnels simplify the process for everyone, and give you more chances to gather better information, or even make a bigger sale.
What is a Sales Funnel?
A sales funnel is the course built for customers in order to achieve your desired goal. It can be used to collect lead information, such as names, emails, and phone numbers, or may invite customers to join your e-mail blasts or download some form of content from your website. You can also use it for a normal sales process, upselling to the customer while leading them to the product or information they are searching for.
How Does a Sales Funnel Work?
The face of any good sales funnel is an ad, post, or link that interests the customer. After that initial attraction, they should be sent to a landing page that is related to the link that was clicked on.
Ideally, the landing page will start out with a strong headline that reflects the customer’s initial interest, reinforcing that this is exactly what the customer was looking for. For instance, if you are wanting a customer to exchange their name and e-mail address for a downloadable guide, your headline may inform the customer that the guide is right here, and may include a photo of the cover or a short synopsis of what to expect in the guide.
Once the initial information has been collected, the customer will then be led to another page offering further information, inviting them to continue through the rest of the process. The next step can collect more information, then press the customer to a page where you have the opportunity to offer an upsell. For example, the customer may have come for a free guide, but what if they subscribed to your website for exclusive content with their paid membership? You can increase a customer’s interest by offering discounted rates, bonus materials, or other incentive that will not be available outside of this one-time offer.
At this point, your customer can go one of two ways: Accept your offer, or reject it. Accepting it is, of course, preferred. In that case, they’ll be sent to a page thanking them and then emailing them a link to access the material or information they were searching for in the first place. The sales funnel closes, and everyone is happy with the results.
In the case of rejection, treat your sales funnel just like any other sales process – a counter-offer (sometimes called a splinter offer)! Just because the customer doesn’t want the $10 a month offer doesn’t mean they won’t take the $2 a month one. Downselling your upsell can still be a lucrative chance at collecting a new potential customer. Should the customer still reject the offer, they are then shown the thank you page and allowed to take their free content from there.
Should I Use a Sales Funnel?
The answer is a resounding yes! Using a sales funnel is a great way to show your customers exactly what they’re looking for while also allowing you to showcase your business. It’s a process that does the work for you and gives you more control over a customer’s flow from the landing page to your goal. You’ll also be able to see what works, what doesn’t work, and other data that will help you with further advertising efforts.
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