{"id":4274,"date":"2017-01-24T10:24:32","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T15:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.moneyjournal.com\/?p=4274"},"modified":"2017-01-23T17:42:30","modified_gmt":"2017-01-23T22:42:30","slug":"sales-funnel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moneyjournal.com\/sales-funnel\/","title":{"rendered":"Sales Funnels: Master Each Stage To Maximize Revenue"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you run an online business, then building and optimizing an effective sales funnel is not a “suggestion” or a “good idea”.<\/p>\n

It is an imperative part of achieving business growth with a streamlined and repeatable process.<\/p>\n

With a properly built sales funnel in place, you will be able to regularly attract new clients\u00a0and ensure that your company’s income increases every single year.<\/p>\n

Without one, your company has little hope of surviving the competitive world of 21st-century business.<\/p>\n

Luckily, the process for creating and tweaking a fully functioning sales funnel is much simpler than most people think. And today, I’m going to walk you through the\u00a0sales funnel stages and provide optimization tips so you can maximize your\u00a0revenue.<\/p>\n

What is a Sales Funnel?<\/span><\/h2>\n

A sales funnel is a business’ way to guide people through the buying process towards their products and services.<\/p>\n

For many of you, the thought of having a proven\u00a0system\u00a0<\/em>that will allow you to consistently attract new customers and increase your revenue seems outlandish at best, and downright scammy at worst.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, there actually is\u00a0<\/em>a simple formula that nearly every successful online businessman and marketer in the past two decades has followed to\u00a0transform their businesses and achieve their goals. <\/span><\/p>\n

Although the variables of the formula will vary from business to business, the general process and core concepts remain identical. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

To put the process in Layman\u2019s terms. <\/span><\/p>\n

Creating awareness + generating leads + qualifying leads + converting leads = sales.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

If you are confused about how these steps work, don\u2019t worry. <\/span><\/p>\n

In this article, I am going to explain exactly how you can set up a fully armed and operational sales funnel in record time. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s begin. <\/span><\/p>\n

The 6 Sales Funnel\u00a0Stages<\/span><\/h2>\n

In order to master the stages of the sales funnel, you need to have a clear understanding of each phase.<\/p>\n

As you master a\u00a0data-driven approach to selling and qualifying leads, you can easily fill your sales pipeline with prospects who are sales-ready.<\/p>\n

Stage 1: Marketing and Branding <\/b><\/p>\n

The first stage of the sales funnel is also the most challenging. <\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike the later phases of the process, marketing and branding require\u00a0a significant amount of work up front without <\/span>any <\/span><\/i>immediate results. <\/span><\/p>\n

And even though each stage is important in its own right, great marketing is the foundation of all great sales funnels. <\/span><\/p>\n

You can\u2019t have a sales funnel without first generating interest and building an audience through targeted marketing campaigns. <\/span><\/p>\n

But how exactly do you do this?<\/span><\/p>\n

By creating content that your ideal customers <\/span>need <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>want. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Although the delivery system (e.g. video, blogging, or podcasting) will depend on your personal talents and your audience\u2019s preferences, what you are delivering will be the same. <\/span><\/p>\n

Massive, colossal, monumental value.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether you are publishing podcasts with industry leaders, 20-minute daily videos, or 2,000+ word guides, the only way to succeed with the following 5 steps is to first become a master at delivering value to your audience. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is a requirement to attract viewers, build trust, and create customers for life. <\/span><\/p>\n

Stage 2: Lead Generation <\/b><\/p>\n

Once you have consistent traffic flowing to your website, it is time to turn those new audience members into purchase-ready leads. <\/span><\/p>\n

How?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

By creating a lead magnet.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The key to generating leads online is to offer your audience premium content in exchange for their contact info. <\/span><\/p>\n

For example, here are two lead magnets that I use for Money Journal to generate new leads every day.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

While this might sound simple enough, there are a few key points to remember so that you can maximize your lead generating potential. <\/span><\/p>\n

First and foremost, you must realize that you can never <\/span>assume <\/span><\/i>you know what your audience wants. <\/span><\/p>\n

The only way to be certain is to ask them. <\/span><\/p>\n

So before you go through the effort of researching, creating (or outsourcing) and polishing your new lead magnet, take a few weeks to actually figure out what your audience <\/span>really <\/span><\/i>needs. <\/span><\/p>\n

Use services like Qualaroo and poll visitors on your website, send out email surveys, or engage your social media following and request their feedback.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Once you have surveyed your audience and found a need that you can satisfy, the next step is to determine how you are going to deliver your lead magnet. <\/span><\/p>\n

While an ebook might be the cliche \u201cclassic\u201d that most internet marketers turn to, your audience might prefer an audio lesson, intensive video course, or even a product sample. <\/span><\/p>\n

Analyze your KPIs across your different content channels to figure out what style of content your audience prefers <\/span>before <\/span><\/i>you start creating your lead magnet. <\/span><\/p>\n

And finally, with your research completed, it\u2019s time to deliver 10X the value that your new leads are expecting. <\/span><\/p>\n

Your lead magnet is your audience\u2019s first impression of your product quality and will, in large part, determine whether leads convert during the later stages of the funnel. <\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, it is crucial that you deliver above and beyond what any reasonable person would expect of you. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you quote your lead magnet at a $19 value, then you should be delivering at a $97 value. <\/span><\/p>\n

No exceptions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are a few examples of incredible lead magnets to get your creative juices flowing.<\/p>\n

Here’s Digital Marketer’s lead magnet that generated over 35,000 leads in only 60 days!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And here’s one from Hubspot.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If you want to go beyond a single sitewide lead magnet, you can use content upgrades<\/a>\u00a0to capture more leads in every blog post you write.<\/p>\n

Stage 3: Lead Qualification<\/b><\/p>\n

If you follow the first two steps of this process consistently, you will be able to generate a significant number of leads who are interested in becoming customers. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, only a small fraction of the interested leads are actually qualified to become paying customers. <\/span><\/p>\n

So how do you separate out the conversion ready prospects from the energy vampires?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The first step is to clearly define <\/span>what <\/span><\/i>a qualified lead is. Here are some questions to ask yourself:<\/span><\/p>\n