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Sales Funnel vs. Sales System

It can be confusing.

You've finally got a grasp on what a “Sales Funnel” is – it converts a member of your target audience into a paying customer …

sales funnel

… and it makes sense.

You start with advertising to a large number of people and through the rapport building stage some people “fall out” because they're not interested, not looking to buy, don't care, etc.

Eventually you're left with a handful of people that want to buy your product or service and the “shape” of the flow looks like a funnel.

But then, you're told that something that looks like this is a sales funnel too:

Email Marketing Strategy for eCommerce - sized

What?!?!?

It looks nothing like a funnel … it looks like some kind of crazy flow chart!

They're All Sales Funnels

The crazy looking flow chart thing is what the inside of a sales funnel looks like.

It's basically the “engine” or “system.”

Through that whole process, you're going to bring people in, you're going to build a relationship – some people are going to “fall out”, some people are going to buy, and some people are going to become repeat customers.

Picture it like this:

Sales Funnel vs Sales System

So, whether you hear sales funnel, sales system, automated sales system, or email marketing plan … they're all referring to the same concept.

Hopefully that clarifies things for you and helps you move forward with the implementation of a sales funnel for your business!

Sales Funnel vs. Sales System2016-10-14T18:29:26+00:00

The True Cost Of NOT Having A Sales Funnel

How Much Money Are You Missing Out On?

See Calculator Formulas

The Point

Sure. The above calculator is a bit ambiguous and vague; however, it proves my point – the worst thing you can do is NOT have a sales funnel.

It doesn't matter whether your sales funnel sucks or is freakin' awesome … by not having one, you're missing out on “easy” money.

The Sales Funnel Flow

The sales funnel concept is quite simple:

  • Convert a visitor into a lead by collecting contact information
  • Convert the lead into a customer by selling them a product or a service
  • Multiply the lifetime value of a customer by offering complementary and/or “bigger” products and/or services

Pretty simple, right?

Oh yeah … it's also automated.

Then Why Don't You Have One?

I Don't Think It'll Work For My Business

Baloney!

I cannot think of one type of business that couldn't use a sales funnel. Everything from B2B to B2C to Charities to Churches to Education. If you have something to sell – products, services, ideas … anything … and you have an audience to sell them to … you need a sales funnel.

Unsure? Ask me.

It Seems Too Complicated

Fortunately – the concept isn't too complicated: convert visitor to lead, lead to customer, and turn the customer into a repeat customer … mainly with automation – ie. email autoresponders.

There are even many types of blueprints or plans to follow. For example: Ecommerce, Digital Products, and Brick & Mortar.

However, I'll be honest with you – there are a lot of technical steps in creating a sales funnel. You need to understand email marketing, opt-in forms, landing pages, advertising, conversion tracking, and more.

Of course, there are several tools that make these tasks easier like LeadPages and ClickFunnels. However, you still have to learn how to use those tools … so, they are not the “end-all-be-all”. But, they can help.

The good news is that everything can be learned. Heck, I've done it … why can't you?

It Seems Too Expensive

Downright wrong.

A sales funnel is what I like to call a “force multiplier” … forgive my military jargon … it's embedded in my day-to-day lingo.

According to Wikipedia, “A force multiplier refers to a factor that dramatically increases (hence “multiplies”) the effectiveness of an item or group. Some common force multipliers are: Strategy. Technology. Tactics.”

In layman's terms – a sales funnel is going to more than pay for itself.

It's an investment with a great rate of return.

I Don't Have The Time

Yes. If you choose to go at it alone – it's going to take time to learn, understand, figure out, and experience.

But, it'll also be something that can help you for the rest of your life.

Or … of course, there are people that will do the work for you … like us 😉 [checkout our sales funnel service].

Or … you can have one of your employees take courses and learn how to do it and they'll be your “sales funnel guy.”

Or … there are other businesses like Crazy Eye Marketing that build sales funnels for clients.

Simply put. Maybe you don't personally have the time do figure it all out yourself; however, since a sales funnel is an investment that will bring you more money … you will have the money to pay someone else to build one for you.

I Don't Know What To Give People

KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid.

People are people.

And … what do people like? Things that help them and things that are entertaining.

How do you apply this to your sales funnel?

Simple, follow the 3 Es: Educate, Entertain, Earn.

Send one email that educates the subscriber on the topic of the product/service you sell.

Send one email that then entertains your subscriber on what you just educated them about.

Send one email that sells (earn) your product/service that “fills the gap” on what you just educated and entertained the subscriber about.

There are videos, testimonials, case studies, podcasts, blogs, pictures, info-graphics …. there's sooooo much stuff. Heck, there's 300 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute of every day [source].

Surely something out there will educate and/or entertain your subscribers.

Even if it's not your content … but it will help your subscribers … share it.

Simple.

In Closing

Even a bad sales funnel is better than no sales funnel at all and there are literally zero excuses not to implement a sales funnel for your business.

It's going to more than pay for itself, it's not too complicated and it doesn't take that much time … especially if someone else does it for you, and there's more than enough content to give subscribers. Even if you think you have nothing to share.

Are you ready to start building sales funnels? Checkout The Sales Funnel Training Vault!

The True Cost Of NOT Having A Sales Funnel2016-11-17T15:45:59+00:00

Email Marketing Strategy For Brick & Mortar Stores

While this strategy works well … there's now a “smarter” version I recommend you checkout by clicking here.

In this post I layout an email marketing blueprint for nearly any Brick & Mortar store to follow.

Let's get into it!

Brick & Mortar Email Marketing Blueprint

Brick & Mortar Email Marketing Blueprint

We will build this type of email series for you! Click here for more info!

1st Step

The very first step is to “categorize” your customers into a few broad categories.

This categorization is accomplished by following the 3Ps: People, Products, and Problems.

  • People: Demographics, interests, hobbies, etc. (age, gender, religion, marital status, job title, etc.) Who comes to your store.
  • Products: The products/services you offer. What people come to your store to buy.
  • Problems: The problems your products/services solve. Why people come to your store.

For example, let's pretend you run a pet grooming business with grooming services for both cats and dogs. You can segment your customers into 3 categories: cat owners, dog owners, cat and dog owners.

Why? Well, cat owners don't care about the same things dog owners care about and vice-versa. And people that own both, care about both.

The point is, you want to capture everyone and try to fit them into a category so you can send more relevant content to those individuals.

Lead Magnet

The Lead Magnet is the “free gift” you give to someone in order to entice them into joining your email list. (I know, some people don't like how “entice” sounds because they think it sounds like “trick”. I'm not saying that at all – never, ever, trick someone into joining your email list. Businesses “entice” people all the time with sales, new products, limited availability, etc. – which is what I'm referring to.)

A great Lead Magnet for a Brick and Mortar store is a coupon. A coupon is great for two reasons – people like them and are willing to share their email address in exchange for one, and they drive sales … the only way to take advantage of a coupon is to buy something.

Otherwise, I've already written plenty about Lead Magnets here.

Welcome Series

The Welcome Series is the email series that delivers the Lead Magnet and also introduces your business to the newly subscribed individual.

There are two purposes to this email series: establish a relationship and to segment.

Also note, segmentation can occur before the Welcome Series even starts. For example, on the signup form you can ask them for their email, and what type of pet they have – cat, dog, or both. It's a simple, easy to answer question – but, it allows you to immediately segment. In turn, you are more relevant to individuals.

It can introduce …

  • Picture(s) of your business and/or workforce and/or you
  • Facts about your business
  • The community you support
  • Your social media accounts
  • Top products your business offers
  • Top posts on your blog
  • Testimonials

It can also ask for any questions the new lead may have – which can be a great conversation starter if you sell a more complicated product or service.

The point is to introduce people to you and your business and for them to become comfortable with what you all do.

And, if you didn't segment via the signup form, the Welcome Series helps with segmentation by “watching” how people behave.

What are their interests? What are they clicking on in your emails? How are they behaving?

Grab a Pre-Written Welcome Series Template from The Vault!

Example

The lead receives a “top blog articles” email. The purpose of this email not only serves to introduce the lead to your content, but also to segment the lead based on which article they click on.

Back to our example, we have three categories: cats, dogs, or both.

If the lead clicks on the dog blog article – we now know that they have an interest in dogs and we can segment them as such.

3 E Series

The 3 E Series are all about building and maintaining a relationship with your leads and customers, while simultaneously spurring action.

Depending on your business model, these email series can be incredibly long (100+ emails), span years, and be truly massive. Of course, they don't start this way, but are built over time – a good starting point is around 7-10 emails.

So, what are the Es and what do they mean?

  1. Entertain: These emails are meant to entertain. Videos, pictures, stories, etc provide great entertainment.
  2. Educate: Helpful emails that solve problems, answer questions, and provide guidance.
  3. Earn: These emails drive sales by bringing customers back to your business.

Ultimately, your 3 E Series is continuous. Maintaining the relationship through entertaining and educational emails, while also driving people back to your store by offering different promotions, sending reminders, sharing events, etc.

Example

Let's pretend someone joined our list and has been self-segmented (did it on the signup form) as an individual who has a dog:

Entertain

We can send them this video with a subject line: How I felt this morning

Sure, it's not “our” video, but it's cute, funny, entertaining, and relatable. (BONUS: if you can make a similar video … do that so it's kept “in house”!)

Educate

We can send them this article with a subject line: Dog have mats?

We can also include the steps in the email and give our own professional twist on the subject. And, like the video above … if you can write your own content … do that so it's all kept “in house”!

Earn

We can send a coupon for a 10% off dog grooming. Or a nail trimming, or anything similar to that. The goal is to drive people back to the store.

Mini Action Series

A Mini Action Series is an automatic follow-up to an action someone takes … that spurs even more action!

For example, the link we included in our “Educate” email about how to brush mats out of dog hair could have a Mini Action Series tied to it.

So, if someone clicks the link, we know they're interested in removing mats out of their dog's hair … so, we can send them a special promotion on “dog hair mat removal” or an email recommending a great brush we sell for removing mats. Something that spurs follow on action related to the action the individual just took.

Broadcast Emails

These emails are not in a series.

They're “one-of-a-kind” emails, sent once.

Think of a monthly newsletter.

Or maybe a weekly update.

Or even a one-time promotion or event.

Something along those lines.

They're simply “real time” emails that help keep in contact with your leads and customers.

Conclusion

Email marketing isn't just for Ecommerce or online stores, but ALL types of businesses that want to build and maintain relationships while driving sales.

Above I outlined a proven email marketing strategy for Brick & Mortar stores that automatically increases the lifetime value of their customers.

All that's left to do is implement it … which … by the way … we'll do for you!

Email Marketing Strategy For Brick & Mortar Stores2016-10-14T18:29:28+00:00

What Is A Sales Funnel?

In it's simplest form – a sales funnel is what converts individuals into customers.

How is this done?

If you picture a funnel, the top is very wide – and this represents the start of the funnel. The idea is to cast a wide net through various forms of advertising targeted towards what the business believes is ideal customers … whether social media, content marketing, PPC, direct mail, phone calls, etc

Some folks will be “captured” and continue down the funnel, while others will “fall out” … hence the narrowing of the funnel. What do I mean by captured? Normally, this means an email address; however, it can also reference mailing info, phone info, social media info, etc. Basically, a way to keep in touch with what is now called a lead or a prospect.

Up next comes “lead nurturing”. This is where the business attempts to form a relationship with the lead by sharing relevant information, keeping in touch, answering/asking questions, etc. Sometimes, even … this can mean taking the lead out to dinner or sending them on vacation.

For example, my parents just got a new investment guy … and since my parents are at retirement age, they're worth a fair amount to an investment guy, so it's worth that individual to take my parents out to eat, send them on little trips in order to try and “win” them over. So, those meals were part of that guys sales funnel. And, I don't know free food and trips was what did the trick; however, my parents went with him.

My point is, a sales funnel can go beyond simply sending people a bunch of emails.

After the lead has been nurtured, it's time to close the sale – turning the lead into a paying customer.

Most of your “typical” sales funnel definitions end there; however, I do want to take this sales funnel definition a step further because, it's not over once you make one sale. You now have a paying customer, who has enough trust in your business to give it money. Now, you need to keep them happy. Keep them comfortable. Keep them informed. And, of course, sell them more products and services!

Don't forget that … there's a life after the traditional sales funnel, and someone is going to need to maintain that aspect. And, typically, it's value is worth way more than the initial sales funnel.

What Is A Sales Funnel?2016-10-14T18:29:36+00:00

What is the value of email marketing?

For the most part, you get out what you put into it.

It also depends on your business model.

For eCommerce stores, email marketing (if done well) can “easily” double sales … pretty much, automatically.

There are upsell emails to get people to buy more. Cart abandonment emails that remind people to finish their order. Promotional emails that drive sales. And more. It's insane how much email marketing can increase an eCommerce stores revenue.

For B2B, it may be a little different; however, the customers may be bigger. What if one customer was worth $10k/mo? And if your email marketing efforts only resulted in 1 new customer a month … would it still be worth doing?

Let's take it down a notch. Maybe you only sell $50 products, and by implementing email marketing, you're able to sell 10% more a month. Would it be worth doing?

Some other benefits that increase the value of email marketing are that it's fairly inexpensive, can be highly automated and hands off, and it's easy to get started.

Plus, there's the “value” of being able to converse, 1 on 1, with your leads and customers. Having direct communications with these individuals is invaluable to a business.

Needless to say, it's very hard to place a distinct “value” on email marketing efforts in general. There needs to be some context; however, 99.99% of the time, the value of email marketing will far outweigh the cost that goes into implementing it.

What is the value of email marketing?2015-09-24T12:36:03+00:00

How does email marketing work?

It's almost like direct mail and/or sending a print newsletter – as long as the person on the receiving end ASKED to receive that content.

For example, blindly sending 100 letters to different households in an attempt to get a response … is generally how direct mail is performed. However, with email marketing, 100 people will have actually given you their email address … wanting to hear from you.

So, email marketing is similar to direct mail in that you're sending an email/letter straight to their inbox … the difference is that email marketing is more permission based.

So, if you think of email marketing like that … the next logical step would be to get a list of email addresses.

And, before getting into that … you will want to pickup an email service provider (ESP) that will be able to keep track, organize, and automate your emails. I personally use and recommend both ActiveCampaign and MailChimp.

Once you have your ESP, it's time to grow your email list. This is normally accomplished by adding a signup or “optin” form to your website and by offering some form of incentive (Lead Magnet) in exchange for the individual's email address. This can be a coupon, checklist, video course, eBook, etc.

From there, you'll be able to send emails to your list, building a relationship and promoting products.

And the good part about email marketing is that it's relatively cheap to perform. You do not need to purchase stamps, paper, etc in order to spread your message which makes it much easier to build a relationship and keep your business in the front of your customers minds.

So, that's just a general overview of how email marketing works. Of course, there's a lot more to it than that, I was just trying to keep it simple enough that even my mother would be able to understand!

 

How does email marketing work?2016-10-14T18:29:36+00:00

Can you recommend a free email automation tool?

My first opinion on this question is … really? If you can't afford between $10-$20/mo on a decent email automation tool, then you're doing something wrong.

Anyway, many email automation tools offer either some sort of trial period OR a free tier.

ActiveCampaign has a 14 day trial.

iContact has a 30 day trial.

GetResponse has a 30 day trial.

Constant Contact has a 60 day trial.

MailChimp offers a free tier; however, it does not allow for automation – so, it will not suite your needs. It's great if all you need to do is send broadcast emails.

As for totally free autoresponder services – they're more or less crap. Tracking, automation tools, features, ease of use, deliverability rates, all that stuff … is hit or miss … and I would never recommend a free solution for your business.

Spending $10-$20/mo on a quality autoresponder service is money well spent. Instead of drinking Starbucks coffee for 4 days, brew your own – and that'll more than cover the cost of an email automation tool.

Can you recommend a free email automation tool?2015-09-24T11:44:40+00:00

Is email marketing dead?

This is probably THE MOST asked question about email marketing.

Now, do people and businesses get 80% open rates and 40% click-through-rates like back in the “good ‘ol days”?

No. They don't. Which is why the “is email marketing dead” question exists.

Back in those “good ‘ol days”, people were only getting a few emails a day, and nowadays people get a heck of a lot more and there's just not enough time in the day to read them all. It just means you have a little more competition – but it's far from dead.

Think of it like this … email used to be about hearing from friends and family, now – it's used for business and transactions. People expect this. They expect businesses to be in their inbox.

They now have social media to keep in touch with family and friends. And according to a study by the Nielsen Norman Group – 90% of people preferred to receive business updates via a newsletter, while only 10% chose Facebook.

Now I'll rattle off a few common stats most marketers refer to when responding to this question:

  • For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return is $44.25.
    [emailexpert] – I don't know how true or accurate this statement is … 4425% return seems a bit unbelievable to me; however, say it's for every $1 spent, the average return is $2. That STILL doubles your return on investment.
  • When marketed through email, consumers spend 138% more than people who don’t receive email offers. [Convince and Convert]
  • 91% of consumers use email at least once a day. [Exact Target]
  • Email is almost 40 times better at acquiring new customers than Facebook and Twitter. [McKinsey & Company]
  • 44% of consumers made at least one purchase last year based on a promotional email they received. [Convince and Convert]
  • 72% of consumers sign up for emails because they want to get discounts, but only 8.2% sign up because they love the brand. [BlueHornet]

So, email marketing is FAR from dead. In this day and age, people prefer businesses to be in their inbox as opposed to their social media accounts.

Is email marketing dead?2016-10-14T18:29:36+00:00

4 “Real” eCommerce Welcome Emails You Can Learn From

Last week I wrote a post about how most eCommerce stores suck at email marketing where the biggest thing that shocked me was the lack of Welcome Emails.

Out of the 20 email lists I joined, I received Welcome Emails from only 4 of the businesses (20%).

This is unacceptable.

Every email list, eCommerce or otherwise, needs to welcome the user to their list.

In this post, I will examine the 4 Welcome Emails I received telling you what I like/don't like about them and pointing out what you can learn from them.

Holstee

Holstee

I like this email for a few reasons.

I like that it's from a person – Helen Williams. This makes it much more personal and I really like her title, “Community Love Director”! Ha, that's awesome!

I like that it's fairly short and to the point. Helen introduces me to their mission, gives me a few links to get started, asks me to contact her if I have issues, and then she signs off. Excellent.

I like that she links me to her social media pages and tells me that her company shares “daily doses of what inspires us” – I know what to expect when I follow them.

I like that she linked me to her blog's most popular posts. That's great! A great way to learn more about the company.

What I may, or may not like … depending how it's used … is the third bullet, “Looking for a new Desktop or iPhone background?” If they're using it to segment their list (to see who's on a desktop and/or iPhone) then awesome! If not, then they're alienating a portion of their audience for no apparent reason (Android anyone?).

I would also like some clearer expectations as to what I'm to receive by being subscribed to this email list and how often. For example, when will I receive discounts? When will I receive updates on blog posts? How many emails a week should I expect? It's just something nice to know.

All in all, I really like this Welcome Email – good job Holstee!

Flatspot

flatspot

I like this email for a few reasons. First, it's very attractive! Look at all the pretty pictures!

I like that the Lead Magnet (Free Shipping Code) I requested was delivered to me immediately. They kept their promise.

I like that they have links to their social media profiles. This helps me easily locate them in order to Like and Follow.

I kind of like that they have one clear objective on this email – “Follow Us On Instagram”. However, I don't know that I necessarily agree with “one clear objective” in regards to a Welcome Series. I believe Welcome Series should be used to segment subscribers and by having “one clear objective”, it makes it a little harder to segment. But, this is also the first email, there's still time!

I don't like that they don't share any expectations of me being on their list. When are you going to send me stuff? How often? What are you going to send me? etc.

I'd also prefer this email to come from a person. Being that this is an eCommerce store, a personal touch is always nice in order to remind the lead/customer that they're working with actual people, not just machines.

All in all, I think it's a decent email; however, I would test a few things … and maybe they already did, and if it's working for them – great!

Shwood

Shwood

I like this email because it's pretty, it's simple, it's short, it sets expectation, it introduces their social media pages, and it lets me know that if I have an issue that I can email or call them.

My issue is … who do I call? Who do I email? Where's that personal touch?

So, for the most part – I like it, but I think they need to make it more personal.

Skinny Teatox

Skinny Teatox

This isn't really a Welcome Email – instead, they automatically sent me their last broadcast email.

This is an “OK” thing to do, as long as no context is required in order to understand what's going on. It's almost like jumping right into the middle of a conversation, maybe I can figure out what they're saying … but, maybe I can't. You never want to confuse a new subscriber.

So, I'd definitely recommend adding a “true” Welcome Email, and then follow up an hour or two later with your latest broadcast.

Anyway, what I really like about this email is that they have obvious, descriptive, buttons. For example, there's a big, pink button that says “Get A 14 Day Skinny Teatox (Free Shipping)” … and it takes me straight to that product. Great!

I also like that they're sharing their latest blog post so I can read more about what the business represents.

I'm going to stop critiquing it here as this isn't a “real” Welcome Email per se (even tho they sent it as one).

Again, I highly recommend adding a “true” Welcome Email.

6 Things All Welcome Emails Should Include

I'll leave you with a list of things every Welcome Email should include:

  1. Say thank you, Welcome!, etc.
  2. Include the Lead Magnet
  3. Short introduction to the business (maybe a link to the latest blog post)
  4. Set expectations for the email list (perks of being subscribed)
  5. Include links to Social Media profiles
  6. Be personal
4 “Real” eCommerce Welcome Emails You Can Learn From2016-10-14T18:29:36+00:00

Is email marketing or Twitter more effective to reach potential users?

It depends on your business. Is your potential audience even on Twitter? Do they take kindly to cold emails? Are you just looking for 5 huge, $10k a month clients? So, it all depends on that.

For the sake of argument, I'm going to assume you're offering something for around $50 that over 10k people can and should use … they just don't know it exists yet.

Now, to answer your question – normally, from a sales conversion standpoint, email tends to outperform most other online mediums like Twitter.

However, you throw in a key phrase, “potential users.”

So, it sounds like you're still in the “outreach” phase and here's what I would do …

I would use both.

LAME! I know, but hear me out.

Using email for outreach can be good in some scenarios like trying to get reach hot prospects, but it does not scale well. You're not going to be able to email 10k people … ever. Well maybe within about 3 years you could … but that would really suck.

So, I would only use email for outreach in an attempt to land influencers. You know, the big guys and gals with the big audiences … where if they like your product/service … they'll recommend it to their audience. And, more than likely, you'll want to give your product/service to them for free.

Otherwise, I recommend setting up a landing page with an opt-in form, lead magnet, the whole shebang … with a follow up email series that sells your product/service.

I would then use Twitter … because, Twitter is powerful and allows you to communicate with people, participate in conversations, etc and can get you in front of a lot of people.

Anyway, I'd use Twitter to send people to that landing page where you would collect their email address.

To summarize. Use email outreach to land influencers. Create an email follow up series to convert leads into customers. Get leads from being hyperactive on Twitter.

Is email marketing or Twitter more effective to reach potential users?2016-10-14T18:29:36+00:00