6 Powerful Tools For Automating More Sales in Your Business

As an online business owner, I always look for ways to automate. Not because I want my entire company to operate without me, but because I want to maximize the time I can spend on other activities - like team building, connecting with my clients + especially enjoying my home life.

One of the best feelings in the world is being out on the town on a weekend + getting a *ding* notification that I've made a sale.

All the hard work I've put into the ideal customer's journey to sale is paying off! I have the kind of brain that likes to think deeply about a process, implement it + not have to worry about it for at least a year. Can you relate?

Automation is a beautiful thing. Automating sales? Even better.

But it can be extremely confusing to understand exactly how to do it.

I'm going to break down several effective tools you can use to achieve these automating goals in your business.

We'll explore the most powerful tools that successful entrepreneurs use to automate their sales process, including:

• Sales funnels
• Email marketing
• Affiliate marketing
• Content marketing
• SEO
• Influencer marketing

There are a lot of options, I know, but that's actually a great thing! You have so many choices you can implement gradually to start seeing significant changes in your sales numbers - knowing that you've optimized every automation process. However, we won’t just stop by telling you what they are, but we'll discuss how these tools work + provide real-world examples of entrepreneurs who have used them to drive sales + increase revenue.

So, let’s get going!

📣 PSST... REALIZING YOU'D RATHER WATCH/LISTEN THAN READ? CLICK PLAY!

SALES FUNNELS

Sales funnels are a powerful tool for automating sales + increasing revenue that I've been using for many years now.

A sales funnel is a series of steps a potential customer goes through before purchasing. The goal of a sales funnel is to guide potential customers through the buying process + convert them into paying customers.

You could think of this as the “breakdown” of steps to making the sale! That is why this is such a powerful tool because by breaking down your goal of a sale {step-by-step}, you see + experience exactly how your potential client is going to experience your business!

One entrepreneur who has successfully used sales funnels to drive sales is, of course, Russell Brunson.

Brunson founded ClickFunnels, a software platform that makes it easy to create and optimize sales funnels. Brunson has built a following of over a million entrepreneurs by teaching them how to use sales funnels to increase revenue.

{No knocks to ClickFunnels; I have used them before. My biggest issue was not being able to give my customers ONE login to access all of their purchased products. That's why I moved to Kajabi - to make my customer experience more pleasant.}

Here's an example of how a sales funnel might work for your business:

Step 1: A potential customer visits your website and sees a lead magnet, such as a free ebook or video.

Step 2: The customer enters their email address to receive the lead magnet.

Step 3: The customer receives a series of emails that provide value and promote your products or services.

Step 4: The customer clicks on a link in one of the emails + is taken to a sales page that promotes a specific product or service.

Step 5: The customer makes a purchase.

By using a sales funnel, you can automate many of the processes involved in driving sales, such as lead generation + email marketing.

So let's zone in on how I use them.

My main sales funnels are:

• Visibility Tools Masterclass - this leads to a class breaking down all the tools I use
• Visibility Archetype Quiz - this lets people see what personality type they are, with a personalized min-class
• Visibility Plan Video Series - this is a series of videos that walk people through building a visibility plan

Most of these upsell into The Visibility Lounge, my main offer, after delivering a ton of value.

The biggest mistake I see from my customers + clients is not having an effective sales funnel in place.

They stop after the lead magnet or don't send enough emails to grow a relationship with their potential customer.

Making sure to perfect each step of your sales funnel is vitally important to automating your sales process + maximizing the revenue you make per person.

EMAIL MARKETING

Email marketing is another powerful tool for automating the sales process. This can also be the hardest one to keep up with.

We get busy or fatigued with our businesses - so this is usually the first one to go on hold.

{In fact, I struggled so much with this that I recently brought on a copyrighter to help with this + keep me accountable to sending weekly emails!}

My inbox is full daily of different marketing emails from businesses. We know those ones that just catch our eyes vs. the ones we instantly report to spam or delete because they are just...the worst.

Email marketing, if you're unfamiliar, involves sending emails to potential customers to promote your products or services, build relationships, and increase your sales.

One entrepreneur who has successfully done this over the years is Amy Porterfield.

Porterfield is an online marketing expert who teaches entrepreneurs how to use email marketing to grow their businesses. Porterfield has built a following of over 250,000 entrepreneurs by providing valuable content and promoting her products through email marketing.

This could look something like this for your business:  

Step 1: A potential customer signs up for your email list to receive a lead magnet.  {Amazing funnel work already in action!}

Step 2: The customer receives a welcome email that introduces your brand + provides valuable content.

Step 3: The customer receives a series of emails that provide more valuable content + promote your products or services.

Step 4: The customer makes a purchase! {WAY TO GO!}

By using email marketing, you can automate many of the processes involved in building relationships + driving sales.

Need a few more details? Cool. I'm all about that.

I find that having at least 5 emails after a lead magnet is key. 

And I personally like to alternate between the 3 E's:

• Education - Prove you are an expert in your field! Showcase how you think differently + why it will help your person.
• Entertainment - people love stories, remember? Share yours!
• Eliciting Action - this is more of the "hard sell" where you talk exclusively about your offer + why they need it.

We have to be able to compete with the hundreds of emails that land in someone's inbox every day.

That means we have to have a powerful subject line {so they open it in the first place} + a strong message {so they actually read it + click to learn more}.

Don't be afraid or discouraged by email marketing. It is one of the best ways to stay top-of-mind with your ideal customers, connect with them + continue to automate your sales!

AFFILIATE MARKETING

Affiliate marketing is another powerful tool for automating your sales process + increasing daily revenue. Affiliate marketing involves partnering with other businesses or individuals to promote your products, or services, in exchange for a commission on sales.

Remember, I do this constantly with my Visibility Tools Masterclass.

Affiliate sales are the best way to calculate your monthly availability for a budget. What I mean is, if you know you're getting paid out $500 per month recurring for promoting a certain software, then you know you can afford to bring on a team member for $500/mo. See what I mean?

I find this to be the easiest way to calculate what I absolutely can afford.

Pat Flynn is another entrepreneur who has successfully driven sales doing this.  

Flynn founded Smart Passive Income, a website + podcast that teaches entrepreneurs how to build passive income streams. Flynn has built a following of over a million entrepreneurs by using affiliate marketing to promote his products + services.

Here's an example of how affiliate marketing might work for you:

Step 1: You set up an affiliate program that offers a commission on sales to other businesses or individuals who promote your products or services. Invite your current customers to become affiliates for you.

Step 2: They promote your product or service to their audience through their website, social media profiles, or email list.

Step 3: A customer clicks on the affiliate's link + is taken to your website to make a purchase.

Step 4: The customer makes a purchase + the affiliate earns a commission on the sale.

For Visibility Vixen, our affiliate programs pay out anywhere from 20-50%. If they sell the Podcast Pitch Kit, they make $18.50 per sale. If they sell The Visibility Lounge, they make $9/mo per sign-up or a $90 one-time payout if it's a lifetime membership purchase.

You can set your own commission rate to reward your affiliates fairly. Be sure to set aside time once a month to pay everyone out predictably.

The beauty of this is that you're constantly gaining new customers without any outreach, resources, or time!

By using affiliate marketing, you can leverage the audiences of other businesses or individuals to drive sales + increase revenue. Some people only do this + make their entire living from affiliate sales!

INFLUENCER MARKETING 

Influencer marketing involves partnering with social media influencers or bloggers to promote your products or services to their audiences.

It is a very powerful technique + one that is used constantly by huge brands - think Drew Barrymore + Grove. Or the Kardashians going to certain hotels. It's all to grow the notoriety of a brand.

Visibility is vital to the growth of your business! We see just how important social media can be every day! Just recently, Stanley, a company established in 1913, rocketed through social media channels because of their visibility due to Influencers.  Across channels, people were talking about their 40 oz tumbler cups. Guess what? They are still selling out months later! 

The main way I've utilized Influencer Marketing has been through virtual summits.

I reached out to over 30 entrepreneurs over 2 summits, asking them to fly to Los Angeles. Utilizing my film background, we professionally filmed their presentations {that they could use as speaking reels}. When releasing the summits live, they promoted it to their audiences, bringing in thousands of subscribers.

This helped me build a following of over 50,000 in just a few years.

Here's an example of how influencer marketing might work for you:

Step 1: Identify social media influencers or bloggers with audiences relevant to your brand + products.

Step 2: You reach out to those influencers or bloggers + offer to pay them to promote your products or services to their audiences {or make a very desirable exchange - like featuring them on your podcast}.

Step 3: The influencer or blogger promotes your products or services to their audience through social media posts or blog posts.

Step 4: Their audience sees the promotion + is introduced to your brand + products.

By leveraging your brand's visibility to audiences of social media influencers or bloggers, you will absolutely get more attention to your business. And this will correlate to more sales on autopilot. 

If you want to dive deeper into this option, I highly recommend reading a book I co-authored with Kristin Marquet called Publicity Jumpstart. A top publicist, she has so much knowledge on this topic + goes into nitty-gritty detail!

CONTENT MARKETING

Content marketing is vital, obviously. It's a huge pillar to visibility + gaining public trust/authority in your niche.

Content marketing involves creating valuable content, such as blog posts, videos, or podcasts, to attract potential customers + build relationships.

I call this a "vehicle."

You need to have a recurring content strategy to bring in new eyes + increase trust with your current audience.

The key here is staying top of mind - content marketing is really the only way to do so.

Here are some great content marketing options:

• Blogging
• Podcasting
• Video Channel
• Livestreaming
• Summits 

Your content marketing strategy might look like this:

Step 1: Creating valuable content. {Blog posts, videos, or podcasts} that provide value to potential customers on a recurring schedule.

Step 2: Potential customers find your content through search engines or social media + are introduced to your brand.

Step 3: Customers who find your content valuable are more likely to trust your brand and make a purchase.

Let’s be honest; content marketing can be powerful because it builds relationships with potential customers.

It has the power to attract your target audience through connection.

They see your face often – they feel like they KNOW you!

They see your brand more – They feel like they can TRUST you!

They hear your encouraging voice more – They feel like you are ROOTING for them!

And that leads to increased sales + revenue. Every client/customer, no matter who they are, wants to feel like you are in their corner.

So much connection nowadays is social media. It's created a powerful way to become friends, confidants, and supporters by sharing our voices.

SEO

SEO, or search engine optimization, is another tool you can optimize for your success. And the best part? It's a one-time investment!

SEO involves optimizing your website and content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) + attract more traffic.

For example, you may want to be at the top of search engines for training horses.

Therefore, you would want your website, sales pages, and blog posts to all contain the keyword "horse trainer" so that when people search for it in a search engine like Google, your content pops up first.

That, essentially, is SEO.

If you put "color psychology and brand visibility" into Google, I rank on page one.

SEO might work for you by:

Step 1: Optimizing your website + content for keywords relevant to your brand + products. Find a few keywords you want to rank for + focus on them.

Step 2: Potential customers who search for those keywords on search engines like Google + are shown your website in the search results.

Step 3: Customers who find your website through search engines are more likely to be interested in your products + make a purchase.

Learning SEO + using it successfully can really attract more traffic to your website than ever before. The dream is to type in that keyword for your business + be on one of the first pages of Google for that specific need!

SEO is all about research, planning + consistent execution! Don't give up.

My friend Desiree Grimaldi has some great SEO advice. Be sure to join her challenge! 

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, there are several powerful organic tools that you can use to optimize your automated sales process + increase your revenue.  

Effective tools are:

• Sales funnels
• Email marketing
• Affiliate marketing
• Content marketing
• SEO
• Influencer marketing

By using these tools, you can automate many of the processes involved in driving sales + focus on growing your business. The best part? A lot of these only need to be set up once + checked in every 6 months. That's music to my ears!

Whether you're just starting out or a seasoned entrepreneur, these tools can help you achieve your sales goals + take your business to the next level.

It's important to remember that each tool requires time, effort + patience to yield results. However, when used correctly, they can be POWERFUL.

It's also important to note that these tools should be used in conjunction with a solid marketing strategy. Before implementing any of these tools, you should clearly understand your target audience, your value proposition + your overall marketing goals. Doing so allows you to create a cohesive marketing plan that leverages these tools efficiently.

I hope this has been a helpful blog for you to more deeply understand sales process tools + that you'll try at least one to see what happens!