5 BASIC STEPS TO BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL FUNNEL THAT SELLS

sales funnel Feb 18, 2019

Want to know the 5 steps to running a successful online funnel that sells so you can run things more on autopilot + make sure you're delivering 100% value 100% of the time?

In this post, I'll share how I've built out mine.

Where I'm getting tagged in posts daily thanking me for the value I provide.

Ready?

#1 Start With Your Product, Not An Experiment

You'll hear a lot of experts teaching to experiment. To create multiple opt ins + find the one that people love...

Then to pitch them a course {you haven't built yet}, see who buys + THEN create your product.

I've never liked this strategy - it's always felt dishonest to me.

So, even though it took me an additional month or two to start producing income, I did it from a place that was solid.

{This is just my opinion. I like having a firm foundation -- other personality types may do better with a more improv strategy}

Your funnel should start with your product. What people will pay for.

A course, coaching package, physical item...

We'll be reverse engineering this funnel based on what your course contains, so it needs to be complete {or have a really strong outline} before the next step.

For the sake of this blog, let's use my Visibility Lounge, which is a monthly membership.

In this space, I teach visibility strategies to get seen more online + on-stage. This can be through Podcasts, Summits, TEDx, etc.

Figure out what product you'll be offering + what it does.

What does it teach people to do? What skills do they have when they've purchased from you + implemented/used?

NEED HELP? Watch the video below if you need help building your first online funnel:

#2 Create The Opt In

My opt in rocks.

I get asked how I built it all the time.

When I first released it, it went viral.

People got so excited to take it, find their result + share it online.

Your opt in is the first taste.

This is the next step in your funnel because this is the other side of the bridge.

You've built the first with the product, now the second will be the opt in.

Your opt in needs to be unusual, intriguing + exciting.

My opt in for the Visibility Lounge is The Hollywood'preneur Quiz.

By using my unique background to create 4 very different entrepreneur personality types related to the film industry is...

Unusual
Intriguing
Exciting

Don't worry, if you're a health coach + wondering how you could ever possibly beat all of the health opt ins out there, you absolutely can.

Let's say you teach mindset, diet + workouts through a 6 week group coaching program.

And let's say that program helps stress-addicted single moms lock in a health-centered daily routine they can maintain with minimal sacrifice.

Awesome! You've done your homework so far by identifying your product + what result it gives your clients.

For the opt in, you need to give them a piece of what you do that will look different + exciting for them.

Knowing your ideal client, they're insanely busy. They don't have time to read an e-book, book a strategy call or watch a masterclass.

But they just might give you their phone number because that's the easiest way to reach them.

So your opt in could be a free 14 day text series where you cheerlead them every morning + give them a 5 minute stress-relieving exercise to do that day.

#3 Shape Out The Email Sequence

It's easy to sign up for a marathon.

It's something new, exciting + a massive goal that would feel amazing to hit.

It's even easy to show up for a marathon.

On the day, you have the blood pumping, you're up so early you're delirious anyway + there are hundreds of people right alongside of you giving you energy.

You know what's NOT easy? Training in between.

The alarm going off a 5am.

The miles upon miles you have to acclimate your body + mind to.

The multiple pairs of shoes you go through training {not to mention the blisters!}.

This is where most people fail. The daily accountability to train for their goal.

This is also where most online business owners fail.

They put so much work + excitement into their opt in + product -- but they don't put in an email sequence.

Remember the bridge? The email sequence is what connects the two pillars of your product + opt in.

It's not fun to put together a powerful email sequence most of the time.

But it's vital.

This is your chance to train with someone -- to take them from their pain point down the path to seeing the finish line of your product that will solve their biggest problem.

Take the time to do this.

Put your heart into it.

Entertain, educate + elicit action.

Every email you send it a little poke, a little wave.

Remember, we all have different personality types.

My actors + writers? You'll buy on the spot.

You will have absolutely no trouble following your gut + making an emotional decision.

My directors + production designers? Our decisions have to be logical.

We have to be convinced.

Give the same understanding of how your opposite personality type makes decisions. Give them everything you can to cover all objections + doubts.

It can be 5-10 emails roughly.

Enough to give your audience the opportunity to get to know you, to believe in you + ultimately, to pull out their credit card with joy.

If you're struggling hard with funnel-building, this training might help!

#4 Use A Tripwire

Geek-speak for...

Put a low-cost offer right after your opt in.

Tripwires are a great way to turn a hot lead into a hot sale at a low price point.

Consider a masterclass, a book or a mini-course.

Anything that will give them a quick win for their problem - while also driving them to want more from you.

The tripwire for The Visibility Lounge is the book Publicity Jumpstart.

This gives students the ability to get my work in their hands asap, build their trust + instantly establish my credibility in their eyes.

Depending on the cost of your product, make it anywhere from 10-20% of that price.

Tripwires are powerful + a great way to cover your lead costs if you plan on using paid advertising.

#5 Use A Software That Does It For You

Save yourself some pain.

If you're anything like me, you've been piece-mealing your funnels for awhile now.

I used to have my courses in Teachable, my opt in with ConvertKit {but embedded in Squarespace} + my payments through SamCart.

What. A. Nightmare.

You can tell me all day long that Wordpress or Clickfunnels are working just fine for you, but trust me, it won't forever.

If you plan on building a successful funnel that stands up to page load times, traffic, an easy checkout process + one universal login for your students...

YOU NEED KAJABI.

I ran to Kajabi in July, 2018 + am crazy thankful that I did.

Their pipelines {aka funnels} are seamless, their ability to look gorgeous is effortless + their page load times are crazy quick.

People think I run a million dollar business {not yet, but soon!} based on how my website + funnels look.

I highly, highly recommend this software to host your funnels.

And since the team over at Kajabi are so awesome, they've let me extend a 10% discount to you for trying their software through this link.

Try it for free {for a month!}, then get back to me with what you think.

I know you'll be blown away.

To recap, there are 5 basic steps to building a successful funnel that sells...starting with your product, creating a killer opt in, shaping out an email sequence, injecting a tripwire + using an all-in-one software.

Comment below: What piece of your funnel are your feeling stuck on? Did this bring you any clarity?

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