In today?s blog post we will look at a very basic (and often overlooked) step in creating a sales funnel that converts leads into customers. 

 

Sales Funnels are the backbone of any marketing and sales strategy, they are how you get prospects to interact with your brand. They are also all about building relationships ? yes, relationships with prospects.

 

So, let us talk about the 5 most important things you can do if you want to create a meaningful Sales Funnel that turns leads into customers:

 

?  Know your audience: 

This is the first and most important step in creating a sales funnel that converts. You need to know who your ideal customer is, what they want, and what they are willing to pay for. Once you have this information, you can create a funnel that caters to their needs and desires.

 

?  Create an actionable plan: 

Creating an actionable plan for your Sales Funnel will ensure that it becomes more than a list of steps; it will become something more than a process of identifying leads; it will become something that actually gets results from the prospect end.

 

?  Measure Your Results: 

Once you have created an actionable plan for your Sales Funnel, measure its effectiveness by looking at conversion rates ? making sure you have an accurate view of how much money is coming in from each of your prospects versus how much money is going out to them. These conversions should be at least 3 times greater than the amount going out so that when people come back to try again with you in future, there will be enough value on offer to warrant their return visit.

 

 

?  Build Relationships: 

The last step in creating a meaningful sales funnel is building relationships with those who may not be interested in buying right away but could be willing to buy later down the line. 

 

People who already like what you do and who have shown interest during previous interactions (or even before those interactions). This means providing them with value; bringing value back from them; and giving them opportunities to demonstrate their potential through incremental value streams (i.e., making them part of something before they actually purchase). 

 

Building these relationships will only work if they are able to provide value themselves ? which means they need something or someone else talking up their position relative to theirs ? someone or something else who is doing something worth talking about right now (or worth going back for later).

 

?  Offer value upfront: 

One of the best ways to ensure your funnel will convert is by offering value upfront. Many sales funnel models require you to provide value upfront. This is typically in the form of an add-on or upgrade that must be purchased at a discount.

This is a very common approach, but it can be overwhelming and intimidating for new users who aren't familiar with the process. It's important to recognize that most people are not going to purchase your product or service immediately after they use it ? they are going to do so over time and require an investment of time and energy in learning how to use it.

 

The first step is usually getting your product or service out into the hands of users, but not just any user but the right users: people who have a high level of engagement with your product or service. 

 

After they have had some time with it, they will probably spend some time experimenting with it, trying different settings and features, before deciding which one is right for them. 

 

Once they have made this decision, then you should give them another test run using a trial version: what settings do you think are most appropriate for them? 

 Is there something else that you think should be added?  Are there things about your product that could be improved?  What else would make this more useful for your user base? 

 

Over time as these users become more familiar with the product, their needs will become clearer and more specific and therefore more likely to purchase (or upgrade) in the future. Once again though, I don't recommend offering free trials when your users aren't exactly sure if they want to buy right now!