The truth about the sales funnel
The truth about the sales funnel, dispelling myths and telling the secrets
The Sales funnel has been around for as long as any of us in business now can remember- a simple concept create an interest, create a demand then move that demand into a system that funnels them into a centralized list in which you can market to by their initial interest in something they opted into from you. Right? Well….
The problem here is not with the concept it is sound, the problem is the human variable. See if I offer you a “widget” for free or at a very low cost to get you to sign up for my list and you do so, it just shows me that I got your interest.
That is all it does.
Now you may choose to purchase, join or participate in whatever it is you opted in for in the first place, or you may not. You may decide you like a future offer I send you, you may not. As I can only be 100% sure of one thing when you opt in. and that is you wanted what was the reason you submitted your information in the first place.
Same with if you join one of my teams, maybe I did not talk to you ever, you just found a capture page and joined, or I did not speak with you until you did join. Or even if I talked to you before and then you decided that there was a match in what we are doing, to your needs- so you came on board. All those options puts you on my personal newsletter list or on a list for a particular company I am involved. Will that make you automatically ripe for the pickings for other offers?
Jury’s still out there because if you spend the time building that relationship maybe, if you show them you have the answers to their wants by listening and learning those wants most likely they will follow you over to something else, or be interested in what you are offering.
If they signed up blindly to your newsletter or the business that opted them into your list and made them part of your down line but you never make personal contact, either because you just never contacted them or they fail to respond to your attempts, then less likely will they put anymore stock into your advice (if they even read your emails) than anyone else who is sending them their offers.
But that is not really the part of the sales funnel that troubles me, because some of the above scenarios do hold promise to the possibility of bringing future business and to help you build other down lines IF you utilize Relationship Marketing.
What, troubles me about the sales funnel is endless companies and endless funnels.
For instance you have Company A it is your primary the one that makes your heart go pitter-patter and you believe in. But like many in our industry you DO NOT know where to find people who will even want more info let alone opt in and join your team.
So you see something like this in an email or on the web (in the tag lines of so many companies large and small, free to costing 1000’s) Need Leads?
So then you think about filling in that little box with your name an email (thereby opting into all that future Marketing from them as well) hoping to find what magic potion awaits you- how you can get a hold of some of that wonderful fairy dust yourself, and get leads. So you read on, or listen to them tell you how signing up for their company is going to help you build your down line in your present company.
You may get excited you may think here is the answer you may sign up before you listen or read all the way though especially if it is a free to join promotion, only to find really what they offer is once you join is to tell you to share your affiliate link everywhere, because as people join them through you, you get to capture their info and you can market to that list. So they became Company B.
Promote Company B to get people for Company A??? hmmmmm….
Some companies even want you to add additional paid levels to get better marketing tools and higher commissions. The bigger these lead companies are the more they cost So you get free and paid tools to make more money from Company B by promoting people into Company B. But rest assured not only will this make you a nice little residual income but it will build your list!
Sound familiar? Do you see what is wrong here? I am not against Affiliate Marketing if you read my blog every week you know I love it! I am a big believer in NOT putting all your eggs in one basket, but this is not Affiliate Marketing this is lead companies using need, to get free Marketing, done by you for themselves. And they do this by the same carrot that made you their lead, they hit the emotional trigger of people who need leads.
You needed leads well so do those that may join through you into Company B.
But like you, they are also not looking to add 1 or 10 additional lead companies in which to pimp out to other marketers who need the same. They are looking for people who are looking for a home business or the products that their, Company A represents. The leads you gather the list you build in Company B. IF you build a list is of other marketers looking for leads.
Now some of the big companies are very profitable and there is money to be made and some marketers have left Company A behind in favor of just promoting Company B, but most lead companies make you little to no money, because if you do get anyone to join, the company benefits not you.
Now do not think they are all bad as I said some of the big ones of which we are apart, offer great tools and have a stellar rep, but they ARE costly and about moving Company B not your company no matter what the slick Marketing ads may say. However if you build within them a Network of Marketers you may find people who are tired for trying to promote their Company A, and will look at yours they may even join, but, you both still have the same problem of where are the leads to come from?
We have heard you, we know this ourselves and we are working on it as I said in past blogs. Our goal is not to move Company B but to find a way for our teams and you to be able to promote your Company A first and in the forefront of all the secondary residual income streams you may be involved in; not try to market to endless funnels that you may unknowing be attempting to fill with fellow Network Marketers
We keep adding tools in which we hope to solve this problem, I will continue to update you as we see results and are able to streamline an easy to implement system. We want to bring to you the most optimized economical way that we can find, so you can stop funneling and start target promoting your Company A to people who are actually looking for a business to join or products you provide. As I said I will lay it all out as we go and start teaching when we get there- first our teams then my followers here how to make it work for all of you too.
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Take Care
Sandy Metcalf
