One of the first things you learn when you hang around the digital marketing industry - on social media groups about creating courses, earning online, or blogging is the sales funnel. It’s a very simple concept but mind-blowing in such a way that it has brought previously unknown entrepreneurs into a digital success. All these, thanks to a simple funnel. 

To start, we’ll say that making a sales funnel is not a very easy job. Yes, we did mention that it’s simple, but we didn’t say that it is easy. Your target is to get people inside a funnel, generate awareness and interest. That’s like a whole lot of steps in a sentence.

If you’re just starting your sales funnel, you’re probably very exhausted and tired of all the setup. Beginner course creators and digital entrepreneurs often begin without a sales funnel. The good news is that once you are done, it’s a rinse and repeat process, so make sure to keep on with the great work!

What exactly is a sales funnel? 

Imagine a real-world funnel. At the top of that funnel is a wide opening that filters down liquid or small particles towards one finite destination. In sales, a funnel is an inverted cone designed to attract new customers, then capture their email addresses or contact details, so they become leads. You begin to nurture these leads until they become customers.  This process maps out the journey a customer goes through when making any kind of purchase. The model uses a funnel as an analogy because you put in potential customers at the top of the sales process. Still, only a fraction of these customers actually end up at the bottom where they buy the product or service.

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As a prospect passes through each funnel stage, it signifies a deeper commitment to the purchase goal. Whether online or conventional, most businesses use this model to guide their B2C marketing efforts in each stage of the sales funnel.

The goal is to make an automated sales funnel. It’s a system that often needs a bit of work but is worth it once it is set up. An effective sales funnel can help you scale your online course massively if you do it right. How do you do it right?

Understanding the Sales Funnel Stages

If you ever studied marketing, you probably know what AIDA is. For those unfamiliar, no AIDA is not the Musical. It is an acronym meaning Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action.  The first thing to do is to create a lead magnet. A lead magnet is something of value that you can give away for free in exchange for an email address. If you already have content that you can turn into a lead magnet, you can promote it on your website, advertise it on social media (Awareness), or share it on evergreen sites like Quora so people can find it months down the road.  The secret is to keep these people warm once they sign up for your lead magnet (Interest). You should have an automated email sequence that goes out regularly to promote your course or other products. If you keep pushing the envelope, you will eventually reach the Desire stage where the customer is ready for your product. The Action comes when the customer has already bought your product. 

Create your First Sales Funnel with these simple steps: 

1. Create a lead capture landing page.

A landing page is where your clients end up after clicking your advertisement or your helpful content on social media. At its most basic, your landing page should have a lead capture where first-time visitors can sign up. You can offer something for free to encourage them to give you their email address. Think hard about your offer -whether an ebook or an email drip. Too many course creators or digital entrepreneurs have already gone this way, and customers have already become weary of another ebook that does not offer enough value. 

You can create as many landing pages as you want that are designed for people who might be on different stages as a customer.

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2. Capture Your Audience’s Attention

Once you have set up your landing pages and your lead capture, you can begin sharing your content with your target audience. Get them interested with infographics, videos, and other types of content. Go the organic way by identifying where your customers are and iterating with them on their preferred platforms. If you have the budget, advertising your landing page can generate enough momentum to create a buzz for your product. Make sure to check your ads and identify where your target audience hangs out. If you’re selling B2B, LinkedIn ads might be the perfect solution.

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3. Nurture Your List 

You got email! Yes! Now, this is another step that takes a bit of effort. Create an email drip campaign and run your new subscribers through them. Creating an email drip makes sure that your audience is aware of you, and you are on their minds. Take this opportunity to educate them by providing fantastic content. What do they want to learn? What obstacles and objections do you need to overcome to convince them to buy? Be consistent. Send emails once or twice a week. Some email almost daily, but some prefer to send a weekly email. Study this and measure the data when you’re getting the most unsubscribe requests. The important thing here is the regularity of your email.

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4. Make an Excellent Offer

Don’t make the mistake of waiting too long before you make an offer. At the end of your drip campaign, offer your customers who just bought or are about to buy a product or service the opportunity to upsize or upgrade for your service or product. 

Related: How To Scale Your Business from 50k to 500k.

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5. Rinse and Repeat

Just because your customers have reached the end of the funnel doesn’t mean that you’re done with them. Follow up with all the new customers you have acquired and ensure they are happy with their product or service. Don’t forget about your old customers. Reach out to them on social media, thank them for further purchases, continue offering great content, and even offer additional coupon codes.

Conclusion

As your business grows, your sales funnel might need tweaks. You might even need a significant overhaul as you learn more about your customers. Test your efforts and make sure your sales funnel is working correctly. It’s a long and hard work that will ultimately deliver the results you want in time.