A sales funnel is just like starting a family. First you meet, nurture the new romance, commit to marriage, and build a family. Each stage has a unique dynamic.
According to marketing experts, the AIDA, (Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action) sales funnel is the ideal customer journey that leads prospects to saying YES.
SURPRISE - I don’t agree – at least not entirely.
You probably already realized, the most challenging task is Locating prospects and getting them into your sales funnel. I’m going to break this down here – keep reading.
How do You Find Prospects for Your Sales Funnels?
1. Cold calls
Yes, cold calling works. We know it works because we do it and the statics are crystal clear. Statistics prove it's one of the most effective ways to gain new customers. So why do salespeople hate cold calls if it works? Most do not have the personality to deal with a 92% rejection rate. More importantly, only a few do the proper follow-ups. Instead of forcing our staff to do what they hate doing, we hired a 'customer support company,' or a professional sales company, to consistently contact people and follow-up with prospects.
2. Email Marketing
Sending the emails is the easy part. Following up and being consistent is the part where businesses fail.
1. PPC campaign
PPC is an invitation to People that Need your product or service. Our digital department administrates our PPC campaigns. It's complex but rewarding. PPC is an excellent way to get customers fast. It pay when your sales support is set-up to follow up with prospects fast.
2. Referrals
We deploy a review system that attach to auto-referral system.
- Over 50% of our referred prospects become consumers.
- Referrals are the cheapest buyers to acquire.
SEO
Search Engine Optimization. A popular choice with a lot of marketing buzz. It will only work if you do it better than the 100's companies in your business category that are already doing it. Everyone want to get the top position on the first page of the search engine, so competition is fierce. We worked hard, heavily invested in learning best practices, literally did thousands of tests, and today 80% of our Client's sites are on the first page.
For new customers and qualified leads - Customer Support Company does this all day every day.
Professional follow-up is the key to the sales funnel
Regardless of how you get an interested prospect, ONLY follow-up and romancing will turn the prospect into a client. The follow-up is the most crucial part of gaining customers. You may follow up with email(s), texts, phone calls, or all three in different stages. Our sales agent at CSC do the follow-ups for you and are trained on how to convert a 'warm transfer' at the right moment. CSC agents introduce the lead to our sales team and assist with closing the sale.
Sales funnel execution
While many sales funnel gurus focus on AIDA we’ve added “F” to the formula BECAUSE it just works better
We use AIFDA
Awareness, Interest, Follow-Up, Decision, Action.
Each step requires sending the right message at the right time. It's a romancing process.
Awareness
It's the moment you catch the consumer's attention. This stage can fool the best marketer: Among all visitors, we have
- 1. Window shoppers who cost time and money
- 2. Interested parties, we move to the funnel.
A Tweet, Facebook, YouTube video, or ad will attract window shoppers. They can turn into buyers, but in most cases, it is a long sales process.
When the chemistry is right, and your ads are "in the right place at the right time," a prospect may buy right away. But don’t count on it.
Interest
When consumers get to the point of interest, they do research, read reviews, compare purchases, and evaluate the options. In that stage, sharing amazing content that’s unfamiliar to them will help. Don’t push your product or service at this stage. Your goal is to establish your expertise, be approachable, help the consumer to make an educated decision, and offer help in any way you can.
Follow-Up
The follow-up happens more than once. You continually follow-up with clients as long as you are in business. Before the sale, and after the sale. You grow with the Client, just like a family grows. Meet, Date, Romance, Marriage, Build a family. Each stage requires your engagement.
Decision
In the decision stage your prospect has considered all of the options and is ready to decide – Now it’s time to make your best offer. It can be free shipping, a discount code, or a bonus product. Whatever it is, make it irresistible, and one that you’re Ready to SAY YES lead cannot pass on.
Action
They’ve said YES to You, and now the customer is a part of your family. They will acquire the product or service and become part of the ecosystem that is your business. However, the action phase is only the beginning of customer retention. Express gratitude for the purchase, invite the customer to contact you with feedback, stay updated on innovations, offer an incentive for the next purchase, and be always available for technical support/customer service.