What kind of question is that?
Of course you, as a business owner, understand your products or services, but it’s not that simple.
As a business owner, it’s important to know your product or service inside and out. For example…
If you sell insurance, you don’t just sell insurance. You also need to know the answers to the following:
- Who do you sell insurance to?
- Are packages customizable?
- Can they buy online or should they talk to you first?
- Do you charge for consultations?
- Should customers call or email you?
- When should they expect an answer?
- How long are contracts good for?
- What price range are you in?
You get the point!
We don’t say this to stress you out (though maybe it is a bit stressful to consider). But, you do need to know your business well, AND you need to make it easy for your audience to get to know your business.
If you aren’t answering these questions, or maybe aren’t even sure of the answers to these questions, you’re missing a number of opportunities with potential customers.
It’s time to get a handle on what you sell and how you’re selling it!
The Magic of Marketing, a Sales Funnel & Lead Generation
Before you stress yourself out, let’s learn how you can get out ahead of the problem and market your business confidently!
Build a Foundation
Building a foundation requires two basic steps.
- Establish what you sell, and create options! For many of our services, we offer “Good, Better, Best” packages. This puts the decision making role in the hands of the audience. It feels custom, and it tells them what they’re getting right away if they choose to invest. Everything they need to know is in one place!
- Create a website that is strategic, engaging and easy to understand. Social media is a huge part of marketing these days, but your website is still where people go to make the final decision and really understand what you’re offering.
Your foundation sets the stage for the rest of your marketing efforts!
Establish a Sales Funnel
Once you have a website and solid understanding of what you’re offering and how, a sales funnel is your next step!
A sales funnel is essentially the journey your customer takes from first impression through customer retention. Of course, there’s nuances to these pieces, but a sales funnel usually looks like…
Google Search/Social Media → Website → Lead Generator → Email → Purchase → Follow Up
Your social media needs to link to your website, and your website needs to direct your customers to your email list, and so on! If any piece isn’t where it should be, you’re losing potential customers!
Create a Lead Generator
So we mentioned a lead generator in the sales funnel. What is that???
A lead generator is a piece of free material that you offer to your customers in exchange for their email. You’ve probably seen a 10-20% off code pop up while online shopping. That’s a lead generator! For you, it could look like a video, PDF tips sheet, Amazon list of favorite books or materials – really anything that you can offer them of value in exchange for their email! It’s often presented as a popup on your site. They work surprisingly well!
Each of these pieces are essential to creating a well running business, but they need to be done well. Your lead generator is only effective if it actually becomes a stepping stone towards your products or services, meaning you need to have your foundation set first! Establishing this process will take time and patience but will reward you tenfold if it is strategically set up. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your business shouldn’t be either! Be patient as you establish your services and sales funnel.
Once you create yourself a couple “Good, Better, Best” packages, check out our $15 Sales Funnel Workbook to take your business marketing to the next level.
