658 The Truth About Sales Funnels: Why Your Content Isn’t Converting

Welcome to the Next Level Life podcast with Christine Corcoran. This podcast is made for the powerhouse business women who are ready to ignite their fullest potential. This is where we will dive deep into mindset breakthroughs and sprinkle in some pick up the butt motivation so you can scale your business with confidence and clarity. Whether you're craving more income, impact or inspiration, this podcast will be your ultimate resource for all things Next level. Listen in as we have authentic conversations with game changing female entrepreneurs as we reveal the secrets of what it takes to rise and thrive. So go ahead, ignite your inner fire and let's get you taking massive aligned action. Are you ready to elevate? Let's go. Welcome back to the podcast. Today I want to talk to you about sales funnels. Sales funnels and optimizing your sales funnel is so key when it is, when you're in the stage of scaling your business. And one of the things I want to start with here, when it comes to sales funnels, they don't have to be as complicated as you think. And I think one of the things that I've learned over the years of business that when I see people talking about sales funnels now, it's almost laughable of how complicated they make it seem. It does not have to be complicated, but it does have to be thoughtful and mapped out. Because when it comes to creating a really effective sales funnel, it takes time to test and measure. It takes intentional time to really unpack the customer journey of where you want to send your clients and how you're going to nurture them and how you're going to firstly attract them, then nurture them and then convert them. So it does take intentional time. And I think sometimes when you are not sure of what they mean by a sales funnel or optimizing a sales funnel, it can seem very complicated. I find that having a team member that also helps with the technical side of things like the actual tech, makes my life so much easier. But when it comes down to a general sales funnel, the whole purpose of a sales funnel is to guide a potential client from being unaware of who it is that you are and how you can help them, to being super clear on how you help them and highlighting the problem that they are experiencing and how you are the right fit to work with and then nurturing them in order to trust and build credibility and to trust you in order to convert and then guiding them through the conversion phase. That's what it's intentionally wanting to do. Now, understanding the psychology of your customer is where it takes things to a whole new level. So when you understand the experience of a customer from being completely unaware of who it is that you are and how you help people, getting them really clear on the problem that you solve and guiding them through the psychological shifts and changes that need to happen in order for a client to be ready to buy is where things get a little bit complicated. Okay? So if you don't understand that or you don't have that information, it can be really uncomfortable to look at a sales funnel and be like, how am I going to make this better? And what we want to do is in this phase, if you're really unclear of how a customer thinks and feels about the problem that you help them solve and the stages that they go through in order to go from unaware to really clear on the problem that they have, to seeing your solution as an opportunity to solve that problem and to then trust and build that trust and credibility in order to then be ready to buy, to then convert, that's where things start to play into building out a really optimized sales funnel. So if you're not sure of all of those phases, then the first thing you need to do is do the market research to uncover every phase and what they're thinking and how they're feeling at every single phase, and what would then nurture them next and what would they be willing to invest in next. So when I look at different sales funnels that are working right now, it's nurturing people to these different mindset phases that happen to get ready to buy. And the more that you can be an authority in one space really does help with that, because otherwise you're trying to sell to too many different types of ideal clients. And you want to get super clear when it comes to optimizing a sales funnel. You want to get super clear on exactly who that offer is for. So then you know how to nurture them to get ready to buy. So we can start from either end of the funnel, right? We can start with the end in mind of like, okay, this is the offer that I really want to sell. And then we work backwards from that and we go, okay, what has to happen for that client to be ready to purchase this? What do they need to know about the person selling it? What do they need to trust within them? What do they need to see from them? What do they need to hear from them, and how can I nurture that within my content? Also, what has to happen for their own mindset shifts in order to get ready to invest in that offer. So we go back again and we go, okay, so what's happening? What's the symptoms that are having of the problem they're experiencing in their business or in their life? And how can we speak to that problem? How can we nurture them to then be aware of the solution? How can we nurture them to be confident, confident that their solution that we're offering is the right fit for them? And how can we nurture any mindset blocks? And another way to put that would be objections, right? So if they have hesitations towards investing, we want to think about how we're utilizing our sales funnel to nurture them through that, to then overcome those objections before they're ready to buy, before that offer is presented to them. So we work back and go, okay, so if the offer is a specific, let's say, coaching container and we identify what the problem is that that coaching container solves, we take a step back and go, what are the problems they're having leading up to that bigger problem? Right? And this is where people go really wrong. They often try to sell them on that huge offer first instead of actually going, well, hang on a minute, how can we sell them on a smaller problem to then nurture them to then get ready for the bigger problem? Okay, because not everyone's ready to dive straight in and have their huge problem solved. They've got to trust you first. So we want to take a step back and go, okay, how can I nurture them now? There's lots of different ways that I can nurture them, but ideally what we want to do is have an opportunity for them to say yes to a few things first before then creating an offer for a bigger offer, a bigger investment. So we want to either have a low ticket offer or some free offers, free interactions with you in order to really build that trust and credibility. So, so we take a few steps back and go, okay, so what are some of the problems that our customer is experiencing before really recognizing that the bigger problem is a bigger problem? And so this takes, this is why it feels so complicated because it takes time to really get to know your ideal client and then backtrack it. So I did some market research interviews recently and was getting really clear on like when they've invested previously with other coaches, what do they need to see from that coach in order to trust them? What do they invest in beforehand in order to trust them? And what were the solutions that they were offering earlier on before they then offered a higher coaching container? And I always just love doing this on a regular basis to really get back into the headspace of where a customer is way before they know who the coach is. Because if you're selling to more of a warmer audience, right? So if you're offering your offers across social media, then you're most likely going to only be targeting a warm audience, whereas you need to go back a step and actually start targeting a colder audience to nurture and attract the right people into your funnel first. Otherwise you're probably selling to too much of a warm audience too regularly. So we want to always be thinking like go a step earlier. And the way that we go back a step earlier is we think what's a solution to a problem that our customer is experiencing that is a no brainer for them to invest, whether it's a low ticket or whether it's a free give me your email address option, right? And so we want to think about it from the perspective of we want to give them something that is a no brainer. It's a solution, it's something tangible, it's such a, such a simple outcome for them that they don't care who it's coming from. So what I mean by that is that they don't have to necessarily fully trust you in order to buy that thing. So it can come off a Facebook ad, a social post, a post in a Facebook group, it can come in a networking event, like all of the different places where you can get in front of your ideal clients. But it has to be such a tangible, irresistible solution that they go, oh, that's amazing, I'm having that problem. I need that solution. Let's buy it from you or let's download it from you right now. Because I'm experiencing that and I don't have a huge necessary need to trust the person that I'm getting it from because it is such a tangible solution, right? And so if we can start to think, right, that's how we start to build the funnel out. We go all the way back and we then go, okay, so we've given them this solution, what's the next problem they're experiencing? And we start really building out that customer journey, right? And so this is like prior to them being a customer, so way that I look at businesses like prior to purchase and then post purchase prior to purchase is literally like nurturing them, building trust and credibility, attracting the right clients and then nurturing them to get them to convert. And then once they've purchased that a new customer journey begins. And we go through then creating an ascension model to build out like, okay, once they are then converted, then what are the experiences that they're having? What are the problems they're experiencing? How are we building out a solution that's the right fit for them? How are we building out our frameworks to make sure that we're getting the right solution and transformation for them and then what's next? Right. And then we nurture them to the next phase and the next phase and the next phase, or it might be then finishing up with them and then sending them on their way. Right. So we look at the two sides of the, of the coin and go, we need to build out both sides of the customer journey. But when it comes to optimizing your sales funnel, one of the things that I, one of the mistakes that I see a lot of business owners make is that they build out a simple funnel and then they don't do anything else with it. They build it out, they kind of put it out to the market. Doesn't really go well. And they go, oh, I'll give up on that idea and just move on to the next one. And this is where we often waste so much time. We go and create something new instead of going, well, hang on a minute, why didn't that work? Where did I miss the mark? Because sometimes it's a really simple tweak, other times it's a few testing and measuring pieces that have to happen in order to optimize that funnel. Right. Rather than going creating a whole new one, do the market research to find out what do your people want, what do they, those people really need. So then it's a no brainer because oftentimes it's a messaging mismatch where we're saying one thing but the client is actually thinking another. And so you're completely missing the mark with the messaging. Other times it can be trying to solve too much of a bigger problem in a smaller offer. And so then the client doesn't really believe that you're really going to get that outcome in a small offer because they're like, you know, maybe it's $20 that you're trying to charge for it. And they're like, well, that's just not going to happen in a $20 offer. Right? So it's really making sure that you're testing and measuring it and then getting the feedback. So putting it out to people. And if people are clicking on it and they're not then investing in it or not giving their email address, we need to find out why. So if you've got relationships with people where, you know, if you've built those relationships, if they're hitting the clicks in your emails, why not send them an email to be like, tell me a little bit more about what problems you're experiencing and why you didn't feel like this is the right solution for you. Because I need to know in order for me to create the best option for you. So if we're not taking the time to really optimize it, then we're possibly losing a lot of time and possibly even a lot of money depending on how you're going about building out your sales funnel. So I find like the best piece about around this is doing a lot of market research and testing and measuring things before you build them out. That way then you're not wasting time building it out and then it doesn't work. So, yes. So test and measure it, get the feedback, do the market research, but then be open to optimizing and tweaking things until you get it right. So, like, there's so many different things like with it. For instance, like I have a freebie in my. Have a few different things that you can find in the show notes, right. So one is my profitable offer formula that used to be called something different and it wasn't actually resonating with a lot of people. And so I changed the imagery and I changed the name because I wasn't really resonating with enough people for them to be like, yep, this is what I need. And so changing that made a huge difference. And so the content in it is exactly the same, but the outcome is. And so the outcome is great. But the sales messaging at the beginning needed to shift. And then I also have my 30 day money mindset upgrade, which is a wealth mindset reset and that one is awesome. I just loved building that out, but I needed to make sure. I worked on tweaking the name, tweaking the intention of who it's for, and making sure it's getting in front of the right people. Now, you can download that now and it's a $49 offer, which is a 30 day upgrade and you get audios every single day for 30 days. And it's incredible. Like, if you've never worked in your money mindset before, it's such a great place to start. I spent so much time building that out and I absolutely loved it. I did it myself for 30 days and I go back to it every probably three months because I fucking love it. And it just helps you upgrade because with your money mindset, we're always Going through new upgrades again and again and again. And so you listen and you hear different things. And so my clients love it. Like, I often actually have given it away for free to, to clients of mine and they love it and they always go back to it. So I needed to actually tweak because it used to be called something else. And so I had to go back and tweak it. And now playing with different imagery that really resonates with people. So there's that part. So it's the front end part of like making sure it's landing and making sense for the person who's really seeing it at the first point. And then secondly, it might be, then the next phase is like, okay, so then where to from there? Where am I sending them after that and how am I nurturing them to the next phase? So that might be improving your emails. So if you have an email sequence, which you should, if you're doing any type of low ticket offer or opt in, then we need to absolutely have a nurturing email sequence that builds trust and credibility and nurtures them to the next step. And so what I'm finding here is a lot of sales funnels at the moment is that it's like that next step needs to be so valuable that they then stay invested in being a part of your ecosystem. So that next step, whether it be something for free or whether it be a low ticket offer, we need to really think about how we're nurturing them to the next step. So what are the blocks that, what's going to happen after they've done that first thing? What's next? And how can we be like, hey, this is for you. Do you want access to this too? Click here. Super simple. Make it so easy for them. Say, say yes to the next thing. And then we go, okay, now that you've done this, you might be experiencing this. And so then we might add extra value there. And that could be everything from like a podcast episode, or it could be a video that you've created. It could be a separate piece of video content that you've created that's specific to a certain problem, a masterclass. Like, there's so many ways that we can go about it and it honestly comes back down to your ideal client and what you think they're going to do and what they are telling you that they will do. So building out that funnel and then go, okay, we need to go back and look at that, look at the data. What's it telling me? Is it telling me that people are opening Three emails and then dropping off on email four. Why is that? Is it at the wrong time that it's going out? Is it the wrong subject line? And then if I have certain clickthroughs, like looking at the click through rates and being like, okay, are people actually going to the next step? Are they looking at the next thing? Why not? And we need to look at improving that part. So I think this is where I think some people give up, right? They literally go, oh, that's too hard basket to try and perfect that. And having someone on your team that loves the data side really helps because sometimes like that can be a bit brain numbing for a creative. And so we get really excited to the creative side of things. But when it comes to optimizing a sales funnel, it can be like super exhausting. And so we want to then look at, okay, the content of the emails, are they actually resonating? Are we sending them in the right place? Are they downloading that podcast episode or whatever it is that you're giving them and then what's next? How are we nurturing them? How are we building a stronger relationship? So by that point then we need to really think about how are we encouraging them to take the next step to build a stronger relationship with the person who is selling. So for instance, it might be again jumping on a podcast so they feel more connected. It could be inviting them to a masterclass that's live. It could be inviting them to a live event, it could be inviting them to send you a dm. It could be you reaching out and actually having a conversation via dms. So you really just want to think about like what's happening next and where are they at in that funnel to support them to make the next decision to buy. And whether that, I mean like buy with their time or buy with money is irrelevant. So it either is like that next step, that next conversion piece that happens. So when it comes to sales funnels, like the optimization piece is what starts to make a business really work for you behind the scenes. And the automation pieces that really help to work behind the scenes, otherwise it can feel really manual, you doing a lot of the sales face to face. Alright, so I don't want to go any deeper because I feel like if I go much deeper, most likely going to feel overwhelmed. But I think one of the things is the where people go wrong is that we don't do the time to do the market research, we don't do the time to do the optimization or we don't really think about it from the customer's point of view. And so we're just assuming that that's what they need next and we're just kind of moving on. So if you have a sales funnel in place, really think about how you can optimize it. Firstly, if you don't have one, start building one out. Start building out the customer journey. And if you want help with this, if you want me to create something that helps do this better, like, please let me know, because this is not something that I've created with an opt in before, so I could possibly do that for you. If that's something that you really want, let me know and I can go and create it. All right, lovely. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day. And if you haven't grabbed your ticket for Unstoppable Women yet, absolutely put yourself on the notified list because there aren't many early bird tickets left and they will only go to people who are on the list. So make sure you pop your name down for that. All right, ladies, if you enjoy the rest, if you've enjoyed this, please feel free to send me a DM and ask me any questions or just let me know what you took away. Otherwise, enjoy the rest of your day. Thank you for listening. And if you found any value out of this episode, make sure you hit the follow button so that you get access to the episodes as soon as they are live. And make sure you come hang out with me on Instagram. You can find me at Christine Corcoran. Underscore Coach. Have an incredible weekend.