#63 - Could you 10x your business by BUILDING funnels (and how do you do it)?

You can literally in a couple of weeks help someone create something and add something into their business which may be a crucial part of their business growth and revenue for years.

This is the Doing It Online podcast with your host, serial entrepreneur, 6 and 7 figure funnel strategist and super nerd Kate McKibben. Where every week we're here talking nerdy and sharing the things that actually work to help you do what you do online. But better, easier, and with a ton more profit too. Are you ready? Let's do it.

Hello. Hello everybody. It is Kate here from. Hello funnels and welcome to episode 63 of the Doing It Online podcast. I of course am your host and today I want to chat about funnels, of course, but from a slightly different angle. Angle, because you see, I've actually been getting a lot of questions lately from people who are either like maybe they have loved building their own funnels as part of our programs and they now want to add funnel building to their services, which, you know, happens because I think funnels, once you kind of get them and see how powerful they are, they can be kind of addictive. So we get that. Or they are people who are, they're a VA or they're an OBM or other kind of freelancer and they're wanting to really step up to that next level of business. And more than just going from like VA to tech VA where maybe it's like you add an extra like $5 an hour to your rate or $10 an hour, they wanted to really step up to become that premium expert, go to service provider. And of course one of the ways that you do that, that one of the ways that you do sort of you are able to really get known for something is you know, to both really niche down on your offerings and of course up level the skills or this like really step into mastering a certain set of skills that you are niching down on. And if they're a little bit nerdy or you know, they, they kind of like geeking out on different software and tools, then of course it makes sense that they might be thinking about going, well, what if that way that I stepped up and niche down was by building funnels, by becoming, you know, like I said, not just a tech VA because I think that's a lot people think is like that next step or, and not just an OBM who can also do implementation or execution, but being able to go a step beyond and becoming a funnel expert or as we, the term that we've decided to coin it is funnel pro. So I wanted to talk really about what that could look like in your business, how it could really impact your business and some of the pros and cons you really need to think about before diving in and deciding, yeah, this is the, you know, this is the way that I'm going to uplevel and I'm going to create my premium offers and I'm going to really upgrade my business and. And to be able to do it really confidently as well, which I think is really, really important. So, of course, as you know, we normally advise on how to build funnels for yourself and the, you know, through this as well, I'm seeing. It's so. It's. It's like one of these perfect storms, right? We're getting lots of people asking us about, well, particularly when they're looking at our programs and like, hey, I'm actually a VA who wants to build funnels for my boss or who wants to be able to improve my skills in this. Would your program be right for me? But we're also seeing a lot from our clients inside our programs, and they're saying, even though we make things as easy as humanly possible to build out their funnels, like, literally, sometimes it's click a button and it's installed into your system. These people are busy. It may not be their first love to go and play with tech. And we get asked all the time, like, hey, can you recommend someone to actually build this for me? Like, yes, I know I could do it, but there's other things I need to do. I've got kids screaming, we're all in lockdown. You know, I'm homeschooling. I just don't have time to even click that button. Could. And I'd rather that someone who. I feel like they really knew what they were doing did it. Can you recommend someone? And we can't really. Like, yes, I do know some people, of course, who build funnels and are like, quote unquote, funnel pros, but they're usually booked out forever. And there's this. I feel like there's this momentum coming where more and more people are realizing that they need to have funnels. And I kind of hopefully feel like we've been part of helping people realize that. I think the last since COVID and everything that's been happening with the. And how up and down and unstable the world has been feeling this last almost two years, people are beginning to realize more and more like, hey, I want to have something in my business that is reliable. I want to have something that's not just launching. I want to have other revenue streams. I want to have things that I can automate so that if the world does fall apart and I do need to step out and, you know, teach my kids third grade maths for a day, I can do that. And things are going to keep on growing. So I think the demand from funnels is growing, but there's this huge gap in the market of people who can step in and build them. And yes, there are people who can execute on them. But where I'm seeing this really big gap is it's about, you know, yes, sure, you might know how to go in and set up an automation in a certain system. I wouldn't say that necessarily makes you what I would call a funnel pro. That is, you're an executor. Great, you could be an amazing one. But that would be where I would put it under the, you know, the tech VA kind of banner. But people who are wanting to really, whether I see the real value and the opportunity where people are really happy to invest and where they really value the outcome is if someone who is able to offer them not just the ability to make this email, do this and then do this and then do that, but someone who understands, like fundamentally understands what the marketing strategy and business strategy is behind these funnels, how they work in a bigger sense, and they're actually able to really advise and guide them. That is where I see there is a huge opportunity for people to step in. And the difference in offerings as well is massive because it's. Sorry, I'll get into the pros and cons in a sec. I've gone off on a bit of a tangent, but if you think about it, like I said, changing your title from BA to tech BA might add an extra 5, maybe $10 an hour if that to your rate. But when you are a funnel expert or funnel pro, you become as this like, strategic person, you know, be able to add these more strategic offerings. All of a sudden you're looking at having packages that are 2,000, 5,000, $10,000 instead. Because that is how much people value these things that you're creating. Because if you do them well, what you're doing is you're helping to build an asset for somebody and that asset is then going to make that person money month after month after month after month. You're potentially building an asset that makes them five, six figures a month. Of course they're going to value that and they're going to really value someone who's going to make it really easy for them who's going to be able to obviously guide them to make sure that that asset converts as well as possible. And it's not just about like you guys should know this by now. It's not just about taking a launch and automating it. That rarely works well. So yeah, so like I said, I want to talk about some of the pros and cons because like I said I think there's an opportunity there guys. So if this is something that you're thinking could be interesting then I want to help you to figure out yes, this could be something for you. And before I dive into the pros and cons, I also like I've gotten a little carried away and I've gotten really excited about this topic and I've actually created a couple of really awesome tools. They're still while I'm recording this they are still being like refined and perfected. So I don't actually know what I'm calling it yet. But you guys can. If you go to be a funnel pro.com right now there's an opt in form that's really all is there on the page. You can pop your details in and I will send you them. They should be done by the time this goes live. Definitely will be. I'll send you some like there's a calculator and there's an awesome guide as well that can really help you to if you do decide that or maybe you're just curious about whether being a funnel pro, building stepping into that role as a trusted strategic partner of a business rather than just being the executor tasks monkey is going to be for you and the impact it can have on your business. I would 100% like I said go to be a funnel pro com links will be below. Pop your details in, we'll send it out to you. Hopefully that's super helpful as well. I get excited, I go off on tangents but anyway so let's dive into this episode. Like I said pros and cons on whether or not building funnels. Being a funnel pro is going to work for you. Just things to consider before you decide to stick your flag in the sand. Because obviously there are different ways that you could step up and niche down. You could go from VA to obm. Usually that requires you to be very very organized, very good at planning out lots of complex projects and also very good at managing lots of personalities because usually one part of the OBM's job is to take on some of the team management. So if you're working for clients and their team isn't amazing and maybe they've got some painful personalities. It's like you kind of become the boss of these people and you didn't really get any say in it. So for a lot of people that's, you know, that might be a deal breaker if you know, another sort of way that you could focus down and you know, and upgrade your skills like I said, and step into that more strategic expert kind of role would be to be a launch manager. And again, I think a lot of people who might consider funnels or launches may be similar and some people may want to do both. Where I see the, you know, with launch management, I think you definitely have to love marketing strategy. That's really important. You got to be all about keeping your finger on the pulse what is and isn't working. Definitely again, have to be good at organizing complex projects, project planning, time management, all of that stuff, team management. But I think the real clincher for some people when it comes to launch management is you also have to be really good at dealing with what I call launch zillows. It's kind of like being a bridezilla. You know how like most women are kind of not their best in the lead up to their wedding because they're stressed and there's so much going on and it's all, everything's pinned on this one day and they, you know, it can really bring out the worst in them. Not always. Some of us are super calm, normal people, but sometimes it can. Launches seem to have that same effect, particularly because financially a lot goes into it and a lot is riding on it. And particularly if you are wanting to step up into that more elevated role where you're going to be dealing with people who have like six and seven figure launches, a lot is riding on these launches doing well. So it's very common to expect clients to be messaging you, wanting you to do stuff as out of scope, make last minute changes, just panic when things aren't going to plan or, or there's an issue like you kind of still have to be on call that 24 7. You know, you sort of, it's, I don't know, it feels, I mean, I'm just, I prefer to have launches be as systemized and funnel like as I can and everything in my life to be as zen and chill as possible. If it was me, I'd be like going, hmm. If I'm weighing up the options between one or the other, that may be a deal breaker. Then when it comes to, you know, if you want to be someone who specializes in being that real strategic expert or funnel pro for funnels. It just has a different vibe to it because the whole, you know, it's the whole sort of concept of funnels is that they don't have a hard deadline. It's normally something that someone will be creating around their other stuff. So, yes, you'll have deadlines, but, you know, it's normally something that's much easier for, that can be planned out in advance, that can be done in a much more consistent and less stressful way. And it still ticks all those other boxes. You still get to have the fun of nerding out on the tech and of geeking out on the marketing strategy and still being part of a dynamic team and seeing people get results and all that great stuff. But you just. The pressure is taken off of that immediacy of that must be done tomorrow because that's just not the nature of funnels. Those are some other options to think about first and foremost of like, if you are going, okay, I'm ready to take that next step up, which is kind of all the past in front of you, which one might be the right one for you, but some more pros and cons, again, to help you really decide if this is going to be the right choice for you is pro when it comes to being a funnel pro is. And this, I think one of the main ones is you get to help people build really valuable assets that get used again and again. And I think that people underestimate just how powerful that can be. Like, you can literally in a couple of weeks, help someone create something and add something into their business, which may be a crucial part of their business growth and revenue for years and can potentially add, like I said, six, seven, eight figures to that business's bottom line. So you can bet that, you know, that feels really good as a service provider, but also that is something that is really valued by the client because, yes, it's more of a slow burn than a launch, but a launch is one and done. The funnel is an asset that lasts for, well, for as long as. As they want it to, really. Another pro of becoming a funnel pro is, like I said, right now the demand is building. I feel like a lot of people are actually stepping like launching is kind of been a little uncertain these last 12 months and it scared people a little bit around investing in something like that. Whereas funnels and the idea of having regular, reliable revenue has become more and more appealing and the demand is growing the, there's more and more people out there looking for help with this. They're looking to have it into their business and they're realizing that, hey, they haven't really got the time and they're looking for someone who can just hold their hand and say, yep, I got this. I'm going to make sure. It's amazing. You know, you can trust me. This is going to be great. And if you can do that for someone, like I said, that's, that's so valuable. Rather than. And again, this is just sort of that difference that I see versus someone going, all right, I'm going to be a tech va. If, if someone went to a tech va, you would expect that person to come with their strategy or all outlined and go, this is what I want you to build. Just build it. There's no. It's not as collaborative. It's not coming to you and saying, hey, I think I've got, you know, I've got this product I'd like to put on Evergreen. What do you think? What's the best way to do it? Or I had this idea. Do you think it's going to work? And having you be able to bring, you know, your own strengths and knowledge to the table and say, yeah, well, this is what usually works best for this kind of product. You know, this is how we can map it out. And it just being a lot more of a creative, I think, rather than, I don't know, it's less being told you go do this. It's more being like, hey, how can we create this amazing thing together? And like I said, the demand is growing. Pro number three, you don't need to deal with launch Zillows as I've already talked about. If you don't like being screamed at via multiple different messaging services at 3am because someone's found a typo in something, then maybe launch management isn't for you. Another pro that I see is that as you niche down and really specialize and you become known as that expert and as you are building something that's so clearly valuable, you can start to charge a premium for these premium services. So you know, an average funnel build price and again, it varies a lot depending on experience and also depending on the complex how complicated the funnel is. But between 2 to $10,000 is totally standard for a funnel build. Imagine if you just had a couple of those clients every month. You wouldn't need necessarily anymore. And you could definitely because of again, the nature of funnels is another sort of pro is that they're really easy on your own end, on the back end to systemize and template out a lot of things so you can make the implementation, the workflows that you're doing, because a lot of it is going to be replicatable. You can really systemize that down and start to get the economies of scale, start to free up your own time, still create something amazing for your clients, but do it in a way that is systemized, that doesn't take. You're not doing it from scratch every time. And that is again, it's another benefit of the nature of funnels, which is very different to the nature of launches. And of course, having said that, when you know the final pro and obviously there's, I feel like there's many, many more, but I don't want this episode to end up being three hours long. Is that because you are offering a premium service and because you're sort of niching down and you're stepping into this, this field where there's not a lot of people have really staked their claim yet? You will need fewer clients to be able to hit your revenue goals and to be able to grow your business. And you'll be able to be more selective as well with your clients. You'll also, again, because of the nature of funnels, be able to book up in advance a lot easier. You know, you can start plotting people in months in advance and keeping your pipeline full and your, you know, your client roster full in a much more sort of stress, stress free. Sorry, I don't know what's wrong with my mouth today and sustainable way. All right, onto the cons because it's not all rosy. Like there's always going to be stuff that isn't, isn't amazing about any type of business strategy. And I am all about building businesses that suit you and that suit what you want and how you want to live your life and that are going to ultimately make you happy, not just make you money. So we got to talk about the dark side of this. So first of all is, and this is again, this is a big problem that I see with how people are currently offering funnel build services is that there is a bit of a gap. Because what you need to really be able to do is you need to be able to educate your clients and set their expectations. Because a lot of people, again, they're going to come in, they're like, I want a funnel, I want a six figure funnel. Build me a six figure funnel, right? And the thing is, funnels are a slow burn like and particularly Depending on where that client is in their business, how well their products perform already, what existing list building that they already do, what marketing they already do, how often they're launching, all that, all of that stuff can impact how well a funnel does or doesn't work. It's not as simple as clicking a switch like you're going to build a funnel, then it has a little like betting in period where you kind of see how it works and then you're probably going to jump in and maybe optimize and tweak some things. But before any of that happens, you need to be able to set your clients expectations. And if you don't, if you can't say hey, all right, we'll create this funnel and you should roughly expect based on doing exactly what you're doing, not marketing anything else, that it should get you this number of sales per month. Like if you don't know those numbers and can't have those conversations, you're going to start getting some angry clients.

And that's never fun. And it's usually just been, usually it's from people they, you have clients and like, oh, I built a funnel, didn't work. That that person was terrible. The person who built my funnel was terrible. And it might not necessarily be true. It may be the client had the idea originally of what the strategy should be and it wasn't the right strategy. And the person building the funnel didn't either feel confident enough to push back or didn't have the know how to push back and say no, this isn't actually appropriate for what you're trying to do. Or it could just be that the client had crazy expectations. I thought all you need to do is automate something and instantly money starts flowing through. You have to. Again, there is a lot of education I think involved because a lot of people just don't understand funnels. But if you understand funnels and you know that how to, you know how to do this, it's not a difficult thing to do. But if you don't do it and you, or you don't do it well, it can make it quite painful. Another thing which I'd say would be a con and again this is a con of I think whether you're doing launch planning or management or funnel building regardless, is that sometimes the client's offer sucks, doesn't convert well and therefore it doesn't matter how they launch it or what funnel they build, it's not going to work. So again there is that need. And that's why I said there's that's where this gap is in the market for people who can understand what doesn't. Doesn't make a good offer. And this doesn't have to be. This is something that can be learned and absolutely something can be taught. Like I teach my clients how to change their offers and update their office. They convert better all the time. So this isn't something that's like voodoo that you have to know like, or so you have to guess, you can learn it. And then again, if you are able to do that, if you are able to both have the knowledge and the confidence to guide your clients when they come to you and say, hey, I want to automate this. If you can look at them, look at the results I've had in the past and say, actually, this might not be ready for a funnel yet. I recommend you do ABC to improve it or, you know, things like that. It's just, that is where the value is. That is where there are people out there right now who will pay, you know, four, five, six figures to, like, I'm not even kidding. I know I have, you know, friends and coaches of my own who I know have paid six figures to have funnels built for them. Very big, complex funnels, don't get me wrong. But, you know, the opportunity is there, guys, but you have to be able to provide them both. You have to have both the execution skills and the strategy. Like, you have to just understand the strategy. And like I said, this is absolutely something that can be taught. You absolutely can go and learn that. But if you don't have that, then it is going to make life a little bit difficult. Another con is that, oh my gosh, there are so many different tools out there and new ones coming all the time. And I think people get caught in the trap of thinking, well, I'd have to learn them all, I'd have to offer them all for my services to be valuable. And I would actually say, as with anything business, it's actually more powerful if you just can focus in on one or two things, really niche down, particularly at the start, particularly while you're learning. Pick those right tools. And I might actually cover this in another episode because I could go into which those tools are that I would recommend that someone wanting to build funnels actually invested their time in learning because there are different types of tools for different types of business stages. And when you're sitting down and planning who you want your ideal client to be, you want to make sure that the tool you learn is the tools that your ideal client has. But yeah, you definitely don't need to go and learn all the tools out there. It's much better to really focus on maybe pick two to start with and then that way because they all have their own little nuances, they all have their own things that kind of don't work how they should. Like none of them are perfect. And I think again, where you can bring that value is if you know a handful of tools absolutely inside out and how to counteract those little nuances or the workarounds and things like that. You know how to. It'll make you faster at delivering and executing, but also it'll mean that you're going to do it more accurately and in a more valuable way. And final con, and this isn't really a con, but I think if you do decide that you're. Yep, I'm going to become a funnel pro. I'm going to. That is how I'm going to elevate my business to the next level. I'm going to step away from being that person who just cleans out inboxes and schedule people's emails and start sort of rejigging your business all around towards this is you are definitely going to become a bit more of a nerd. And I don't know, not everyone might call that a con. I don't. I love nerds and I think nerds will rule the world eventually. But, you know, it is something to be aware of that you're going to start having conversations with friends about, hey, how cool is it that activecampaign can do this now? Like, it's. It can be a problem. It can be a little socially isolating when not other people can join those conversations. So just be aware of it. That's what this episode really is about. So like I said, guys, I know this episode was a little off topic, not what we normally talk about. It is something that I think is a huge gap in the market, though, and that I'm getting really, really excited about. And like I said, I've gone and created a couple of amazing resources for you. If you are curious around how you can step up, how you can elevate your business by offering funnels and doing it in a way that's not just like, not just the execution, but having both that execution and the strategy combined to be that unicorn that so many people currently are out there looking for and willing to invest in at a really premium rate, then go over to be a funnel pro. Com. Pop your dates in. We will send you out a couple of awesome resources that you can dive in and get started with. I hope you love them. Let me know if you do if you have any other questions as well. Guys, I think I might do a bit of a Q and A around building funnels for other people and just more of the like the how to know whether your funnel is any good, how to audit a funnel and make sure it's working, or how to find and troubleshoot those kinds of things. I feeling there might be some really interesting content that we can definitely do there, but let us know over on Instagram if you would like to know more. If you've got any questions specifically around offering a funnel as a service, we would love to answer them for you in an upcoming episode. As always guys, I hope you've loved this episode. If you have, make sure you share it and otherwise I will be back in your ear holes next week with another episode of Doing It Online. Until then, keep doing what you do and I'll see you online. Bye.

Thanks so much for listening to the Doing It Online podcast. If you love this episode, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review. And if you're ready to take your all online course sales to the next level with your own six or seven figure funnel, let Kate show you exactly how today@Stealmyfunnel.com.