3 REASONS YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE A SALES FUNNEL IN YOUR NETWORK MARKETING BUSINESS!
Can I just say that today is not a day for scam alerts and all that skepticism….Oh yeah I had enough of that! I just want to answer a Question that arose form an Image I shared about my sales funnel (See it below)
Someone took the effort to Click on “ASK JULIE” with ” Why are you scamming people, showing off on Facebook that you are getting leads…we want to see the money! What!
First I never share income or earnings on Social media. WHY? Because is AMATEUR MARKETING to do that! BUT I do share facts and results of my actions. So by sharing a Fact that today we’re getting targeted leads willingly opting into our sales funnel squeeze pages; that seems to have offended some poor looser! So I tackle the topic of why any home based business owner or affiliate/network marketer must get sales funnel training in order to generate leads and make sales!
You Need a Sales Funnel FOR ANY KIND OF BUSINESS online or off line. By the way you DON’T need a sales funnel system if you aren’t interested in Creating Residual Income online. But if you’re interested, below are the steps you need to take to get to a stage of a well oiled sales funnel management system:
- Do some product research on/offline
- Find a program, service or product to promote
- Do your research online to discover profitable keywords
- Get writing and create/produce content that adds value & is compelling.
- Publish your content via a blog post, a Facebook pan page update, Newsletter article, forum post, video etc. pick your juice
- Promote Promote Promote that content using a variety of social media tools
#1. THE FORMULA – Do You Know What a Sales Funnel Is?
I am sure you can Google what a sales funnel definition is.
So I give you something the Greens will love!
Lets get to some mathematics, remember its a numbers game. To generate leads you need the following:
TRAFFIC + OPT INS + OFFER/SERVICE SALES (Downlines if in NM) = RESIDUAL INCOME
Traffic = The off or online footprints to your site or links.
AKA people who find and check out your site and/or offers.
Opt Ins = Those People who subscribe to your e-mail list via your offer
page/links aka Squeeze or capture page – without a list you are dead in the waters, can’t put it any simpler.
OFFER = PRODUCT, SERVICE
SALES (lots of em)= Get others to buy into your offers. This is essential to generate income.
If you are a network marketer or in MLM then your sales may include getting new distributors into your program as one of the ways to generate income.
You could say this is the formula for the sales funnel stages and it is. You could even say its a sales funnel definition, and it is too. Its the practical application and tools to get the SALES that really matter. For most people the automation of this formula is the to success and you will find a lot of sales funnel software, some work, most are duds that you shouldn’t even waste a buck on… yet some preach their success using said software! You have to test what works for you…Pauli and I use the tried and tested Branding, Blogging, Paid Ads and Use of an e-mail management system aka Aweber! This is literally simplifying it for this post or I could write a book… Not today though Click To Tweet
But we shall talk about…
Since you don’t have a high street shop, your online presence by itself wont make you sales however gorgeous you may be. So driving an increasing amount of traffic to your offers, links, website is the only way to be seen and get those sales made. And you wont be able to do this long term without a sales force. Going it alone is simply not the way in network Marketing. In fact its a recipe for failure.
Social media Optimization can help drive an increasing number visitors to your sites and offers. Its a learned art. For instance you need a Sales page, a Facebook Page if you are on Facebook as an entrepreneur. If you use Pinterest then I strongly recommend to turn your profile into a business one. To do that faster, head over to our YouTube Channel and A, Subscribe and B, Use our Playlist packed full of Pinterest Marketing Tips, Training and Tutorials , Head over there and do it now!
And below I delve deeper into why you should have a dynamic sales funnel It could get a bit detailed. Grab Your self a Cuppa…
#3. How Having a Sales Funnel that Works has Turned My Life Around:
Before I started internet marketing, I thought the only way to have multiple streams of income was to work DAMN HARD, buy rental property or 10 and hope that by 60 it will be producing a tidy lil sum to keep us going on a cruise a year and pay our bills. That was as far as my sales forecast went!
NO NO & NO…if you are that person today, please get out of that mindset. You need MSIs and to have a better, more abundant twilight years and so you don’t become dependent on your children or worse on then state!
Make sure YOU purposefully create multiple streams of income to protect your financial future. It’s so simple these days do so online it’s incredible how many people allow their own PERSONAL Fears & Scepticism to hold them back! You can never win without spending, and YES sometimes loosing! Having several sales funnels helps!
WHY. Because it’s quite simply & profoundly true that if you put ALL of your financial eggs in one basket, what happens if that basket is affected in any way, it lets you down, e.g. it could tear to pieces, you could drop the basket? Well that’s your eggs gone & you could end up with egg on your face…in online marketing this is common as common goes!
It has happened to many including myself and my family in the past. With only ONE income stream or one sales funnel, all kinds could happen to you…
The economy changes…it has changed so much in last 6 years, you know what I am saying!
People have made the wrong decisions. Did you loose your job, whether you resigned, got pushed, company closing down or you got laid off? Many have fallen into depression or other stress related afflictions and Cannot work. And God forbid you have no insurance…you are snookered!
To avoid falling foul of the above, We put our money where our mouth is & train Network Marketers and Home Based Business Owners how to Build a Super Organisation from the Ground Up. And create wealth through MSIs – multiple streams of income online. One of the things we put emphasis on is creating multiple sales funnels. For instance right now we proudly promote 3 Programs and Our Own Info Product and for each we have created a sales funnel and drive traffic to them. Driving traffic is via Paid adverts, Solos, Social Media Optimisation, ppc etc.
There are PLENTY of pre-existing opportunities out there for you to choose from, yes it can be overwhelming. I mean, do you want real products to sell, do you want to have to buy and carry an inventory? Drop ship…? Whatever it is you chose to do you need a sales funnel to generate leads, make sales and create the life you desire.
In my opinion, Digital products are the easiest and cleanest to deal with, because they do not require an inventory, they can be delivered immediately, and they provide the buyer with that quick immediate fix that they are looking for. And I know for sure following numerous chats on and offline…
Not everybody has lots of cash in hand to invest in a platform that isn’t a sure deal. I know for sure that in my team a lot of people start at the basic level. They are looking to make some money first before they upgrade to the top product level. They can and should invest their earnings in scaling up on their sales funnel traffic to increase sales and upgrade.
You need a sales funnel because if you are relying on a one off sale of some product to a few people, you will always be broke. AND you are then letting those people wander off to be serviced by another marketer. We have handled List building in another blog post and wont go into details on how to use an Auto responder…Simply look at “RELATED POSTS” Below and you will learn more on that.
We look at Some Costs that Will Get You Thinking of a Bigger Sales Funnel Fast:
If you don’t know where you are headed any road will get you there i.e. Nowhere. So your sales funnel cannot be everything. It must be targeted! Click To Tweet
The reason you need a sales funnel that works is because while the cost of starting in any MLM or Network/Affiliate Marketing platform may be low, if you intend to Stick it out and Make an Income that Outlasts you, then You cant forget the following:
That the regular cost of your home based or online business and In no particular order could include:
– domain name registration fees about $10/annum per domain (once any promos are done) Plus securing your domain from Hackers Properly can cost from $49/yr to ….whatever you deem fit. An SSL Certificate starts from $49/yr as well!
– website hosting – approx $6-$20/month
– auto-responder fees can range between a min of $19.95-$24.95/month (Mailchimp offers a free account).
– affiliate fees – Most companies charge a subscription or auto-ship fee. Can include accepting payments to eliminate the need for your own expensive merchant account. Again price varies, but can be up to $100 per month or much more.
– Plugin fees – if you use WP to edit your site you know exactly what I mean…Mind you many plugins are free, which is a huge relief.
– Not forgetting Targeted Advertising for that Sweet Traffic – This is a personal Budget that you must add! Etc. etc…
So, you need to understand fully that it DOES cost money to build a business and a sales funnel online. BUT it’s A LOT cheaper than a regular traditional offline business start-up and operation costs, by a MASSIVE HUGE magnitude. Become a Sales Funnel Creator to be successful in your endeavours to create Time and Financial Freedom for you and loved ones.
Next time we shall look at how to: HOW TO OPTIMISE SOCIAL MEDIA TO COMBAT LACK OF LEADS AND SALES!
What do you think? Have I overlooked any aspects of a sales funnel that you think are important? Be sure to leave your strategies in the comments. 🙂
As always You Deserve More!
JULIE SYL
Creators of The Secret Affiliate Roadmap – “Helping you Build a Lucrative Home Business From Ground Up”.
Here is How To Work With Julie
Woah! I’m really enjoying the template/theme of this blog.
It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s challenging
to get that “perfect balance” between user friendliness and appearance.
I must say you have done a amazing job with this. Also, the
blog loads super fast for me on Chrome. Superb Blog!
Hello Carlotta,
Glad you like our theme and Web load speed.
We assume you got value from the article on Sales Funnels too.
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi there, You have done a great job. I will certainly dig in and personally
suggest to my friends. I am sure they’ll be benefited by this website.
Glad you found value Cody,by all means go ahead and recommend to your friends it they will find value too.
Pauli
Hey Julie, most folks have heard about sales funnels and may even know they need one…but what the heck is a sales funnel, anyway lol??! You did a great job breaking it down. In the online marketing world, ya absolutely need a funnel. It creates automation and can TOTALLY take your business to the next level!
Talk about it Jeff,
Lots of people get into Marketing and sales and dont have a clue how they will make it all work…many think calling their friends and family is all it takes…and if they don’t bite well it must be scam then! And yes without one, the whole chatanooga-choo-choo ain’t going nowhere 🙂
Pauli
Thanks for this amazing explaination of sales funnels Julie and Paul!
Glad to have been of help TriShaly and thanks for dropping by 🙂
Pauli
Yes, a good way for people to see all of your value.
Now that’s a different way of putting it Alecia.
Good to hear from you 🙂
having a sales funnel is key. it teaches you how to automate your business
It absolutely is Sheena and I know that you are on top of this baby 🙂 thanks for swinging by!
Hello Julie,
I’m speechless. You just laid out a perfect plan and in detail what and how a sales funnel should work and how it can help entrepreneurs out there. Amazing!!! Thank you for sharing your post. I’ll definitely come back soon for more 🙂 Cheers!
~ Sonny
Hi Sonny,
Good to hear from you. What most people fail to do is lay out the Plan and then act on their plan, test what works, track results…Whatever produces the best results, and they will come once the system is set up right, rinse and repeat 🙂
The Idea here is Action, Consistency, Track and Keep on 🙂 Glad you found value and you are welcome indeed to keep coming back for more!
Julie
Hi Julie,
Firstly, there always someone who will get upset by something you say, write do. Don’t let them bug you.
I’m working on my sales funnel at the moment and find it kind of mind boggling! I just don’t get it! Thanks for this article, it’s very clear and you’ve it quite simple. I’m at that writing articles stage and you’ve definately helped me out!
You Know Virginia,
What you say is true and that’s why I never let anyone’s negative energy affect mine. So I turned it into blog post 🙂 And I kow this person does read my blogs even though he never leaves a comment. Which Is okay too.
Thank you for swinging by 🙂
Julie
Thanks for the info! I got a lot out of this and I love the interaction you create on your posts!
You are most welcome Rachael and Thank You for taking the time. We love to interact with our audience because its an honour when someone takes the time to actually read our content. Glad to be of service 🙂
Jules
This is a great explanation of sales funnel and why having it is so important! I’m still learning how to get the best traffic in, but I have all the confidence in the world that this is the way to go! Thanks for the post, Julie.
Hello Meiko,
As a brand owner and home business entrepreneur, you need To have a Sales Funnel Strategy
and ensure its filled with targeted leads always.
You want to get to a point where you have more leads that time of day to respond to them.
When you get there you will be signing your own checks.
Thanks for dropping by.
Julie.
Julie I LOVE your blog! You’ve got a lot of good stuff going on here! And a great breakdown of the sales funnel, and WHY! Very cool 🙂
Thank You Val and you are most welcome! Glad you find the good Stuff here.
It was my intention to break it down so its understood.
Next Blog will be all about the practical stuff The How and where 🙂
Watch this Space.
Julie