Lots of people have heard of the Marketing Funnel – it all makes great sense on paper. You start by attracting lots of people who are interested and then filter them out by asking a bit more each time.
The funnel looks a bit like this.
The strategy behind having a good marketing funnel is that you offer a free product to attract the attention of all those people who are interested in what you have to offer and are looking for help. The free product could be a checklist, a tips document, a worksheet or a webinar and the deal is that people provide their name and email in order to get it.
That means you have a list of people who have demonstrated an interest in what you’re offering and you can now start building a relationship with them by emailing added value information.
When they’ve got to know that you’re an expert and give great value, you can offer them a low-cost item. This may be a book, a paid-for webinar, a seminar, a breakfast briefing or an online coaching session. Not everyone will buy so you’ll filter people out who are still thinking about it or trying to DIY what you offer.
On the plus side, some of those people will buy the low-cost item (or a similar low-cost offer) at a later date. However, you now know you have an audience of people who are ‘fans’.
Some of those people will become clients for your products or services and pay for your core services. This is your bread and butter.
The jam comes from the premium clients who want to work directly with you and are willing to pay top dollar for your expertise. In reality you probably only want two or three of these at a time. However, if you don’t keep filling your funnel’s top layer, these people may never discover you.
