Hey My Friend! 👋
So, quick question… Do either of these situations sound like you?
- You’ve heard of sales funnels / marketing funnels. It seems to be the current “hot trend” for marketing your products / services online. It appears that everyone is either doing it, trying it, or talking about it. It seems like the perfect solution. So, you think… okay, let’s go ahead & build one {or are considering building one}…
Or
- You’ve already spent a ton of time… money… energy… {frustration?!}… already building the “perfect” marketing funnel…
Either way, you get to the same end… It’s done. It’s built. It’s ready to go… &…
…Now what?!…
*crickets*
If You Build It, They Will Come 🎉 …. {right?!}
Hmmm… 😕
If you’re like most people, the next questions you’ll find yourself asking are…
How do I market my {product, service, coaching program, online course, membership, book, mastermind, etc}?
&
How do I KNOW it will convert?
Sound familiar?! 🙂 If so, You’re Not Alone!
{I have great news for you & a free checklist 📝 to grab, should you find this helpful!}
If you’ve felt frustrated in the past, just remember… We can’t change the past, but can make an educated decision about today, trust our gut, & move forward, right? Okay, so let’s decide & commit right now to do just that. Forgive ourselves for any {potential} frustration, overwhelm, etc, take a long deep breath & learn what is Essential to have in place BEFORE you build your 1st or next marketing funnel.
{How many people do we all know that NEED to know this?! Be the hero & share this post! 💝}
Fair enough?
After all, Everything Has Perfect Timing & I believe we’re connecting for a reason.
Essential Pre Marketing Funnel Secrets: Breakdown
When you say, “How Do I Market {product, service, coaching program, online course, book, mastermind, etc}?”, what you’re really saying is, “How can I get lots of the RIGHT people to see this {& provide an opportunity to say yes}?”
Otherwise known as Traffic Strategy. {💡?!}
When you say, How do I KNOW it will convert?, what you’re really saying is, “How can I assure that the words I use in my copy are the exact ones that will magnetically attract my dream client?”
Otherwise known as Messaging & Dream Client Clarity. {💡?!}
Does this resonate & make sense to you?
Yup, me, too!
It’s about knowing the right questions to ask & breaking down the actual meaning, so you can take targeted action. I’m not sure about you, but for me, these make SO Much More Sense!
Okay, so I just gave away the answer, but let’s connect the dots for you a bit more & dive into deeper detail, shall we?
Essential Pre Marketing Funnel Secrets: 3 Things to Nail BEFORE You Build Your Marketing Funnel
- Messaging ~ both for you / your company + your product / service
- Dream Client ~ define / develop with diamond clarity
- Traffic Strategy ~ how will your dream client find you
Before I go into more detail on each, I want to first connect the dots about WHY these are so critical to have nailed BEFORE you build your marketing funnel. Some may be obvious & some perhaps not so {let me know either way what you think in the comments below!}.
Essential Pre Marketing Funnel Secrets: WHY Are These Important?
- The #1 reason why a marketing funnel does NOT convert well has nothing to do with the tech. Has nothing to do with a beautiful design {seriously!}…or the color of a button. Has nothing to do with the sequence. According to Russell Brunson, the founder of ClickFunnels, It has everything to do with the messaging! If you haven’t nailed your messaging, you’re wasting your time.
- If you don’t know who you’re “talking to” or it’s too vague / broad, you won’t convert. Yes, this also falls into the messaging, but if your dream client is not defined / developed with diamond clarity, you run the risk of attracting the wrong type of client. Great intention. Poor result. {Exactly like my U.K. client who hired me to help her nail her messaging. She has a YouTube Channel with 350k subscribers, which “looks” good from the outside, but converting to her fitness coaching programs is challenging. So now it’s time to be deliberate about who she’s attracting, as right now, they’re all over the place!} Waste of time, energy, money, momentum, etc.
- Traffic. Traffic. Traffic. Most people get this wrong. {Not their fault. I believe online marketing strategy is not taught correctly by most} Guess what? If you build it, they will NOT come… automatically. They need to know you’re there & be guided in the right direction. If you haven’t factored in what your traffic strategy is, then it’s a waste of time to build a marketing funnel {or a website, or an online course, or a coaching program, or a book, or a membership, or…. You get the point}. This may sound harsh, but think about it. Most of us can TOTALLY relate to this one & is completely counterintuitive to what’s being taught by most online marketers today. The push is to build marketing funnels. Sure. For the right business. At the right time. Once the right foundational pieces are in place, Yup, it can be a wonderful, life changing tool. Afterall…
a Marketing Funnel is a Map, not a Road! {💡?!}
Crystal with Funnel Marketing Consulting
And… without a traffic strategy, yup, you guessed it, we’re all just wasting our time… money… energy… & forward momentum. I don’t know about you, but I for one am always looking to conserve my energy {especially as a Highly Sensitive Leader!}.
What do you think so far? Does this make sense? Do you find this valuable? I’d LOVE to hear your #1 take away or AHa! Comment below! 👇
Yay, time for the good stuff! Let’s dive a bit deeper into each of the 3 Essentials to gain a clearer understanding.
Essential Pre Marketing Funnel Secrets: Secret #1 ~ Nail Your Messaging BEFORE You Build Your Marketing Funnel
Messaging. There are 2 types of messaging that are essential.
- For you / your company &
- For your product or service
Okay, so what do I mean by this?
For your product or service, there are very specific messaging words, phrases, & explanations that will represent not only the benefits, but the outcome or result someone will receive by using / participating, the #1 reason they will say Yes, the common objections, FAQs, & misconceptions surrounding it, etc. Once all of these are nailed, the copy practically writes itself {for more specifics, grab my free checklist 📝!}.
For you & your company, there are a couple of critical points I’d love to share. First, I believe that You Have No Competition.
Yup, really.
Why?
Because there is no one else like you.
You Are Your Competitive Advantage.
Crystal with Funnel Marketing Consulting
Your personality. Your skills. Your experiences. Your vulnerabilities. Your stories. Your perceptions. Your Core Values. The things that you take a Stand for. Your Deep WHY. Your Origin Story. Etc. {I LOOOOOVE this stuff & believe so strongly in it being a critical piece to magnetically & authentically attract your dream client}.
Second, in the 5 phases of a launch, the 1st phase is Connection. Whenever we begin marketing ourselves, our products, our services etc online, we usually start with cold traffic 😨. Regardless of the “temperature” of your traffic, your 1st objective isn’t to sell something. It’s to make a Connection 💜. Period. Once you connect, then you can go from there.
Sooo… when we discuss nailing your messaging, it includes natural connection & awareness content pieces that seamlessly can be used in any of your current & future marketing campaigns, be them 1 time or evergreen. The human experience & process doesn’t change. If you skip this part, you’re likely to not connect & convert the way you KNOW you could & should.
Essential Pre Marketing Funnel Secrets: Secret #2 ~ Define / Develop your DREAM CLIENT with diamond clarity Before You Build Your Marketing Funnel
Dream Client. First, what do I mean by Dream Client 🌠? & what’s the difference between a Dream Client & an Ideal Client {that most of the “marketing” world uses}? Great question!
Simple: We Attract What We Focus On. 📷
At the end of the day, I’d rather speak directly to my dream client & have others pulled along too, than consistently attract those that would be an average fit.
Imagine the most perfect, fun to work with, energizing type of client who would benefit from your products / services & become a raving fan, too.
In addition to the marketing generals like demographics, I believe it’s important to take a few more things into account.
Here’s a quick sample…
~ temperament
~ hobbies
~ interests
~ those who See Your Value & payment is No Problem {am I right?!]
~ coachable
~ open to YOUR process & willing to trust it
Does this make sense to you? This really represents what makes up the ultimate dream client for you.
Will you always get your Dream Client? Nope, but when they see that you’re talking to them AND they’re in the right situation to say yes, then saying yes will just flow. There is no struggle. No hard work. Just, Yes, Of Course I’ll Work With You!
If a better checklist would be helpful, grab your copy here.
Essential Pre Marketing Funnel Secrets: Secret #3 ~ Nail Your TRAFFIC STRATEGY Before You Build Your Marketing Funnel
Traffic Strategy. This is hands down THE most important one of them all. With the Messaging & everything about your Dream Client identified, you’d still be dead in the water, so to speak without a traffic strategy. You need to know where people are & how to guide them to the start of your marketing funnel before anyone will see it.
To some, “traffic” may sound vague, so let’s break this down a bit further. Your Dream Client definitely hangs out online… it’s just a matter of where.
There are plenty of sources that already have lots of people there, so all we’re doing is diverting some to your landing page or the first part of your funnel {think “Off Ramp!”}. Once a min of 100 people see the beginning of your funnel {assuming we have analytics}, we can begin to consider conversion & analyze the rest to see if any other adjustments will want to be made as we go {always the case!}. But again, 1st comes the traffic, then we can continue to analyze & improve the funnel.
The idea is to convert this traffic that you Don’t own into traffic that you DO own, meaning adding to your email marketing list. YOU own your email list. As social media algorithms change, you don’t have control. As search engine algorithms changes, you don’t have control.
The idea is to eventually test & figure out a way {or multiple} to consistently drive traffic to the beginning of your funnel, provide them with something they deem valuable, they’ll opt~in… and boom,…now you Own this traffic!
Once they’re on your email list, you can authentically nurture that relationship and offer various ways to help them solve their challenges & reach their goals via your awesome products & services. Make sense?
The great news is that after doing the critical foundational messaging & dream client development work, you’ll be laser focused already & your chances increase exponentially to keep the RIGHT people around as a result. This is just part of the fun!
Does this make sense to you?
Essential Pre Marketing Funnel Secrets: Summary
The 3 Things that Need to be Nailed Before Building a Marketing Funnel are…
- Messaging ~ for you / your company + your product / service
- Dream Client ~ define / develop with diamond clarity
- Traffic Strategy ~ where will you divert people from & point them to the start of your marketing funnel
Why?
Because without any 1 of these {& For Sure Traffic!}, it doesn’t matter WHAT kind / type of funnel you use, or how pretty it is, or the kind of cool tech it has {bonus bump, countdown clock etc}, or how much time, money, & energy went into it,… your chances of the success you want & deserve are very low.
So whether you’re considering a marketing funnel for your business or have already created one, make sure you share this post with others and your team to gain the understanding & knowledge of what’s REALLY needed to succeed!
Would you LOVE more specifics? ~> How about a checklist of exact things to consider in each of the above 3 categories? Grab yours here!
At the end of the day, it’s all about getting your work out to more people, having the heartfelt impact that you KNOW you can & are driven to make, AND creating a #SustainableLifestyle for yourself. {YES!}
I believe that Everything Has Perfect Timing {we’re connecting now for a reason!} & that Creating a Real Tangible #PositiveImpact Matters.
I Dream of Empowering 1000 Highly Sensitive Leaders to…
~ increase their Impact to…
~ decrease stress…
~ increase fulfillment, so they can…
~ be present with their families… so they know…
~ they’re worthy to be themselves.
What is your subconscious driver? #Powerful!
THAT’s #AuthenticMarketing!
Let’s rock our #PositiveImpact,
~Crystal 🙂
P.S. If you haven’t already, Grab your Free Checklist to learn specifically what to consider when developing your Messaging, Dream Client, & Traffic Strategy. This is essential to setting you up for the best possible success when you do finally pull the trigger to make your marketing funnel live!. Let’s Do This! 🙂
P.P.S. Ready for some 1:1 help? I have a Buy 3, Get 1 Free mix & match Coaching / Consulting package special. Click here & scroll down to Learn More.