When it comes to effective sales that could lead potential customers to commit to your brand, few tools are as valuable as sales funnels. These tools can lead your target audience to choose your products and make them customers. This is why it is very beneficial for anyone who wants to succeed in online sales to understand the types of sales funnels and how to choose ones best suited to their business.
What are the types of sales funnels?
An effective sales funnel takes the viewer on a journey and transforms them from a visitor browsing your website to a customer who will return for more purchases. A great sales funnel boosts sales by establishing a connection with customers, thereby building trust.
Since all customers differ, so too will the effectiveness of a sales funnel. Some customers will be easily persuaded to make a purchase, while others might take months to commit to a purchase. The latter might need more convincing efforts, including blog articles, sales calls, or webinars that boost their understanding of your business.
When it comes to excellent sales funnels, these are the most successful.
The lead generation sales funnel
The main aim of this funnel is to increase leads. If effective, this funnel can boost your email list and audience size, making it ideal if you are planning a product launch or event. How do you get leads? There are two ways to increase your leads. You can either use organic channels or you can pay for it. Organic channels for a lead generation sales funnel include:
- Social media
- Word of mouth
- Traffic on your website
The most effective paid form of increasing leads is advertisements.
A successful lead generation sales funnel will have the following:
- A very appealing offer
This is what will grab the viewer’s attention, tempting them into gathering more information about your business.
- An effective way to reach your target audience
There isn’t much use for creating a fantastic offer if people aren’t aware of it. This is why it is essential to utilize your social media, website, blog, or ads.
- A page that features your information
A landing page is necessary for making the most of a lead generation sales funnel. This page should display information about your business, your product, and a fantastic offer.
- Emails to those who didn’t purchase
Unfortunately, not everyone who looks at your outstanding offer will commit on the spot. Therefore, sending follow-up emails to those customers is a great idea. However, your offer was appealing enough to get some interest, so continue convincing with the use of emails.
An onboarding sales funnel
What is a more effective way to welcome new customers than assessing their desires and offering deals based on your findings? The onboarding sales funnel works on the principle of a welcoming survey where new customers can select appealing options.
To create an effective onboarding sales funnel, you need the following:
- Related questions
The questions in your survey should be related to the products you have available. Keep your questions straightforward and short.
- A survey that is quick and fun to complete
Newcomers shouldn’t feel that the survey is an effort. Instead, keep it light, engaging, and colorful.
- Touchpoints and related content
Add content related to your business and the survey, making it possible for newcomers to access your content easily.
A content sales funnel
Sometimes you can lure prospective customers just by producing phenomenal content. If people enjoy the webinars, videos, or articles you post, they will respond positively to your content sales funnel. The best way to approach a content sales funnel is to do sufficient research before you start compiling your content.
To create an effective content sales funnel, you need the following:
- Content material that is unique enough to attract your target audience
Creating content that has been overused won’t have the same amount of success as fresh content that is interesting.
- Ensuring your content quality exceeds that of your competitors
These days most topics have been covered, and therefore chances are you’ll create content on a topic that is featured on competitor sites. Look at your competitor sites to ensure that yours is better. If yours isn’t better, get to work and improve it.
- Various places that can feature your content
The best way to increase your content awareness is to make it available on as many platforms as possible.
- Call-to-action buttons in your content
The goal of content sales funnels is to secure a sale, after all. That is why there must be a call-to-action mechanism available on all content, making it quick and easy to commit to a purchase.
The webinar sign-up sales funnel
Webinars have become increasingly popular over the last decade because people love learning new skills. Therefore, if you can offer a webinar to your customers, you can boost your sales by initiating a webinar sign-up sales funnel.
To create a practical webinar sign-up sales funnel, you need the following:
- A webinar on a topic that you consider yourself an expert on
Webinars are considered successful if attendees feel like an expert has hosted them. This way, attendees feel like they are getting valuable information from your webinar.
- Your webinar platform
A webinar can’t happen without a platform. Ensure that all systems are in place to avoid any issues while your webinar is in progress.
- A tempting special offer for everyone who commits to attending your webinar
People love a good deal. If someone has already signed up for your webinar, chances are they are interested in your website. Use this interest to your advantage by creating amazing offers.
- Follow-up emails that can convince customers who didn’t make a purchase
Yet again, not every attendee will purchase something. However, nothing prevents you from reaching out and trying to convince them to reconsider.
Summary
The world of sales has changed so much due to the incredible technological tools we now have at our disposal. By selecting the correct sales funnel and executing it well, you could enjoy extraordinary growth in your customer base. Use these sales funnels to convert viewers into loyal customers.