Slide Images

Wednesday 19 September 2018

Your Sales Funnel is a Sieve: Here's How to Plug the Holes

[ad_1]



“They went to sea in a Sieve, they did,


   In a Sieve they went to sea:


In spite of all their friends could say,


On a winter’s morn, on a stormy day,


   In a Sieve they went to sea!


And when the Sieve turned round and round,


And every one cried, ‘You’ll all be drowned!’


They called aloud, ‘Our Sieve ain’t big,


But we don’t care a button! we don’t care a fig!


   In a Sieve we’ll go to sea!’


      Far and few, far and few,


         Are the lands where the Jumblies live;


      Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,


         And they went to sea in a Sieve.”




Are you a sales Jumblie? I bet you are! Here are a few ways to fix that Sales Sieve of yours before you drown in the sea.



1. Where Are the Holes?


In a movie set in space, there will always be a “punctured hull scene.” It’s like a Nicholas Sparks movie and terminal illness.



First, a rock or a bit of debris punctures the hull. Then an alarm goes off. And then the space denizens panic.



What’s the first thing they do? Look for the hole.



This is your first step. Look for the holes in the sieve.



Hole #1: Little Data Tracking


I recently had to run at night on a mountain trail. If I hadn’t had my headlamp, what would have happened? I’d have literally bit the dirt (and probably a granite rock the size of grandma).



Lack of data tracking is like lack of headlamp on mountain trails at night. The light gives me visual data on the trail so I can change course when needed.



Same with sales funnels. If you don’t have data on your middle conversions, you have no idea what’s working and what isn’t. All you have is the result.



You can’t fix the holes in your sales funnel because you aren’t actually looking for holes. You’re a Sales Jumblie ignoring your friends who think you’re gonna drown!


Hole #2: Follow Up?


Sales funnels are never set it and forget it. Yet, 48% of sales reps must think this is true. They never follow up with a prospective or a lead.


Sometimes it takes as many as 12 contacts to make a sale. That’s the full definition of try-try-again. If you think 12 follow-ups is a waste of your time, maybe you should go and do something else.


Hole #3: Wasting Time With Lead Generation


You can find a billion articles online about lead generation. It’s a hot topic. They think that if they stuff as many people as possible into their funnel more people will drop through.



The problem is: at a certain point, the same number of people drop through no matter how many leads you generate. It’s like a conventional real-life funnel. The end is only so big.



Stop lead generation research right now. You probably get enough leads already. You’re wasting your time and expending too much energy. Just relax, ok?


2. How to Stop Up the Holes


In a “punctured hull scene,” once the protagonist finds the hole, they frantically look for something to plug it with. If they don’t plug the hole, all their oxygen will be gone and the pressure will equalize meaning they will die in a vacuum.



For a space hero, this could mean any number of things. A fire extinguisher, a metal crate, or even a piece of metal alloy bigger than the hole.



There are a variety of ways to fix your sieve and turn it into a real funnel.


Fix #1: Track Those Touch Points


No matter when a customer or lead makes contact, track it. This means that if a customer has already purchased something and they come back again, you track it.


If they’ve come back three times without ever purchasing, track it. This is called touch-point tracking. From here you follow leads all the way to full conversion if they make it.


Once you’ve tracked this data, you can begin to make a customer journey map. You can then replicate this journey for your most legitimate customers and leads.


Fix #2: Simply Follow Up


Again, 12 times might be the charm. Keep going.


There are easier ways to do lead follow up than manual e-mails and phone calls. E-mail automation is a thing.


Automate your sales process as much as possible. This will allow you more time to find new leads while courting current ones.


This also means you’ll be able to run a 24-hour sales funnel operation.


Bots can help with this. Say you’re a small college trying to attract students. You can’t have an admissions digital marketing rep on call 24-7. But a bot can cover the time when your rep is sleeping.


Fix #3: Offer Something Irresistible for Free


There’s a lot of schlock on Amazon that’s free. And most of the schlock doesn’t get read.


This should be a valuable lesson for anyone trying to generate leads. You’re wasting your time with free scholck.


If it’s not worth your time to even engage, why would you even click?


Opt-in’s are great if they actually shove people toward the end of your funnel. But you’ll need to drive people in with limited time offers.


Without FOMO, you’ll never get people close to the end of your funnel. This is the step beyond generation you need to focus on.


Now You’re a Wise Jumblie


Now you can go to sea in a funnel…oh, wait, the metaphor breaks down there. I guess you now have a fairly leak-proof and effective funnel.



Where have you seen your funnel be ineffective? Let me know down in the comments below and maybe I can help you patch them.





[ad_2]

Read_more MMO mastermind

No comments: