Today’s Marketing masterclass article unlocks the secret to laser-like conversions from your content, automation and funnels.
Following up on our last Marketing Masterclass article, which covered four great content ideas to generate sales, I was lucky to stumble across a webinar led by the globally renowned Andrew and Pete (regarded as the best content marketers on the planet), who share their secrets about creating unstoppable sales.
As we’ve already touched on this topic, I wanted to share the takeaways from this session.
Stop guessing what content and sales messages you think will convert customers into sales
Continue reading this article to discover the never-before-discussed-secret to KNOWING exactly what will work to convert customers with laser-like precision so that you can build funnels, content and automation to drive more sales than you could ever imagine.
How can I generate sales for my business?
So there are many ways you can generate sales for your business. The first might be via your website by publishing clear and value-added content on your pages. You might, however, share product and service updates on your social channels or opt for email marketing to spread the word.
What’s the bet your sales funnels look like this?
When you’ve created a sales funnel for your business, I bet it’s looked to cover the above stages.
If we use the example of a piano teacher selling online piano courses, his sales funnel might look like this:
- Create awareness – Facebook live video of beginner 101 piano lessons;
- Lead generation – Send an ad to those that watch the initial Facebook live video with another offer;
- Sales conversion – Invite those that clicked on the lead generation advert and offer them a free online taster session;
- Objection handling – Handle all their objections by talking about price. Give an example of the customer’s typical monthly spending on coffee versus how much it costs for a piano lesson.
The problem with guessing
The problem with funnels is we often guess. We build them on hope and guessing, spending months automating a funnel that simply doesn’t work.
It can give your confidence a dent
When the funnel you spent months creating doesn’t work, it can affect your confidence. You no longer believe in your abilities (when you are still pretty good at your job), and it can even affect the bottom line of your business as you begin to lose your mojo.
Sometimes the scariest things offer the greatest rewards.
It’s true what they say, the things that will have the biggest impact on your business are often the hardest to do. But it can be so worthwhile if you can achieve them.
Often it’s the thing that’s the scariest that offers the greatest reward. Don’t procrastinate; seize the day and build a sales funnel that generates results.
Guesstimating and automating are terrible for business
As we’ve explained above, guestimating the steps your ideal customer might take to consider buying from you or their objections is bad news for your business. You need to ask them to genuinely understand what your ideal customer wants and needs. That means having direct conversations with your prospects.
Eeek! That sounds scary!
Start making conversation with your ideal customers
Hosting calls with your would-be customers or even those that declined your business is golden. Listen to their feedback. Understand their objections.
If you start each sales call by pushing a sale, you will likely receive a hard no. Start asking why, and eventually, you will understand what your customers want, and you’ll get to know and understand their objections too.
Convert what you’ve learned into your sales message
Following your customer calls, you know what your ideal customers want, and you can put that content into your sales messages, sales funnel and website pages. In other words, you can convert your funnels into real conversations.
You can’t build the perfect funnel on guesswork. The only way to remove the guesswork is to validate every step in the funnel. And the only way to validate each step is to have honest conversations with your customers. Learn to understand what it takes to get them over the line. From there, you can build a sales funnel that works and generates sales.
Validate what they want, don’t guess what they need
When considering those customer calls, one of the things you want to capture is your customers’ true sentiments. In other words, what they want versus what they need. The difference between want and need might be very different. You might think what you offer is what they need, but it’s not necessarily what they want. The best way to learn what your customers want is to ask them!
Let’s talk about objections and how to overcome them
We think we’ve got our typical customer’s objections covered. But have we? Yeah, I know! They say it’s too expensive; they don’t need it; they’re already buying my product or service from a competitor. But how can you be sure you know your customers’ objections?
Stop guessing!
Start asking WHY and you will unveil the deep-rooted reasons why people are not buying from you.
Why do you think that is?
“Why do you think that is?” is probably the best question to ask your customers during your calls. It allows you to effectively unpeel the onion of resistance and understand why these customers won’t buy from you.
“Sorry, I don’t have the time to consider your offer.”
“Okay, but why do you think that is?”
“I am just too busy.”
“Okay, but why do you think that is?”
“Well, I am stressed out as I need to finish all my work to ensure I can invoice each month to pay my bills.”
And there you have it. The real reason they can’t buy from you is that they worry that your service will take up too much of their valuable time. They want to find a way of working less but getting paid more!
So now you need to build into your sales content ways to show potential customers that by using your service or buying your product, they will be able to earn more in less time.
Building the perfect sales funnel takes time
We all want to build the perfect sales funnel, and we want to build it pronto so we can start to see the sales coming in – kerching!
But creating the ideal sales funnel can take time. Don’t rush or guess the important parts, and just hope it will work. Instead, slow down!
Ever heard the phrase “You need to go slower to go faster”? Well, this is very relatable here. It takes time to make those customer calls and analyse the feedback. To carefully work out what you need to cover in your sales content to overcome objections and respond to your customers’ wants.
By taking the time to work through this process, you will create better marketing and a better sales process, and eventually, you will work even faster than before, generating sales you could only dream of.
