Sales Funnel: A Comprehensive Overview of the MLM Online Sales Funnel
Sales Funnel- A Comprehensive Overview of the MLM Online Sales Funnel
What is a Sales Funnel?
A Sales Funnel is a Marketing and Lead Generation System where large numbers of Prospects enter the top of the funnel and a sifting process takes place where the serious ones make their way through the system to buy products/services or sign up as distributors.
MLM Sales Funnel
A Sales Funnel consists of your “web of content” (blogs, advertising, websites, articles, videos, social networking),webinars and conference calls, email campaigns, lead capture pages that “massage” your prospects until they buy from you.
It also consists of your sales pages.
Your marketing campaigns will entice people into the top of the sales funnel which creates awareness of you and your products and services.
Interest is generated and people will evaluate you as they are exposed to more of your content through emails, blog posts and calls and webinars.
Eventually a commitment is made, people will buy and refer others to your and your business.
This happens as they move down the sales funnel and it is where your serious prospects are sorted from your fence sitters!
The ultimate goal is to get as many repeat buyers as possible.
This is known as continuity.
When people first start out, they often use a purchased generic or replicated sales funnel.
They’ll generate a lead through their marketing efforts and that lead will be sent directly to a capture page that promotes a product or service to which they are affiliated.
Using affiliate marketing, like this is a great way to earn income initially, before you have the know how to create your own system and capture pages.
It’s also an excellent way to monetise your list (make money from your list of leads) even when you have your own, fully functioning customized sales funnel in place.
But, it is very important to as soon as possible, to create your own lead capturing system within your sales funnel, so that ultimately you can own your own list, brand yourself and then direct your traffic to which ever products and services are included in your funnel (including- but not limited to, the affiliate programmes of your choice).
Sales Funnel Process
In your sales funnel, you want to have one sale leading to the next!
Your sales funnel is like a greased slide, moving prospects from one point to the next.
MLM Sales Funnel should be like a greased slide!
The starting point is your attractive web of content out there on the internet (point of contact marketing).
People will see your information through
- your articles on article directories,
- blog posts (your own or other blogs you may have commented on),
- forums you participate in (your signature file will link them to your blog),
- your facebook notes or posts you put up at Facebook groups (even your news feed and status bar),
- your videos that you post at YouTube and other social video sites,
- your bookmarking and voting campaigns at social bookmarking sites (where your content is bookmarked and voted upon for all the world to see),
- your posts at social content sites (like Squidoo and Hub Pages)
- and of course the open conference calls or webinars you might do to educate and inform your target audience.
If your sales funnel content is attractive, educational, enlightening and entertaining- and it solves a problem or addresses a need that your audience has, they can be sent to your lead capture page. This is the cornerstone of your funnel. It is where you capture your prospects contact information.
Essentially, your prospects give you permission to send them to your sales page and put them on your emailing list.
They’ll generally do this if you offer them something they perceive as valuable, for free on your lead capture page. Its also known as an ethical bribe.
Examples of this might be:
- A Free Report that tells them something they want to know about. In my MLM Product Sales funnel, I have included a 40 page free downloadable report all about Anti Aging Skin Care and Galvanic Therapy.
- An audio interview with an “expert” in your field.
- A 5 day “boot camp” or course, teaching them something.
- Access to your ongoing Ezine (newsletter)
- Video Tutorials you have on a page or sent to them via Email after they’ve opted in
- Access to a live or recorded conference call or webinar
- Many other example and combinations of the above!
Remember, your “ethical bribe” needs to entice them into giving you their contact details.
People are wary of spam and generally don’t give out their email addresses easily!
But if your promise (ethical bribe) is really something they want, they will give you those details!
And then you have a beautiful, targeted lead who has given you permission to market to them on an ongoing basis.
Depending on your target market and your offer, you can take that lead and immediately lead them to a sales page – where you can make them a front end offer.
You could also delay this, just give them the free gift (as promised) and later present them with the front end offer via email.
This “front end offer” is usually a low cost product (under $100)- preferably under $50.
Once again, it could be an E Book, an affiliate product, a tangible CD,DVD or MP3.
Even a short course – that is recorded via conferencing call (they get the audios) or webinar (they get the videos).
It could also be some of your MLM Product samples with additional materials about the products (DVD demonstation, product testimonials, audio interviews, product information and clinical trials/studies etc).
If your company doesn’t provide these for you, you could create your own!
You could use downloadable products or tangible products.
There are companies that offer drop shipping services at reasonable prices (or you could mail them out yourself at first).
So lets recap:
- Step 1 was to get your lead into your sales funnel by capturing their contact information on your lead capture page by means of an ethical bribe (free offer). Now you have your “foot in the door” so to speak.
- Step 2 was to move them to becoming a buyer! This is a big psychological breakthrough for your buyer- they have pulled out the wallet and are now becoming a customer. They have trusted and respected you enough to take action.
By offering a low cost product at this stage, you’ll probably find you are not following traditional MLM teachings!
I know in my MLM schooling, I was taught to “go for the jugular” as soon as anyone showed interest. We all tried to sell the poor prospect into buying a high priced ticket item right at this stage! “Get them to buy my MLM Executive business package” was always in the forefront of our minds at this point!
This “slower” way is actually far better. Why? because a prospect has raised their hand and said- I am a serious lead and I’ll pay you to give me more information.
Its a beautiful thing when a lead pays you before you’ve even signed them up into your MLM products or opportunity!
It also helps with cash flow!
Whether you are selling your own or affiliate products, here is a way to get cash into your bank account fast!
Granted it’s not the “mega bucks”, but alot of these lower cost little front end sales can give you an income that’ll be well spent on……you guessed it…MORE advertising or training or other business expenses (like your autoship perhaps!!)
And best of all if you create it correctly, your front end offer will prime your prospect to move forward to the next step- which is to buy a medium or high priced item.
(You see what I mean by “greased slide!)
- So step 3 is to get your prospects to purchase a medium and/or high priced item. This is usually between $100 and $5000- but it does depend on your market and products. This could be a home study course (with DVD’s and books), a live course (series of webinars) or your MLM Products/business opportunity.It could also be your one-on one coaching. It could be a live seminar.
At first, you might not have your own back end products- and that’s ok.
You might promote an affiliate product that compliments your higher priced MLM Product/business opportunity.
For example, one of your prospects might take part in an affiliate programme that you promote- that offers intensive business training and mentoring.
As a result of you working closely with them, they might decide to join your MLM as a business partner. Either way, you are giving people more options as well as more monetising potential.
Obviously, should you wish, in time you can create your own back end products!
- The final stage is to ensure repeat buying.
This is known as the continuity principle.
We are all familiar with it in our MLM businesses- it’s when a customer or distributor goes onto autoship, and buys the products automatically every month.
But within your online sales funnel, you could also include other additional continuity items and back ends.
Once again you could use affiliate programmes that pay you out monthly ( for as long as your affiliate stays in the programme) or you could create your own.
Examples include membership sites, fixed term continuity membership sites, monthly newsletters, CD of the month etc.
The trick is to get your customers to upsell themselves!
You marketing “greased slide” moves them smoothly through your funnel, to increasing price points.
This continually sifts them- at the end, your serious prospects become distributors (who are already well trained!!) in your MLM.
Introducing “Put Your MLM Biz Online”-The A-Z of Driving Traffic, Generating Leads and Making Sales Online for your Network Marketing Business.
Ste-By-Step You’ll Know Exactly What to do, When to do it and How to Do It.
- Easy To Follow Along and Do It Yourself
- Weekly Training Videos and Downloadable Manual
- Support Calls
- Affiliate Program (so you can “earn as you learn”)
- 6 x Easy Monthly payments
- List Building
- Social Media Training
- Content Syndication Training
- Video Marketing Module
- Sales and Copywriting Training
- Telephone Consulting Skills
