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.

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.

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.

Sales Funnel: Why Create Your Own?

There are some other good reasons for creating your own Sales Funnel…

1. Your Own Sales Funnel Ensures Differentiation

If everyone is using the same system you cannot really differentiate yourself. This goes for both your MLM replicated website as well as “generic” lead generation systems that are out there. Remember, you are branding YOU- so everything, from your content, to your power point presentations, to your lead capture pages, your emails, your webinars etc should make YOU stand out amongst the crowd. It’s your unique angle and selling proposition and personality and story that needs to come through. YOU are selling YOU! If you use the same lead capture pages as all the other distributors in your MLM, whats to make you different?

Same applies to your affiliate programmes. (You can still use their capture pages, but make sure you have captured the lead onto your list via your system FIRST before sending them to your affiliate lead capture page)

2. With  a customised sales funnel you are able to target your Niche Market with a good market to message “fit”.

Having the ability to communicate in all your content, your lead capture pages, sales pages and your follow up emails gives you the ability to lazer focus your message.

Your lazer focused message can be targeted at a different target market, a different age group, a group with a different set of demographics and interests (reducing competition) and ensuring your message “hits the spot”. You can start to dominate a smaller niche and have many more successes.

Rather be a big fish in a little pond than a small fish in the ocean!

For example instead of talking to all people suffering from constipation (broad target market) you could look at sub niches within that market (constipation in infants) and customise your message to fit those specific needs. Your message will have alot more punch as it will speak directly to the needs of parents with infants suffering from constipation. You’ll also become a respected specialist in this niche and the solutions you provide will be exactly what your target audience is looking for.

3. Your Own Sales Funnel will allow you to add your own unique spin, personality and “value add” to your business (especially your MLM).

When you combine your MLM with your own personality, skill set, additional products and services and interests- you are creating your own Unique Selling Proposition. (USP).

A USP (“Unique Selling Proposition”) is your service or product’s most powerful benefit, in combination with a strong, unique aspect of your business. It answers that critical question…

“Why should I buy from (or hire) you?”

Here’s a simple exercise to help you develop your USP…

STEP 1) Write down what your business provides.

STEP 2) Outline the key benefit(s) to your client. What pain does it cure, what solution does it provide?

STEP 3) Identify your unique feature/benefit. What makes you stand out? Keep working on this until you can clearly separate yourself from the field. There must be a convincing reason for doing business with you… instead of your competitor.

STEP 4) Summarize all of the above into one tight, powerful, motivating phrase that will persuade your clients to do business with you, to trade their money for the benefits you deliver.

Your goal is to deliver specific and high-value information to your niche audience. You also need to position yourself uniquely (have your own angle of approach!).

Having your own sales funnel allows you to create  this specific and high value content and give exact solutions to your target audience with a unique approach or spin (angle) that “hooks” them!

Note: Your blog or personal website will do this pre selling for you. So will your articles and other content you post. There is no need to mention your company products or services at all (in fact you are actually not allowed to mention your MLM). But at every point along the funnel- from the blog, to the lead capture page, to the sales page and to the autoresponder email series you will speak with your own “voice”.

4. Your own Sales Funnel will give you TOTAL control of your own list.

You in fact own the list. You can communicate what you want and when you want to. You can sell other products and services to them they might be interested in. (Not just your MLM products, or that affiliate owner’s products).

5. Your Own Sales Funnel will help you to be indexed by the Search Engines

Google (and people) love sites that are releveant and unique. They do not index relicated MLM sites or generic lead capture pages. If you have your own self hosted blog or website, Google will index it and return it to people making searches for the keywords you use on your pages. (This is a POWERFUL lead source as you will get targeted traffic!)

Your company replicated website will not be indexed on Google. It is seen as SPAM- clogging up the search engines databases. Remember there are as many of those websites as there are distributors within your MLM. Google ceratinly cannot return 30 000 of the same website everytime those keywords are typed in!

Your human visitors also like unique websites. Think about it: Would you join a faceless, personalityless site or a site that is unique and brings across the real person behind the business? Remember- people join people, not faceless sites. People need to IDENTIFY with the person they are following and get the feeling that that person “gets them”  and understands their troubles and can help them.

Sales Funnel: Components

Here are the major components:

1. Your Domain Name

2. Squeeze Page

3. Sales Page (Optional) Some MLM companies WILL NOT allow you to name their Company or Products. Your “sales page ” might be the emails you send out. You’d use a sales page when promoting affiliate or your own products, not your MLM products.

4. Blog/Website (self hosted and unique)

5. Autoresponder Email System

6. Web of Content  (including videos)- for traffic generation (the bait that attracts the fish!)

1. Domain Name

Its best to get the .com! Go Daddy is a good option to register your domain name.

Use a keyword rich domain name with a benefit in it that talks to your target market. For example www.sinus-wellness.com talks to the target market of sinusitus, and has the benefit made very clear within the domain name.

Other benefit loaded domain name examples are: www.positivehealth.com, www.skin-you-love.com, www.videomarketingqueen.com, www.ppcdomination.com, www.getprospectsformula.com…you get the idea.

Register your domain for 2 years (renewable). Google ranks these domains higher than 1 year domain registrations (it assumes you are a more serious business person- in for the long haul!)

Read this article on choosing and registering the right domain name.

2.  Lead Capture Pages

This is the entry point of your sales funnel. Your prospects details are captured here  so you can continue the relationship with them.

www.blinkweb.com and www.weebly.com are two excellent easy-to-use, and FREE resources to create capture pages.

Ideally you’d want to use self-hosted lead capture pages (Google indexes these and you can track using Google analytics).

For that you’ll need to use an html editor (www.Nvu.com is a free tool) and FTP your files up from your computer to your host server,  using an FTP client like Filezilla.

You’ll need to learn a bit of coding.

If you’re not keen to do that (and I don’t blame you!)- find a geek and outsource it!

Remember: If you use a free service like Blinkweb or Weebly, you’ll need to REDIRECT your domain name to that server, where they host your lead capture page.

If you use your own hosting, you’ll just add your unique domain name to your C Panel. (In your public_html folder)

You can have many capture pages for different sub niches (or micro niches) within your niche. This is a good idea, as each page can be customised to that particular micro niche’s needs.

e.g. Constipation in toddlers blog post has a link to your lead capture page made for parents with toddlers having constipation.

You might give them a general free report, which also has a chapter in it on dealing with constipation in toddlers. They’ll become a lead and your auto email series can talk to their specific issues- dealing with their kids constipation.

Your “constipation in the elderly” blog post could lead them to a capture page that talks specifically to your elderly leads.

They might also get the same free report as the parents of the toddlers (above)- as it also has a chapter in it on the elderly. They will become a lead and enter your funnel. You can then tailor make your email series to their specific needs and concerns.

Both types of leads will ultimately be encouraged to buy your MLM Product (which helps relieve constipation in everyone- from toddler,to the elderly- heck, even to dogs!)

You get the idea.

You might also create a lead capture page that brings leads in that are interested in an affiliate product you are promoting.

If you like, you can then send those leads to your affiliate product sales page (your affiliate URL).

The nice thing is, you captured the lead independently of that affiliate programme- and that lead is yours (not the affiliate programme owners!)

Read this article called: Squeeze Pages: Vital Component of MLM Marketing Systems “for 10 tips On Making Cool, Authentic and Converting Squeeze pages.

Especially what you need to have on them, the do’s and dont’s and the best practices for maximum conversion.

3. Sales Pages

The sales page comes in if you’d like your prospects to be moved from becoming a lead into a buyer.

The best time to put your prospect onto a sales page is immediately after they become a lead (opted in).

You have their attention and they’ve just said “yes” to you by giving their name and email address.

You’d usually not make a sales page about your MLM products/services.

Some MLM companies give generic (customisable) squeeze page, sales page and mini site templates.

Once again- beware: You’ll look similar to the others and Google wont index them.

You also need to ask yourself: “Will I be able to track these pages?”

The sales page is really useful when you have your own products/services that you are promoting as part of your funnel.

So in addition to seeing your MLM Company or products as a potential back end, you are also able to offer your leads related products they might be interested in.  (like E book, coaching services, home study course, webinars, membership sites etc).

Of course, the secret to a good sales page is the copy and the ability to have a  “1 click upsell”.

Your copy must be compelling enough to get those “fence sitters” to take action.

We go into good copywriting in this blog in much greater detail.

Re the “1 click upsell”- this means you need to have an integrated payment gateway/shopping basket that allows your customers to simply add items to their cart (with one click) after you’ve presented them with an upsell (higher priced item than your first offer).

This way they don’t have to enter their credit card details again- (which lowers conversions.)

Other aspects of your sales page should include:

• Bonuses,
• testimonials,
• proof (of the claims you’ve made) and
• a money back guarantee  always gives an added “push” to the buyer-  reducing their risk and removing any lingering obstacles to buying.

Using a video makes the sales page convert more.

We’ll be cover this in Video Marketing tricks and tips in the Network Marketing Lead Generation Section..

4. Your  Blog

This is your “home” or central hub.

Its where your prospects get to know you and get to like you. Most prospects will visit your blog before they opt into your squeeze page or make a purchase from your sales page. It’s where they get “warmed up”!

Its also a stand alone lead generation technique- as blogs are indexed by Google. If you get your  niche keywords right, you can rank high up for blog posts and generate search engine traffic.

You can also syndicate your blog (plug it into the social networks) for more exposure and get viral exposure that way too! Wordpress blogs are ideally suited to this.

There are many blog platforms (Squarespace, Blogger etc), but a self hosted Wordpress blog is the best for search engine rankings as well as content syndication.

You can get free hosting at Wordpress.com for your Wordpress blog, but then you don’t have full control over the blog. Wordpress can delete your blog if they think its inappropriate- and they do not like MLM Blogs! Its well worth the $6.95 (or thereabouts) monthly hosting fee you’ll pay to privately host your blog at webhosting services like Hostgator or Bluehost.

For those just starting out, you might enjoy this article Blogging For Dummies which outlines the basics of Wordpress Blogging.

5. Autoresponder Email Marketing System

This is where you use email software to send automated (and manual) email messages to your leads and buyers. Once your prospcet has entered the sales funnel as a lead, they can be immediately placed onto your leads list.

They have given you permission to continue marketing to them.

So you send them pre designed auto emails (and weekly time sensitive manual emails) that:

• Continue to build the relationship with them

• Send them to your blog posts

• Put offers infront of them (including your affiliate and MLM products)

• Invite them to conference calls or webinars you offer

• Keeps you visible and in the prospects mind

Its an invaluable follow up tool, but there’s an art to email marketing.

It must be studied and done correctly so that you do not get flagged as a spammer or have your prospects unsubscribe.

Constantly placing offers in front of your leads and buyers will not endear them to you! You need to be entertaining, enlightening and educational (i.e. give value) in your emails.

I-contact, Oprius and Aweber are excellent software programmes. They start at around $9.95 per month and increase in price the more subscribers you have. (You want to be paying more!!!)

I personally use I contact because you do not need a double opt in, to generate a lead on your list. (Improves conversions)

The great thing about these software programmes is you can go into your email software back office and easily create opt in forms to put on your squeeze page and blog.

When a prospect visits your blog and optsin, they are automatically put onto your emailing list- and if you’ve set up your autoresponder, they’ll start getting their emails immediately, at timed intervals.

You can also track the number of opens, clicks and bounces.

This way you can continually test new subject headlines to improve your open rate.

The Email Marketing section of this blog includes what to write in your emails, how often to write, when to place offers (and how), how to set up an autoresponder series and what you should and should not be doing in your email campaigns.

And much much more, of course!

6. Your “web of content” to drive traffic to your Sales Funnel

There’s no point having a sales funnel if you cannot get traffic to it!

And not only traffic, but pre qualified traffic- people interested in what you have to offer.

Your web of content is your “point of contact” marketing.

Its where your prospect will come across an article, or a forum post, a video or a blog post, or a note at your FaceBook, or your URL posted at Twitter (retweeted) and be led ultimately to your capture page (perhaps via your blog).

There are many methods and places to place your content all over the internet so that your interested prospects find you.

Here are some examples:

Article Marketing

Squidoo

Hub Pages

Ezine Articles

Your Blog

Social Media Marketing

FaceBook

Twitter

YouTube

Social Bookmarking sites like Digg, Delicious, Reddit, Stumbleupon, Misterwong

LinkedIn

And Content Syndication is where you link up all your content and disperse your blog posts across all the major social media marketing sites!

There is an art and a skill to getting qualified online traffic to your sales funnel.

For in depth MLM Sales Funnel Training and MY Number One Secret For Sales Funnel Success in MLM, visit

www.PutYourMLMBizOnline.com

Enjoy this Sales Funnel Video Training!

www.PutYourMLMBizOnline.com

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