Below is the transcript for Episode 2!
Listen to it here:
Watch it here: https://youtu.be/3p13g3m1HsM
00:00 Hello friends, welcome to episode 2. Today we are going to talk about something that I'm literally obsessed with, and that is your funnel. 00:12 Because people do not think about sales being a funnel process, right? It's like, okay, what can I post today to make a sale? 00:22 And in actuality, this is a really complex thing, but it's not like hard to understand once it's all broken down for you. 00:31 So what we're going to talk about is the funnel that every founder needs, and why more traffic is not the answer. 00:38 What we see is that founders are always like, how do I get more eyes on my brand? And yeah, sometimes that is like the next best step. 00:47 A lot of the times it's where you're getting a ton of eyes, they're not converting. And so knowing where different actions lie inside of the funnel will definitely help you see where you need to focus. 01:01 This is what I hear all the time. I'm doing everything, so why isn't this working? That sounds familiar, don't worry, you're in the right place, because literally we hear this all the time. 01:11 And it. Sometimes it's not about doing everything. It's about doing what is most important that's going to actually work for your ideal customer. 01:22 Instead of doing all the things that you see everyone else doing, it's so super duper important to know who your ideal customer is so that you can tailor the funnel to make sense for that customer. 01:34 For instance, if you're showing up on every single platform and you are exhausted because you don't yet have a team and you're trying to do all the things, or maybe you do have a team and they're exhausted because they are, like, overcapacity because you're trying to be in all the places, take a step 01:52 back and figure out, is your ideal customer truly sitting on all of those platforms, or are they mostly sitting on Instagram? 02:02 Are they mostly sitting on TikTok? Are they mostly sitting on Facebook? Maybe it's LinkedIn. Where is your customer actually spending their time? 02:11 That's where you need to go so insanely hard on one certain place. When you have mastered that, that's when you can go to all the other places. 02:21 I just kind of went off on a tangent there, but it's really important to because what I want for you is that you don't feel like you were running ragged all the time and not getting a result from it. 02:32 And the number one way to start fixing that is to hyper focus on your ideal customer avatar and then just go nuts at focusing on the places they will show up. 02:48 It's going to change everything. If you are busy but not profitable, you have a problem. In fact, even if you're profitable, there's a way to do that without just being busy all the time. 03:01 Being busy is like posting constantly. You're running ads randomly. You're like, oh my gosh, sales are down today. Let me, like, run in here and figure out these ads. 03:09 Let me put something new up. Like, it's always random. Reactive. And so, sometimes you'll have sales come in, but it's not consistent. 03:16 It's not consistent because you do not have a proper funnel set up. The biggest issue with this is that you're exhausted all the time. 03:25 And I promise you, I have been there and it is not a good feeling. You're snappy with the people that you love. 03:31 You're tired. You've lost your passion. It is a complete, Thank you so I'll see disaster. And I just do not want that for anybody because it is so avoidable. 03:42 If you feel like revenue is going up and down, you need to know that it is not a random occurrence. 03:50 It is a structural, structural issue. Because if you, yes, I don't want you to, I don't I want to paint the picture of like your sales will never go up and down if you have a system. 04:02 That is not true. We do know that sales go up and down. But it shouldn't be hourly or daily. Okay? 04:10 It should be seasonal. I'm fine with that. I'm fine with the ups and downs of seasonality. I am not fine with you chasing your tail every single day. 04:19 What a funnel actually is, is it's the journey that a customer takes from the moment that they meet your brand until the time that they make a purchase. 04:28 And then how do they continue to remain part of your brand? It doesn't need to be complicated. And a lot of times people think of funnels as just being for like online marketers who like have a course or something like that. 04:42 That's not true. If you are selling to a another person in any way shape or form, there is a funnel process. 04:50 Everyone goes through the exact same phases of you have a stranger, they get introduced to your brand, they become interested in your brand, they turn into a buyer, and then hopefully they become a repeat buyer. 05:04 Everyone goes through the process of taking someone that is ice cold and turning them into a loyal customer. So, most funnels right now that you have are just like, oh, they just happen to be there, right? 05:20 You just kind of throw the stuff together as you've got grown, when you have a moment, you might have like an abandoned cart because Shopify like threw one together for you and you're like, I don't know why it's not converting. 05:33 That is not what I want for you. I want the structure of your funnel to be like a little army for you. 05:45 I want it to be battling for you every day in the background without you having to be the one moving the pieces around, okay? 05:53 let's see. Sorry, I'm going off of notes and I do have, not that I shouldn't, I have my phone in case anyone on my team needs to get in touch with me and so when it lights up, I definitely get distracted. 06:08 So that's what just happened. But I want your funnel to be super intentional. I want you to be laser focused on the customer experience and on the funnel journey from top to bottom. 06:18 So the very first section we're going to talk about is Top of Funnel. Top of Funnel is how you get in front of new people. 06:25 This is where a lot of people get confused because a lot of people think that middle and bottom of funnel are actually top of funnel activities. 06:33 Top of funnel examples are going to be your networking, so like if you go to an event in town, like, to meet people and like get your name out there. 06:41 That would be Top of Funnel. In-person traffic, like if you have a storefront, just that foot traffic, that's Top of Funnel. 06:48 Partnerships, your SEO on your website, Top of Funnel. Paid ads in social media, this is like trips people up. That is Top of Funnel, okay? 06:58 You have to remember that when, especially with meta paid ads, you are trying to interrupt someone's crawl on an instant. 07:06 Entertainment platform, that is Top of Funnel. You are trying to win a new set of eyes while they are being entertained with other things. 07:16 With the social media, organic stuff that you're posting, same thing. It can get a little bit gray because if you are using your social media to, like, educate people, sometimes we can consider that middle authority. 07:30 nurturing, but for the most part, social media is about grabbing the attention of new eyes. Where a lot of founders go wrong is that they are trying to use social media as the point that triggers a buy from a customer. 07:46 And that is extremely hard to do on Meta, on any type of social platform. I will say, a caveat to that TikTok, because it is becoming such a shoppable platform. 07:58 I do think that there's gray area there too, where, yeah, it's top of funnel. You're getting introduced to new eyeballs, but also it can be where you are capturing a sale. 08:08 But for the most part, what most people are doing specifically on Instagram and Facebook are top of funnel actions. But it's important to remember that attention is not equal revenue, because we can get a thousand views on something, right? 08:23 And then get zero purchases because there's nothing to funnel those eyeballs into the other parts of your funnel. And so you just lose them. 08:32 You spend all that time creating that content. You put it out there and you got attention, but you did not have the system in place to convert it into revenue. 08:42 Which is the problem. Like, you can be visible and still not be profitable. And most founders are completely obsessed with growth at the top of funnel. 08:50 They want the most eyes. How many likes did that get? How many views did that get? But then we just miss the idea of, okay, where did it actually convert? 09:00 Because who cares if something goes viral if we don't make money off of it? But the reason it feels like it's good for all of us is because it feels productive. 09:09 Because it's like a measurable outcome. I spent time, I put this piece of content out there, and I got a thousand views. 09:16 That feels good. It, it hits that little thing inside of our brain, triggers a dopamine response, and we're like, yay, I did great. 09:24 But again, we look at our bank account, it contributed nothing. So, the next step of the funnel, we're getting eyes on the brain on top of funnel, middle of funnel is capture and trust. 09:36 You want to turn that attention into some sort of relationship. So, the examples of middle of funnel, your list. This is the big one. 09:46 Your email and SMS list. Your lead magnets fall in here, because a lot of times we're educating them. if we have some type of business, we're education is important. 09:55 Your website pop-up falls here, because that's where you are capturing their contact information, so that you can begin converting them to a paying customer. 10:05 Your booking form, same thing. And community. Okay, so, your VIP group, that is a middle of funnel, because you're connecting with them on a real personal level. 10:15 Your stories, a lot of times, are where you are connecting on a personal level. And yeah, you can sell in stories as well, but it is a good way of getting them to know you and, like, the heart of your brand. 10:27 And a lot of people don't spend enough time in stories. Or, they're spending a lot of time in stories just hard-selling, all the time, instead of nurturing the relationship. 10:37 I like to think about it as top of funnel is, like, you went to, you're at a cocktail party, and you're standing there, and somebody comes up to you, and they're like, oh my gosh, I love your dress. 10:47 And you're like, oh, thank you so much, I love yours. You know, like, that's about as far as the conversation goes. 10:53 And then you're at another, a dinner party a couple weeks later, and you see the same person. That's middle of funnel, where you go back up to them, and you're like, oh, it's so good to see you again. 11:03 How have you been? Have you done anything fun? That sort of is so cool, right? And then bottom of funnel is going to be the next focus, and we'll get to that, but that's going to be where you see them again, like, out and about in the community, and you're like, oh my gosh, hey girl, like, I added you 11:22 on Facebook after that last party, and I saw that you are selling flower bouquets. That is incredible. What is it like to be a flower farmer? 11:29 I need to know. And then they ask you about your business, and you're able to explain it to them, and that is how you make an actual connection. 11:40 It is a process. It's not a one-hit wonder. You don't just come in contact with them one time and become their best friend, right? 11:46 It's about the entire funnel process, and middle of funnel is where the magic starts to happen. It's where the real relationship develops, and the reason your email and your text list, your sign-up forms and your lead magnets are so important here is because this is how you are able to connect with them 12:05 . This is the adding them as a friend on Facebook. This is the getting their phone number to send them a text message. 12:10 This is, like, the part where you go from stranger to friend, and without it, there is no bottom of funnel. 12:18 Where the purchase happens. If you do not capture your top of funnel inside of that middle funnel, you are going to lose them. 12:28 You don't know that you're ever going to show back up on their For You page again. So if you don't have a game plan of how to drive people from that attention moment into your middle of funnel, that is where your success is. 12:42 System is broken, and that is where you need to start being hyper-focused on fixing it. So important for you to remember, social media isn't yours. 12:51 Your followers are not yours. It is borrowed space. And at any moment, it can be taken away from you. But that middle all the funnel stuff, your email list, your text list, all those people. 13:05 The people that have opted into your freebies and your lead magnets, the people, like, that you have converted from just your community into one of those lists, that you own. 13:17 You can take your email list with you wherever you go. No one can take it away from you. And that is invaluable to your success and your growth. 13:28 Otherwise, If we're not focusing on what we own, then we're just sitting there building someone else's platform. We are helping these massive platforms make a lot of money. 13:41 Because we're getting views and we're entertaining with, you know, our funny, like, get ready stuff, right? But we are not helping our own small business grow. 13:51 You have to remember that these people, These platforms can change overnight. Your group could be disabled. Your Facebook page could be taken away. 14:01 It happens all the time. So what are you doing to strengthen your middle of funnel so that you're in control when something like that happens? 14:10 Next is the bottom of funnel. And this is where the revenue is actually made. Examples of this will be your email page. 14:16 Your email campaigns that are sent out, your follow-up messages to people, your retargeting ads, your post-purchase email flows, and the repeat purchases you get from people. 14:30 Okay? Bottom of funnel is incredibly important, and the secret sauce to bottom of funnel is the post-purchase experience. It is how you make people feel when people, after they've chosen to spend money with you, it is the way you connect with them in middle of funnel, and that is what pays off in bottom 14:49 of funnel activity. So, an email campaign, you have sent, you know, spent time nurturing people. So, an example would be top of funnel, you post something on Facebook. 15:01 It gets someone's attention. In that post, Thank You send them to your website, and your website has a pop-up where you're able to capture their email and SMS consent, and then that triggers them into a welcome flow, which is middle of funnel, welcome flow introducing you to them, your brand to them, 15:20 et cetera. Then you send out an email campaign a week later, and that is the hard sell, right? But they're like, ah, I've gotten to know this person through this welcome series, and I love her heart, and so when they get the campaign landing in their inbox a week later, they're like, and I see this item 15:39 that I really want, and I already can tell that this is an incredible human being, I want to support them, and I'm going to make the purchase. 15:47 Then bottom of funnel activity continues to work, because then you should have an automation flow. to send a thank you to them once they complete that purchase, right? 15:58 A thank you, like, on a human level, not a thank you for your purchase. It will be shipped in two to three business days, like a, like a from the heart automated thank you that goes out to let these people know how much they mean to you and your family. 16:14 The bottom of funnel is a is where your revenue becomes stabilized. Because as these things start working for you over time, and you take those big numbers that are happening on top of funnel, and you have been able to funnel them through middle of funnel into bottom of funnel, and you're able to keep 16:32 them there, that is how it all gets stabilized. No more ups and downs. Things feel so much easier because they are. 16:41 Because you are nurturing the people that you've already gained their trust. You're not having to focus on that top of funnel as much because your bottom of funnel is so strong. 16:51 But the bottom of funnel and the middle of funnel are where most founders fall off. And I don't want that to be you. 16:58 If you're listening to this, I want you to take a really hard look at your funnel and figure out how to make it stronger. 17:07 Because I can assure you, all of us, including myself and my business, we all have a way of improving our funnel. 17:13 Because reality is, typically you do not need more people. Again, if you're just starting out, yes, you need more people. 17:21 But a lot of us don't need more people. We need a way of converting the people we already have gotten the attention from. 17:28 So, you're doing the work, you're creating the content, you're running the ads, you're showing up consistently. That is amazing. Step one, you are not capturing the revenue from this hard work. 17:43 So, instead of continuing to ask yourself the same question of how do I get more traffic, you need to start asking, where am I landing? 17:52 Why losing people? Because that is the question that is going to change your business. If you have low visibility, like you're posting on socials and stuff and like you're getting like two views, you have a top of funnel problem. 18:06 Something is happening in your messaging. You may not be showing up on the correct platform for your ideal customer. You may not be giving them the right content that they're looking or wanting to consume from you. 18:18 You may not be running paid ads or your paid ads may not be running correctly or like hitting that ideal customer avatar. 18:27 If you have high traffic, we have lots of activity in top of funnel, but we have low, like leads coming in. 18:34 Like people are not signing up for your email list. The pop-up's not working. Your lead magazine. Magnets aren't working. That's a middle of funnel problem. 18:41 That's telling us, okay, top of funnel is getting the attention and then something is happening to drop them off. So is it the timing of the pop-up on your website? 18:49 Could it be that your lead magnets are not a good fit for your ideal customer? Could it be that you, something on your website is hard to navigate? 18:58 A lot of times that's it. A lot of times the middle of funnel, there's something. Tech-wise, that is hard to navigate. 19:06 I see websites all the time and if you are building it out yourself, nine times out of ten, it's not going to perform well. 19:14 I know that a lot of times in the beginning we have to bootstrap things and like just throw up what we can handle, but as soon as you can get a professionally designed website going, like, that will be your best friend because you're doing all the work for top of funnel. 19:26 Yet again, and then you're not focusing on the middle and bottom of funnel issues. So just spinning your wheels constantly. 19:34 If you were getting the leads, so you're getting the new email subscribers, they're filling out your forms, but it's not resulting in sales. 19:42 You have a bottom of funnel issue. Bottom of funnel issues can be so many different things. One, emails. What are your metrics telling you? 19:50 Are they telling you that people like what they're seeing? Are they telling you people are not liking what they're seeing? 19:57 Is your list a strong list? Meaning, is it actually full of ideal customers? Or did you have a list from something you did, you know, 10 years ago, and you're trying to bring them into this new business, and they're just not the same ideal customer. 20:10 So, really, you'd be better off not even messaging them. Emails can tell you a ton about your bottom-up funnel. If you have a high open rate, but you have low conversions, they do not like something about that product on your website. 20:23 Whether your website is hard to navigate, or the price point's not right, or the product photography is terrible, something's happening. 20:31 If you have a high open rate, and you have a low click rate, it is, sometimes it's clickability within the email, sometimes. 20:38 Bye, guys. It's something as tiny as you're including dollar amounts within an email, and there's no reason for them to click. 20:45 So, first of all, don't ever include dollar amounts in your emails. but, it can be a lot of different issues, but those are just like some of the things that you really want to start looking at. 20:53 That, you're a detective. As a founder, you are a detective. Figuring out where things are dropping off is your job. 21:01 And then fixing it as quickly as possible, because if you have one person in Top of Funnel, they should make it to Bottom of Funnel. 21:10 If they're not, why are they not? That's for you to figure out. So, a lot of people will build from Top of Funnel down. 21:19 I recommend building in reverse. Building your Bottom of Funnel first. making sure that you are building things out, sending email campaigns before you think you're ready. 21:30 That is a huge thing that we see, because people want to, like, they'll come to us and be like, okay, I want you to handle our social media. 21:38 And we're like, well, are you sending weekly campaigns with emails? Well, no. Okay, well, we're not going to run your social if you're not first sending emails, because it does us no good to kind of, capture audience that we don't, like, send anything to at any point. 21:54 And then you're just hoping they remember you. That's not going to work. Same thing with ads. Do not start doing ads until you have good converting weekly emails and converting email flows. 22:05 Now, caveat, if your list has like 100 people on it, 200 people on it, it may not be converting, but you should see a higher, you should see a good open rate and a click rate. 22:17 Right? If you're not seeing it convert in revenue yet because you have small numbers, that is okay. That would, I would not tell you to hold off on ads if it's showing promise. 22:30 Then you're going to build out your middle of funnel. So, like, building out that welcome series, making sure your email flows are in place. 22:37 you know, those types of things. And then top of the funnel, because again, it does us no good to get people in top of funnel. 22:45 If the rest of the funnel is broken, you are going to run yourself into the ground doing it any other way. 22:53 And for a lot of you listening, you've already run yourself into the ground. So now it's about taking a deep breath, telling yourself. 23:00 I. can dig myself out of this hole. And forgiving yourself like you didn't know most of us, no one has taught us these things. 23:08 Most of us have never taken a business class or graduated with our masters in business. You know, like for a lot of us, this is just our first time and we have to give ourselves grace. 23:21 And so right now I am telling you to give yourself grace. And just breathe. And start working on it today. 23:29 Don't put it off. Because there's no sense in you continuing to put the effort out if we aren't willing to fix what is broken. 23:38 Because if your funnel isn't built, the more traffic you have just creates more problems. Because it is more work you've put on the front end, you're not seeing a ROI. 23:48 And it is expensive. It costs you your time, your energy, and your money. Alright guys, that's it for today. If you, want some help with getting something put up on your website to capture these emails and SMS, we do have a freebie. 24:05 I will get that to you. I will have it in the show notes. Because I actually, if you are watching it, this on YouTube, I'm pretty sure that link that I have right here is wrong. 24:12 So it's gonna be in the show notes. so just make sure that you click that. It is totally free and it will help you get your pop-up ready to go. 24:19 Alright guys, love you. Bye!
