Show Notes
Today is part 2 out of three which are all about sales funnels. If you haven’t heard the first part, which is session number 31, go have a read of that and then come back to this.
But if you have, or you are already familiar with what sales funnels are and if you’re also an online trainer, then you’re in the right place.
In-person trainers, just wait another week as that will be the topic for the third part in this mini series.
So, now you know what a sales funnel is, the different stages and how they work, let's start with how this can all work for all of you online trainers out there.
Awareness
So we start off with the awareness stage. You need to create traffic at the top of your funnel. Remember, that is people that have no idea who you are.
Now, at the top here you are going to want more than one way to reach out to cold traffic.
Content
So a great way to start is creating content. Start off by picking one main channel. Whether it is a social media platform, a blog, YouTube or a podcast it doesn’t matter so long as it meets 2 conditions.
First, you need to be able to consistently post on it, creating the media you need for it. And second, it is where the people you are targeting, your ideal clients, hang out.
But whatever you choose and whatever the content you create for it, you will need to make sure that your content has a call to action. You need people to do something, you need to take them somewhere so that you can build trust, and continue the connection and build the relationship.
So maybe you create content on your top 5 fat loss tips, or create a series of posts that help people with their fat loss journey.
In fact, if this is your ideal client you need to constantly create helpful content all around the topic of fat loss.
Check out one of my favourite Instagram profiles for this. It is a page called @thefitnesschef_. I’ll put a link in the show notes.
He creates really fun videos about fat loss by breaking myths, giving tips and making people feel normal about the whole process.
Call to Action
Now, remember to add a call to action for each piece of content.
It could be to follow or subscribe to your page or channel. It could be to download your free report that contains a worksheet that helps people through the process of implementing the 5 fat loss tips.
So if you have a download, it is what is called a lead magnet. A lead magnet is a checklist, a cheat sheet, a score card, a mini course or some tool or resource that someone can download, generally for free. People need to give their email address to access it.
You can put a link in your bio, or in the description as your call to action or mention it in the video or at the end of a blog. These links will then take people to a sales or download page where they can download the report in exchange for their email address.
You need to know where to send it to right!
So now you have given some value, helped to build trust and credibility and you have an email address for a person that is interested in fat loss and also has shown that they like your content and approach.
They are now in your world and about to go to the next stage of your sales funnel.
But before we go onto the next stage, remember that you can put out more than just one lead magnet or call to action for your top of the funnel awareness stage.
You can create lots of content with a lot of calls to action. Each one speaking to your ideal client in a slightly different way covering a certain question or concern they might have. This way you can appeal to people that are thinking about different things when it comes to fat loss.
Just as a side note. Are you starting to see why knowing your ideal client is so important? Many people don’t realise and just skip even thinking about it. So make sure you know yours or make sure you are in the process of finding out.
So, getting back to things with different types of lead magnets.
You can write about how to track fat loss progress and have a download for a tracking app or spreadsheet that they can use.
You can give you favourite nutrition tips and give a recipe cheat sheet as a download.
You get the idea.
You don’t need to create a download for every piece of content you create, that would be pretty heavy.
But maybe build it up over time and do this once per month or even week if you have the capacity.
For the other post, your call to action can be to follow, subscribe or share your content.
Online Advertising
Another way that some of you might want to go down is to use a combination of online ads and a lead magnet to reach your top of funnel people in the awareness stage.
Google and Meta, which is Facebook and Instagram, are the most popular.’
Obviously, you’re going to need to spend some money and have a budget for this and getting it all set up is for another session on another day.
But the basic structure you might want to try is to use ads to promote your lead magnets and not your main offer.
So you will run ads to your 5 fat loss tips instead of your 3 month fat loss program.
Why do you run ads for something that costs nothing? Because you have not built trust yet. You have no credibility yet. There is no relationship there yet.
You are running ads, not to sell your product, but to build your audience, more specifically your email list.
Other content you can run ads for can include a webinar, a workshop or a challenge. And some of these more involved methods you might be able to charge a small amount for so you can maybe cover the cost you spend on ads.
But the main aim is to get people into your world at the awareness stage so they can start to move through your funnel.
So if someone has got this far they will now be in your next stage, the interest stage.
Interest
There are 2 main ways to connect with people here. First is social media as most people will also have followed you on your preferred platform.
But the best way is using email.
Remember, the main aim for this interest stage is to build the relationship. Build trust and build your credibility so that potential clients can see that you can help them and also see the way you can help them.
And this is important. Because there are a boat load of other trainers out there that they might also be following. So by having them see your approach to your message and how you work it, what will make you stand out and hopefully resonate with them enough that they will build interest in finally buying from you.
Email Marketing
So you can start to send what are called ‘nurture’ emails that can do all this relationship building we talked about, but you can also use emails to answer common objections that they might have about buying from you.
Same for your social media content.
For example, if a common objection might be that they are worried about not sticking to the fat loss plan, you can create content and emails around that.
You can show people what you do to help avoid this, the system you use and the support you give. You can create content around FAQ’s and you can link to testimonials on social media.
If you have previous clients explaining how they managed to stick to the plan after previously worrying about not completing it, any person watching that with the same worries is going to feel far more confident about buying.
So there is a ton of content you can create to send people in the interest stage. And every so often you want to move them into the desire stage.
You can do this by creating an offer and serving it up to them.
Desire
Check out this book called Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook by Gary Vaynerchuk. He is one of the most prolific content creators in history. The idea of what he talks about in the book is to add value over and over with your content (your jabs) and then make an offer (your right hook).
So you make a lot more jabs and you do hooks.
Make too many offers and things won’t look good for you. It will just look like you only connect with your audience when you want to sell something. That’s not going to help you build a relationship and connection with your audience.
But helping people over and over and then making an offer periodically avoids this and has a lot more success.
When you have built up interest in your audience then when you make the offer they are more likely to take you up on it.
So let’s say that you have a 3 month program you want to sell. You can create content to inform people what it is about and you can create the content to deal with objections.
Now, once you have built enough interest you can start to put your offer out there. Adding in some testimonial content, proving that you can help people. Anyone that is paying attention will now be firmly in the desire stage.
Your initial offer could be a more indirect offer than, just by my stuff!
You can offer a webinar or a 30 minute call or even a consultation to move people from interest to desire. From this initial offer you can then put forward your main offer where people can finally make a purchase from you.
Action
By making your main offer you are now moving them into the action stage where they can follow a process to finally buy your product or service.
Remember to make it as easy and simple as possible so that everyone that entered the buying process finishes it.
And that is that.
Just make sure that you deliver on your promise and make sure that people can access what they have bought right away, or as soon as you promised they will get access.
So this is just one example of a sales funnel you could use if you’re an online trainer.
Now, just in case you didn't know, not everyone will follow this step by step.
One criticism that some marketers have about sales funnels is that people might think that a potential client has to go through all of the stages before buying.
That’s just stupid!
Like you’re not going to sell something to someone just because they didn’t take long enough or complete the interest stage.
Some people that are really excited and want to get going might buy from you the first time they ever see your content.
And you will let them!
They are excited, enthusiastic and ready to buy and get going, so you keep that going.
For some people, they will enter your world with a free download. But for others, they will enter your world at the last stage directly with a purchase.
And that’s great. Better even, in a lot of ways. So make sure your setup allows for both and don't think that a sales funnel is always going to be an exact process that everyone has to go through.
People can enter at the top, the bottom and even move up or down over time.
So, that’s it for today. Just one example of a sales funnel. But you’re going to need to tweak it and change it to suit you and your goals, your area of training and the people you serve.
The key is to add value, which is to help people, at each stage so you can hopefully guide your potential clients towards becoming loyal clients.
Now, remember that part 3 of this mini series will be the next session so don’t miss that if you are an in-person trainer.