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The New Year is an important time for entrepreneurs to think about: What will we do differently this year to take us to the next stage of growth? You can take a close look at social media trends, your team, or many others, but I want to draw your attention to the heart of the operation, the sales pipeline. A sales funnel is a kind of skeleton of your marketing; It supports the structure of the customer journey that goes from the first contact to the purchase.
Maybe your drivers are missing somewhere in the process and it's up to you where to fix them. To avoid the problem of not knowing where to start, here are some tips.
Over the last 24 years in business, I have learned that affiliate marketing generates an average of 2,000 leads per week and a seven figure income. I tell my clients my selling secrets and I want to share them with you! This is what I learned:
Related: 3 Changes That Will Dramatically Improve Your Sales
Find marketing strategies that will warm up cold customers
Imagine spending hours in sub-zero temperatures and going straight to the sauna. Wouldn't it be better to wrap yourself in a nice warm blanket or sit by a roaring fire and slowly warm yourself up? But that's exactly what some businesses do when they first get cold leads with lukewarm marketing tactics. The worst examples are salespeople, cold calling, and text or email spam.
To attract potential customers, you must refine your strategy. Consider wrapping yourself in a warm blanket instead of throwing it into the ring of fire.
Popular entry points are radio/TV ads, cold email, social media ads, Google ads, and direct mail. But here's why I prefer using direct mail to reach that wide net all the way to the top of your sales funnel: direct mail is less intrusive, less annoying, and lasts longer than other options.
Sending email is not bad; In fact, I recommend email as an additional method to my clients. However, this is not the most effective form of advertising at the top of your channel. First, cold emails can end up in your spam folder. Second, they may not be available. Third, dive into the sea of emails from other companies doing the same thing. Not to mention, your potential customers may wonder how they got your email in the first place. If you do not give them consent, they will not be able to interact with you.
Direct mail, on the other hand, does not need to be opened (if it is a postcard), the recipient is forced to look at it, they can read it whenever they want (no one likes to be interrupted). (email) annoying during the business day) and is also likely to end up in the hands of potential customers. According to a 2020 MarketReach study, 75% of business email stays at home for more than 4 weeks and is checked an average of five times.
But I got all this information only through research and my experience and preferences as a consumer. My personal experience is that I tried direct mail as my first line of sales many times and built an $83 million business because of it.
While this is my truth, you will have to do your own research on cold selling techniques. I suggest you try direct mail over and over again and track the results, then compare it to other strategies of your choice, such as Google Ads or social media.
Related: 5 Ways to Instantly Connect with Every Lead
Tracking automation ensures a consistent return on your investment.
Constant marketing is the key to long-term growth. However, it's hard to be consistent when you or your team members manage daily (or hourly) tasks.
Automating follow-ups can save you a lot of time and help you stay consistent in your interactions with leads and customers. I realized this when I started growing too fast in my business and I didn't have time to take care of myself.
That way, once someone is interested in your business, they will visit your website for more information (which is why having a great website is so important). That's when they begin to decide if it's worth their time, money, and ultimately their actions.
If they make a purchase or call you right away, great! Some people act quickly, and you're lucky to have a truly passionate leader who takes immediate action.
Of course, most customers don't buy right away and don't call right away (when they need to sell), but some customers are more attractive than others. A small percentage will be interested enough to contact you if they sign up for an offer on your website (I hope you have a great lead capture offer on your website that makes conversion easy) and send you a letter. Or pick up the phone and call; that information is located just below. The rest of your funnel should follow suit.
You can achieve this by automating emails that are sent every few days, weeks, or months. You have to find what works for your business. Personally, I watch until someone tells me to stop, because the number of people who respond to emails years after first contact (and then buy something) far outweighs the number of people who get bored quickly. I also automate this check using cute cards and setting call alerts when you give them your phone number. There are several automation platforms that can be connected to your customer relationship management (CRM) software to make it more convenient for you.
However, if a customer doesn't make their first purchase on your website or doesn't convert, you can continue to push them and provide more information in different formats.
One of the most common tracking methods today is first-party cookies, which allow you to display digital ads on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Google. These ideas remind them to think of you and respond to you. It also helps them get more information about your products and services and bring them closer to the bottom of the sales funnel, also known as conversions, back to your website.
Usually, in my sales funnel, these first-party cookies are created after the customer receives the postcard and visits the website.
I'll give you a quick overview of what this sales funnel looks like for my clients. We call this small business a comprehensive marketing company everywhere.
A postcard is sent to the customer encouraging them to call or visit the website.
Marketing coordinators place digital ads on thousands of websites, including Facebook and Instagram, targeting the very people who receive the cards before they arrive.
Call tracking captures all incoming calls so employees can monitor and improve customer service.
Even if the lead isn't a customer initially, they'll continue to see the digital ad on their online channels for at least three months after publication.
After all, the more you're in front of customers, the more likely they'll remember who you are and consider making a purchase.
Related: Tracking is the superstar's best-selling tool.
Maintain your sales pipeline by regularly updating and improving it.
They say: "Change is the only thing you can count on." This applies to marketing more than any other industry because trends change faster every year. The marketing tactics you relied on last year to increase conversions may not work this year.
Trade Points are living, breathing things that stop or run based on how much life you put into them. You can create a "set it and forget it" social media campaign, but it won't last forever. The best marketing strategies are highly personalized, speak directly to your audience, and take the latest trends into account.
So how do you know what to change? You can spend all day researching new marketing strategies, which is why you're reading this right now, but the real test is when you A/B test. Get new sales ideas and try them out. This is how I found out what worked for me, and still does with the direct mail promotional materials I'm currently working on.
By regularly evaluating your sales channels and making adjustments based on performance, you'll see higher ROI and ultimately improve your customer relationships.
