Funnels 101: The ultimate beginner’s guide. The reasons why you need a funnel in your business…and sooner rather than later!
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Things You’ll Learn in this Episode of Doing it Online:
- We’re going back to basics – Funnels 101 – The ultimate beginner’s guide to funnels
- 4 reasons why you really need a funnel in your business
- The right time to add a funnel to your business (hint: it’s not in a few years)
- The 4 tech elements you need to create your funnel
- What you can expect once you’ve created your funnel
- How you get started with your kick-ass funnel
- When to add Facebook Ads to your funnel set up
- Get access to our eCourse MBA Workshop for FREE (usually $97)
Today we’re going back to basics – Funnels 101
The ultimate beginner’s guide to funnels…there’s so many people out there who either:
- Think funnels are an advanced tactic that are reserved for people who are more advanced in business than they are
- Think funnels need to be crazy and complicated
I love a good myth-buster so I’m here to tell you this just isn’t the case.
Funnels are super important for all businesses (even if you’re just starting your business) and they can help you grow faster AND easier. And you don’t actually need crazy advanced marketing skills to get started with funnels either.
Let me show you how easy funnels can be!
What a funnel actually is…
This might surprise you…but all a funnel really is…is taking your sales process (or creating one if you don’t have one yet), and using some simple tools so that it runs on autopilot. The steps you take each potential client / customer through so they get the information they need…so that they can make the decision to ultimately buy from you. All of this without you having to physically do anything thanks to the little digital sales engine always running in the background…making you sales!
Why do you really need a funnel?
If you’re still on the fence thinking “what is a funnel actually going to do for my business?” – let me walk you through some of the positives of having a funnel.
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Frees up time
Firstly so that you’re not running around like a crazy manic person (a gift in itself) and you can then re-invest that saved time back into work that helps grow your business (aka working ON your business) or into better serving your clients/customers.
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Adds reliability
One thing that is missing when running your own business…is that sense of certainty so that you know roughly what’s going to happen each day/week/month and you know what you’re getting paid. Having a funnel set up will help to add that layer of certainty as you can predict roughly how many sales you will get (without having to do anything!). This can be life-changing…and this is the reason I teach funnels.
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Adds extra revenue
Another revenue stream for your business (on top of your launches). A key puzzle piece that can be set up to cover your “bread & butter” – your bills, expenses, pays you and a little buffer…imagine how that would feel to have all of those covered every month.
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You can launch less (or make your launches better)
Because your funnel removes the do or die pressure on your launches and gives you space to show up and be more creative. Launch less…but with bigger impact each time.
When is the right time to add a funnel?
I’ll give you the hot tip…it’s NOT years and years down the track!
Funnels are a key piece that so many people just keep putting it off. I get it – funnels are a slow burn winner, rather than a big sexy quick win…so it’s easy to go for the big chunk of money straight up, without looking at the big picture for sales.
The right time to set up a funnel is as soon as you’ve created a product and you’ve proven that it sells well. It doesn’t have to be a bestseller…it just has to have sold before.
All you need to start is to set up a simple funnel and then tweak as you go! You’re going to learn so much over time, so that when it’s time to upgrade your funnel or add to it…it’s going to get better and better each time – just like anything in business.
The key is to start! To learn the lessons and then make the changes that help you scale. Rip off that bandaid and get your first one started NOW.
Another sign that you’re ready for a funnel….is that you’re list-building. You’re creating content, you have an opt-in, you’re doing podcasts….you’re getting yourself out there and driving people to your website and email list. If you don’t have a funnel set up when you’re list building – you’re losing sales.
What tech do you need to set up your funnel?
Ahh tech…the biggest turnoff for setting up a funnel. The thought that funnel tech is complicated, hard, scary, expensive, overwhelming AF…puts you off.
You are an intelligent human who has started a business! You’ve even learnt to drive a car – which is way harder than setting up an automated email…I promise!
You’re comfortable in what you do know…and learning new things (outside of your comfort zone) can be stretchy AF…so you panic.
But you just need to take it one step at a time! Learning new things is good.
So get comfortable learning these systems…or get comfortable paying someone to do them for you. You don’t have an option of not using online systems if you’re an online business…unless you want to stay stuck. It’s only a piece of software…nothing bad is going to happen if you get it wrong.
#endrant
Now off the soapbox and back onto your ultimate beginners guide to funnels and what tech you need to set up your funnel:
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An email automation software
A smart one…My two favourites are Active Campaign & Convertkit. You need a software that allows you to set up sequences, tag people when they take certain actions and then move them to certain stages of your sequence.
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A page builder
To create landing pages that you can send people to so they can opt in / watch a video / buy from you. Your website may already have the capability to do this.
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A way to deliver your offer
A proper courseware software that is easy to use such as Podia – one of my fave beginner budget friendly options
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A countdown timer
Even for evergreen offers….you still need that sense of urgency – that little push to get people to take action (aka buy from you). Deadline Funnel is the best option.
What can you expect when you set up a funnel?
Patience is required for setting up a funnel. You’ll need to let it sit for a couple of weeks to run on its own…and trust me when I say DON’T TOUCH IT. You need to get the data to see where tweaks need to be made BEFORE you make any changes.
How do you get started?
If you’ve already got the tech and you’ve sold your product successfully – I would highly recommend you invest in someone to help you set up your funnels, so you can set it up correctly, so it works for your business. This could be through a course (like my 5K Funnel Formula) or working with a funnel coach, so if you’re a funnel beginner this is going to put you on the fast track to move you from beginner to funnel curious to freaking awesome funnel master in a matter of weeks.
What about Facebook ads?
My best advice is to get your funnel working WITHOUT ads first (unless of course you like setting fire to money).
There is the extra step when you create a funnel and it’s called getting your data and having a touch of patience…and the reason for this is you need to know your funnel works (aka it converts) so you feel comfortable investing in Facebook ads.
Start with free traffic and then add in some simple Facebook ads.
Begin small, keep it simple, and then outsource them to a Facebook Ads expert to get you to the next level.
And there you have it…your ultimate beginners guide to funnels (aka funnels in a nutshell). That’s how simple it can be. Yes funnels are simple, funnels are for beginners and you can set them up to work for your business too.
