How Do You Fill Up Your Marketing Funnel?

by Wendy Burge

Many solo entrepreneurs that I meet often express the challenge of finding new ways to make passive revenue without having to find more clients or work more hours. Recently, I consulted a service professional who was interested in generating more money and business, but she was unsure how to develop a strategy to do this effectively. Her website was more like a brochure of her services posted online– people would read about them this way. Then, shortly into our conversation she admitted she had written a book. However, she had made little money selling it and wasn’ t sure what to do with it or if all her efforts had any relevance to our talk.

It was at that point that I shared the outline of a MARKETING FUNNEL. Imagine a funnel, like you’d find in your kitchen or garage, turned upside down with the widest opening on top and the tip narrowing at the bottom. Now imagine the larger opening at the top as the place where you will generate your most PROSPECTS possible. At the opposite end of the funnel, where it narrows to the tip you would be place your EXCLUSIVE, high-end services and products. The middle area would contain the other, varying levels of services priced accordingly from least at top to the more expensive flowing down to the bottom.

The whole idea of the MARKETING FUNNEL is to get people to move through your business by offering services/ products at different price points along the way. The further down into the funnel the higher the price points go. Think for a moment about going to your favourite ice cream store where they give you those little spoons to taste the ice cream. Once you find a flavour you like you get a scoop of it in a cup. The next week you go back because you liked the flavour so much that you are more than willing to get three scoops of it on a waffle cone. Then on your next visit into their store you decided to order that nice custom made ice cream cake with your new favourite flavour again. This is a sample of a Marketing Funnel at work. It’s a simple marketing strategy that pays off every time.

Going back to my client, her marketing funnel at this time had her book and her higher end services. There was nothing in the middle of her funnel. I see this often with service professionals too. They will have a free or low cost product or service and a larger, high-end service with nothing else to offer in the middle. Most prospects are not willing to jump from free to a high end services. This often leaves few client conversations for many solo professionals because they have too few choices in how someone can work with them.

How do you create a marketing funnel?

First get people into your funnel by having a FREE offer of a give-away item like a report, ezine, CD or maybe even a tele-class. PROSPECTS easily access the item by signing up on your website and giving their email or mailing address (or both) to you. This allows you to contact this prospect in the future.

Next, turn your knowledge into INFORMATION PRODUCTS. Info-products are a super way to let people get a taste of your expertise for a fraction of the cost. They also help fill in the middle section of your marketing funnel. By offering these products on your website, you now turn your site into a silent, sales force 24/7 –generating passive revenue for you without your working any harder.

Here are a few of the suggested types of information products you can make.

Books
E-Books
Special Reports
Manuals
Workbooks
Journals
Audio (digital downloads or CDs)
Video (digital downloads or DVDs)
Home Study Courses or Tutorials (usually a mix of media; written, audio, and visual)

As well, you may want to consider offering tele-classes, tele-seminars, and webinars online as a way to reach more prospects that may not typically be able to afford your high-end services at first. This maximizes your time and leverages your income by offering a lower priced service to more people all at once.

A Sample Marketing Funnel

In the end, a sample marketing funnel could look similar to this.
 
TOP OF THE FUNNEL:
Free e-zine or report

MIDDLE OF THE FUNNEL:
Book ($29)
Book with Workbook ($49)
Tele-seminar ($79)
2-CD audio program with Transcripts($97)
4-week tele-course ($249)
4-CD Box-set with Transcripts and Handouts ($497)

BOTTOM OF THE FUNNEL:
One-hour private consultations ($250)
Specialty Service Package ($500)
2-day live workshop ($997)
One-to-One Live One Day Session ($1500)
Personal consulting/coaching/mentoring program ($3,000/mo.)

Now how will you fill in your Marketing Funnel?

Take some time and examine your current service and product offers. Where do they fit on your marketing funnel? Do you see where you can now add a few more items to help fill up your funnel? Consider where you can offer more value by adding your own information products so that your prospects can experience your expertise easier and be able to buy from you more often.

© 2009 Wendy Burge – Radiant Edge Consulting.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Radiant Business & Marketing Coach Wendy Burge publishes the On the Edge! weekly ezine–Where business, marketing, and lifestyle meet. If you’re ready to have radiant marketing, make more money, and have more freedom in your small business, get your FREE tips now at www.RadiantEdgeConsulting.com

Pump Up Your Profits With Out Working Harder

 

 by Wendy Burge

It can be a real challenge to increase profits for small businesses and solo-professionals whose sales are based on an exchange of time. However, with the power of leverage it is possible to increase revenues without increasing more time in your daily schedule. Implementing any of these powerful strategies will help put more money in your bank just by strategically using the ability to leverage your services and knowledge.

1.    Sell multiple sessions as a package

If you offer services that are by an hourly rate add an option for your clients to buy special packages of multiple sessions of that service instead of one session at a time. Let us say you offer massage therapy services at $75 an hour. By developing a package promo to buy multiple sessions you can offer them a saving (and start to fill your books quickly with a set series of client appointments). For example, you might offer “Buy 5 sessions and get the 6 for free or reword it as buy 6 sessions at $450 and save $75–like getting the 6th free. This is great to pump up your cash flow in a short amount of time.  Create a marketing plan to re-offer special package savings again just about the time a majority of your clients are needing to purchase their sessions again or run it consistantly as a purchase option.

2.    Bundle specialty services at a higher price

Have you ever really sat down and broken apart what kinds of activities you really do for your clients? If you have not done this lately you may want to take a look at how each of the service features you perform can be turned into specialty items on their own. It is easy to just do things for people, and then realize you have put in more energy, time, and effort into a client and have not exactly been compensated appropriately for the amount that you charged. Let’s say, for example, if your small business offered printing services, it is likely that for some of your clients you will provide advice on layout, design, and creating a “look and feel” that best represent their business. This is knowledge that could be leveraged into a specialty service. For this example let’s assume printing of business cards costs $95, letterhead costs $200, and brochures cost $350 on their own and this information is shared each and every time but is not being compensated in proportion to what is being billed. However, when these items are bundled into a Complete Professional Business Stationary Start-up Kit, you could charge a higher, combined rate that would allow you to also leverage your printing knowledge about logo design and colour options at a price that actually compensates you for your time and expertise.  It also allows you to give better service as you have the ability to work more exclusively with one client at this higher fee instead of multiple clients at a much lower fee/rate.
 
3.  Create VIP programs for clients

In most small business the 80/20 rule applies to clients-that is, 80% of your business comes from 20% of your clients. Recognizing these people can become a great way to leverage your profits by developing special VIP programs exclusively offered just to them. Here you can create special promotions, incentives, and services packages up-sold exclusively to them. Leveraging existing clients with new service and product sales is a great way to increase your cash flow without having to spend a lot of energy and effort finding new clients. Again, this also allows for a small business and solo-professional to enhance their clients’ experiences by acknowledging that they appreciate their business and wish to serve them better, as well, strengthening their long term relationship with that business.

4.  Cross sell complimentary services and products

Leveraging profits doesn’t necessarily come only from customers. Finder’s fees and affiliate fees can also generate new streams of income for small businesses, as well. Compensation for cross-selling complimentary services or products is another option to pump up profits without working harder. If your small business is a flower shop you may want to create a referral fee program with a local bakery, photography studio, and bridal store to cross-sell each other’s services to newly engaged couples.

Like a referral fee, affiliate fees are becoming a big income generator for many small businesses online.  Maybe you are a specialized professional who regularly promotes certain products and tools to your customers. You may want to contact the parent companies of the products you recommend to determine if they have an affiliate sales program. Each time your clients purchase the affiliate’s products, you receive a percentage of the sales. If you have a website or web presence with a blog, an html code is embedded into a tag that tracks sales from your site. There are tons of great digital products available in just about every industry possible, too if you are not sure what you could offer. Check out www.clickbank.com to discover for yourself what is out there. Not only that, if you have information products which you have created, like e-books, CD series, or training DVDs, these can be sold on other people’s sites, as well. Again, you would give them a tracking number and pay them a small percentage off each sale. To set up your own affilate sales you can use a site called www.paydot.com.
 
5.   Develop a joint venture

Possibly, a joint venture would work better between your business and other complimentary businesses. Creating a service or product that both of your businesses develop together is another way in sharing the cost and time on the marketing and promotion. In the end, both companies split the profits for the new service. An example might be an estate planning package put together by a financial planner and an estate attorney. They would share in the promotion and split the agreed upon percentage of the profits.

 

© 2009 Wendy Burge – Radiant Edge Consulting.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Radiant Business & Marketing Coach Wendy Burge publishes the On the Edge! weekly ezine–Where business, marketing, and lifestyle meet. If you’re ready to have radiant marketing, make more money, and have more freedom in your small business, get your FREE tips now at www.RadiantEdgeConsulting.com

Resource Disclaimer:
Radiant Edge Consulting and Wendy Burge do not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any of the third-party recommendations above or the quality of any products, information, or other materials displayed, purchased, or obtained by you as a result of an offer in connection with any company listed. Please do your own due diligence before purchasing any product.

Getting Paid What You Are Worth

As an entrepreneur one of the hardest places to establish a set value is around being paid what you are worth. Taking the step into business for yourself means it is up to you to determine the value you have in people’s lives through the service you provide. But how do you know what that value is? How do you determine if you are charging the amount that is best for you not what an industry standard may be? The topic of money triggers all kinds of emotion and psychological responses when it comes to determining your worth, asking to be paid for your service, and evaluating the real value it creating. 

However, the topic of money is essential because you are in business and the whole point about being in business is to make a profit not merely float through life in survival mode.  A true shift in one’s thinking about money is necessary for any entrepreneur to grow a thriving business and increase their value so they are being paid what they are worth. Distinctions need to be made between some very core concepts in order to fully embrace the topic of being paid what you are worth by the people who value your service. 

Industry Pricing vs. Knowing Worth 

In the initial stages of opening a business it is easy to price your services based on the industry standards. While this may work initially people soon discover that they are trading their time for a standard set dollar amount as a general guideline, but, it just may not sustain them in the long run. If the services you offer are based on an hourly wage, you will never break through a glass ceiling that is limiting you.

However, if you know that the service you provide is worth much more than you are charging because you go beyond the typical standard, then, it is this value upon which you must base your fees. For example, if you are a book keeper who is experienced in retail and can help merchants make better choices in their spending, help them save on taxes, and show them where the money has been hiding in their business, you can provide greater value to that client  than someone who just “does the books”.  Once you determine what value your clients receive as a result of your services, then you can set your prices based on the value you offer.

Surviving Economy vs. Thriving Economy

The beauty of being an entrepreneur can be that you have to ability to create your own economy. However, once again, if you do not see the value you have to offer to clients then doing business means that you are constantly searching for the next new client to sell your services to. Unfortunately, this is the part that most people hate about their business– they do not like to feel as if they are selling, so they will under-cut their own rates and value. This is where the shift starts.

You must pinpoint exactly what you bring to the table to your clients as it relates to the business they do with you. When you have clarity about this, you can position your marketing message to directly demonstrate your value. This naturally attracts the right clients to your business and there is no need to run around trying to convince people why they should do business with you. You can clearly demonstrate this within your marketing and this then allows you to price your services higher—thus, creating a thriving economy.

Generalist vs. Specialist

The largest issue most new and some seasoned entrepreneurs have about restructuring their fees based on their worth is the fact that they have yet to claim their ‘gifts’ which only they possess and can offer. When an entrepreneur remains “general” in their services, they limit their ability to generate higher fees. However, let us stop a moment and take a look at what got them to this point. Did they up-grade skills at any point? Do they have any first-hand, personal experience in the solution offered to clients?

 Most entrepreneurs are experts at what they do and with a little ‘re-packaging’ those experiences allow them to be an industry specialist within a room of generalist. Think about this—if you were having specific health issues which involved your heart would you see a general practitioner or would you prefer to see a heart specialist? Exactly. Even if it meant you had to pay a top dollar for the specialist’s services, you just might find a way to pay for them—especially if you knew you were getting the best care from an industry expert. Remember people are paying as much for you and your knowledge as they are the technical service you offer.

Building a Business vs. Transforming Lives

Understanding the structure in which a business is created and, even more, why a business was started in the first place, is where this distinction must be addressed.  If a business was built to remove the conditions of working for others, then the point of building that business is based on the idea of “job creation”. In that situation, many of the same ‘rules’ will be applied because the only thing done was to replace the environment while maintaining the same familiar structure from the past work experience. 

Alternatively, if an entrepreneur spends the time to really evaluate the transformative value they can achieve being in service to share and, as well, to experience themselves through a lifestyle business model, then the value in the freedom it offers has a higher value.  There is then no need to compare your service with others as the more value you provide the more people will be willing to pay. Hiding behind old beliefs around your worth will only be damaging to your business growth. To ensure that you are charging in relation to the value you offer also means that you must invest in your own growth. The more you stretch your personal operating system with the help of therapists, coaches, mentors, and such, means you value growth in the process of your own business in relation to the transformations you experience, too.

Earn Money vs. Claim Money

This is the biggest shift for people to comprehend when it comes to charging what they are worth. Essentially, the majority of people have been conditioned to believe that we must be in the process of doing “work” to earn money. Our value is based on external feedback, opinions, and assessments of our worth by others. Often people feel inadequate or that they have not become enough yet to be paid for their worth in relation to what others project back to them.  People are in a constant state of competition to earn the right to make more, to have more—let alone receive praise and appreciation.

However, if you are authentically setting the wheels in motion to create a business that provides your service with intention to support and transform client’s lives then the issue is less about earning and more about knowing your value and worth. Furthermore, by setting fees that serve both the clients and you means you are so claiming this. If you are still operating from an ‘earn money’ belief and are not aware of this belief, it will trip you up as you will run around trying to create more value by doing more. You do not need to earn more credibility through certification to prove your worth. You will represent it with your gifts of service and knowledge in the value you have to offer others. Believe and know you are enough today!

Clarity between all the distinctions provided helps small business entrepreneurs build external structures in their business that supports their fees through the value, customer experience, and their overall knowledge. As well, increase the internal structure of confidence and self –worth which radiantly shines through their business and service.

© 2009 Wendy Burge – Radiant Edge Consulting.

 

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Radiant Business & Marketing Coach Wendy Burge publishes the On the Edge! weekly ezine–Where business, marketing, and lifestyle meet. If you’re ready to have radiant marketing, make more money, and have more freedom in your small business, get your FREE tips now at www.RadiantEdgeConsulting.com