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Unlocking the Full Potential of Funnels: A Comprehensive Guide for Solopreneurs
Understanding the Funnel: Beyond Lead Generation
Traditionally, funnels have been viewed through a very narrow lens—often associated solely with lead generation and initial sales. Kristen Day challenges this perspective by redefining the funnel as the entire journey a customer takes, from their first interaction with your brand to multiple repeat purchases.
The Full Journey: From Stranger to Loyal Customer
A true funnel encapsulates every touchpoint a potential customer has with your brand. It’s not just about attracting leads but also nurturing these relationships through their first, second, and third purchases, turning casual buyers into raving fans. This holistic approach ensures a consistent customer experience, filling the gaps often left by a narrow focus on initial sales.
Identifying a Broken Funnel: Key Indicators
Before you can optimize your funnel, it's crucial to identify where it's leaking. According to Kristen, there are three primary areas where most solopreneurs encounter issues: drop-off rates after the first purchase, inconsistent follow-up, and low conversion rates on follow-up sales.
Spotting the Gaps
Lack of a Consistent Customer Experience
: If your customers feel lost after their first purchase, it's likely there's a significant gap in your funnel.
Poor Follow-Up
: Failing to follow up diligently with your customers post-purchase can leave them feeling neglected and reduce the likelihood of repeat business.
Low Conversion Rates in Sales Funnels
: If you're encountering high drop-off rates during sales calls or consults, it may indicate you're attracting the wrong audience or failing to follow up effectively.
Routine Funnel Audits: A Necessary Practice
Regularly auditing your funnel can help you stay ahead of these issues. Kristen recommends solopreneurs conduct these audits on a monthly basis, given the dynamic and fluid nature of smaller operations.
The Funnel Audit Process
A detailed funnel audit involves:
Analyzing every step from discovery to purchase
Checking for broken links and outdated information
Ensuring your messaging remains consistent and relevant
Listening to customer feedback and adjusting accordingly
Must-Have Tools and Systems for Solopreneurs
Having the right tools can streamline your funnel and make the process more manageable. Kristen highlights two essential systems: an email list with an autoresponder and a quiz feature for engaging potential customers.
Building a Robust Email List
Platforms like ConvertKit and Flodesk provide excellent functionalities for building and managing email lists, complete with automation features. An autoresponder is crucial for ensuring consistent follow-up with your audience, enabling you to nurture relationships effortlessly.
Leveraging Tagging and Automations
Tagging is another critical component of advanced funnel optimization. It allows you to track user interactions and tailor your communications to suit their preferences and behaviors. This level of personalization can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
Making the Most of Quizzes
While slightly more advanced, integrating quizzes into your funnel can drive engagement and provide valuable insights into your audience's needs and preferences. Quizzes not only attract visitors but also collect data that helps you personalize your follow-up communications.
The Power of Consistent Follow-Up
The significance of follow-up within your funnel cannot be overstated. As Amy from The Motivated CEO Podcast points out, many entrepreneurs fear to follow up due to the misconception that they are being bothersome. However, consistent follow-up can set you apart in a noisy marketplace, ensuring your business remains top of mind for your customers.
Practical Follow-Up Tips
Schedule regular check-ins with your customers
Personalize your follow-up messages based on user interactions
Leverage email sequences to maintain engagement over time
Conclusion
Funnels are the lifeline of any solopreneur's business. By understanding the entire customer journey, routinely auditing your funnel, leveraging the right tools, and ensuring consistent follow-up, you can turn your funnel into a powerful growth engine. Whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your strategy, these insights from Kristen Day can help you optimize your funnel and drive consistent, scalable growth.
Unlock the full potential of your funnel and watch your business thrive! Remember, the journey doesn't end at the first sale—it’s just the beginning.
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Transcript for Episode 374. Fix Your Funnel, Grow Your Sales with Kristen Day
Amy [00:00:03]:
Whether you love them or hate them, funnels are such a critical part of your business, especially as a solopreneur. You need a solid funnel. And in today's episode, we are demystifying. First of all, what does it really mean to have a funnel? Because there are a ton of misconceptions out there and then what you can do as a solopreneur to really optimize your funnel and make it work for you. Today's guest, Kristen Day, is a marketing tech expert obsessed with helping service based entrepreneurs and their teams break the seven figure ceiling with ease by fixing their funnels and optimizing their systems so that they can stay in their zone of genius to create more influence, impact, and income. Who doesn't love that? Kristin, I am so excited to nerd out on this topic with you today because really, when it comes down to it, funnels are such a critical yet overlooked piece of our businesses. So before we dive in, I would love to know, what is a funnel? What is the actual definition of a funnel? Because we need to clear up some of these misconceptions.
Kristen [00:01:23]:
Yes. And thank you so much, Amy, for having me. I am so excited. I will also nerd out with you on this on this topic because it's something I'm really passionate about and I think, yeah, let's just dive right in. I have a little bit of a different take on a funnel than what you would normally see from an Internet guru. So I want to help you think of a funnel as the process that a random stranger goes through when they first encounter you all the way through their third or fourth purchase with you. And this is so critically important to think about with regards to your funnel, because if you think that your funnel is just how you get customers, you have a very small portion of that funnel that you are focusing on, and it is really to the detriment of not only your customers, but to your business as a whole. And I want you to think about helping people fall in love with your company.
Kristen Day [00:02:59]:
And that doesn't just happen through their first purchase. Right? So we, we often hear that a funnel is how you get lead generation or it's how you make your first couple sales, but that really is not true. A funnel encompasses your entire customer journey from the moment they're introduced to you on whatever platform, all the way through their purchase of their third or fourth purchase with you, and what happens at every single step of that person's experience with you. So, Amy, that's what I want people to think about. Changing their perspective of well, well, I've got a funnel. Yeah. I've got manychat. I've got an Instagram account.
Kristen Day [00:03:57]:
People buy stuff from me. Okay, that's great. You have a part of a funnel that sometimes works, which is also great. But do you have a consistent customer experience? And if the answer to that is no, you have holes in your overall funnel. And, and that is why we see so many people not really getting the benefits of a. Of a true funnel.
Amy [00:04:25]:
Yeah. And funnels aren't something we need to be scared of. You know, it really allows us to zoom out and see that bigger picture. Because you are absolutely right. And if you take nothing else away from this episode, please know that the funnel does not end with the sale. And I see that a lot is. We're so focused on visibility, discoverability. How can I get more, more and more in front of more people? But how are we retaining? How are we then getting those referrals? How are we leveraging those very satisfied customers to amplify our results? This is really streamlining to amplify.
Amy [00:05:12]:
And this is the beau. This is what I love nerding out on as well, because it makes your business work for you. All of the data is there. It's all right in front of us. We just need to learn how to use it strategically. So if a business owner is listening to this episode and they're like, okay, I. Now I understand. I have that idea of what a funnel is.
Amy [00:05:36]:
How do we know if our funnel is broken? Like, how do we know? You know what? There are some pretty big gaps there that I need to fill. So, number one, how do we identify it? And then number two, how do we start to go about fixing our funnels?
Kristen Day [00:05:54]:
Amy, I do these really beautiful experiments sometimes with the people that I work with. It's called a funnel audit. And I am essentially looking at every single piece of the customer's experience and seeing where are the holes and how do I identify those holes. I look at every step a person would take to get from finding me on any type of search or any discoverability page all the way through. Where are they leading me? Where are the next steps, like, where are you taking me on that journey? And I look at all kinds of things. I look at their messaging, I look through the links that are attached to their profiles. I look through your website. Every opportunity for me to take a next step is what I am looking for.
Kristen Day [00:07:11]:
And that very often is where most of the holes come from. The next hole comes from what we call, like a drop off rate. And this is where I've purchased something and then basically I fall into like a black hole of your funnel where it feels, and I want you to understand too, when you have a purchase or when someone purchases your offer and you're not giving them the respect to continue to follow up with them and continue to communicate with them that how would you feel, right? How think about how you would feel if, or how you have felt when that happens to you. Right. Many people do that. So you have holes in your funnel. If I can't clearly identify where you're trying to take me, you have holes in your funnel. If you are not actively following up with people who have purchased from you and you have holes in your funnel if people are not making second and third purchases with you, like those are the big three areas.
Kristen Day [00:08:35]:
You know, you have a leaky funnel. The last piece of a funnel that you might have a hole in is your sales funnel. So if you have people, if you're consistently getting, especially if you have a service based offer and you're getting on consult calls or opportunity calls, if you have a drop off rate where you're getting on a lot of calls but no one is converting, you have a hole there as well. Either you're not following up fast enough, clear enough, consistently enough with them, or you have an issue where you're pulling in the wrong type of person. So that could be a hole as well. Those are. So that's not always the case. But that fourth one, if you've plugged the other three and you're still not having success, that fourth one's a telltale definitely.
Amy [00:09:42]:
Now, which one of those do you feel is the, is the most common that you see. And I know it barely varies from business to business, but if there was one that stood out that you're like, oh gosh, what would it be?
Kristen Day [00:09:58]:
I. That is such a good question. And it does vary. I think it, I think it actually varies in the stage of business that you're at. I would say if you're a solopreneur and you are finding a modicum of success like people are purchasing, but you don't see that repeat. I see that probably the most is where if you have an offer that is somewhat converting, but it's not converting consistently, it really is the follow through. That is the biggest thing that I see because a lot of people will be interested, but they get busy or they get distracted. And if you're not tracking, and I know people hate numbers, but you, I mean, if you're not paying Attention to them, you're doing yourself a disservice.
Kristen Day [00:10:54]:
More than anyone, people are interested. You have success with your audience, you're getting a good amount of engagement, but your offer's not converting the way that you need it to. Very often I see a solopreneur that has a good offer but a bad follow up. And that 90% of the time will, that will cause a lot of issues.
Amy [00:11:23]:
Yeah, it really does. You know, and we get into our heads as entrepreneurs, we're afraid to follow up. We create these stories and we tell ourselves, oh, I'm going to be a bother, this, that or the other, you know, for anybody that's thinking that, like just know that you're normal, you're human, that's just your brain's way of trying to keep you safe. But think about it this way, like the other day the children's place sent me 10 emails in one day. We're busy, we're scrolling, no one's paying that much attention. Take the time to follow up and follow through because this will really, this is an easy way to increase your sales because a lot of people aren't because of those self limiting beliefs, because of the fear of rejection, because of so many of these stories that we create. And frankly, we're busy, the world is busy. We all have lives outside of our phones that we're running in all of these different directions.
Amy [00:12:23]:
So taking the time to follow up and follow through really are going to set you apart as a business owner.
Kristen Day [00:12:29]:
I would say too that follow, follow up on your own processes. That's another one that I see. I just did a funnel audit last week and they are a solopreneur. They are outsourcing some items and because they're outsourcing some items, they're not following up on their own systems. And I found an email in a nurture sequence that was directing people towards an event that they were doing a sales push towards in like April. Right. So making sure that if you have, that even if you do have a follow up sequence that you are consistently following up on your own things and making sure that you are keeping things up to date. And when I say that I do the funnel audits and I see a lot of, I see a lot of like broken links or things pointing to past events, things pointing towards offers that don't exist anymore.
Kristen Day [00:13:39]:
People do it all the time and if you're going to do that, make sure to have in your processes, especially for past events. This is a nugget that a lot of people should do, but they don't. If you're going to have an event, just like have people sign up for the replay of that event. It's so simple. But you have to follow up on your own processes and you can continue to collect those emails by. You have to. You have to be diligent about following up, follow up, follow ups. The biggest mistake people make that they don't do.
Amy [00:14:19]:
Yes, definitely. Now, how often should a business owner be taking the time to audit their funnel? You know, is this something we should do? Quarterly, semiannual, annually? What's your best advice for that?
Kristen Day [00:14:32]:
I think that if you are a solopreneur and you do not have a team, once a month, once every 30 days, taking a couple hours, carve out one day of your week and really go through a fine tooth comb with your funnels. Because as solopreneurs are doing something that entrepreneurs with bigger teams aren't doing, and it's that they're being more scrappy and they're changing more things to get in front of more eyeballs. They are, in general, they have more movement in their business, and so their funnels change more often than a more robust team or an entrepreneur with a more robust team. So if you are a solopreneur and you are being more scrappy and you are changing things up and you are trying to find what works for you, mandatory once a month, making sure you don't have things that are in the past, things that you don't want out there anymore, things that don't make sense anymore. Right. You change the branding, whatever it is.
Amy [00:15:48]:
Yeah, that's such good advice. Because as solopreneurs, we get caught up in the hustle. We get caught up doing all of the things. And I actually have it scheduled. The first Friday of every month is my CEO day. That is my day to dive into the data, see what is working, what is not working. Because it's 2024, the market has shifted significantly this year. Buyer behaviors have changed.
Amy [00:16:11]:
The things that people are opening and clicking on, that's changed. But what that data does is it allows me to get curious and figure out, okay, well, this worked out really well. So how can I double down on this? And this isn't converting as well, how can I let this go? Or what can I do differently with this? It allows me to see those opportunities. But if we're never taking the time to pause and assess, I mean, even something as simple as you said, like broken links, they happen. We update things on our websites and don't realize, oh, Gosh, that link is linked to something else that I'm no longer doing in this email and mapping it out, you know, the first time you do it, yeah, it does take a little bit of time, but it's worth the roi. I mean, that little bit of time, the more and more you review it and streamline your processes, this doesn't take hours on end to do. You can do a funnel audit very quickly and very easily and it's going to boost your sales because you're seeing those opportunities right in front of you.
Kristen Day [00:17:16]:
Absolutely. And I would say if you don't have. This is a trick that I tell anyone who's starting out in business and they say, I don't have the time to do that. I don't, you know, whatever, whatever they say, I will tell them, okay, your mom or your friend or your coach or whomever, pick someone and have them go through your profiles like they were a brand new customer and text you or email you or what have you all the things that they find because they're going to find some stuff. I even have stuff, right. I do this with my team. I have a team member go through and kind of make sure mine are all up to snuff too. But if you don't have a team or you think, I don't have time to do that, ask someone.
Kristen Day [00:18:19]:
The people love to be asked for help. And you know, I think especially people who, they feel honored, they're like, yeah, I would love to do that for you. And they'll go through and they'll click and it's fun, you know, to help people kind of find that stuff. So I always ask that, like, ask someone random who has no idea what you do. That's the other thing. People oftentimes they're like, I don't know what you do. Like, perfect, you're perfect. So that's a pro tip that I've, I've given a lot of people and it helps because they'll, they'll be like, oh yeah, you've got this link over here.
Kristen Day [00:18:55]:
Or I don't know what this means. Right. They'll give you a lot of really good feedback and it just make it fun for them. Yeah, send them a gift card.
Amy [00:19:03]:
Right, Exactly. It's not rocket science. I actually do that with my kiddos. Like, I'll ask them when I'm creating content, I'll be like, does this make sense to you? And if it does, I'm like, okay, perfect. Or if not, it's like, you know, it's so easy for us to slip into like industry jargon and it makes sense in our minds but really having that outside perspective, that other point of view is so helpful as a business owner and something else in the process of building out our funnels that can be really, really helpful are different systems and automations. Do you have some must have tools or platforms that you recommend?
Kristen Day [00:19:43]:
So many. I will try not to get overwhelming with the amount of. I love systems, I am a systems hound. I love automations. For solopreneurs specifically, I would say an absolute must have is an email list with an autoresponder. This is, it's critical. And there are two platforms for beginning or solopreneurs that I recommend. ConvertKit is one and Flodesk is the other.
Kristen Day [00:20:30]:
Relatively speaking, they're very inexpensive and they're really good systems to get you started by. The most important, in my personal professional opinion, the most important part of a funnel is your email list. And people ignore this because they think it's hard to build. And I won't get into that. But if you dedicate the time to building it, your email list becomes the most powerful sales engine that you can possibly have. It's, it's more impactful than social media. It's more impactful than a website. It's more, it is, it is.
Kristen Day [00:21:18]:
Hands down having an email list is the most important aspect of a funnel and getting familiar with how to leverage them is the most important aspect I think in marketing your business. So to get you started, ConvertKit and Flodesk both have very robust automations platforms that integrate well. They are widely integratable, I would say with other platforms and they're not overly complicated, but they have all of the things that you need to be able to leverage data. And very lightly I will go into some things that you should at least research or pay attention to. So tagging is basically what happens when a person interacts with you and your business through an email list and you're able to identify what they did. This is critical. And when we talk about a funnel, when you get into more advanced topics and funnels, tagging is like the next step. It's like get an email list and then start tagging people, right? It's like that, that next step.
Kristen Day [00:22:54]:
We want to be able to see what our customers are doing. We want to be able to see which emails are opening, we want to be able to see what things that they're clicking on, but we also want to see what are they purchasing, right? What are they, what activities are they drawn to and be able to make better business decisions based on your audience's movements with your material or your marketing material. And so we want to make sure, yes, automations are a must. You must have an autoresponder. If you have a free resource out there and somebody signs up for your email and you send them a thank you. Right. But you also want to make sure that you have that tagging capability to make sure that you can understand, hey, this person clicked on this button and then they purchased this like all of those things. So that got a little technical.
Kristen Day [00:23:51]:
I hope it was okay. But those, those two are the big systems. And then I would say the other one that I, I like, I like it. Right. I like to have a quiz feature this, that's a little bit more advanced and I, there's so many out there, I won't give a specific recommendation but I would encourage you to think about, if you're thinking about an automated system and you're trying to engage your audience, quizzes are a really great avenue for doing that. And they, they just generate fun in your brand. And I think when people have fun, they interact a little bit more. So that's, that's something that I would say.
Amy [00:24:46]:
I love it. Thank you so much for like stressing the email list because I feel like it's just, it's so blatantly obvious but it's so underutilized because when we think about it, social media, people are going to social media to be entertained, we're going to procrastinate, we're escaping reality, we're avoiding something thing. Typically, not always, but a lot of times social media is noisy, there's a lot of noise there, we're having to catch people's attention, stand out in different ways. Our inbox is so much quieter so I can see who's really taking the time to open this, what they're clicking on, what I said that was engaging to them, what's resonating. There is such a gold mine of information in that data that we can get from that list and when we learn to leverage it appropriately, it is such a beautiful thing. And like you said, you know, there's automations available within every single email platform out there. And if you're not sure how to maximize it, go onto YouTube. There are so many different tutorials and resources and with the rise of AI, things are evolving so rapidly and new platforms are always coming out.
Amy [00:26:13]:
So get curious, take the time and figure out what would work best for you. And also the quizzes feature, that is something that it's really interesting. I'll do that a lot for market research, but then I'll go back in and I'll look at who's responding and in what way. And I think that that is an important thing to do as business owners is to analyze. Okay, yes, my responses are one thing, but who's responding? I think that's even more valuable than the data that we're getting. Like, who cares what the response is? What's my ideal person saying? What is that person that's ready to buy? How are they engaging? And then that allows us to adjust and adapt our messaging, our marketing, our emails, our strategies so that we can convert, we can better follow up, we can retain, we can get those referrals and grow our businesses by fixing our funnels. Kristen, these were amazing insights. I loved absolutely everything.
Amy [00:27:23]:
You have some awesome free resources to share. We will link those up in the show notes. And thank you so much for taking the time to just shed some light and demystify the whole topic of funnels.
Kristen Day [00:27:39]:
Thank you, Amy. It was an absolute blast to be here with you and I just really appreciate the opportunity to geek out with you.
Amy [00:27:47]:
I love it. I could talk to you about this all day long. And until next time, cheers to making the money you want so you can create the impact you desire.
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