Unless you are hiding under a rock, you know the biggest buzzword in marketing right now, is “funnel.” I firmly believe half the people using the word don’t even know what it means. I shit you not, 99% of the answers I see on threads in forums contain the word “funnel.”
People say shit like “You need to fix your funnel” or “You gotta get a converting funnel” on a lot of the ads I see on Facebook, too. OH, THE IRONY!!! People creating a funnel to teach people how to create a funnel…
…I’ve been in half a dozen “funnel” training programs or so over the last few years. ALL of them featured experts breaking down how they ran the ad that got me in the funnel, and then they would pitch me again to pay them to teach me how they got me in the funnel and to pay them…
In the end, I felt ripped off. It was almost like going to a magic show where the magician showed you how he did the trick while making you feel like a dumbshit for falling for it in the first place.
After spending tens of thousands of dollars on “information,” I decided to take action and start creating my own stuff and see what worked. The funnels that worked, I used. The ones that didn’t work, I shut down. This allowed me to do some pretty heavy research on what works and what doesn’t.
Now, I’m not an idiot. I know that different markets have different buying habits. I can only speak for what has worked [successfully] for me. To be clear, I sell a very high-end consulting service on a monthly retainer, like you would pay a lawyer or other trusted adviser. Also, know that I am the highest paid (as far as I know) consultant in my field.
I say this to let you know that my funnel is not converting $7 tripwires with core offers. I cut the shit; get straight to the point and go for the big ticket up front. Shoppers don’t walk into Louis Vuitton and ask for Coach prices. They know LV is the best and are willing to pay for it. My prospects feel the same way about me, that I am worth the premium.
Over the last three years, I’ve created fancy, elaborate funnels that have failed and simple funnels that’ve killed it. I’ve also done the opposite. But for every fancy funnel that failed, I have 10 simple ones that killed it.
Today, you’re about to learn how to knock off my simple funnel, and why this simple funnel is SO POWERFUL.
First off, allow me to explain what a funnel is and what purpose it serves your business.
A funnel is internet marketer slang for a series of web pages that attract clients and eliminate window shoppers.
The idea is to take in massive amounts of client info, in the form of opting-in via name, email and/or phone numbers, and turn as many of those leads containing the info, into paying customers. The funnel allows you to reach people far and wide, then sift them down, so you can get rid of tire kickers and reward people who become paying clients.
To knock off my funnel you will need the following:
- Wufoo Account
- Facebook Fan Page
- iphone with imovie App downloaded
- 1 Selfie Stick
- Something worth selling
As promised, this funnel is super simple to duplicate and can be done in 4 easy steps. Now that you have your accounts all set up with the above-mentioned vendors (not my affiliate links), we can get you started.
Step 1 – Create a Sales Video
It’s no secret. Video is the best media to use to make a sale. Since its inception, video has ruled people’s buying habits. Why else would it be so damned expensive to advertise on TV? Ad execs understand the power of video. Until recently, only the commercial and Hollywood types could create videos and get them out to the masses. Thanks to YouTube and Facebook, that shit has changed.
The ability to upload your own videos to the internet and then share them on social media leveled the playing field between Fortune 500 companies and local business owners. Here’s the best part: Social media video views get counted; TV views get averaged.
Video is a big deal in sales for a few reasons. The most important being AUTHORITY. Think about this; since you were a tiny baby, your parents probably sat you in front of a TV and told you whoever was on was important to you and/or them.
From relying on the TV for your news and information to watching TV characters becoming our heroes, the people on video have always played an important role in influencing our lives.
Another thing you should consider; if public speaking is the #1 most common fear in people, video falls into that category. Most people are less afraid of sharks than they are of getting on video. Even the pros who come to my events hate the video part. It’s tough to watch ourselves do stuff on video. Those of us who overcome the fear and get on camera will lead the way of buying influence in the future.
My video criteria are pretty simple. They are always less than 5 minutes and I follow a simple pattern. As a guy who has over 500K views on YouTube and over one million on Facebook, I think it’s safe to say I got this video process down.
Here’s the pattern – 15 seconds reframed into, 2-4 mins of killer content, strong call to action, pattern interrupt at the end. You can see EXACTLY what I’m talking about here on this YouTube Video
As you can see from that video, I just use the selfie stick and iMovie to record the video and then I edit it. I made the intro and outro myself on my laptop. You can get similar shit done over at Fiverr for $5-10 each.
Step 2 – Upload Your Sales Video To Your Facebook Biz page
What good is a killer video if no one sees it? Even if you don’t have a single fan on Facebook, you don’t have to panic. When I get to step three, I will explain exactly how I get my videos seen by thousands in a matter of hours.
After you’ve edited your video and added all your cool effects from iMovie, you need to host the video in a spot where you can send people to, relatively easy.
It’s also important to know that I’m not talking about posting a link to your video on your fan page. I’m talking specifically about uploading the raw video file directly into Facebook. Here is an example in case you are not familiar: EXAMPLE
Facebook is aiming and gunning for YouTube, and in the process, they are rewarding the shit out of us who are brave enough to get on video and allow Facebook to distribute it.
You are more than welcome to upload the video to your personal page, too. This process works for personal and fan pages but I prefer fan pages for their ability to run ads to the video. (This will be important to you in a minute.)
Once you upload the video, the next step is to write the copy you plan on putting in the post to go along with it. At the end of that copy is where you want to drop the link to your Wufoo form so you can get their information, store it and harass them at a later date.
It’s my belief and experience that you are using this process to make a series of small sales leading to a bigger sale, as opposed to the process of making just one big sell overall.
Let me explain – The copy you put in the post should sell the viewer into watching the video. The video should sell the viewer into clicking the Wufoo link. The Wufoo link should sell them on an appointment with you.
It’s after you have made the first few small sales on influence, that you can gain familiarity with the prospect which makes it easier to close the final sale on the phone or via chat.
*There’s nothing wrong with uploading the video to YouTube with the same copy and link. You might as well take advantage of the ease of duality.
Step 3 – Run Traffic To That Shit
You can sit around all day playing on Facebook, hoping the right person will see your post or comment, or you can pay for Facebook ads and go do whatever the hell you want, and let Facebook work for you.
I prefer paying for labor instead of doing it.
After I have my video uploaded to my fan page, I go over to the Facebook ads manager and I run a promoted page post campaign. This allows my ads to get reach for me instead of me manually having to post my link or message it to prospects.
Paying Facebook to do my dirty work also allows me to pick the most willing victims who will wholeheartedly take me up on my irresistible offers.
The reason I do a promoted page post is simple: It’s easy. I don’t have to spend hours creating all these fancy web pages, finding the right prospects or any of that. I just simply pick who I think would most like to see my stuff, from the targeting selection and roll.
On average I spend $100 a day on Facebook ads when I have an active campaign going.
Let me remind you; I only need 8-12 clients a month. I’m not taking on massive amounts of sales at $97. My average ticket is $7500. Yes, $7500 average, from a shitty, homemade funnel that takes no web skills to make.
You can use the Power Editor and even YouTube ads to run traffic to. I traditionally use them as well, but my main bread and butter come from this simple Facebook traffic method. I wake up, turn the ad on, collect the leads, call the leads and close them. BOOM!
Step 4 – Contact and CLOSE The Leads
You may think this is friggin’ pointless for me to say, but I’m gonna say it anyway. Leads aren’t any good if you don’t contact them and give them the opportunity to turn into clients.
I’m not even kidding you, most people are afraid of leads. Well, it’s actually worse than that. Most people are afraid of success.
Us self-loathing salesmen will talk ourselves out of a sale faster than we can talk a prospect into becoming a client. 99% of you reading this would be 10 Xs richer if you weren’t so damned hard on yourself. *Rant over*
Once you get the client on the phone, email or text, you still have to close them. If your video has done its job, they are already somewhat pre-closed. Remember, they are communicating with you because they showed interest.
At this point, it’s also important to understand that they have invested a significant amount of time in getting to know you. They saw your ad, watched your video, filled out your form and arrived on schedule.
That’s a smoking hot lead, my man!
You’ll never close them if you don’t contact them, though. Some folks say call within the first three mins. I say nobody likes to be called. I prefer to text them and set up a time from there. In most cases, my prospects can be closed via text and a phone call doesn’t take place until they pay.
As I said at the very beginning, it doesn’t take all sorts of fancy shit to make a good funnel. What it DOES take is you being good at what you do, that you are knowledgeable about your product and firm on your call to action. Cover those main bases and you should be good. If you’ve got a problem from there, it’s either you or your targeted traffic. This is why you must test, test, test.
