8 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
8 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Landing page, sales funnel etc service business

by tjoste
8 replies
I read a lot about the importance of having a landing page, sales funnel etc, but it looks like most of these people are selling a product.
If you would sell a service ex. if you are a web agency or a video making business, how would you create the funnel?

Is it necessary to have a landing page? Is a simple opt in on the website enough? Where you maybe offer a free ebook relevant to what your service is.

Or would you do something else?
Would love some opinions on this

Thanks
#business #funnel #landing #page #sales #service
  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    It works the same way.

    Bring pre-qualified leads to your page.

    Talk about their situation in detail and describe key problems they have that you can fix.

    Get them to take action you can verify: sign up, call, do a little dance and submit it to you on video.

    Communicate with them.

    It's up to you and your marketplace for how complicated you want the funnel to be.

    Mine is very simple. They encounter information, they like it; they read and watch a lot more within the next few hours or next 24 hours; and then they sometimes email or usually call me.

    Could I do something more complex? Maybe...if I didn't have all this content around the internet for them to access and pre-qualify themselves with before talking to me.
    Signature
    >> Executive advisory: Unstick sales, strategy & growth problems fast → jasonkanigan.com

    >> Selling? Then this is the FREE YouTube series you need RIGHT NOW
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10578589].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author onSubie
      Originally Posted by Jason Kanigan View Post

      Bring pre-qualified leads to your page.
      Jason knows this stuff so you can really listen to him.

      The main purpose of a funnel, in the situation where you are offering a service down the line, is to capture qualified leads.

      Depending on your sales process and service there are a number of things you can do to help get qualified leads.

      Get the leads to further qualify themselves. Offer a questionnaire or free quote where leads will submit more detailed information about themselves and their problem so you can get more detailed info and further qualify them.

      Incentivize leads to communicate. Offer an incentive like a free ebook or video "10 Things to Ask When Hiring a Web Developer". Offer the incentive for their contact info, or in exchange for completing a survey.

      Educate the leads. If the service is complex or relies on your prospects being knowledgeable about their business or the industry you can provide material that educates them while guiding them toward you and your services for solutions.

      Move them further into the sale process. A free quote is great for this. Once they start describing their needs and request an estimate from you to do the work, they have already taken the first step toward hiring you.

      You would design the funnel, questions and incentives based on your needs for prospects.

      Do you just want as many as you can find?
      Do you only want ones that meet a certain criteria? i.e. marketing budget over $10,000
      Do you want to build your brand recognition and reputation as an industry expert?
      Do you want fewer leads but ones more likely to engage your services? More fully qualified?

      You want to capture leads so even if they do not covert at the time, you can continue to communicate with them all and say: "Special Deal for New Customers - 79% OFF for Black Friday", "Spring Deal for New Customers - 79% OFF Until Easter", "FREE Web Site evaluation as part of our President's Day Promotion" or "Get in on our Spooky Halloween Sale - 79% OFF 2 Days Only!"

      Your lead grabbing funnel should dovetail with your sales process so there is a coordinated communication effort to the find qualified prospects.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10578757].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
        Originally Posted by onSubie View Post

        Jason knows this stuff so you can really listen to him.

        The main purpose of a funnel, in the situation where you are offering a service down the line, is to capture qualified leads.

        Depending on your sales process and service there are a number of things you can do to help get qualified leads.

        Get the leads to further qualify themselves. Offer a questionnaire or free quote where leads will submit more detailed information about themselves and their problem so you can get more detailed info and further qualify them.

        Incentivize leads to communicate. Offer an incentive like a free ebook or video "10 Things to Ask When Hiring a Web Developer". Offer the incentive for their contact info, or in exchange for completing a survey.

        Educate the leads. If the service is complex or relies on your prospects being knowledgeable about their business or the industry you can provide material that educates them while guiding them toward you and your services for solutions.

        Move them further into the sale process. A free quote is great for this. Once they start describing their needs and request an estimate from you to do the work, they have already taken the first step toward hiring you.

        You would design the funnel, questions and incentives based on your needs for prospects.

        Do you just want as many as you can find?
        Do you only want ones that meet a certain criteria? i.e. marketing budget over $10,000
        Do you want to build your brand recognition and reputation as an industry expert?
        Do you want fewer leads but ones more likely to engage your services? More fully qualified?

        You want to capture leads so even if they do not covert at the time, you can continue to communicate with them all and say: "Special Deal for New Customers - 79% OFF for Black Friday", "Spring Deal for New Customers - 79% OFF Until Easter", "FREE Web Site evaluation as part of our President's Day Promotion" or "Get in on our Spooky Halloween Sale - 79% OFF 2 Days Only!"

        Your lead grabbing funnel should dovetail with your sales process so there is a coordinated communication effort to the find qualified prospects.
        Good points...

        ...The word "funnel" is used but frequently misunderstood. A funnel should either move your prospect forward, towards the sale, or shunt them Out because they're not a fit.

        No funnel will convert at 100%; nor would you want it to.

        A general rule is the more action a person takes, the more interested they are in buying/having their problem solved. So those who will fill out surveys or applications, send emails, download things etc. are indicating they're much closer to the finish line.

        Be careful about education.

        You can educate a prospect right out of the sale. What do they need you for anymore? Now that they know everything, they can go find what you've so nicely educated them about for the lowest price.

        Talk about their problem instead. The seller who describes the problem in the best detail often wins.
        Signature
        >> Executive advisory: Unstick sales, strategy & growth problems fast → jasonkanigan.com

        >> Selling? Then this is the FREE YouTube series you need RIGHT NOW
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10579000].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Tim John Jr
      Originally Posted by Jason Kanigan View Post

      It works the same way.

      Bring pre-qualified leads to your page.

      Talk about their situation in detail and describe key problems they have that you can fix.

      Get them to take action you can verify: sign up, call, do a little dance and submit it to you on video.

      Communicate with them.

      It's up to you and your marketplace for how complicated you want the funnel to be.

      Mine is very simple. They encounter information, they like it; they read and watch a lot more within the next few hours or next 24 hours; and then they sometimes email or usually call me.

      Could I do something more complex? Maybe...if I didn't have all this content around the internet for them to access and pre-qualify themselves with before talking to me.
      Thank you for making your directions so clear and easy to understand. I am going to start promoting a Clickbank product - to dive in and get started with Affiliate marketing.

      By the way, some descriptions are so in depth and descriptive that the information is overwhelming. I've been following your posts for the past few days. They're very helpful.
      Signature
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10582228].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author rjd1265
    One more main thing is to build a relationship with your list. You need to email them enough they remember you but not enough they unsubscribe.

    You do this by sending valuable content to them...stuff they will find helpful for their situation.

    I get emails from IM'ers all the time and how they make money with their list blows my mind. it is 3 emails a day about this product and that product and how this is the "next great thing". Not one piece of valuable information...everything has a price.

    I run my funnel a bit different in that i give away the info 70% of the time and charge 30% of the time.

    In testing, i have found that to be the sweet spot (for my niche and list). yours may be different...

    the best of luck,
    Ryan
    Signature
    You Are A Snowflake
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10578780].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author rritz
      There's a wordpress plug in from Getsocial I believe, that lets you create pop-ups of the more un-annoying kind and prompt people to sign up for your list.

      You can also offer some free stuff as an incentive. But usually, if your content is good, then those that are interested will sign up anyway. The pop up just makes sure the opt in form gets seen. Many marketers hide the opt in forms somewhere down the page and never get any sign ups.

      I would stay away from squeeze pages unless you are in the IM niche. If you are focused on building a relationship build your funnel so that people go through it slowly. Show them you are an authority in your line
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10578804].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Lucian Lada
    OP, I think you're still not clear what a funnel is, at least that's how I'm reading your post.

    A funnel is a finely-tuned, step-by-step process in which a person enters as a potential customer and hopefully gets out as a buyer.

    Here's a basic example of a funnel:

    Visitors come to your landing page -> visitors are asked to sign up for emails -> visitors receive emails that ask them to buy -> visitors buy.

    So saying that "I read a lot about the importance of having a landing page, sales funnel etc, but it looks like most of these people are selling a product" makes no sense because obviously you need some sort of product or service to sell. A sales funnel would make no sense without a product or service to buy.

    And you also obviously need a landing page, at least in 99% of cases. A landing page is the place you send visitors and ask them to take an action, to do something. In the MMO/IM world, a landing page looks one way, in the retail world, it looks another, but they all have the same intention: to push visitors further in the sales funnel until they get out as buyers.

    Even Apple has landing pages. Their landing pages consist mainly of beautiful pictures of their products that are meant to entice you to read more. And then to see specifications. And then to buy.
    Signature
    Professional autoresponder email writer.
    I also write premium quality articles, e-books, etc.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10579432].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author tjoste
    Thanks a lot for answers guys. I see the importance of the funnel now, and will start implementing what you have said!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10579991].message }}

Trending Topics