What Is a Sales Funnel of Offers and Why Do You Need One?
Selling products and services online gives you access to a
worldwide audience. But this doesn’t automatically result in
massive sales and a successful business.
It takes hard work and effort to secure customers and make sales.
That’s why it is especially frustrating when you dedicate time,
energy, and resources to promoting your offers and see minimal
results.
It’s not enough to inundate your audience with messaging and
links to your offer in the hopes that they’ll click and buy.
Successful internet-based businesses rely on the power of sales
funnels to move their products and services. And they know the
best sales funnels are fueled by valuable, targeted, and
well-timed offers. Sales funnels automate the sales process and
put you in control of what your prospects see and when. Create a
sales funnel of multiple offers and you’ll quickly start to see
greater revenue and results.
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What Is a Sales Funnel of Offers?
A sales funnel is a visualization or map of the journey your
target customer takes from the initial awareness stage to the
final purchase. It is the process prospects go through to become
a customer.
It’s called a funnel because it’s wide at the top (the sales
funnel entry point) and gradually narrows as the customer moves
toward your core offer. The idea is to cast a wide net at first,
attracting casual and serious prospects alike. You then present
them with offers that will either move people down the funnel
toward the purchase or, eventually, remove them.
The types of offers you present, and where you place them, is key
to your funnel’s success. Some offer types include a lead magnet,
low-ticket offer, one-time offer, order bump, upsell, and
down-sell. This list isn’t comprehensive, but it provides the
foundation for all successful funnels.
The point of these offers is to qualify leads for your core
offer. Through your prospects’ reaction to these offers, you can
learn who will buy from you and who will not. You can then weed
out those who are not interested in buying anything.
What Types of Offers Should You Put in Your Funnel?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question.
Everybody’s audience is different. You’ll have to do some
planning and trial and error to discover what works and what
doesn’t. Here are some of the offers most commonly found in a
sales funnel.
The Core Offer
Your core offer is near the bottom of the funnel. It is usually
your primary product/service and the reason why your offer funnel
exists. It is often the purchase that’s just under the highest
price point, but it doesn’t always have to be.
Lead Magnet
Technically not inside the funnel, a lead magnet attracts
prospects to the entry point of your funnel. It is a freebie that
is offered in exchange for a person’s name and email address.
Once you have this information, you can start marketing to them
directly via email.
Low-Ticket Offer
A low-ticket offer is usually found at the front end of your
sales funnel. It is low-risk and won’t scare prospects away with
its price tag. It primes your audience to purchase your core
offer. Most importantly, it separates serious prospects from
casual ones who just want your freebies.
One-Time Offer
A one-time offer (OTO) is a powerful way to qualify prospects
early in your sales funnel. It can be a low-ticket item or even
another freebie. What makes it so powerful is its exclusivity and
time-sensitive nature: ‘Buy now before it’s gone forever’. It is
another way to guide people to your core offer.
Order Bump
An order bump is located at the end of the sales funnel, on the
checkout page for your core offer. With a single click, customers
can add a lower-ticket item to their cart before they press ‘Buy
now’. Order bumps have a high conversion rate and increase the
value of your core offer and point-of-sale revenue.
Upsell
An upsell is a higher-priced offer presented after your core
offer. The right customers will appreciate an upsell that
enhances their initial purchase.
Downsell
A down-sell is a lower-ticket offer that is presented to your
prospect after they have turned down your core offer or even
after your upsell. The hope is that, while the customer doesn’t
want to pay for the initial offer, they may be interested in a
less expensive alternative. It keeps people in your funnel since
that down-sell item may be just what those people are looking for.
Why You Need a Variety of Offers
Presenting prospects with a variety of offers as they progress
through your sales funnel allows you to segment and better target
your audience. If your audience is a mix of high-ticket
purchasers, cautious and budget-conscious consumers, and ‘window
shoppers’ looking for freebies, a good sales funnel will offer
something to all of them.
The different types of offers and their placement in the funnel
will direct audience members to the right offer at the right
time. And it will eventually show them the door if none of the
offers are right for them.
Using different offer types will also allow you to maximize
sales. Instead of just acquiring customers for your core offer,
you can also present them with a lower-ticket item, upsell, or
down-sell.
This process helps foster a relationship with your audience. As
you present your audience with different offers, you will be
communicating with them regularly. You will build trust and
establish yourself as an expert, increasing the odds that people
will purchase your core offer and future offers.
The most important thing to remember is that the customer’s
movement through the sales funnel isn’t necessarily in a straight
line. It shouldn’t be viewed as a direct, ultrafast chute that
drops them into your core offer. Instead, look at it as a
flexible journey, or ‘choose your own adventure’, that’s directed
by the decisions your prospects make.
They may take you up on your down-sell, but not your upsell. Or
they may go directly to your core offer. Or they may purchase
your low-ticket offer but will need more information and content
from your before they purchase a higher-ticket item. A fluid,
flexible offer funnel will speak to all these people and lead
them to the offer that’s right for them, resulting in more
conversions and sales.
Why You Need a Sales Funnel of Offers
At first, glance, building a sales funnel and mapping it out seems
like a complicated process. You need to understand your audience,
clearly define your core offer’s unique value proposition, and
create a whole series of supporting offers and related
communications before you even get to your core offer.
It’s worth it.
A sales funnel of offers makes the process more efficient.
No more…
- Constantly adjusting your core offer to appeal to different
members of your audience - Wasting time engaging with people who just want your free
content - Scrambling to create content and communications to promote your
core offer - Annoying your audience with communications they’re not
interested in and driving them to unsubscribe
Some of your audience members just want free stuff. They’ll enjoy
your free content and offers, but they won’t buy – not even a
low-ticket offer. By weeding out those who won’t buy, or
automating the process, you won’t waste time engaging with them
during the sales process.
This is the primary benefit, but there are many others.
Through your offers funnel, you can build a relationship with
your audience instead of spamming them with unwanted content. The
communications related to your offers will genuinely help
prospects with their problems and they’ll come to see you as a
trusted expert who provides value. This will increase the chances
that they will eventually purchase your core offer and future
offers.
Finally, a sales funnel with multiple offers helps you learn even
more about your target audience. By choosing or rejecting offers,
your prospects are giving you valuable information about their
preferences and tastes.
Their decisions also provide valuable input on the offer itself.
If nobody takes you up on the offer, it may need to be adjusted.
On the other hand, if you have great success with an offer, you
can figure out why and replicate it.
The Keys to Success with Your Sales Funnel of Offers
Know Your Audience. The key to a successful sales funnel of
offers is to know your audience. Conduct research and create an
ideal customer profile. This will allow you to identify the
unique challenges and problems your audience faces and solve them
through your offers. If you create tangible results and quick wins
for your audience, the more likely they are to buy your core
offer and future offers.
Focus on Your Free Lead Magnet. Your lead magnet is what drives
people to the entry point of your sales funnel. It is your most
important offer, so make it good. It should provide value and
solve a specific problem your audience has identified. Pay
special attention to creating content that will support this lead
magnet and drive traffic to it. Nobody will opt-in to your lead
magnet if they can’t find it.
Know the Stages of Your Offer Funnel. Prospects move through
different stages of awareness and openness to purchase as they
progress through your funnel. It is critical to present them with
the right offer at the right time. For example, the chances of
convincing them to purchase a high-ticket item the second they
enter your funnel are very low. You first need to cultivate a
relationship.
The first stages of the journey are awareness (before they enter
the funnel) and then interest (after they’ve opted in). Prospects
are just starting to learn about you and your offerings. The offer
at the interest stage should be low-risk, either a freebie or
a one-time offer that will gain their trust and move them further
down the funnel.
In the middle of the funnel, prospects are at the evaluation and
engagement stages. They’re consuming your content and starting to
seriously consider what you have to offer. You can present them
with a low-ticket offer or even a subscription.
Later in the funnel, in the commitment stage, prospects have been
convinced of your value and are ready to buy. Present them with
your core offer, and later an upsell or down-sell offer.
Learn these stages so you’re making the right offer, at the right
time. And remember, the stages aren’t necessarily linear. Some
prospects may get all the way down to the engagement stage and
then decide they need more information, returning to the
evaluation stage.
Longer Doesn’t Mean Better. Your offer funnel doesn’t need to be
long and complex. You just need enough offers to qualify your
prospects and lead them to your core offer. Assess your
customers’ needs and the types of offers you’re capable of
making.
Don’t Despair When People Leave. Don’t feel disappointed when
people leave your offer funnel. That’s supposed to happen!
They’re sending you valuable feedback that your offers aren’t for
them.
The Core Offer Isn’t the End. If you really want to make the most
of your offer funnel, keep engaging with people long after they
buy your core offer. Lead them to other offers and funnels.
You’ve done a great deal of work to capture and nurture this
lead, so don’t let them go.
How to Get Started
You’ll learn the most about building a sales funnel of offers by
actually doing it, so get started today. The first step is to
identify your core offer, think about your customers and what you
can offer them along the way, and start mapping it out. The
sooner your offer funnel is up and running, the sooner you’ll
start seeing results.
The Future of Marketing Is Here
Introducing ‘Human-like’ All-In-One
AI Marketing Assistant
