The last two components I’ve outlined definitely pave the way to reach your ideal clients, but how do you successfully use your lead generation funnel as a vehicle that ultimately leads to a sale?
(Notice how I emphasized "ultimately"? I will explain this a bit later).
My answer is always the same when it comes to any lead generation activity.
It begins with Value Creation. When you lead with VALUE, you can never lose.
Leading with value means doing what you can to add value to someone’s life before money ever exchanges hands.
When you lead with value, your results are more consistent, predictable, and you create a bigger impact.
Value creation allows you to successfully differentiate yourself from your competitors.
You know as well as I do, your prospects have many options. Our world these days offers endless access to such a vast array of products and services (especially online). And the more choices we have, the harder it is to make a decision.
Where does that leave you trying to sell your product or service in such a fierce and competitive marketplace?
It leaves you with a BIG opportunity.
An opportunity to capture your market and make your company, product, or service the only choice in your prospect’s mind.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the term lead magnet. Lead magnets are used in lead generation funnels, and when done right, they can make or break the success of your funnel. Your lead magnet has more than one job when it comes to your funnel.
A lead magnet is nothing more than a value creator that incentivizes a prospect to give you their personal information in exchange for providing them something of value in return.
But not just any prospect… Your lead magnet’s first job is to identify the most qualified leads and get them to raise their hand. When you lead with value in your lead magnet, you’ll get more consistent and predictable lead flow of the right ideal prospects…
The second job of your lead magnet is to CREATE VALUE for your prospect. In most cases, your lead magnet will be something that educates your prospect on a topic that directly relates to the product or service you have to offer.
We call this education based marketing.
Education based marketing is a huge competitive differentiator in the marketplace, no matter what product or service you offer.
Most businesses focus strictly on the end result… The sales transaction itself. Not necessarily the prospect, their needs, and their timeline.
Education based marketing provides immediate value (your prospects learn something they didn’t know before), and therefore gives them the confidence to make a more informed, intelligent decision.
When you build someone’s confidence by leading with value, trust is developed.
TRUST established with your potential clients and current clients is vital to the sustainability and growth your business. Trust me on that.
Education based marketing also allows you to establish yourself as an authority and builds your credibility as the "Expert" in your field.
Educational based lead magnets come in many different forms:
1. Guides and reports
2. Ebooks
3. Courses
4. Case Studies
5. Tools or Resources
Here’s an example of one of our lead magnets:
This lead magnet is a downloadable book, designed to educate the business owner that is currently running traffic and may not be satisfied with their ROAS or lead conversion.
You tell me… Does it check all the boxes?
Does it allow a specific target audience to identify themselves and raise their hand?
Does it offer that audience something of value–and teach them something they might have not known before, giving them more confidence?
Is it absolutely FREE?
Does it build trust and credibility, and establish us as an authority?
First, we are targeting a specific audience…People who need help optimizing their ads. First box, check.
In this book, they will learn some of the biggest and costliest mistakes businesses make with their ads and how to rectify them. Some business owners have have saved thousands of dollars just rectifying one of these mistakes so we know it’s worth its weight in gold for prospects. Creating value, check.
It’s free. Check. Lead magnets are free for a reason. Free is hard to resist IF your lead magnet is valuable enough in the eyes of your prospect.
Free lowers the resistance of our prospect, and then reciprocity kicks in.
Most times we feel inclined to give something back to someone who has given us something. When your lead magnet creates value and is something that helps your prospect, they will have no objection in giving their name and email address to get it.
Lastly, because we’ve educated our prospect, they are now more confident and can even apply what they’ve learned to optimize their ad spend and either make more money, save more money, or both (positioning us as experts and building our credibility). Check.
But it doesn’t end with the lead magnet….It only begins there.
Remember at the start when I mentioned how to use your lead generation funnel as a vehicle that ultimately leads to a sale?
After your prospect gets your lead magnet, this next part is the pivotal component YOU CANNOT skip (like so many others try to shortcut).
Bottom Line: Your buyers will buy when THEY are ready, NOT when you are ready.
Did you know that 30-50% of leads are not ready to buy when they first inquire about your product or service?
They are in the "gathering information" phase.
Three quarters of those leads will become "sales ready" within 12-18 months.
Lead magnets give you the opportunity to open the door, but nurturing the prospect to establish even more trust, and build rapport is how to develop a relationship with a prospect. It’s how to play the long game and be the only one that picks up those sales when all of your other competitors have given up.
Think of your lead magnet as the stepping stone to building relationships with future clients.
Relationships lead to sales.
Relationship building starts with ongoing communication and value creation with your future clients.
Simple follow up sequences or subscriptions to newsletters are often used to continue building that relationship with that prospect and letting them know you are always there WHEN they are ready.
By continually moving your prospects up the value ladder you’ve designed, you also indirectly create a more confident buyer. These confident and educated buyers are exactly the type of clients you want.
Building a lead generation funnel is hard work and it takes a lot of commitment and strategic thinking and implementation to make it massively successful.
Building and optimizing funnels is just one thing we help our clients with at Business Nitrogen. If you are curious how it works, let me know and we’ll set up a time to chat.
Talk soon,
David
P.S. Recruitment and Hiring is the #1 Entrepreneurial Blind Spot which is why most avoid it like the plague…
Let’s face it, the entire process can be utterly frustrating & time consuming, AND often results in attracting and hiring the WRONG talent for your team and/or business.
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Head to this link to see if Nitrogen Hiring Network™ could be your talent recruitment solution.
P.P.S. Not sure how to find and attract more of your ideal clients? If you have a proven high ticket offer, we know EXACTLY how to fill your pipeline with a constant stream of qualified and highly-motivated leads through our exclusive Leads on Demand™ program.
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