WHY MOST COACHES FAIL AT FUNNELS (and the 3 Stage Marketing Model that you can use to avoid their mi
I know that being a coach online right now can feel like you're swimming in a sea of information.
How do you know what to listen to and what to ignore? Everywhere you turn, you're bombarded with a new marketer selling you their "magic system" or telling you that you're just a funnel away from your first million dollars. When most people talk about marketing funnels and ad strategies they make it sound as if you're going to be able to whip up a simple system, turn on some ads, and have money start magically falling out of the sky by the bucket-load. But you and I know that it just doesn't work that way. This isn't to say that funnels can't and don't work. They absolutely do. But here's the thing: A successful marketing funnel requires every part of your messaging, marketing, and sales systems to be dialed in (with very little room for error).
Think about it: In order for a funnel to convert consistently, you've got to have:
-an irresistible offer that you know people want to buy (preferably one that you’ve already sold successfully. -a bulletproof client avatar so that you know you’re targeting the right crowd. -a clear and coherent message and content that stops people in their tracks. -copy that speaks to your audience and compels them to take action. -a working conversion tool that turns browsers into buyers like clockwork. - a predictable sales process that sells and onboards new clients on auto-pilot. It's no wonder so many funnels go up in flames! Most people dive blindly into building complex funnels without stopping to think about whether or not they’ve mastered the skills required to make all the individual pieces of the funnel work. The good news: If you’ve made this mistake, you’re not alone. And you can definitely turn it around. The better news: There’s a much easier way to get your marketing working. I call it the 3 Stage Marketing Blueprint. I won’t lie: This isn’t a quick fix or a silver bullet. Implementing these 3 Stages requires you to slooooowwww down and develop mastery as a marketer. But once you do, you’ll be unstoppable.
Stage 1: The Upstart (Direct Conversion)
In Stage 1, your goal in this stage is to master your ability to convert clients directly from your social media content. No funnel. No gimmicks. How do you do this? By focusing on 4 key areas: your offer, your audience, and your message and your sales skills. Before you’ve got any business marketing, you’ve got to know what you’re selling and to who. That means talking to real clients about their pain, problems, needs, and vision. It also means crafting an irresistible offer and then beta testing it with those real clients so that you have a track record of results and can promote your work with pride. You use what you’ve learned from your beta offer and your conversations with real clients to craft your core message. With those foundational skills mastered, you’ll be able to create “stop me in my tracks” content that gets your audience’s attention fast. You’ll also hone your sales skills until you’re able to turn the engagement you’re getting on your content into real conversations and real clients (and do so consistently.) With the new-found confidence you’ve gained (and the influx of clients and revenue you’ve won), you’re ready for Stage 2.
Stage 2: The Headliner (Leveraged Conversion)
Now that you’ve mastered the art of converting directly through content, it’s time to get leveraged. Instead of hopping on calls or converting one-by-one, you’re going to take it up a notch and convert en masse. You do this by creating a must-see Live Training. (We don’t use the word webinar because what you’re going to do will be so much more powerful.) In The Five Dimensional Coaching Academy, we use what we call the Million Dollar Message Sequence™ to help coaches create live trainings that sell. No matter which method you choose to utilize, your goal is the same: to turn your core message into a powerful conversion event and to practice delivering it regularly. You want to master the process of structuring and delivering your content so that your classes convert like clockwork- every time. Do this successfully and the days of selling clients one at a time are over. Imagine hosting a live class and booking 5, 10, or even 20 new clients at a time. That’s the power of the Million Dollar Message Sequence™ (and the power of mastering leveraged conversion and becoming a Headliner.) Now you’re ready for:
Stage 3: The A-Lister (Automated Conversion.)
So you’ve got an irresistible offer. You’re a seasoned content creator who can drum up clients on demand with your content and live classes. So what is a funnel? A funnel is a psychological sequence that converts a prospect into a client. Notice that I didn’t say a funnel is a series of specific content pieces that when put in the right order generate sales as if by magic. Now it’s time to use all of your skills in tandem and create the mac daddy of marketing systems: the “funnel.” We put “funnel” in quotes because this is never going to be a “set-it-and-forget-it” scenario. A funnel isn’t something you build and walk away from. It’s an ongoing marketing system that you are always testing, tweaking and optimizing.It’s never about the “structure” of the funnel. It’s always about the psychological beats within your message and content. Get the message right and your funnel can take many different forms. You can plug into any number of strategies and see success. Get the message wrong and your funnel will crash and burn no matter which strategy you choose. In The 5 Dimensional Coaching Academy, we teach students how to deploy the Million Dollar Message Sequence™ through something called an Un-Funnel.™ It looks like this: You have a Million Dollar Message Sequence™ that you’ve used to convert clients consistently through content and live classes via direct conversion and leveraged conversion. You also have a Core Marketing System that you use each week to create, distribute, and re-purpose content for your business. In Stage 3, you use that core system to deploy pieces of Flagship Content. What is Flagship Content? Simple. A piece of long-form, value focused content that taps into the pain and problem of your ideal client and begins to show them a possible solution. Flagship Content can take many forms. For example, the blog post you’re reading now. Or a youtube video. Or Live Stream. What’s important about Flagship Content is that it includes an opportunity. An invitation for your audience to give your their email in exchange for a resource, template, or freebie of some kind. Also known as a Lead Magnet. Your lead magnet initiates a relationship with a prospect. When they opt-in for you freebie or resource, they are hoping that you’ve got the solution to their problem. You walk them through the Million Dollar Message Sequence step by step in your emails and follow up content. When you’ve taken them through the entire sequence, you offer them an opportunity to take action and solve their problem once and for all. This could be an invite to join your next training (Conversion Event). Or it could be a simple invitation to invest in a program or book a call with you (Direct Conversion.) Here’s the exciting part. Because you’ve mastered all of the skills required to convert clients with your content, the “funnel building” process is quick and relatively painless. You already know what to say to your prospects. Now you’re just saying it through automated content. You launch, monitor your data, and optimize as needed. And before you know, it, you’ve got sales notifications rolling in while you’re at the gym, or on vacation, or even sleeping.
That’s the power of mastering each of the 3 Stages in order. I’ve seen hundreds of coaches and consultants go through these 3 stages successfully. And I’ve watched them out-perform and out-sell the get-rich-quick seekers and shiny object chasers every single time.
Want a free training on this 3 Stage Business Blueprint?
Download the Free Guide (with video training included):
Now I want to hear from you. Have you ever tried to build a funnel in the past? How did learning about the 3 stages change your views on growing your business?
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