Succeed As Your Own Boss

ENDING SMALL BUSINESS FAILURE

  • Home
  • About
  • Book Melinda
  • Consulting
  • SBL Store
    • Books/Workbooks
    • LifePlanningJournal
    • 30 Day Fast Start Program
    • Become Your Own Boss Course
    • Become Your Own Boss Bundle
    • Fix Your Business Masterclass
    • Write A Business Plan Course
    • One-on-One VIP Coaching
  • SmallBizLady University
  • Subscribe to Podcast
  • #Smallbizchat
    • Be a #SmallBizChat Guest
  • Blog
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Branding & Marketing / 9 Sales Funnels Every Small Business Owner Needs

9 Sales Funnels Every Small Business Owner Needs

October 5, 2021 By Melinda Emerson Leave a Comment

Feel free to share...Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Share on Reddit
Reddit
Email this to someone
email
Print this page
Print

9 Sales Funnels Every Small Business Owner Needs social imageMarketers and copywriters like to make sales funnels sound complicated, but they don’t have to be. The secret to a great email is being as helpful online as you are in person. Don’t send your prospects junk.  Always add value. The moment a subscriber opts into your email list is when they are most interested in your brand. That’s when they’re most likely to read whatever you send. Take the opportunity to show out. Hit them with your best stuff. Get them excited. Surprise them, delight them, serve them value and build a relationship. Now let’s break down the nine sales funnels that every small business needs. In Part 1 of this series, we talked about how to build great sales funnels; in Part 2, let’s break down the nine sales funnels that every small business needs.

Build Great Sales Funnels image

  1. The Lead Magnet Funnel:

A lead magnet funnel is typically the first sales funnel you need; it’s how you build an email list. First, you need to create a compelling free offer (aka your lead magnet) to draw people into your funnel. Your lead magnet should be so irresistible that your website visitors are willing to part with their contact information to get. Sample lead magnets: (video series, eBook, cheat sheets, templates, podcast, exclusive webinars, etc.) 

  1. The Welcome Sequence Funnel:

Welcome sales funnel map image

The moment a subscriber opts into your email list is when they are most interested in your brand. That’s also when they’re most likely to read whatever you send them, so send them your best content. Your goal is to add value and build a relationship. A welcome sequence could be a single email or a series. The goal is to personally introduce the new subscriber to your brand, nurture a relationship, and build trust. NOTE: You don’t have to push a purchase. End with a call to action that encourages them to give your more information to segment them on your email list or take the next step in your sales process. This could simply be asking them to join you on a social media channel or answering a short survey.

  1. The Social Media Funnel:

Social Media is typically part of most sales funnel stages to drive traffic to your website, but you can also build a sales funnel on a specific social media platform. For Facebook, you can use a chatbot through Facebook messenger s a funnel or run a campaign on Instagram or with a bio link using software such as linktree, or you can promote your lead magnet on TikTok with a link in your bio or a DM campaign. 

  1. The Shopping Cart Abandonment Funnel: 

Shopping cart abandonment is a major issue for online retailers. It happens when a shopper adds an item to a shopping cart and leaves the site before checkout. It happens nearly 70% of the time. Unexpected fees are the leading cause. The hard truth is people don’t want to pay for shipping.  These automated emails tend to go out quickly, 1 hour before leaving the site, 4 hours after leaving the site, 12 hours later email 3 comes, and on day two, you send a last chance email. You typically only have 48 hours to bring them back before losing the sale entirely.

Shopping cart abandonment funnel image

Your subject lines could be, “Hey, did you forget something? In the second email, could you offer an incentive, “I see you didn’t finish checking out; here’s a 10% discount to help you complete your purchase.” The third email could be, “We’re running low on inventory; I don’t want you to miss out.” Then after the final email, it’s time to stop the chase. These types of emails tend to have higher open rates than typical email marketing efforts. 

  1. The Upsell Sequence:

Your existing customers are the easiest to pitch for additional business. They already trust your brand, so you just need to pitch them another great offer. It’s especially important to upsell your customers if you want to pitch them on your premium or higher-priced coaching plans or a monthly subscription service. An upsell sequence identifies people who have made a recent purchase and are likely to make another purchase or upgrade. The sequence then sends promotional content or offers that clearly show the value of the additional purchase. Now you might need to offer a free webinar or to set an appointment with a sales rep to close depending on the price point, but you can get them interested with an upsell email sequence. 

  1. The Advocacy Sequence:

Your happy customers are an untapped resource in your marketing efforts. You can use their goodwill to promote your brand and bring in new sales. First, create a list of your most active customers and fans who engage the most with your content on social media. Then create a sequence of emails that encourages them to become an advocate for your brand. Invite them to submit testimonials, reviews, and provide them with a copy to make referrals. Make sure at least one email invites them to share your content on social media too.

Sales Funnels Every Small Business Owner Needs brand ambassador

These people are super fans, so they would be happy to be a brand ambassador for your company. You just need to ask them directly and make it easy by sending emails with review links and a script to pitch to others. You might even want to consider creating a referral program to further incentivize them to make referrals. 

  1. Re-engagement Sequence:

Don’t just let people leave your email list. Sometimes subscribers get distracted and stop engaging with your content. You just need to give them a little reminder. Re-engagement sequences are perfect for reminding your once active subscribers you’re still here and still care about them. These are usually triggered after a subscriber has been inactive for 30 or 60 days. Once an email address doesn’t interact with any of your content for two months, you should launch a re-engagement sequence (3 to 4 emails) to get them back to seeing you as a valuable resource. Maybe add a special offer or bonus with your comeback pitch.

  1. The Onboarding Sequence:

The purpose of an onboarding sequence is to help your customers get started with your product or service right away. People who buy things they don’t use will someday remember and cancel your service. So, you want to provide training so that they can immediately see how to use your product or service. It’s training with a very specific end goal. For example, if you sell marketing tools, the prospect won’t build value until the business owner has a marketing message and content. 

Sales Funnels Every Small Business Owner Needs onboarding sequence

So, the onboarding sequence walks the user through potential content ideas, helps them build a content calendar, and shows them how to use the tool to develop their marketing assets. By proactively training new customers, you’ll answer fewer questions and spend less time educating them one-by-one. Once they know how to use your product, they’ll be hooked.

  1. Transactional Email Sequence

It’s good practice to email your potential or current customers when they take significant action on your website. You want to confirm a sale with a receipt, someone subscribes to your email list, confirm an appointment for a product demo when they complete an online course. Once you establish an email-based relationship, you can send content that drives the rest of your value ladder. You also use transactional emails to highlight other content you want to share, like your latest podcast interviews.

Building your own sales funnels is easier than you’d expect. All the email marketing platforms, including AWeber, to incentivize them further can build email automation sequences. So the sooner you start using automated sales funnels to engage with your list, the sooner you’ll leverage one of your most powerful assets.

To sign up for an Email Automation account with AWeber, use the links below:

AWeber Free
AWeber Pro
Feel free to share...Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Share on Reddit
Reddit
Email this to someone
email
Print this page
Print

Filed Under: Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business Tagged With: Re-engagement Sequence, sales funnels, shopping cart abandonment, social media, upsell sequence, welcome sequence

Fix Your Business Now!

Order SmallBizLady's new book Fix Your Business, 90-Day plan to Get Back Your Life and Reduce Chaos in Your Business. It includes the 12 Ps of Running a Successful Business and readers will finish the book with a new strategic plan to take their business to the next level.

About Melinda Emerson

Melinda F. Emerson, “SmallBizLady” is America’s #1 Small Business Expert. She is an internationally renowned keynote speaker on small business development, social selling, and online marketing strategy. As CEO of Quintessence Group, her Philadelphia-based marketing consulting firm serves Fortune 500 brands that target the small business market. Clients include Amazon, Adobe, Verizon, VISA, Google, FedEx, Chase, American Express, The Hartford, and Pitney Bowes. She also has an online school, www.smallbizladyuniversity.com, that teaches people online marketing and how to start and grow a successful small business and publishes a blog SucceedAsYourOwnBoss.com. Her advice is widely read, reaching more than 3 million entrepreneurs each week online. She hosts The Smallbizchat Podcast and is the bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, Revised and Expanded, and Fix Your Business, a 90 Day Plan to Get Back Your Life and Reduce Chaos in Your Business.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let’s Connect

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

We’re proud to be part of the Mediaplanet Empowering Small Business campaign! The COVID-19 pandemic brought hardship and ruin on the nation’s small businesses, but there’s now reason for hope. Learn about the resources, support, and tools available to help your small business bounce back and grow stronger than ever by picking up a copy of the campaign in USA Today and reading it online here.

Get a FREE Chapter of SmallBizLady’s Book,
"Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, Revised and Expanded"!

Become Your Own Boss

Let me send my best blog posts to your inbox each week.

Most Popular Posts

>Seven Ways to be More Profitable in Your Small Business
> 7 Ways to Attract Customers to Your Small Business
> 6 Tips for Managing Small Business Finances
> How to Run a Successful Multilevel Marketing Business
> 10 Ways to Grow Your Small Business With Instagram
> How to Sell on Facebook
> How to Get Over the Fear of Starting a New Business

Featured Videos

Bloomberg News Interview
How to Support Small Businesses During the Holidays

“12 Principles of Highly Profitable Businesses with Melinda Emerson” from Sonia Dumas
October 2020

MSNBC Interview
Top Tip: Never Let a Customer Down

National Speakers Association
Winter Conference 2016

Fox Business
Five Steps to Becoming a ‘Social Media Ninja

MSNBC
The importance of job mentoring for women

#SmallBizChat Live
National Small Business Week: Q&A

Good Day Philadelphia
Expert Shares Tips on How to Become Your Own Boss

Google
Best Practice for Social Media

Testimonials

Become Your Own Boss is a must read if you’re thinking of launching a business of your own.
Jean Chatzky, Bestselling Author of Money 911 and Financial Editor of NBC’s Today Show
Great step-by-step advice for anyone looking to start their own business.
Andrew C. Taylor, Chairman, Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Melinda Emerson has written a remarkable book. It is essential reading for anyone seeking to make the transition from working girl to successfully working it, as an entrepreneur.
Cynthia McClain-Hill, Past President, National Association of Women Business Owners
The perfect companion for those planning to go out on their own. Melinda delivers firsthand practical advice on how to be the successful entrepreneur. Read it if you want to get it right the first time.
Kenneth L. Shropshire, Professor at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania
If you are looking for a versatile speaker who can talk about how to grow small businesses or get started with social media, look no further.
Heather Van Sickle Executive Director, National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE)
Her wit and depth of subject knowledge were entertaining and empowering. Melinda is definitely on our short list of seasoned entrepreneurs and business leaders we look to invite back in the near future.
Tennille M. Robinson Senior content & Event producer for Inc. magazine
Melinda Emerson, “SmallBizLady,” is an engaging and witty speaker and a great addition to any conference. Her terrific presentation and compelling delivery give people the information they need and want to become their own bosses and grow success… Read more
Laurie Dalton White Conference Director, Pennsylvania Conference for Women
Melinda Emerson has been a fantastic small business and social media resource for the Pitney Bowes team. Not only is she personable and easy to work with, but she also has an innate understanding of the small business audience. My marketing programs … Read more
Justin Amendola, Former VP, Global SMB Digital Strategy, Pitney Bowes

SmallBizChat

  • Twitter

Latest #SmallBizChat

How to Put Happiness Before Hustle with Donna Maria Featured Image

The SmallBizChat Podcast: How to Put Happiness Before Hustle with Donna Maria

Donna Maria is a certified entrepreneur mentor, attorney, podcaster, and author. After working as an attorney, she launched the Indie Business Network, a coaching, mentoring, and training company serving American maker entrepreneurs. In her new role as the Lifestyle CEO, Donna mentors entrepreneurs. She trains business owners to design and build a solid business platform […]

Fix Your Business Q&A Video

Recent Posts

  • The SmallBizChat Podcast: How to Put Happiness Before Hustle with Donna Maria
  • How to Create a Culture of Customer Service
  • May 2022 #SmallBizChat: How to Manage a Remote Workforce And How to Become a Book Author
  • The SmallBizChat Podcast: Uplifting Minority Businesses with Renée Johnson
  • How to Handle Sales Inquiries

Categories

  • 10 Things Lists
  • 12 Things
  • 15 Things Series
  • 31 Ways to Boost Your Small Business
  • Ask Smallbizlady
  • Become Your Own Boss Tips
  • Branding & Marketing
  • Business Inspiration
  • BYOB2011
  • Cash Flow & Finance
  • Customer Service
  • Featured Post
  • Featured SmallBizChat
  • Fix Your Business
  • Grow Your Business
  • Guest Articles
  • How to Start
  • Leadership
  • Melinda Emerson @SmallBizLady
  • Mompreneurs
  • My Recommendations
  • Pink Slip Entrepreneurs
  • Q & A Interview
  • SmallBizChat
  • SmallBizChat Live+
  • SmallBizLady Recommends
  • SmallBizRadio
  • Social Media
  • Solopreneurs
  • Special Reports
  • Starting A Small Business
  • Teams
  • Technology
  • Telesummit
  • The SmallBizChat Podcast
  • Uncategorized
  • Women in Business
  • Your Small Business

#SmallBizChat

  • SmallBizChat Archive
  • @SmallBizLady

Business Advice

  • How to Start

SmallBizLady Store

  • Products
  • Free Chapter

Get In Touch

  • Write For Us
  • FAQ
  • Be a #SmallBizChat Guest
  • Contact Us
Copyright © 2021
Quintessence Group
PO Box 280
Drexel Hill, PA 19026
(610) 352-0680
Privacy Policy · Refund Policy

Copyright © 2022 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in