The Lead Funnel

We've all heard the promise before of what the Internet can do for our business.  

But how does it work?  And why hasn't it worked for you?

 The Internet is full of prospects who are dying for your product or service to solve their needs, right now.  And maybe you're new to internet marketing, or have tried building your own website or have had someone you know help you build a site in the past.  You thought it was easy, "If you build it they will come."  Unfortunately, this is just completely wrong.  Just like with any other marketing, first you have to find your prospects, then you need to find that itching, burning, desire inside of them and lastly you have to educate them on how their desires will be met from your offering.

This approach is no different whether you are running a 30 second commercial, an ad on the web, or you're hoping for new business from your website.  

Find Your Prospects and Share Your Message

First, you have to find your prospects.  Just like fishing, if you're in a dried up lake bed or a small puddle you'll never catch a fish.  Opposingly, if you make a small raft out of some logs and go out into the middle of the ocean you won't have the ability to bring back that giant, let alone make it back to shore.  In order to find the right prospects, you need to have the right equipment, and go to the right places.  This is the leftmost side of the lead funnel (pictured above) - how do you advertise your brand?  It can be anything from search engine optimization to TV adversitements.  If you don't know your prospects though, you will either spend too much money or never attract the right business.

Next, You Must Engage Them

Just because you found the right place to drop your fishing line in does not mean that you will catch a fish!  If you're not offering the right value proposition to your prospects then they will never begin the journey into your sales funnel.  So in order to bring them in you must provide immense value to them so that they can start benefiting from you, even before they make initial contact.  Not only are you feeding the hand that feeds you by doing this, but you're also building your credibiilty and establishing your expertise with your market.  

When it comes to generating a lead, all it takes is requesting a minimum amount of your prospects information (like an email) in exchange for a high value solution to a burning need they are having right at that point in time.  From there, you can build the relationship and gradually educate and qualify that prospect if your solution is right for their needs.

The goal here is to provide real value, don't be obsessed with selling to anyone you can.  Instead, the qualification process is all about making sure that what you can offer and what your prospects are looking for really are a perfect match.  And, if they are, then that's great news for both of you.  If they are not, that's okay too.  You're sharing knowledge that they can apply in other areas of their life and business, and when someone else they meet is looking for the solution which you offer, they will immediately think of you first and generate referrals for you, even if you've never met them.

Last, Increase What Works, Cut What Doesn't 

Once you start generating business from the Internet, the most important step is optimization.  This is all about looking over your entire sales funnel from end to end, and using data and facts to determine what campaigns are generating the highest success rates and what campaigns and efforts aren't worth the money they cost to run.  With this new information your business can be leaner,  more efficient , and you can create a comeptitive advantage over your competitors.  This is the secret to generating business online, and it's easy to do as long as you follow the right strategic approach.  Learn more about the CEO Framework^TM and what the right strategic approach could mean for your business.