What Is A Sales Funnel? Is the Website Dead?

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First of all, I've been with Wealthy Affiliate since 2015 and I love the training, the community, the camaraderie...the whole kit and kaboodle. And I have my own website, well, four actually, and will continue having a website. It's where I do my blogging and yes, I still lead folks to my affiliate links in various blogs. However, there are times, when they are not as efficient as I want them to be. And, I'm letting you know now, that I'm working on figuring out ways to "tighten up" my website. To try to make it flow better, more consistent, more relevant. I'm trying to make it to where there is a specific path and you're not left to wander. But, this isn't easy. Anyway...

Here enters sales funnels.

What is a sales funnel? Well, actually, a sales funnel is like having your own personal salesman working for you 24/7. He's greeting your customer at the door, taking them by the hand and walking them step by step through the funnel, asking questions and taking them directly to what they're looking for and then makes the sale. Cool, huh?

In a sales funnel, there's only one way in and then one way out. A customer can't come into your funnel and wander around and get distracted by other bells and whistles screaming from the sidelines. They enter your funnel, looking for something specific, the funnel sends them on a clear path through, answering questions and explaining the product, then gives them a CTA (call to action) at the end. And if they buy, it can offer an upsell or a OTO offer (one time only) to make you more money from that same customer, while they are in the buying mode. In this way, it helps you make your profits faster. (remember: value ladder).

In a website, someone comes to it maybe because of a certain blog, but then, they'll start wandering, or won't finish the blog and get to your CTA. There's nothing holding them there or keeping them from going to a different page.

In the funnel, they can only go to the next page of your funnel, the one you want them to go to. There's no jumping around on their own. YOU ARE IN CONTROL. In a website, you have NO control. This is the main difference of the two.

Here's a sketch of a four page sales funnel. I know you may not know what some of these pages are, but, I'll get to that in another blog. I just wanted you to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

As you can see, there's not a lot to it. They can be simple. I have some that are only the opt-in page (I get their email) and the thank you page (I thank them and send them my free offer).

I'm sure you'll see that they can be much, much faster to build than a full scale website. I link my blogs to the relevant sales funnel to really strengthen my offers.

Hopefully, I've explained enough for you to see what a sales funnel is and the difference to a website. But, I don't think the website is dead. Each platform has its place and mine work very well together.

Until next time...Take Action!

Grant

For more help and support upon your journey, feel free to join my private FB group. You'll find the link bottom right of my WA profile page.

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Recent Comments

27

Awesome info Grant. I just started experimenting with funnels and like you, I have stand-alone funnels and those that can be part of a blog page/post. Because I'm a cheapo, I went with Thrive Architect and Thrive Leads to avoid a monthly payment (like I said cheapo) combined with (initially) Sendgrids free program for automation. I look forward to your next post.

I wouldn’t say cheap. Lol. You’re being budget friendly. Lol. Frugal maybe. That’s being cautious. Nothing wrong with that as long as it delivers what u need at that point in time. I was worse than you starting out. I built my first couple of funnels on a free Wordpress website. Talking about a long stressful task! Lol. And I used mostly all free tools and softwares. It got me to where I could finally afford to upgrade as I could. You have to do what you have to do. The main thing is don’t give up. In fact, in my private FB group I’m getting ready to add a section in our Resource Page of nothing but Free tools and softwares to help when getting started.

I look forward to learning more about thus from you Grant.
Michelle

I heard about funnels but so far havent figured out how they work so thanks for the info. Do funnels go on a seperate site or you can add them up to your blog/content site?

A funnel is simply a process that requires several components to be added to your site in order to make sales. The following post from Neil Patel, one of the top marketers in the world, will answer most of your questions about funnels:
https://neilpatel.com/blog/profitable-conversion-funnel/amp/
Tom

I've built a funnel from a wordpress website before, but its a lot of work compared to the platforms like Clickfunnels, Lead Pages, Builderall, etc. where you can pretty much drag and drop and build your funnel in less than a tenth of the time. Also, if you build it on your existing website, you'd want to set everything where it doesn't show up in any of your menu's and none of the rest of your website doesn't show up in the funnel. Otherwise, it defeats the purpose of a funnel. Mine from scratch were usually just three to four page websites with their own domain. I like Neil's explanation on how to build one.

Thanks. Will look into this. Marisa

You’re welcome, anytime!
Tom

Clickfunnels is one the easiest ways to build one, hence its success. However, it’s not the only way.
Tom

Totally agree! A lot of platforms out there that you can build them. Like I said earlier, I’ve built them scratch on Wordpress. It just takes way longer.

You can build a funnel on your website, but there are other platforms out there that make it extremely easier and much quicker. However, these cost some investment so check out different ones and see which you like and what would work for you. You can check out ClickFunnels, Builderall, which are two. Some like Kartra, also. I prefer Clickfunnels, but it runs $97 a month. However, on any of them, if you're an action taker you can benefit quickly and recoup expenses. I look at it as an investment in myself rather than an expense, but you need to watch the budget in the beginning also.

Thanks for the info. I will look into this again when I have more content on my site. I'm still new in this and theres heaps to learn. Cheers

Keep on learning. Never stop...but be sure and implement what you learn! Don’t wait for perfection!

That is very true. I have learned to skip perfection and keep going 👍

And Russell Branson thanks you too!

Lol. I love ClickFunnels!

Good information Grant, thanks Alan.

Good one ... I think that is all I can say with my limited vocab.
Waiting for your next blog.

You know Grant that is the very best explanation for a sales funnel I have ever heard. I've seen the ones that go here and there , up and down, but this was simple, to the point, and something we can all do. One question: are you using an autoreponder?

Yes mam. I use Aweber. At the time they were the best priced for what they offer and they are affiliate friendly which a lot of them are not. And I think their support is excellent!

You can find a link for it in our Resource page in our FB group or on my website.

Thank you Grant. But I'm not too sure how a sales funnel would work for a blog where you actually want to build great informative content for your readers . Jim

I try to be thoroughly informative with all my blogs on my website and here. But lots of times, I have a CTA at the end, especially on reviews, and that’s when I send them through my funnels. It’s an extra swing at getting their email address if you didn’t get it on your site.

tantalizing ;)

That was explained very well, thanks, Grant!

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