My Sales Funnel as a Service Provider
My Sales Funnel as a Service Provider
Welcome back to a new episode of the podcast. I'm so excited to be diving into this week's topic, which is my exact sales funnel as a service provider.
As you probably know, the process of a service provider funnel is quite different to other business models such as product-based business or other different types of businesses. When I talk about service-based business, I'm talking about done for you services. Podcast managers, social media managers, blog managers, photographers, all the tasks that providers do for your service. Also, one-on-one coaching and anything that provides a one-on-one.
There are four parts to my sales funnel that I recommend as follows: -
1. Marketing
The first part to your sales funnel is the marketing. If you aren't getting leads and if people aren't filling out your enquiry form, then it's usually a marketing problem.
There are so many ways to market and it all depends on where you are in your business. I suggest you start with at least one to two marketing streams that are more of a shorter-term win. One of the main forms of marketing I used was pitching and I also used referrals and Instagram. For longer term marketing, I use podcasting and blogging.
Find that balance of fast marketing and quick return and build sustainable marketing strategies around that. Look at the ways you are currently marketing and where most of your leads are coming from. Choose one to three marketing strategies to focus on and don’t spread yourself too thin by having too many marketing strategies. Once you start getting results you can then bring team members in to support further marketing efforts.
2. Lead
The second part to your sales funnel is lead. This is when potential clients have seen your content and they are interested. The best lead capture I would suggest is having a services page and getting them to fill out a lead form. This is going to get you key information about a potential client and help you better understand what they need. You will want the form to be easy to fill out, yet you get enough information about them. In a future episode I'm going to talk about lead forms.
Another way to get a lead is by using Instagram and to get potential clients to respond to an Instagram post or story by sending you a DM with the word “VIP,” “blog” or “Instagram”. Follow-up with that lead and send them to the next phase. It is then your job to persuade, which we will discuss in the next step.
3. Persuade
The third step is then persuade. Your job in the sales process is to help someone make an informed decision. When I say persuade, I am not saying to get sign ups at all costs, it is also about seeing if they are a good fit for you.
I have found that a sales call of 20 minutes over Zoom is a good way to do this. Start with a connection point and try to make them feel seen, heard and appreciated. (In a future episode, I can go into more detail on this.) I will then move into explaining the offer and the process and inviting them to ask any questions.
Finally, send a follow up email as quickly as possible which includes the contract and invoice. I suggest you create a follow-up template so its ready to send straight away. I generally send a proposal within 10 minutes of a call as this is when a potential client is most excited. It also shows you are an efficient service provider. In the email you could say how great it was to connect and how you would love to help support them in their decision-making process. I say something along the lines of “If you have any questions that you didn't ask on the call, please reply back and let me know”.” You can mention that after signing the contract and paying the first month's invoice, they will be sent a new client onboarding form.
Finally, I always say I'll follow up with them in the next 72 hours. If, after 72 hours, I haven't heard I send a quick check-in email.
4. Retaining and Getting Referrals
The final step is then retaining and getting referrals. So now that they have signed with you and are a client, you want to give them an incredible experience and get them great results. If they have had a great experience with you, they will then refer you to their friends. You also want to be the first person who comes to mind when they hear someone needing what you offer.
Referrals are one of the most underestimated forms of marketing as they are your best way to get more clients. Being referred through word of mouth has already established a level of trust that you wouldn’t usually have otherwise. In a future episode I will be talking about referral programmes and going into more detail.
I hope that's been helpful and if you have any follow up questions then head to my Instagram @withhannahandco and send me a DM. I would love to have a chat with you about your sales funnel. If you found this episode helpful, I would love for you to tag me on Instagram and share your biggest takeaway from this episode and leave a five-star review.
I can't wait to hang out with you on next week's episode.
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