“We have the ONE strategy that will help you sleep at night”
One trap that a new entrepreneur can fall into are all of the “proven systems” out there. Within a week of flipping my instagram into a business account it was all that was targeting me. “So you’re a new entrepreneur, overwhelmed by all of the things to do? We have the answer to all your problems.”
Like any curious human I give these some cynical attention. Are they presenting something valuable here? What can I take away from their free content? Is what they are selling worthwhile?
Generally, I’m cynical of any silver bullets. My experience in the enterprise would tell me that they do not exists. There’s also more than one way to skin the cat.
While many of these have come and gone into my realm of awareness, the idea that I should have some sort of funnel or automation in place continues to be a theme
Who’s funnel is it anyways?
Having worked in a large agency, I have a good sense of what the purpose of a funnel serves. Generally, there is a progression of how people get to know us in the lens of our business or service:
- Strangers: Don’t know you exist.
- Acquaintance: Have heard your name, and know what you do.
- Friend: They know you, like you, trust you. They listen to what you say.
- Partner/Client: They are invested actively, and willing to pay for your expertise to help them solve a problem.
This problem is one of existential importance to any business owner or freelancer - new or established. As in many cases, clients may be willing to pay, but usually not forever (I’ll save my rant about subscription models for another time).
For a new entrepreneur it can definitely be a “keeping me up at night” type problem. Many will fumble in trying to turn strangers into clients. The idea behind the funnel, is we move them through specific stages.
Hello AIDA
Aida is not my grandmother. It’s a pretty well known model for turning strangers into acquaintances, acquaintances into friends, and friends into clients/partners. Let’s get into it!
- Awareness
- Interest
- Desire
- Action
Awareness - “Hi, I exist!”
The goal here is to be visible where your ideal client hangs out. This could be everything from Social Media, Networking, Guest Appearances (podcasts, blogs), and referrals.
As a beginner, this is probably already overwhelming. No worries, you don’t have to be everywhere. Be consistent in one or two places. The goal here is to show up and have someone go “Hmm, this is someone who knows their shit.”
Interest - “Tell me more.”
So they know you now. In a distraction filled world, you’ll want to turn that awareness into interest and stay in touch. Here is where the mailing list is king (you don’t own your social media, the platform does. Get a mailing list. Do it. NOW.)
The idea here is you are giving some exchange of value for their email. Marketing nerds call this a Lead Magnet.
It doesn’t need to be a 50-page e-book, An exclusive video training, a helpful template, a quiz, a PDF checklist.
Create a mechanism where people who are interested find their way to activating this. From here maybe you can do something fancy and nurture their interest. This can be an automated email sequence that goes out to new subscribers on a set timeline. Something like
- Day 1: Hey, here’s the link to that resource. Welcome to the mailing list, here’s what you can expect
- Two Days Later: Share something relating to the freebie resource. Maybe a little something extra
- Two Days Later: Add some more tips. Strut your stuff.
- Two Days Later: Gently hint at your paid offering, invite them to learn more.
Desire - “I think you can help me”
The above won’t convert everyone, if they are like me they will often take the free resource and search for the unsubscribe button (sorry y’all). For others however, your presence in their inbox reminds them that they downloaded the useful thing, and demonstrates you have other uses.
Perhaps they are now considering those other uses. Here comes the Discovery call.
The action plan should be clear - people who are interested should be funneled here (is the analogy making sense?). Ideally they can book you with a scheduler on your website or through your links. Testimonials from past clients can increase the confidence that you can help
Action - “Let’s fucking go”
If they aren’t saying the above, forget about it.