How I Built a Sales Funnel That Generates Over $80 Million

The opinions expressed by entrepreneurs contributors are their own.

The new year is an important time for entrepreneurs to think: what are we going to do differently this year to reach that next stage of growth? You can take a magnifying glass to social media trends, your team, or a number of other factors, but I'd like to draw your attention to the bare bones of the deal – the sales funnel. A sales funnel is a bit like the skeleton of your marketing; it contains the structure of the customer journey, which takes them from the first point of contact all the way to purchase.

It's possible that your leads are getting lost somewhere in the pipeline, and it's up to you to find where and improve it. To save you the agony of not knowing where to start, I'll offer some suggestions.

Over the past 24 years in business, I've audited my own sales funnels, which average 2,000 leads and seven revenue figures each week. I share my sales funnel secrets with my clients, and I want to share them with you too! Here's what I learned:

Related: 3 Tweaks That Dramatically Improve Your Sales Funnel

Find Marketing Tactics That Warm Up Cold Leads

Imagine spending hours in sub-zero temperatures, then stepping straight into a sauna. Wouldn't it be better to wrap yourself in a cozy warm blanket or sit by a nice fire and warm yourself slowly instead? But that's what some companies do when they first contact a cold lead with not-so-welcoming marketing tactics. The worst examples would be door-to-door salespeople, cold calls, and spam text or email messages.

To grab the attention of prospects, you need to loosen up your strategy. Consider wrapping them in a warm blanket, not pushing them into a flaming ring of fire.

The most popular entry points include radio/TV ads, cold emails, social media ads, Google ads, and direct mail. But here's why I love using direct mail the most when it comes to casting that wide net at the top of your sales funnel: Direct mail is less invasive, less annoying AND sticks around much longer than the alternatives.

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It's not that sending emails is bad; In fact, I recommend that my clients send emails as a follow-up method. However, it is not the most effective form of advertising at the top of your funnel. First, cold emails might go to the spam folder. Second, they could remain unopened. Third, dive into a deep sea of ​​emails from other companies doing the exact same thing. Not to mention, your prospect may be wondering how you got their email in the first place! If they didn't give it voluntarily, it's highly unlikely that they'll engage with you.

Direct mail, on the other hand, doesn't need to be opened (as long as it's a postcard), so the recipient is bound to look at it, they can read it at their own pace when it feels comfortable (no one likes to be distracted by boring emails during the work day), and it's also more likely to stay in the prospect's hands. According to a 2020 study by MarketReach, 75% of business mail stays at home for more than 4 weeks and is viewed an average of five times.

But I discovered all of this information simply by doing research and through my own experiences and preferences as a consumer. My most personal experience is that I've tried direct mail as the first step in a sales funnel many times and built an $83 million business.

Although this is my truth, you will have to do your own exploration of cold selling tactics. I suggest you try direct mail regularly and track the results, then compare it with a few other select strategies, such as Google ads or social media.

Related: 5 Tips to Instantly Connect with Any Prospect

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