Where there is a Funnel, there is a Shadow Sales Funnel
There’s a common misconception that most people who go through your funnel whip out their credit card based on what they experienced while going through the funnel. These sales do occur - we call these types of customers “Hot Buyers” - however, they are only a small percentage of your potential customer base.
What really happens is that potential customers experience your funnel, but they decide to do their own research into your products and services before proceeding with a sale. They search your brand, read reviews and articles, and dig into the information provided to them. In this search, they are looking for your credibility and/or any red flags. What they discover in this process can make or break a potential sale.
These kinds of leads fall into a secondary funnel which we call the Shadow Sales Funnel, and FunnelHub Originals has developed countless means of using this exterior funnel as another arm of customer engagement.
The first step to consider when building the Shadow Sales Funnel...
Search results can quickly display an overall sentiment around your brand or products, which can drastically and quickly impact how potential customers see you.
Positive indicators show a potential customer quality and trustworthiness, and should be high up in search results. Being featured in credible sources immediately gives your business a level of authority which builds trust. The opposite is true of negative indicators, which show reviews or independent articles warning potential customers about your products or services, telling viewers to stay away from you.
Not all indicators are expressly good or bad. A neutral sentiment says little about your brand, with search results linking to unrelated sites, giving your brand an appearance of unimportance.
Failure to rank first for your own name might send a signal that your online presence is not very strong. Ensuring that your website appears at the top of searches is paramount to establishing your brand, and giving your name presence and authority.
The second step of the Shadow Sales Funnel is when a potential customer actually clicks onto your site...
These are the questions you must be asking yourself to create a funnel which presents professionalism, knowledge, experience, and a knack for aesthetics.
Think about visiting a site like looking for a place to eat in a new city. When you walk into a restaurant you are instantly judging its appearance, cleanliness, and menu far before you commit to getting a table. The exact same is true of visiting a website, and you have to ensure that your funnel is enticing.
When bringing passive customers through the Shadow Sales Funnel, it is imperative that you are checking as many boxes for them as possible, further cementing your business as someone to work with and buy from.
Managing your Shadow Sales Funnel starts with having a solid web property that appears at the top of Google searches, thus magnifying your brand’s online authority; this is the idea behind the FunnelHub. FunnelHub organizes all your funnels, offers and media in one place so that you sell more, get more out of your paid ads and control what people are finding when they search for you.
You might be asking how this is different from a normal website?
Well, a FunnelHub is a funnel driven website that is built on the strategies pioneered in Expert Secrets, allowing you to effectively communicate your movement, demonstrate your attractive character, explain your new opportunity, and attract people into your tribe.