fbpx

Sales Funnel. You’ve probably heard the term thrown around a lot, especially if you’re in the process of launching a service. But what is a sales funnel? It is the framework that potential clients experience on their way to eventually purchasing your service. It is the process of how a prospect becomes aware of your service, gets curious about your solutions and finally engages with you to solve their problem (becomes a client).

 

Most coaches and consultants are looking at launches as a way to flood their business with revenue and wondering what is the best way to sell. If you’re someone who’s preparing for a large product launch, group program, or another service-based offering, you may find that the energy required is immense. But once you’ve planned out the different marketing channels, you will want to leverage them for your launch. The other key determination is how to get those marketing assets out to your prospective clients. Two of the most common ways are through an email or a webinar sales funnel. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each to help you decide.

Email Sales Funnel

Webinar vs Email Sales Funnel to market your productAn email sales funnel is a series of emails that are sent to potential customers to convert them into paying customers. The email sales funnel usually consists of three to seven emails (depending on the length of your launch cycle) that speak to your audience’s pain point.

 

The first email usually introduces the product and gives a general overview of what it does. The second email reveals a little more about how the product works and what benefits it can offer. The third email might provide more detailed information about the product, including case studies or testimonials from satisfied customers. By the fourth or fifth email, the reader should have a pretty good idea of the product and how it can help them. The final emails in the series will typically include an offer to purchase the product, as well as some sort of risk-free guarantee (e.g., “If you’re not completely satisfied with our product, we’ll give you a full refund”).

PROS:
  • You have complete control over the sales process.
  • You can segment your list and send targeted messages to specific groups.
  • You can automate your email sequence so that it runs on autopilot.
  • Depending on your tech stack, it’s less expensive than running a live webinar.

 

CONS:
  • It can take more work to build rapport and establish trust with your prospects via email.
  • People are more likely to ignore emails than they are to attend a live webinar.
  • You won’t be able to answer questions in real-time, which could lead to confusion or objections that you are not able to resolve.

 

Now let’s take a look at using a webinar sales funnel…

 

Webinar Sales Funnel

Webinar vs Email Sales Funnel to market your productA webinar sales funnel is also designed to convert potential customers into paying customers. However, instead of using a series of emails, a webinar sales funnel uses…you guessed it…webinars! Though webinars can range anywhere from one session to weekly over a limited period (like in a challenge), the objective remains the same. During the experience, it will be your john to establish, rapport and credibility, offer value that speaks to your prospects pain points and challenges, make a compelling offer for them to engage with you in solving their pain, and finally provide a call to action for them to either purchase your solution or continue exploring options via a sales call.


As you can see, all of the work of the email sequence is condensed into a live interactive experience on a live webinar. The same can be done in a pre-recorded webinar experience, which makes this type of funnel evergreen.

 

If you choose to launch using a webinar funnel, you can promote your webinar across your social media channels using some of your earned media outreach. So, this requires you to have a substantial following to make people aware of your webinar event. Once people register for your webinar event, the next step is to actively engage them live and in person.

PROS:
  • You can build rapport and trust with your prospects quickly.
  • People are more likely to attend a live event than they are to read an email.
  • You can answer questions in real-time, which helps reduce objections.
  • It’s a great way to create a sense of urgency and get people to buy now.
CONS:
  • It can be more expensive to run a live webinar than it is to send emails. A good webinar requires sophisticated technology to enhance the production value (which is great for brand credibility)
  • You need to be available at the same time as your prospects (unless you are running a pre-recorded session).
  • There’s always the possibility of something going wrong during a live event. (i.e., technical issues)

 

In both of these processes, the goal is to demonstrate, know, like, and trust in your communication so that your audience feels that you understand their challenges, relate to their lifestyle, and trust you with solving their problems.

 

Either option will require a good amount of prep, which will likely fall into some of the activities you do in your pre-launch planning. For emails, that will include drafting the email content and scheduling them out. (Copywriting can take longer than you think so beware).

 

Webinar vs Email Sales Funnel to market your productFor a webinar, prep activities include drafting your script and storytelling, often building slides, and checking all of the tech integrations for going live, registering participants and scheduling follow up emails after the event ends. With a webinar, you may also want to think about how you would want to repurpose the content/house a replay of the video through a dynamic video sales page, which then can direct people to your C.T.A., crafting an evergreen funnel on the backend of your live event.

 

So which type of sales funnel is right for your business? It really depends on your specific business goals and target market.

 

If you’re selling a digital product (e.g., an online course), then an email sales funnel might make more sense since participants can consume the content at their own pace.

 

However, suppose you’re selling a physical product (e.g., skincare products). In that case, a webinar sales funnel might be more appropriate since it allows you to build rapport and establish trust with potential customers before they make a purchase.

 

Apply now for Facilitator Certification: Cohort 3 starts in 2024

X