The Perfect Sales Funnel – Guest Post By Steve Martinelli

Do you know what you need to be doing today to make money on the internet? You will hear three words spoken over and over again, Build Your List!

I’m assuming you know the basics of building an email subscriber list or you wouldn’t have probably read this far along in this post. Instead this article focuses on a proven strategy that has been working for the past two years in my own list building efforts. This strategy is what I like to call The Perfect Sales Funnel. With a high converting, quality sales funnel in place your list building efforts will produce profits from the initial signup all the way through to the follow up sequence emails you send to your subscribers.

The Perfect Sales Funnel includes six main components:
1. Squeeze Page (freebie or non-freebie offer to get the visitors information)
2. Front End One Time Offer/OTO (low-ticket)
3. Back End OTO (mid-ticket)
4. Download Pages
5. Cross Sells (affiliate offers, pay per lead programs)
6. Follow Up Sequence

The Squeeze Page

The squeeze page consists of four main components. The idea of the squeeze page is to get your visitors information. You want it to be simple with one action for them to complete, basically get them to enter their email and hit the “subscribe now” button. There are four things to consider when crafting your squeeze pages:

Headline
Sub Headline
Opt in form that stands out with a clear call to action
A Logo (optional)

Aim for 40% or above conversions on your squeeze pages. If you aren’t getting 40 out of every 100 visitors to opt in on your squeeze page then go back and change the Headline, Sub Head, Call to Action Button, or make sure you sending more targeted traffic to your squeeze page.

The Front End OTO (low-ticket)

The front end OTO is a key to your sales funnel. If you provide a quality front end OTO that matches well with the squeeze page product your giving away then you will be able to re-coop some or possibly all of your advertising cost immediately after your newly acquired subscribers opt in to your list. Things to consider when selecting a quality front end OTO:

Find a product with an established demand
Use JVZoo, Warrior Plus, Clickbank, or other affiliate programs to establish demand for products
Your OTO should be priced under $30.
It has to stand on its own as a product. Choosing a OTO that requires the customer to purchase additional products to implement it into their business will hurt your credibility.
If you don’t want to create the product yourself, outsource it and have it done for you.
Make sure you include testimonials. Zero testimonials will equal zero sales. Don’t fake these, give review copies of the product in exchange for honest reviews and use those that will help build trust.

The Back End OTO (mid-ticket)

The next step in The Perfect Sales Funnel is the back end OTO. This is a second offer to your subscriber. If you get a customer to purchase the front end OTO they are primed and ready to see a second offer. To make sure you take advantage of this opportunity consider these things when putting together your back end OTO:

It must be complementary to the front end OTO. You have a customer which just purchased a product and you want to make sure you offer the something which will enhance what they just purchased.
An example would be some “Done For You” service or “mentoring” offer, they tend to convert well.
Your back end OTO should be priced between $30-$100.
If the customer doesn’t take this offer down sell them to a “limited” or “stripped” version for a lower price point.
Strive for a conversion rate of 1 back end OTO for every 3-5 front end sales.
If your back end OTO doesn’t convert at this rate then your offer is probably “off.” Go back to the drawing board and try a new offer.

Follow Up Sequence

This is where you continue to profit from your main business asset, “your list.” Emailing your list after they initially subscribed with quality information will help you to convert them into a buyer in the future. Things to consider in your follow up sequence:

Have a 7-10 follow up sequence aimed to promote your initial offer. Statistics have shown a customer needs to see an offer up to 7 times before they will make the decision to purchase.
If your subscribers don’t take your offer in the first 3-4 emails then consider stacking up more bonuses with your offer or give a discount on the purchase price.
If they don’t buy after 7-10 follow ups then they won’t buy period. Mail them pay per lead (CPA) offers in your next set of follow ups as you will get paid for them filling out information instead of purchasing a product.
Set up cross promotions with other marketers you trust. Exchange follow up messages in your sequence with one of theirs. You both benefit from getting additional free traffic to your offers.

Testing & Tweaking

Those are the 6 components of what I consider to be The Perfect Sales Funnel. But to ensure you are converting your Squeeze Page at 40%+, your OTO’s are converting at an acceptable rate, etc. you have to be testing and tweaking. Tracking is crucial. Invest in a quality tracking system so you know how your offers and pages are converting. I use 1000 visitors as the testing point in my funnels. If my squeeze page doesn’t convert at 40%+ after 1000 visitors then I’m back to the drawing board changing my headline, adding a different call to action button, changing the colors, etc. until I hit my goals.

Conclusion

I hope you have gained some golden nuggets from this article. Get your Perfect Sales Funnel in place and see how your profits will increase.