A checkered tablecloth, a pitcher of sparkling lemonade, and a hot, sticky day on the sidewalk...If you're a typical American, one of your earliest "business" memories might be of running a lemonade stand when you were a kid. What does that have to do with a sales funnel?
What you probably weren't aware of is that you were also learning about how to do a sales funnel (or, how not to do a sales funnel) at the same time. And now, if you'll allow me to bring you on a trip down memory lane, let's go back to being kids for a minute or two, and reflect on what a simple lemonade stand might teach us about creating a sales funnel.
Here's the scene: you're six years old, you have a band-aid on one knee from the day before, and red popsicle stains around your mouth from the strawberry popsicle you ate about an hour ago. You have just finished setting up your lemonade stand, and are standing back to admire it, and here's the first sales funnel lesson.
You see that your lemonade stand is in the shade...and everyone is just walking by on the other side of the street. So, you ask a grownup to help you move it to the sunny side of the street. Ta da! Your sales funnel is now attracting attention from your prospects.
Sales Funnel Lemonade Lesson #1: Position the top end of your sales funnel so that it attracts attention, and is in the path of hungry buyers.
Soon afterward, your first prospect stops by, about to enter your sales funnel. It's a white haired college professor in a plaid shirt, who sniffs at the jug of lemonade suspiciously and asks, "is it REAL lemonade?" You tell him yes, it was just squeezed this morning. "Hum," he says, "And, is it GOOD?" Now, you could just say "Of course it is," but, you're a smart little 6 year old, so instead you tip him right into your sales funnel by pouring him a third of a glass and offering it to him to taste.
Sales Funnel Lemonade Lesson #2: Always be willing to give away a sample of you product before a sale is made, so that you can demonstrate your quality on the front of your sales funnel.
The man takes a sip, then gulps it down. "Ah," he says, "Just like I remember...I'll take a glass of that." Now, you could just pour him a plastic glass of lemonade, hand it to him, and take the money. End of sales funnel. However, since you are a bright little six year old sales person, you happen to have several other things on hand for your sales funnel today:
- A stack of fresh white napkins with flowers printed on them
- A plate of warm brownies
- And a 12 year old brother who needs lawn mowing jobs this summer
So, you pour the gentleman a glass of lemonade, filling it carefully all the way to the brim, pick up a fresh white napkin, and hand them both to him as though it were a goblet of water fresh from the fountain of youth. And now for the next step in your sales funnel: an upsell.
"Sir," you say in your little voice, "would you like a brownie to go with that? They are only half price with a glass of lemonade. And they taste really good together." Of course, the gentleman says yes - in fact, he will take two. But the sales funnel doesn't end there...
Sales Funnel Lemonade Lesson #3: Offer your buyer a second product, explain why it goes with the first, and tell them they are getting a deal on the second product because it goes with the first product in your sales funnel.
As you are getting the brownie for the gentleman you continue your sales funnel by picking up a pen and say, "Hey mister, here's a phone number if you ever need your lawn mowed this summer. My brother's looking for lawns to mow." Then you write the number on one of the napkins, wrap it around the brownie, and hand it to him. Remember to smile, wave, and say "have a good day, mister."
And this shows that you're really a very brilliant 6 year old, because you have previously, of course, gotten your brother to promise he will give you a dollar for every lawn mowing job he gets through your lemonade stand sales funnel. Ok, so there's...
Sales Funnel Lemonade Lesson #4: Offer another product or service on the back end of your sales funnel for a partner, and collect a commission from it. Don't ask the customer "if" they want to know about this offer; simply give it to them as part of the product they just bought on the front of your sales funnel.
So there you go - four Sales Funnel lessons from the most unlikely source in the world...a 6 year old's lemonade stand.
Lesson #5 in our "Sales Funnel Lemonade Lessons" is all about how to actually use all these sales funnel tactics in the "real" world of email marketing (which I do every day to the tune of 3 million a year, btw). But you'll have to click the link below if you want to find out exactly how I do it (I give away something other than brownies in my sales funnel)...
