We spend a lot of time marketing our business. AdWords, social posts, videos, cards, brochures, promotional events, sponsorships; you name it, we’re trying it. We spend every bit of our time and resources trying to get another client through the door. Top of the funnel, they call it.
If we look at our business prospects in terms of a funnel, we’ve got the big end on top, where everyone that’s expressed even the slightest interest in our company winds up. Lots of people see us, hear us, or hear about us. They may click over and check out our website for a second, but that’s where most of these relationships end. Those “lookers” never make it past the top of the funnel.
Some of these people will show some interest in our product and move a bit further down the funnel. They’ll take some kind of action: offering up their email, filling out a form, or requesting a quote. They may be willing to listen to our sales pitch, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to be receptive to it. They’re still just looking but haven’t run out of the store just yet.
An even smaller number of these people will move down the funnel one more layer, engaging with us and our content, interested in what it is we have to offer, but not yet pulling the trigger to become a customer. They’re right at the precipice, about to make the move, but one wrong step will push them back up the funnel.
If we’re lucky (and good at what we do), a select few people will make it all the way through our funnel, emerging at the other end as a full-fledged, paying client. It won’t be easy, and it won’t happen overnight, but if we play our cards right and have a well-crafted process, we’re going to end up with paying customers.
Having a well-oil machine in place, a properly designed funnel to move our clients along from “just looking” to buying is the key to success in a small business. We want to get our prospects to and through our funnel as efficiently as possible.
But, if we stop and think about it for a minute, the people at the bottom of our funnel, those closest to taking action, are much more valuable to our business than the people at the top of the funnel, who are simply curious and stealing a look.
Why then, do most of us waste so much time and money just trying to get eyeballs on our product when we should be catering to those who’ve made it most of the way through our sales funnel? As the old saying goes, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
We should spend more time catering to those who’ve already made a commitment to us and our business and quit worrying so much about all the other window shoppers. The grass is always greener on the other side, but I’ll take the green in my hand any day of the week.
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Thanks, Joe
