A Guide To Automating New Leads And Sales
As a side hustler, time is one of our biggest assets. We don’t have a lot of it. And somehow we have to figure out how to run a business with limited time. We find savvy workarounds to sneak in 20 minutes here, 45 minutes there, and still maintain our full-time jobs and lives! This is why having an automated system to constantly be working on gathering new leads or sales is so important for a side hustler. A sales funnel can be a pivotal resource for any side hustle with its ability to do this.
If you currently don’t have a working sales funnel, or two or twenty, inside your side hustle, then keep reading! Sales funnels don’t need to be complicated. In fact, the simple ones tend to be more effective. Let’s break down what a sales funnel it, how you can apply one to your side hustle and why it could be a game changer.
Understanding How A Funnel Works For Your Side Hustle
A sales funnel is the representation of a customer’s journey from an easy entry point (usually a free offer) to a final sale. The funnel represents the percentage of subscribers who will actually turn into customers. It would be amazing if this was a 100% return. However, the average sales funnel yields a 4% conversion rate across all industries according to Click Funnels. Don’t get discouraged by the number. It can work in your favor and still deliver you, new subscribers!
When you create a sales funnel for your side hustle, you will be creating first a point of entry. This is typically a free offer. Of course, this part of the funnel will have the most opt-ins and participation. Next, it’s up to your to bring that audience on a journey that will eventually lead to a buying decision. This is usually done via a nurture or sales email sequence. Some of your audience may drop off here or not care to continue, thus the funnel gets a bit smaller.
When you reach the point of a buying decision, you pitch your audience your main offer. This could even be dressed up in promotional trappings to make it more appealing. The percentage of buyers will be your smallest segment of the funnel. Not everyone who makes it to the pitch will buy. But the ones that do, those are your hot audience waiting for your emails and eager to progress with you!
The Lead Magnet
Creating a lead magnet for your sales funnel will be your first step. A lead magnet is a free offer that you can create for your audience in hopes that it leaves them wanting more. There are several ways you can create a free offer for your side hustle.
Here are a few examples:
- A free download
- A guide or workbook
- Free playlist
- Sample of your products / services
- Printable
When creating your lead magnet, keep in mind the main offer that you plan to pitch at the end of your funnel. How can you tie them together? Do they naturally follow one another? Is your lead magnet a good “first taste” of what your main offer will be?
This is important for your sales funnel. You want your audience to not have a large knowledge gap of your products or services. Instead, you want your lead magnet to leave them wanting more. And your main offer is the thing that they can’t resist because they’ve had a taste of what it will be!
There are a couple of ways you can present and deliver your lead magnet. Flodesk is my exclusive email service provider. With Flodesk, you can create easy landing or embedded forms for your audience to subscribe to and download your lead magnet. You can put these on your site, Instagram’s link in bio or send them directly! Then Flodesk automatically sends them the freebie! If you currently don’t have an email service provider, then click here to get 50% off your Flodesk subscription!
Sales Sequences
As soon as someone downloads your lead magnet for your side hustle sales funnel, they are on your list! This means they are yours to forever email, keep updated about your business, nurture and pitch to. However before you do any of that, you are going to put them directly into a sales sequence.
A sales sequence is an automated email sequence for subscribers to receive following an opt-in. The purpose of your sales sequence is to nurture your audience, provide tips on using the lead magnet, and prime them to get ready to buy your main offer. It’s important that you serve within your sales sequence and provide a natural and organic experience. Your sales sequence should do a good job of bringing your audience on a journey so that when you pitch, they know you and they know that they need your offer.
Not sure what to put in your sales sequence? Or how to naturally bring your audience on a journey from free opt-in to pitch? No worries! I created a few free Email Sequence Outlines For Side Hustlers that you can download instantly. These will help guide you in creating connection, conversation, and the perfect pitch!
AUTOMATION
When you create an evergreen sales sequence for your side hustle, it’s important to note that it will start uniquely after each subscriber’s download. This means that your sales sequence can be starting and sending around the clock. You don’t need to be the one sending the emails. Or even being involved. Your job will be to promote your lead magnet only. This is the power of automation.
Automation is a huge part of any sales funnel. As a side hustler, you need passive sales more than anyone because you don’t have the time like a full-time entrepreneur. Flodesk can create these automated sales sequences for any funnel you create. In fact, they even have templates you can use to get started. With Flodesk, you can also review your stats and see what emails and where inside your funnel people are gaining or losing interest.
This automated sales sequence can be very powerful. And it can even make you money before you pitch your main offer! Observe your sales sequence for any place you can serve your audience by recommending a product or service you affiliate for. It’s important that you only do this if it organically fits into your sequence and provides a benefit. Here’s a free 36-page ebook on affiliate marketing written by my favorite affiliate income expert, Michelle Schroeder-Gardner.
Your Main Offer
Next, it’s time to create your main offer for your sales funnel. This should be one of the main products or services that you want to sell again and again. It should also be something that makes sense and is easily sold in a funnel. For example, your highest dollar product or service may not be a good match. This may require you to be the salesman or saleswoman in order to convert someone to a higher ticket offer. So consider something you wish to sell that you think can be done via email sequences and a good sales page.
When creating your sales funnel, it’s also a good idea to consider creating urgency through a promotion. Maybe the audience at the end of your funnel is curious about buying but maybe they need an extra push? Why buy now? Don’t you sell this year round? Maybe I’ll buy later.
Creating some type of limited-time offer or included bonus with purchase is a great incentive to lock in the deal with your funnel audience! After all, they’ve been on this journey with you, they are your people, don’t they deserve some extra love than cold traffic just buying from your website directly?
Here are some promo examples to pair with your main offer:
- Limited time discount
- Bonus with purchase
- Complimentary phone consult with purchase
- Exclusive access
YOUR SALES PAGE
Sales pages are an important aspect of any launch. A sales page is a landing page that is designed to sell your offers. That is their only job. There is no menu navigation and no other opt-in purpose. Sales pages are designed to completely educate someone about a product or service, why they need it and to create excitement and urgency around the purchase.
When you pitch inside of your side hustle sales funnel, it’s a good idea to do it with a landing page that your email sequence points to. This gives your pitch a true chance to present with all of the bells and whistles versus just sending an email pitch.
Leadpages is the exclusive platform I use for all sales pages, big or small. With Leadpages you can have any type of website or no website at all! Its beautifully designed drag and drop templates make it easy for anyone to look and feel professional. Most importantly, to sell your products! Click here for a 14-day free trial of Leadpages and get started creating a beautiful sales page your funnel audience can’t say no to.
The Results
One of the best parts of a sales funnel is that it can be evergreen. This means while you’re working your 8-5 gig, your sales funnel is working for you! And because of this, it’s important to monitor the results. When you have a sales funnel up and running, put a time on your calendar each week or month to observe the activity. What emails have the most open rates? The least? What’s your funnel conversion? Do you see anything you can tweak for better results?
You’ll want to track and monitor your funnel results over time. Do this with my free Side Hustler Trello Board Template. This board is completely free to use with a free Trello account. Plus it will organize your entire business, side hustle projects, workflows, and stats like funnel results!
As we mentioned before, your sales funnel likely won’t have a 100% conversion rate. However, even a 1% conversion rate pays off for your side hustle. This means the effort you put in at the beginning, is setting you up to earn income passively on autopilot while still getting subscribers on your email list. Those results are priceless.
Creating Your Funnel Today
Ready to get started on your sales funnel? Your side hustle is begging you to start! After all, a lean mean money-making funnel machine could be the best thing yet for your business.
To get started on creating your funnel today, following these easy steps:
- Decide what offer you wish to pitch at the end of your funnel
- Decide how to dress that offer up with a promotion, discount, or bonus
- What is a hefty lead magnet that compliments your offer?
- Decide how your audience will opt-in for your lead magnet. Ex: Flodesk.
- Create a sales sequence that nurtures your audience. Snag my free outlines!
- Write your pitch and create a sales page with your main offer and the promotion. Ex: Leadpages
- Track and monitor your results so you can tweak and improve!
I know just what big results can come from a simple funnel. And your side hustle can have just that! With limited time on your side, make the most of it by working smarter and more passively than harder. Your side hustle has something amazing to offer; a sales funnel can be your vessel in putting it out there.
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