Marketing Funnels: The Key to Making More From Existing Clients

by Debbie LaChusa

Your toughest job as a business owner and marketer is to get clients. It's also your most expensive job. So it stands to reason that you'd want to make the most of every single client you do get.

The best way to do that, and one of the most cost-effective ways to market your business, is to use a marketing funnel.

What's a marketing funnel?

Well, you're probably familiar with what a funnel looks like. It's got a large opening at the top and a small opening at the bottom. It looks kind of like an inverted triangle.

The idea of a marketing funnel is this: you want to get as many prospects and potential clients into the top of the funnel - the part of the funnel with the widest opening. Ahhh ... the better to hold all those prospects and clients!

A good way to get prospects into your funnel is with a free or low-cost, low-risk offer. Things like free newsletters, ezines, special reports, and complimentary consultations are all great ways to get prospects into your funnel.

They give people a way to "try you on for size" and see how they like your style and your approach.  They can "test drive" you or your business without first investing a lot of time or money.

This ezine and my new e-course are my "top of the funnel" products for 10stepmarketing.

This is particularly important if you're selling higher-priced professional services. Odds are most people are not going to purchase from you the very first time they come in contact with you or see your marketing.

Inside your funnel, you'll want to have a series of products and services , ideally increasing in value and price as you work your way down the funnel.

My 10stepmarketing funnel starts with my Step-by-Step Guidebook and Resource Center, and is followed by several CD products, my telecourses and my Extreme Marketing Makeover Program. 

When you fill your funnel with products or services it gives your prospects the opportunity to purchase from you repeatedly. Because if they buy once and love your products or services, chances are they'll buy again.

This gives you the opportunity to earn more from every client and helps you minimize the expensive and time-consuming task of always having to be looking and marketing for MORE clients. Plus, with the right "top of funnel" product, you'll ATTRACT more clients.

At the bottom of your funnel is where your very best clients end up . These are the people who love you and your products or services so much they'll buy anything and everything you make available to them.

Usually the product or service at the bottom of your funnel is your most expensive, most valuable one. 

Take a look at your business and make sure you're using a marketing funnel . If you're not, make it part of your 2006 marketing plan to create one. And you'll always have a pipeline full of prospects and clients.

© Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChusa

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Debbie LaChusa created The 10stepmarketing System to make marketing your own business as simple as answering 10 questions. Learn more about this unique, step-by-step system and get a free Marketing Mini-Course when you subscribe to the free, weekly 10stepmarketing Ezine at http://www.10stepmarketing.com

NOTE: You're welcome to "reprint" this article as long as you make no changes and you include the "About the Author" information at the end.  Please let me know if and where you use this article by emailing me.

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