Hopefully, you remember we talked about how we step up the communication the higher up the value ladder, the now the client climbs. When we get to the top with our high-end products, services and offers, we need to use the personal touch. This means we are taking people offline and into a more intimate and personal setting. You will need confidence and full control of the selling process for this to be successful.
Most of the experts in this field, and by that, I mean the people that are actively using these processes to great success, will agree that the funnel that appears to work the best is the application funnel. We have to accept that when we are selling online, the person on the other end of the keyboard has complete control, and they can simply close you down if they are that way inclined or if you haven’t got your content right.
This will not be the case in this phase, as you will have spent much time creating the right relationship with the people you are taking into this process. The objective is to get them offline as soon as possible and talk to them directly. This can be done in several ways, including live events. The most popular mechanism for this has to be the application funnel, and we will look at this next.
Application Funnels
The Application Funnel has three pages; as a rule, they are the main landing page, the application page and the assignment or homework page. The key to this is you are not going to call everyone who buys from you to see if you can upsell. If you are using funnels correctly, they will do this for you. But what you can do is phone those who say they want to work with you by filling in the application to do so. In other words, you are reaching out and working directly with the cream of the crop.
Page 1 – The Story or Case Study
On this first page, you will show the recipient the momentous result they can gain by working with you. Here you are creating a vision in their minds so they can see what the future holds if they progress with you. Looking at what the most successful tend to do in this regard, I think two models seem to be the most successful. The first is showing a success story for someone that has trodden this path before, or you can also use a free case study; both of these work equally well. So just to make it clear, the first page has three major objectives, which are:
- Get the visitor to watch the case history or success story, showing what is possible if they work with you.
- Let them apply if they want your help to achieve.
- Get an email address so you can follow up if they don’t finish the application process.
The remaining pages will frame and presell your leads on all the reasons they should sign up.
Page 2 – Application Page
This is the long-form application, and by the time e they get to this, they will have all the motivation they need to progress their application. Your goal here is to get them to sell you on why they should be included in your program. I want to emphasize that on this page, they are selling to you; you are not selling to them. On this page, it is often worth including a video that will indicate what it will be like to work with you. It may also be valuable to put on the page a testimonial or two, even better if these can be in a video format. The idea is simply to give them some social proof to listen to.
You will no doubt have a range of questions you will want to ask on the application to qualify the suitability of this application further. Some of the questions you will want to ask should include the following categories:
- Revenue QUalification – can they afford you?
- What does success look like – there needs to be an alignment here for relationships to grow.
- Why would they be a good fit for the group?
- How can they contribute to the group?
Page 3 – Assignment or Homework Page
Once the application has been completed, this page is designed to further gain engagement and build a connection with you, which of course, is going to be essential. I have looked at some of the industry leaders in this type of funnel, and here is a list of the most popular key objectives.
Objective – to build the quality of the connection, looking for touch points and common ground.
Objective – create the right expectation and give them a task to help set the scene.
Objective – Get them to make a planned phone call to you. This is a big indication, and although you will probably call all those who complete the application, the consensus of opinion gives strong indications that those that call you will be the most valuable to your business or project.