Creating a sales funnel is crucial to the success of an online business. The question is, how do you know which sales funnel type to choose when there are so many types available for different products, services, and goals?
To convert more in sales funnel marketing, you simply need to plan ahead. For each of your specific online marketing objectives, you need to choose the right type of sales funnel.
This guide will show you 8 different types of sales funnels that are proven to work and convert more visitors into paying customers.
1. The Free Sample Funnel
This is one of the most straightforward sales funnel for product businesses. It involves giving out a small portion of your product for free, hoping that your prospects will enjoy your product enjoy to purchase the full version.
Even if your business does not have free samples to give away, you can use a lead magnet as your free sample. For prospects to get it, they will have to opt-in, and you will have their contact information to engage them after with an email sequence.
Nutraceuticals and low-ticket consumables are suitable types of products for a free sample.
2. The Free Consultation Funnel
This type of sales funnel commences with the free consultation offer. Then, the goal is to sell your customers to your products at full price.
This funnel starts with a prospect opting to go for the free consultation. For coaches, it could serve as a kind of free, breakthrough strategy session.
You can then send them follow-up emails at the end of the free consultation. This is to inspire them to buy supplemental materials that will assist them in getting more out of their free consultation with you.
The type of products that are best for this type of sales funnel are information products or companies that deals on products or services where a conversation occurs before buying. Also, companies that sell products with multiple packages will thrive with a free consultation funnel, as well as high-ticket products.
For example, a fitness resource for pregnant women and new mothers titled ‘The Healthy Mom Handbook’ is an excellent example of a free consultation funnel. They have different products, but the start is a free coaching session when you decide to see pricings of their handbook.
3. Self-Liquidating Funnel (SLO)
This is the type of sales funnel you generate not with the purpose to generate profits but to get leads. Therefore, your aim is not to gain profit through the funnel, but just to cover the cost of your ads.
You might not generate profit at the moment. However, you will be able to create a lot of leads. From these potential customers, many will ultimately buy other products from you.
This is how an SLO funnel looks like:
Landing page > Sell a product or service cheap> Upsell > Another Upsell #2
You will be able to convert a part of your target audience by selling a cheap product to people after they have opted in. That might not bring instant profit. However, you will be able to cover the cost of your ads and also help you in building your email list.
4. The Lead Magnet Funnel
The lead magnet funnel is one of the most popular kinds of funnels because it is easy to set up and gives great results in terms of opt-in rates. Typically, the lead magnet funnel is an opt-in page with a kind of ethical bribe, offering the person some kind of giveaway in exchange for their email address.
Usually, this kind of funnel is useful when you are growing an email list or a customer base and wish to create brand loyalty. People love getting content for free, whether it be a free ebook, information product, or access to a membership area. This is a great way to convert cold leads into eventual customers. Once people start getting your emails and consuming your content, they will be ready to make purchase decisions with you in the future.
Note that this can work for almost any type of business not just online marketing, eCommerce, and other types of internet businesses. To use an example, let’s say you own a carpet cleaning business. How might you use a lead magnet funnel?
Well, you could run an ad targeting people interested in carpet cleaning in your area, and send the traffic to an opt-in page where you give away a free pdf about the best ways to get stains out of carpets in exchange for their email. Now they are subscribed to your list, you can continue to send them helpful information, deals for your service and more. If you develop a customer relationship then the next time they need your services, they will be sure to think of you first.
5. The Cross-Sell Funnel
This is the type of sales funnel that you use when a prospect has already purchased an introductory offer from you. You decide to cross-sell them a different product.
However, different product must be related to the first product offer. It does not have to be same.
Instead, the new product should be supplemental to the first product. Hence, the customer feels persuaded to spend more before they check out.
A lot of products are ideal for a cross-sell funnel.
For example, Art store Michael’s pitches you related products when you purchase arts and crafts items.
6. The Service Upsell Funnel
This type of sales funnel is targeted to get the prospect to purchase an introductory product offer, and eventually upsell them on a service that complements the function.
The type of products that are best for this type of sales funnel are usually information products. Hence you can upsell them with a coaching package or related service.
7. The Webinar Funnel
This type of sales funnel is usually used for products and service within the price range of $297 – $1997. You can use a webinar for this sales funnel. This is because webinars are structured in a manner that you will spend an hour or more with a prospect, thereby endearing trust.
A webinar can be a video that is usually 30 minutes to 1 hour or longer, which explains exactly why your product or service is important, and how it can benefit your potential customer.
Usually, the webinar will be the second step in the funnel after an opt-in landing page. People can enter their email in order to gain access to the video webinar content in the next step in the funnel.
The webinar itself should include credentials about your experience with the subject matter, information about your past experience, examples of the information in action, and a strong call to action, such as enrolling in a course.
One of the best ways you can find out more information about how to build webinar funnels step by step is in the free book DotCom Secrets by Russell Brunson of Clickfunnels.
8. Free + Shipping Sales Funnel
This type of sales funnel is suitable for products with the low cost such as books. Here, you will offer to bear the cost of the book, whilst the customer pays for the printing and the shipping. This way, you have a list of buyers willing to pay for your book. After receiving your free book, you can then sell them costlier products; which can be a digital or physical product.
9. High-End Client Sales Funnel
This type of sale funnel is suitable for premium programs such as coaching packages and done-for-you products and services. This requires that you speak with your prospect because people would like to communicate with a person before they can pay thousands of dollars online comfortably.
This funnel assists you to qualify your prospects first that you speak to people who are serious and committed about signing up for your premium product.
10. The Affiliate Sales Funnel
Online entrepreneurs who have no personal products have found this type of sales funnel to be amazing. These entrepreneurs usually make use of this funnel besides their affiliate marketing endeavours, or to promote an MLM program that they do not own.
You can collect email addresses of the target audience. You can then educate them on the affiliate and follow them up through email to convince them further on the awesomeness of the program.
11. The Two-Step Tripwire Funnel
This funnel is one of the most popular to convert cold traffic into buying customers. This works in any market but is especially effective in eCommerce. The idea behind this funnel is to offer a low-end product at the first step in the funnel – tangible products work great.
The secret is to make the low-end product an absolutely irresistible deal so that they feel compelled to purchase it. This can mean an extremely sought after or unique product, or a product offered at a price that is hard to refuse.
In the first step of the funnel, your customer opts in to purchase the irresistible product and enders their credit card or payment information. Then they progress through the next steps in the funnel, which will be more expensive upsells or downsells.
One of the amazing features that is offered in the Clickfunnels funnel builder is the ability to make one-click upsells and downsells. This means that after your customer enters their credit card information in the first step, all they have to do is to click a button to place additional orders.
As you can imagine, this is a powerful tool in increasing conversions because the customer has already made a purchase from you. If you set up your upsells and downsells correctly, you will also be offering products or services that complement their first purchase, which will further increase your conversions and overall sales.
The two-step tripwire funnel is definitely an amazing script to use when converting potential customers into buyers for the first time.
12. The Squeeze Page Funnel
The squeeze page funnel is one of the best ways of growing an email list.
With a squeeze page funnel, the idea is to get traffic to a single opt-in page, just like the lead magnet funnel. With this script, however, the opt-in page impulses someone to enter their email address, typically with an attention-grabbing headline, or hook. This headline can be something that incites curiosity, for example, so that the potential subscriber feels like they just have to know what’s on the next page.
Some ideas for headlines include benefit-driven headlines, which can encourage your potential subscribers to take action for some practical information that will make their life better, or it can be something like a Top 10 list. The key here is to make sure you have a very short, attention-grabbing reason for your potential customer to take action.
Another great way to engage people is with a short video on your landing page. You can also use social proof as part of your squeeze page narrative, for example with testimonials, case studies, reviews or ratings.
