Where’s your sales funnel’s sweet spot?

​Quick question: You’re building your new website, and you have limited space to message that mobile-first audience. So which offer do you lead with: 1) “Download our information-packed eBook,” or 2) “Book your complimentary business analysis”?
 
This isn’t an easy question to answer. It’s the exact question that a client of ours faced recently.
 
There’s enough to this question, in fact, to fill an entire article. Like this one. 
 
So let’s dive in. 
 
Sales Funnel 101
 
You’ll see this graphic all the time. It depicts a funnel, wherein all these zillions of people enter at the top, and the vital few become hot new clients of yours at the bottom. Sound familiar? 
 
We’re not crazy about the concept, but it’s admittedly convenient for the purposes of discussion, and the title of this article. Basically, the definition of the sales funnel includes three tiers or levels, depending on the stage of the journey at which the sales prospect resides. The thinking goes like this: 

• At the top of the funnel, there are people who aren’t aware of your business at all. They’re just floating around out there, zillions of them, who need to be made aware of your business. Some of them, someday, will become actual clients.

 

• In the middle of the funnel are people who are now more engaged with your business, to the point that they know about it, are learning more, and need your products or services. There are fewer of these people than those at the top of the funnel, but they’re more valuable. 

 

• At the bottom of the funnel are the people who are pretty much ready to pull the trigger. You need to sales-qualify them (can they afford you? will they pay?), but they need your services yesterday. Their hair is on fire. 

 
All three levels of the funnel are arguably important. But this “eBook vs. audit” question speaks directly to different levels of the funnel. Who do you prioritize? 
 
What would you like?
 
Bear in mind, there is no “right” or “wrong” answer to this question. It’s a matter of what you want. But consider the context: 

• The eBook prospect is definitely top-of-funnel. They haven’t a clue about what you do. They need to learn. They’re still shopping. The prospect of an eBook intrigues them. They have the time and the inclination to download and read it. (Should you “gate” this content, by the way? That is, should you require that the site visitor submit their contact info in order to get it? That was de rigeur not too long ago; today, we’re seeing more and more clients simply give this stuff away for free—and still profit from it.) 

 

• The ”business audit” prospect is lower in the funnel, perhaps—and ideally—near the bottom. They know they have a problem. They need help—now—finding out where it is, and what they can do about it. They’re way past the academic/browsing phase. They need help yesterday, and they know it. Is their hair on fire? One can only hope! 

 
The easy (read “cop-out”) answer to the eBook-vs.-audit question is “Both!” But remember: Space is limited. Only one fits above the fold on a cellphone screen. So which do you choose? 
 
For our client, who was faced with this exact question, we argued for the lower-funnel option. In this instance, our client was not only launching a new website, but a new business. They needed to get revenue going ASAP. Thus the choice of the lower-funnel option was, in our eyes, a no-brainer. Make that phone ring! 
 
As far as the eBook crowd, they weren’t ignored or forgotten. The eBook was still there for them. But we simply had our client push it off that precious above-the-fold space, moving it down further on the page. If you’re an eBook shopper, you’re a reader. You’ll find it. No problem. 
 
We once read that when Apple was designing its first retail stores, the team got into a heated argument about which shade of blue should be used for the background of the rest-room signs. We think that that’s pretty extreme. 
 
But taking the time to weigh the pros and cons of your high-funnel vs. low-funnel priorities—even when the end result is one button high on the page vs. another button low on the page—is totally worth it. When you put that kind of thought into all of your marketing decisions, the end result is synergistic. It makes you more money. 
 
Need help strategizing that next website or campaign? Contact us. We work on these types of challenges all the time. 

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