I’m coming in hot today with some powerful takes on exactly why your funnel is not working. So, if you’re in no mood for some hard truths – don’t listen to this episode.
Today I’m revealing 3 big sales funnel mistakes every course creator must avoid IF they are serious about selling their online course on auto-pilot 24/7.
Let’s get started.
My name is Caitlin Bacher, CEO of Scale With Success®, and I’m on a mission to help course creators all over the world grow their business in a way that is profitable and scalable. I’m sharing revealing insights about what it really takes to scale an online course business to millions of dollars per year. Join me here to discover the tough decisions I’ve had to make, the biggest failures I’ve had to bounce back from, and the learnings that emerged every step of the way. I’m so grateful that I have the chance to tell you everything right here on Scale With Success®: The Podcast. Let’s get started.
Let’s get right to it because I am ready! Did I have too much coffee this morning – it’s possible. But, the real reason I’m so hyped up is because these are all mistakes I wish someone told me years ago when I first started experimenting with using funnels to sell my course.
I thought I knew everything back then and was convinced I was doing “all the right things”, so it would drive me nuts when “all the right things” led to absolutely zero courses sold.
That’s probably why now, I love serving clients who come to me believing they’re doing all the right things because I know that without a doubt, by the time they’re done with Phase 1 in my program their confidence is shooketh in the best possible way. They begin to understand exactly why “all the right things” are actually not the right things and they understand FINALLY why they haven’t been able to get results.
If you’re in Phase 1 now, then you know what I mean and if you’re not – well, hopefully today’s episode will shed some light on why you need to be.
Without further delay, here are 3 big sales funnel mistakes every course creator needs to avoid if they’re looking to sell their course on auto-pilot to the tune of 6 or even 7-figures per year.
1. Copycat Funnels
There is no such thing as a “one size fits all” funnel. So, if you’re in some sort of a “general” business building course surrounded by every type of business owner selling every type of offer – and they have ONE LESSON in that program that covers funnels – just don’t. General courses like these are great for general sales and marketing information, but let me ask you a question.
If you needed brain surgery, would you go to a brain surgeon who had successfully operated on hundreds of people with the exact condition you suffered from OR would you visit a general practitioner?
You can’t expect a general practitioner to practice brain surgery and you can’t expect a general business course to teach you how to create a 7-figure funnel.
General sales and marketing courses that are designed to benefit everyone from service providers to course creators – whether they’re selling high-ticket, low-ticket, or anything in between are a great place to learn a little about a lot of different things.
But, they’re not the best place to go deep and it’s not fair to expect the generalist to be a specialist.
In my program we teach ONE thing and one thing only – helping course creators build a Profitable Sales Engine™ so they can sell their course on auto-pilot 24/7. We don’t teach a one size fits all strategy suitable for ANY type of business at ANY price point because we know one size fits all doesn’t work when it comes to funnels.
Most of our clients sell a course priced anywhere between $197 and $1,997. They’re not selling $50,000 coaching packages. Our clients don’t do live webinars, sales calls, or spend endless hours selling in the DMs.
They build a Profitable Sales Engine™ once and that engine sells their course for them again and again.
2. Too Many Steps
The best way to ruin your funnel is to add in a bunch of steps that you don’t really need. If your funnel requires an ad, a lead magnet, a two week nurture sequence, a webinar, and a 10 day post-webinar sequence – you are LOSING money. I don’t know who that funnel was created for, but it wasn’t created for a course creator looking to sell their course on auto-pilot 24/7.
It is ridiculous and the reason I get so fired up about it is because when course creators try using a funnel like that and it doesn’t work – they think something is wrong with them. Like, they’re just not cut out for this or they’re just not good at sales and marketing.
Friends, 11 step skincare rituals work, but 11 step funnels do not. When I tell you that simple scales and complex fails – believe it.
More steps mean more opportunities for the prospect to stop engaging and lose interest. Direct and simple is the way to go.
3. Keeping Your Sales Page On Your Website
If you tell me your webinar funnel isn’t working and I see a direct link to your sales page inside your Instagram bio – I know exactly what’s happening.
A sales page has its place and that place is NOT front and center on your website or your Instagram bio.
Social media is where you post “top of funnel” content. This type of content is short, sweet, and attracts an audience of people experiencing problems you can solve. Your sales page is “bottom of funnel” content – the very last thing someone should see before they buy.
If you sell a course that is somewhere between $197-$1,997 and you’re trying to force people from top of funnel straight to bottom of funnel – you’re going to lose them. Not because your course is bad, but because you’ve skipped entirely over the middle of funnel content that your funnel needs to be successful.
Showing your audience the right content in the right order is the secret sauce to making our Profitable Sales Engine™ so effective. The engine consists of three layers of content, top of funnel – which helps you grow an audience of ideal customers, middle of funnel – which educates your audience about your method and why it’s different from anything else in the marketplace, and bottom of funnel – which converts them into a customer.
So, to recap here are the 3 big sales funnel mistakes to avoid if you’re actually trying to sell your course on auto-pilot and make 6 or even 7 figures (which is exactly what our method helps you do):
1. Copycat funnels – if you want a specific result, like scaling your course to 6 or 7 figures using a funnel that is automated so you can quit live launching – then you need a specific funnel
2. Too many steps – 11 step skincare rituals work, but 11 step funnels do not
3. Putting your sales page on your website – design a funnel that shows the right content at the right time
I appreciate you being here and tune in next week for another episode of Scale With Success® The Podcast.
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