How Full Is Your Sales Funnel?

Inbound marketing is the surest and simplest means to filling your sales funnel.  Marketing local business online works precisely because it puts local business directly in front of eager buyers.  A full sales funnel keeps you busy — profitably busy.

Thirty (30) years ago, we had to be told when a new widget or widget service was available.  We blithely went about our daily lives mostly unaware of great new things to come.  Inbound marketing wasn’t an option, because consumers had woefully less information easily available to them.

Newspapers, billboards, commercials, telemarketers … they intruded into our lives, then we knew what was available for purchase.  We allowed these intrusions because, without them, we remained unaware how honest they had been with us.  Many companies took advantage of us in many ways, telling us no more than they wanted us to know.

As we learn to search and find what we want on the Internet — when we want it — we respond less and less to offline media.  Tivo is popular, especially allowing us to skip those commercials.  Caller ID is ubiquitous, allowing us to skip those telemarketers interrupting dinner.  Have you checked out the Sunday Tribune Classifieds recently?  I see fewer billboards, and read fewer still.  When was the last time you flipped through the yellow pages?

Somebody’s Sales Funnel Is Full

Right this minute … Right here in the Twin Cities … Somebody is on the Internet searching for what you offer.  If they don’t find you, they will buy from somebody else.

What will it take for you to be found everywhere they are looking for you?  Google reports that billions of people every month are filling sales funnels.  How many are in your sales funnel?

Admit it.  You, too, tune out intrusive outbound marketing. You have at your fingertips the miracle of searching the Internet Universe for whatever you want, whenever you want it.  How do you shop?  Do you shop before you are ready to buy?  Neither do your customers.

Like you, my 80 year old parents go to the Internet when they are curious.  They search the Internet to see if what they imagine is available for purchase.  When they find it — surprise! — they may also find that it is available for purchase scant miles away.  Have you seen the map?  The Local Business Results list local businesses immediately adjacent to that map, showing you exactly how to get to what you want to buy.

How Full Do You Want Your Sales Funnel?

What difference will it make in your life when new customers come to you and they ask to buy from your business?  When your best customers shop exactly as you shop, they will search for what you offer, go to one of the businesses listed next to that map in the Local Business Results and buy what they want from a local business.

Would you rather cold call or be found?

Inbound marketing is putting your business directly in the line of fire.  Learn your customers well, very well.  Anticipate what your best customers type into Google and Bing, and you can place a link to your web page on the Search Engine results page that they will read.  Marketing local business online requires you place your link right next to that map.  Go to where your best customers are looking for you and your best customers will ask to buy from you.

What Are You Going To Do About Your Sales Funnel?