So, let’s talk about something.
These days there are a good amount of coaches out there who want to convince you that the answer to filling your client pipeline is a sales funnel.
You know sales funnels, right? It’s a simplified series of steps that goes something like this: you offer a free download, then you hop on a call, and then: poof! new client!
I’m telling you… I get SO many students in my SIGNED program who have heard this sales funnel message, and then one of two things happened:
Some of them tried it out, then can’t figure out why it didn’t result in the clients they were hoping for.
Others feel a sneaking suspicion that it just sounds WAY too simple to actually work…
Here’s the tough love: sales funnels are probably not going to work for your consulting business.
Here’s a simple test to quickly figure out if they will:
Think back to your days working in the corporate world….
Could YOU have hired a new provider based on those few steps: a download and a call?
Without selling it in to your VP or CEO?
Without going to legal or procurement?
Probably not.
And that’s your indication that a sales funnels, as popular as they are right now, don’t work for B2B. That’s because sales funnels don’t work the way your consulting clients actually buy.
When you’re selling to a business that has more than 1-2 employees…
Where there are levels of management and approvals…
The “download —> call —> new client pulls out her credit card” system simply doesn’t apply.
The way it REALLY works in real life, is something like this. You’ve probably seen this many times:
Download –> try to schedule a call –> call –> probably multiple calls and meetings –> navigate the prospects’ decision-making process and approvals –> approval –> navigate the legal/procurement/billing process –> contract signed.
In the real world of your clients, a simplified funnel just does not work.
What does work? Actual selling. You have to learn HOW your clients buy and then work within that system. There’s no trendy substitute.
Does this sound harsh? I don’t mean it that way. I don’t want to kill your dreams; rather, I want to free you up from wasting time and resources on a funnel that isn’t going to get you closer to landing those clients you want.
But if you want to know my exact step-by-step methodology of taking your leads through the sales process to become a client, I’ve got a free training for you right here.
To your success,
Leah
