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088: Creating Your Own IKEA Funnel with Ryan Turner

43m 22s

088: Creating Your Own IKEA Funnel with Ryan Turner

In this episode of the Stories and Small Business Podcast, host Abby Herman interviews Ryan Turner, founder of Amplify Strategy, a digital marketing agency specializing in funnels. Ryan clarifies that funnels are not a cure-all; they only work effectively when a business already has a proven, sales-tested offer and clear messaging. He defines a funnel as a tool to guide customers along a predetermined path, automating lead generation, education, or sales to build relationships. Using the analogy of Ikea versus a dollar store, Ryan explains how funnels limit options and present value in context, prompting customers to take desired actions. He emphasizes that the best candidates for funnels are established businesses that understand their customers and have a working sales process. Ryan advises starting with one main product or service, focusing on messaging that communicates how the business helps create positive change, and then implementing technical elements like email sequences and landing pages. He warns against overcomplicating the process and stresses that the foundation is knowing who you are trying to attract and how to attract them. Ultimately, funnels are a powerful tool for automating and optimizing customer journeys, but they are not a substitute for a solid business foundation.

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[Music] Hey there and welcome to episode 88 of the Stories and Small Business Podcast. A podcast experience that puts to rust the idea that we all need to do business the same way and celebrates the unique stories and paths that we're all on. I'm Abby Herman, content strategist and coach for online business owners who are ready to make a bigger impact online. I'm here because when I first went full time in my business in 2013, I struggled to find affordable help and support I needed to figure out what the heck I was doing so I could grow my business. My business is the soul income in my household and I struggled hard. I vowed to myself that if I was able to grow, I would be a resource to other business owners when I could afford to do so. This podcast is just part of that journey. If you are new to the podcast, welcome. I work really hard to bring you informative and to the point content because no one has time for fluff these days or any day. If you like what you hear, hit the subscribe button so you don't miss another episode. I usually release episodes every Monday morning and every other Thursday morning. However, as we prepare for the content experiment summit coming up in March, my plan is to release twice a week every week until March 15th with a third episode thrown in here and there as well. Every podcast guest during quarter one of 2021 is a speaker at the summit and I cannot wait to bring you their knowledge and expertise in a bigger way. So yep, there is a summit coming and today's guest Ryan Turner is one of our speakers. The summit is developed specifically for coaches and course creators to help them identify tiny tweaks they can make to their content to see better results on their podcasts, on their videos, on social media, even in the organization and back end content and more. More information is coming soon about the summit, but you can sign up to get on the waiting list at the contentexperiment.com/Summit. There's going to be something special for the waiting list when the doors open in the next few weeks. Something that I think will make the summit stand out and that will make it an even better resource than the next summit is that I was incredibly intentional when inviting speakers and reviewing speaker applications. It was my goal to have the most diverse lineup possible and to include some new voices who we really haven't heard from in this kind of format. There are so many business owners who have something to say and I want to showcase them. I want to give those new voices or even different voices an opportunity to be heard. That's why when I saw Ryan post about funnels in a Facebook group, I went to his website and poked around on a social media to find out more about him. Then I connected with him in Messenger and invited him to be part of the summit. When you hear today's conversation, you're going to be really glad that I reached out to him. In this episode, Ryan and I are talking all about funnels and how important they are to your business. But one of my favorite things that he says is that funnels are not the answer in your business. You actually need to have an offer that has proven sales before you can create a funnel for that offer. Let me formally introduce Ryan before you listen in and listen to him tell why that is. Ryan Turner is founder of Amplify Strategy, a digital marketing agency specializing in funnels based in Madrid, Spain. His specialty boils down to building digital bridges between businesses and to their customers. I love that. The idea of digital bridges. Amplify caters to consultants and experts looking to implement systems online that will increase leads, sales and client retention through relationship marketing. If you're looking to create a business online that wants to build relationships with your clients, you need to check out Ryan. Here is more on our conversation. Hi, Ryan. Thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you for having me, Abby. I'm a pleasure. Yes, I'm excited, especially because of the conversation that we just had before I hit record. So I am really excited to dig in and talk to you more. You're just like an inspiration to entrepreneurs out there. Before we get started though, I would love for you to tell listeners what you do and who you do it for. Okay, so I'm a funnel expert. And so basically I'm building the technological bridges between my customers clients and their business. So I work in the area of marketing and it includes content marketing, messaging, but most of what I do has to do with creating those technological bridges. How are you connecting and creating a relationship with your audience? And funnel marketing is all about fostering that relationship through a combination usually of different web pages and email sequences. So those are mainly the two areas in which I kind of live, but you can create funnels out of anything. You can create a funnel out of a text messaging conversation. You could create a, it's really about conversations and creating those relationships through messaging, which is why messaging is so important when it comes to funneling. But the technical aspects of what I do are basically related to kind of like web website development and things like that. So I really like what I do. I call it, it's a fast service, F-A-S, like SASS, funnels as a service is what my agency caters to. Oh, I like that. I like that a lot. I would love for you to tell listeners also about how you work with clients and how that has helped you to live the lifestyle that you want. Because from our conversation that we just had before I hit record, you have, not that you have a different lifestyle because I don't think you do, but you have a different kind of path to getting there, which I loved. Can you share a little bit about that? Sure. Well, I think by default having a business, being an entrepreneur, can a lot of times feel like you're building a plane and flying it at the same time. It's an analogy that lots of people can maybe relate to. But there's also an innate sense of because the flying and the building depend on you. There is an innate sense of responsibility. And with that responsibility for me, it comes a lot of freedom. As long as you have a plan and execute the plan well. And of course, you have to make sure that the results that you get are the desired results and that things are going the way that they go are that you want them to go. If you can adjust yourself so that your results start to line up and you start to get the results that you want, then you can really begin to live a life that's also the way you want. It's like your life and your business kind of like a line. And by having a business, I'm really able to decide every aspect of how I want to live my life. If I want to be on a call, if I don't want to be on a call, if I want to, I don't have anyone telling me what I am supposed to be doing or who I need to be speaking to or what I need to be dedicating my time to. Now the other side of that is that I don't have anyone telling me that stuff and sometimes I can be daunting. When you are someone that's always worked well in the team or always needed some kind of guidance or instruction. So it's not an easy thing to master. But I think ultimately the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to being free and being able to decide how you're going to make a living. Yes. And I love that as business owners, we talked about this before. Like we get to make that decision. And we get to make those plans. And it's on us. It's our responsibility to make sure that our business grows and is successful and that we're hitting the marks with our clients and all of that. So I want to take kind of a step back and talk about like specifically what you do. Because I think there's a lot of conversation out there about funnels and what they are and why you need them and all of that. Can you go back to like like square one and for those business owners listening who are newer to creating marketing systems for their businesses. Can you talk about what a funnel is and why they are such an important and useful tool for business? Absolutely. You know, I'll say this and I'm the first person that has a funnel marketing agency that will say this. There's plenty of really amazing businesses out there that are online that aren't using funnels. Like I'm the first person to admit this. A funnel is not your solution. A funnel is not your godsend that's going to save your business and save your idea from from failure. The only thing that's going to save your business from failure is you. How you're helping your customers, how you service them, your message to get new customers. That is something that you need to have defined and need to perfect regardless of whether you're using a funnel or not. Now. is a funnel a good way of fostering relationships, creating relationships with your potential customers, and then delivering? Yes, absolutely. And that's why I believe so much in the power of funnels, because it's a great tool for specifically people that are coaches, consultants, course creators, anyone that's involved in the information, informational product industry. Funnels can be a game changer for you, because it allows you to put your potential customers on a path. It allows you to guide them. Because if you leave it up to everyone's own devices, people don't always make the best decisions. And sometimes people are inundated with decisions, and people are inundated with options and things like that. The whole idea is with a funnel. You want to guide people along a path that you have predetermined which options they're available to choose. And the way that it's starting to sound esoteric, but let me bring it down a notch. I often, a big part of my job has to do with partly educating my clients on what a funnel is at some point, because lots of people will find me because they think they need a website or a course created, and they don't understand how a website and a course, how those things are even related. They're like, "I want this website, but I want to sell it. I want to sell it with a course. I want to sell this course with a landing page." And so in their mind, they're like, "I need to have this great landing page. I just need to have a landing page so I can. " There's a button so that they can purchase this course that I've created that you're going to help me create Ryan. And what they don't understand is that it's not just the landing page. It's not just the course either. It's how are you linking the moment that they found out about you and the possible course that they might be purchasing? How are you guiding them to actually give you their credit card information? And I liken this to what, like, the difference between a website and a funnel, I equate to the difference between Ikea, and let's say Dollar General or a dollar store. I'm guessing most of our audience is American, but if we have people that are international, in places in Europe, they call them Bazaars. So a place like Dollar General, let's say, is a big store in America. It's actually a very successful store in America. I remember Dollar General from long ago, and it's changed. It's gotten improved a lot, but the typical image I have of my mind of a dollar store is you walk in and there's no real order to anything. I mean, it's just a lot of stuff and you usually go into Dollar General for a specific item or you know, you'll need some pins. And so you go to the pin section, you get your pin, and then, okay, I got my pin, you go to the checkout and go to cashier, pay for it, and you leave. Now, Ikea doesn't do that. Ikea, you might go into Ikea and you might go in because you needed to buy a bookshelf because you've been thinking about this bookshelf, you've got a space behind your wall, you've measured the space, you need this one bookshelf, you go and get the bookshelf, but when you go to Ikea, you never come out with just a bookshelf. This is why I avoid Ikea, by the way, but yes, I know exactly where you're going with this. I love it. You never just come out with just the thing that you wanted, even though you had in your mind, I need this bookshelf. You come out with the large, dark candle credenza and you come out with more. You ultimately, you know, kitchen appliances and tools, all the stuff that you have to walk through. You know, like, you know, you'll get something else. Or why is that? Ikea is everything that is in Ikea is in a dollar store, everything, suction cups. Like, you don't go to dollar general and be like, I need some suction cups. Most people don't go to Ikea and like, I'm getting some suction cups today. But how many people end up with suction cups from Ikea? Like, why is that? No one looks for suction cups. No one is in Ikea doesn't even actively advertise suction cups. But what they do is they put you on a path so that when you arrive to their store, you can only go one way. And in order to get to where you're looking for, you've got to go on that path anyways. And along that path, what they've done is they've subliminally created a message. And the message is, look at this solution. How can we make how would this make your life better? And rather than show you a suction cup, what they'll do is they show you a bathroom with some like toothbrushes like stuck to a mirror using their little suction cup and a little box or a little holder that they've created. And you're like, that's a suction cup. I would never go to dollar general and then buy that suction cup just because it's a suction cup. Like you have to see it being used. And then what Ikea does after they display to you how it actually works, they say, oh, look at this. We just happen to have a sale on these suction cups and they have a big old basket of them that's on sale for 199 of all of these great little suction cups with the little screw thing that, you know, I don't know if you know what suction cup I'm talking about. They have some pretty cool little suction cups. And you end up buying tan of them. And so in addition to the thing that you thought you were going to buy, you're leaving with some suction cups, maybe some candles. And they do this constantly. It's not just the suction cup. It's the candle. I don't go and just bike. I don't. I know lots of people go to buy candles. I don't just go to dollar general and buy candles. Ikea has them like, oh, place down, you know, the layout. They show you the value first up front. Then they give you the call to action, right? Buy now on sale, 199, no brainer, do it. And they continue to do that until you get to the to the to the checkout until you get to the cashier. And the one thing that you came for is now you're spending $500 and buying a car. It's true. It's so true. But how many, you know, you could say that they're taking advantage of, you know, what consumers really want. But in the end, if you are decorating your house and making your life better by using this product in this way that they've talked about, then you're actually improving your own life. Yeah. Or if you're using this stuff to create a better environment for a house that you're selling or a house that you're, I forgot what the real estate term is for, you know, when they position things to look at. Oh, when they're state like a home stage for staging a home. Go to Ikea, you get all these inspirations because all they do is stage. Yeah. And you've created value up front by creating this path. And what you've done is you've limited option over one, you know, Ikea just gives you one at a time. Every couple meters, something new to look at, which is amazingly put together. But I, the dollar general sells 99% of what Ikea sells. They sell plates. They sell, they sell forks. They sell candles. They sell, you know, pencils. Ikea sells all those things. Ikea sells all of it. And you will never end up with like 30 more suction cups when you go to dollar general, then when you go to Ikea. And it's the way that they have created the experience. They've guided you to do that. Now dollar generalists, I think it's dollar generalists change a little bit. And you see a lot of stores starting to take this kind of pathway journey with their customers. But in general, you know, think about your website as the dollar store or any dollar store. And think about Ikea as, as a funnel, as a way to guide your customers on a journey that will prompt them to take the action that you've determined. You want them to take because that's another thing that people mistake. They're, I asked them what, what they want people to do on their website. They're like, Oh, purchase my service. So then why is there no calls for people to purchase your service on your first page? Like, what is, what is the purpose? What do you want people to do? Yes. If you don't have any, yeah. Well, so how do we do that in? So Ikea, I mean, they have a definite following. Ikea has, you know, when you go to the store, you're forced to, you know, you are forced to go through this, this certain pathway. How do we replicate that in the online space in, you know, using our websites to guide people through that funnel, that path? What are the, what are the processes for that? Yeah. Well, the key everything here is not to over complicate things. I think it's easy. I mean, even my analogy is flawed in that I think people tend to think of it and maybe get overwhelmed because I can't do that. I can't. Huge. That pathway is like a mile long. You know, I don't have that any products to offer. I've got one thing. And it's focused on the one thing. The one thing that you want your customers to purchase from you. What is what do you want people to buy from you? What are you offering? What's the one main thing? Like even if you offer three or four different types of products or services, boil it down to like, what's the, if you could just do one of those four things that you offer, what's like that one thing and start there. And then what do we do with that? Like what do we, how do we create that into a digital funnel that guides people on that journey? Like what are the tech pieces and the content pieces, things like that that we need to and messaging pieces that we need to be aware of as we're creating that path? Right. Optimally and actually, essentially what you need to do once you determine which of your products or which of your services you want to start to automate because funnel funnel is what they help us do is they help us automate either purchases to help us automate generation of leads or they help automate education. They help automate telling people about what it is we do educating them on what it is and how we help them. They do one of those three things either they generate leads they educate people or they're going to automate a sales process. Those are the three things that they do. And in order for any of those three things to work, the first thing that needs to happen is the messaging. So if you don't have a message about how you're helping people and how your help relates to some kind of positive change in their life, then don't start working on a funnel. Like you need to know who you are trying to attract and how to attract them. The best thing for anyone, the best person, the best candidate for a funnel is someone that already has a business that works. A lot of people try to start a funnel with a new business that is based on something that they think was going to happen and that's where they see things start to fall apart. So someone that has established business, someone that has established clients, someone that knows how their business works, how their customers think is the prime candidate for someone that could use a funnel because the things that they think are difficult for them are the technical aspects. So what kind of stuff do I need? What kind of email system? Do I need MailChamp? Do I need Kajab? Do I need WordPress? Do I need that can get overwhelming for them? But the real business owner, the person that's been in the thick of things for like the last five years, six years has made a profitable business knows their customer inside and out. They're the best because they know the message. And it might need some working and tweaking. Maybe they haven't thought about like the marketing message, I help people do this, this, and this. They might not know the elevator pitch, but they know how their businesses run and they know what their customers are thinking. That's a great way to start and thinking about how you help people creating a message, usually an I help statement. And then with that message, we can implement the message into our marketing apparatus. So without a message, without some way to connect with people about how you help them, you can't create an effective landing page, even if you want to do that. You can't create a landing page just like saying, "Oh, this is free. Free what?" Free, and there are people that, to some degree of success, use just outlandish language to just attract people and trick them. It's kind of cheesy and it's really slimy. I don't like it. But the best type of messaging is messaging that you that resonates with people that are reading, are watching you. Yes. And so start with the message. Once you've got the message, then you want to determine what is it that people want through your message? Like how can you deliver something of value to them, hopefully for free? Some type of PDF, some type of guide, some type of video, some type of course, some type of what is it? What would help them get to that path that you mentioned in your messaging? How can you put them on that path for free and easily? How can you do that? This is after people opt in. So you give them the message, they opt into the thing, they give you their email address or whatever to get the free thing, right? Or is there something else? Well, it could be free. Like I said, the message is key. Then think about the thing. What is the thing that you could link to that message that would let would help people along their journey? How would people best get the full benefit of possibly, I don't want to say working with you? What's the best way to deliver that thing that people are looking for? Is it some type of PDF? Is it some type of video? Is it some type of, now once you've determined that, you can determine whether or not it's going to be like on a landing page. If it's going to be in your Facebook group, I mean, okay. So many different things. You could have a landing page and you could have an opt-in page, an opt-in which is a form, which is like just asking for a name and email address so that we can send in this great content that we've created. And that's a very typical way of allowing, of creating a lead generation system. So we'll, we'll get these people to give us their information and exchange for this really high value content that we've thought a lot about. Right. That's the key. Like we've thought about the messaging, we've thought about what the content is that will be. We're not just throwing something out there. We're not just throwing it out there. No, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, you're not. So here's where I think that a lot of people have the disconnect is that they feel like, okay, funnel. That means that I need to collect their email address, get them on my list and then start sending them a bunch of emails. But what you're saying, what you're illustrating here is that you have your message and you have a way of delivering that message, that free way of delivering the message that does not mean it has to be an opt-in of any kind. It has to be free. It has to be free. It could be paid. That's a thing people get into the mindset of, well, this is the model that I've heard. And I heard that all I need to do is put it, put it together this page, give me the opt-in. I know how to do that. And then I'll just send some emails or something. You know, people have in their mind that it's the actual funnel that's doing the selling. And that's actually the thing that's responsible for the success when everything, if you are unable to walk into a room and talk about your business or about your service and get someone to be interested in it, if you can't do that in real life, you can't do that in a funnel. The funnel is only going to amplify what you already are capable of doing. So if you need to work on your messaging before you create the funnel, then work on your messaging. You might need to just work on your messaging, even if you're really good at business. You might just need to better message. You might need a better way of communicating what it is you do and how you help people. But once you have the message, then the apparatus becomes secondary. Do you want to do an opt-in that leads to a course, some type of free course? Do you want to do some type of guide? Do you want to do like an e-book? Do you want to, those types of things are really secondary, but they'll depend upon your audience, your ideal audiences, and how they want to consume. So the most important thing is to think about what your audience wants and not about who you are. It's really about what they want, what they desire, and what they're trying to avoid, what's the pain that they are running from. And I know it sounds esoteric. I know that I don't sound like a marketer because I'm not talking about tools yet, but it's essential. I can't overstress this enough that people understand the importance of the message and who they're trying to help and then it comes from a real place. But yes, the mechanics of things are usually typically an opt-in page. Someone will opt-in, give us this information in exchange for this great free service that we're offering or this great free resource that we're offering. And in exchange, they'll give us this email and we are able to now market to them and send a sequence of emails to these people that will guide them along to maybe make a purchase. So the next stage could be maybe selling them something that could be of monetary value. So step one is the messaging and then we have figuring out knowing what your what people want and delivering that message. And then step three is selling them. Well, you want to educate people and you want to make sure that you know what it is. I said, my step one was understanding what it is you want to sell. Remember I said that first. That is the most important thing. You want to know where people end up. So it's best to work backwards. So if you have like several services, you know, you got a one-to-one coaching service that you just want to fill out and you want people just booked to do your one-to-one coaching. Well, that's where you should focus on definitely with your first funnel. - Yeah. - And you might be offering something free and then you're gonna need to, once people have downloaded this free resource, you're gonna need to educate them on what it is you do. 'Cause you can't just attract people by saying, this is what I do, I've got this great coaching service, it costs, you know, $1,200 a month and I'll turn your business around. That's a tough sell for people. It's hard to just sell someone by telling them who you are or what you do. You've got to talk to them about what it is they do and what it is they love and what are their desires and what they're, you've got to tap into them somehow and that's where email marketing comes in. So email marketing is great. It's a great way for you to deliver periodic messages to people, connect with them, allow them to learn about your service while also kind of tapping into that message that we talked about. And eventually asking them to take a step forward and purchase with you or get on a call with you or take one more step closer to becoming a client of yours and that can be through a free course. The webinar is very typical. There's different delivery methods for different situations, but the second stage is always this kind of what they call nurture sequence or nurture phase and the nurture phase is basically just education. People, it doesn't matter how good you are. People are not gonna purchase from you, they're not gonna buy from you, they're not gonna want to work with you if they don't trust you. They just won't matter how good you are. It's almost always the fact that if someone went up to you that you know and trust and said, "I worked with this person." That was awesome. Like just call them. You don't need any more information. You're not gonna be like, "Well, I don't believe you." Like this is a friend, you know? You would never say that to a friend that told you about some great service that they had. Yeah. The power of word of mouth is unbeatable. - Yeah, and I talk about nurturing and email marketing and all of that all of the time that's totally my jam. And yeah, you have to consistently show up in people's inboxes, you have to educate them. And I like to use email as like my safe space, even though there's, I have more people on my email list than I have followers on Instagram and Facebook and all the social media places combined. But I still feel like it's my safe space where I can share things that I wouldn't necessarily share other places. Like I'm in the process of doing a rebrand. And I posted, I sent in my in a recent email, all of the old logos that I've used and the business names that I've used and why. And it was horrible. Like they're awful. They're terrible looking. And but I feel like that helps me to gain some trust with people like, hey, it's okay to make changes in your business. Here's what some of the past iterations of my business have looked like. And yeah, it's fun to share different things and store like more personal stories and emails to get that trust. - Exactly. It's a great way of communicating with people and people still open up their emails. - Yeah, yes they do. - It's not something that is, it's not a dead medium as some people will have you believe. Like email marketing is very, very powerful. - If you're not spamming, if you're providing value, then yes, people will absolutely open up your emails. - Exactly, exactly. And that's why you want people that are on your email list to be people that are gonna open you, that are gonna wanna find out about what you're doing. It's not about the quantity. It really is about the quality. And that all starts with your messaging and how you're helping people. And if you're a new business, they can be a little bit harder to navigate. There are plenty of resources to help you along your way to find your messaging and all these things. But if you're an established business, you're a leg up. And if you're an established business and you just feel like you need to get caught up into like the 21st century and funneling, you're way ahead of 99% of most people that are trying to implement funnels. Because so many people are just brand new and they're like, I just need this. And they think they need something. - Yes. - So it can be daunting. And one thing I will mention is important, especially for newer businesses, newer coaches, is to, and you're not in this category, obviously, is to stop concentrating on brand. It's stop concentrating on brand in the beginning. How you're helping people has nothing to do with, you know, your time's new Roman font on your-- - Yeah, just do it. - And the problem-- - Yeah, just do it. - Yeah, because the concentrate, when you concentrate on that stuff, you're dedicating so much time to stuff that doesn't matter, you know? And it's not that branding doesn't matter. But it's just that specifically in the area of funnels and marketing, I would say that direct response tactics, which is engaging with people via stories, through connection, through relationship building, through words and pain and desire and all these things in words is way better than trying to emulate Mac or trying to emulate-- - Oh, yeah. - Which is what lots of people do. They're like, I just, you know, gonna put something on my website, building passion for people or something. And that's what they want. They're first thing to say on their website. I'm like, you just started your business like two days ago. - Yeah. - Like building passion for people, like you don't need to be concentrating on that. - Right. - You need to concentrate on getting a client. Do you think a new client's gonna sign up with you because you build-- But Tony Robbins, I'm like, Tony Robbins is not a problem with putting-- But you could put whatever he wants up there. - Yeah. - You could apply him because he's Tony Robbins, you know? - I think it's hard. - Yes, and I totally agree with you. And, you know, I guess I'm going through the rebranding process right now. However, I think that any branding professional would be absolutely disgusted at how little time I spent on figuring out the colors, the logo and the fonts. Because it literally took me like hardly any time at all. And I have a designer making one tiny little change on the logo and then I'm done. And I'm totally happy with it. We are getting really close on time, but I wanted to, 'cause you were talking about tools, you actually have a tool that I would love for you to share with the audience. And I'm really excited to have you in the summit, coming up in March to talk more about this. So for those of you that were intrigued by what Ryan had to say, I would encourage you to go to thecontentexperiment.com/Summit and sign up for the waiting list because we're gonna be opening up the doors in a few weeks and there's some good extra bonus surprises for folks who sign up. So, but if you could share your funnel, makeover guide, and just give us the 30 second version of what's in it. And we'll send people over there. The link will be in the show notes. - Yeah, well, so I am going to share with all of the, first of all, I'm really excited to participate in this event. It's gonna be, it's my first summit. So I've never participated in a summit, although I've helped put them together on the tech side of things with funnel marketing and things like that. But I've got a great guide that helps people get started with putting together their first funnel. And even if it's not your first funnel, it's a great guide that will guide you through the process of the things that you need to do to put together an effective guide. How do you identify your target audience? How do you put together an I help statement for your messaging and how can you repurpose that message and create some type of system comprised of different pages to attract people into your family? And how can you market to them? So I will provide this to anyone that wants it within the summit that you're putting on as a deal sweetener. I think it'll be a very good value to lots of people, especially if they're in the I cater to coaches, consultants and course creators, mostly expats. So if you're an expat, I'm like the guy, all of my clients are expats, except for a few, but most of my clients are expats. But even if you're not, and if you just have a business, and you're looking to get into funnel marketing, this is a great guide. And speaking of tools, I am a cartra expert. So cartra is an all in one tool that is really great for coaches, consultants and course creators because it allows you to create pages, email sequences and courses and membership areas, all under one platform. If you have experience, with the tech side of things with funneling, then you can as an entrepreneur or a solar entrepreneur, sympathize with the fact that it can get overwomming one, you have so many different platforms and tools. And they can be all very, very effective tools. I'm not trying to hate anyone that's using multiple tools successfully because some of the best do it. Some of the best do it. But if you're one of those people, I just have to any logins. You know, Cartra is a great, great, great, great, solution to fighting that tech overwhelm. And so I mostly operate almost exclusively within Cartra. I do do other specialized customized projects using other software's like click funnels combined with active campaign. I don't want to get too, you know, jargony. Yeah. So, but Cartra is my specialty. And there's a link in that guy that I'm going to be including that will allow people to sign up for a funnel launch workshop. And it's just a workshop that they can sign into that they'll get access to through this guide that they download where they can find out how to put together a funnel within Cartra. It is open to anyone that wants to do a funnel, but it's specifically in Cartra where I'll be showing you how to do these types of things. And it's a great tool. I've also got funnel templates for people that are already on Cartra that need things like strategy called funnel or specific types of funnel for for their business. Awesome. Well, thank you so much. That's really generous. We will make sure to have the link in the show notes. And I'll also include links for all of your social media and website stuff. So thank you for being here today. I appreciate it. Awesome. Thank you for the invitation. Abby, it's been a real pleasure. You know, I'm going to be here. it's been a real pleasure. You are a delight to speak with and I can't wait for this summit not because I'm participating in it because of all of the other speakers. Definitely taking notes on and knows from all the people that I know know way more than me so it's gonna be good. Thanks. I look forward to it. Thank you. I love Ryan's IKEA analogy. It's so true though, right? You go into IKEA and you're essentially forced to walk the entire store to get what you need and then you end up getting so much more because you see these things that you quote unquote need as you are heading to the checkout. That's because IKEA sells and you can too. I hope that you will listen into more of Ryan's message and talk at the Content Experiment Summit in March. Sign up for the waiting list at the content experiment.com/Summit. If you found value in what you learned here today, be sure to share it on social media. Take a screenshot of the episode on your phone and share it over on Instagram stories. Tag me @AbiMHerman and Ryan @RyanCTurner. The more you share, the more we can get the podcast in the hands of more business owners just like you who need to hear the message that they are not alone. Until next time, take care. [MUSIC]

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. Funnels are not a magic solution; a business needs a proven offer and clear messaging before building a funnel.
  2. A funnel guides potential customers on a predetermined path, fostering relationships and automating lead generation, education, or sales.
  3. The Ikea vs. Dollar General analogy illustrates how funnels create value and prompt action by limiting options and showcasing solutions in context.
  4. Best candidates for funnels are established businesses that already understand their customers and have a working sales process.
  5. Effective funnels require strong messaging about how the business helps customers achieve positive change.

Summary:

In this episode of the Stories and Small Business Podcast, host Abby Herman interviews Ryan Turner, founder of Amplify Strategy, a digital marketing agency specializing in funnels. Ryan clarifies that funnels are not a cure-all; they only work effectively when a business already has a proven, sales-tested offer and clear messaging. He defines a funnel as a tool to guide customers along a predetermined path, automating lead generation, education, or sales to build relationships.

Using the analogy of Ikea versus a dollar store, Ryan explains how funnels limit options and present value in context, prompting customers to take desired actions. He emphasizes that the best candidates for funnels are established businesses that understand their customers and have a working sales process. Ryan advises starting with one main product or service, focusing on messaging that communicates how the business helps create positive change, and then implementing technical elements like email sequences and landing pages.

He warns against overcomplicating the process and stresses that the foundation is knowing who you are trying to attract and how to attract them. Ultimately, funnels are a powerful tool for automating and optimizing customer journeys, but they are not a substitute for a solid business foundation.

FAQs

A funnel is a tool that guides potential customers along a predetermined path, using web pages and email sequences to foster relationships and automate lead generation, education, or sales.

Funnels help coaches and course creators guide customers through a journey, limiting options and prompting specific actions, similar to how Ikea guides shoppers to buy more than they intended.

No, a funnel is not a solution or godsend; your business's success depends on how you help customers and your message. A funnel is only useful if you already have a proven offer and sales.

You need a clear message about how you help people and a proven business with established clients. Start with one main product or service and ensure you understand your customers' needs.

A website is like a dollar store where customers browse freely, while a funnel is like Ikea, guiding customers on a specific path to encourage additional purchases or actions.

Funnels automate one of three things: generating leads, educating people about your offer, or automating a sales process.

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