My content team has been prodding me to identify the “three key signs” your sales funnel needs optimization. Why focus on just three signs, you ask?
Apparently, in the fast-paced world of the internet, people appreciate bite-sized, actionable insights—and the number three seems to be just right for that.
So, challenge accepted. At Inceptly, we’ve tackled a wide array of funnels—from one-time purchases and comparison pages to product launches and e-commerce. But today, inspired by my recent involvement with Publishing AI and their off-the-charts success, I’m zeroing in on the Info Product Webinar Funnel.
Trust me, if you’re noticing these signs in your funnel, don’t see them as deal-breakers. Rather, look at them as golden opportunities for refinement and scaling.
Over the years at Inceptly, we’ve managed countless Info Product webinar funnels, and let me tell you something intriguing: I’ve never seen a successful webinar that didn’t generate any leads or sales.
Contrary to popular belief, optimization isn’t about fixing a broken funnel – it’s about refining one that already has some traction. If you’re not getting any leads or sales, you’re facing a much bigger issue like product-market fit or poor positioning, which is a whole different beast and not the focus of this post.
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So, let’s dive into the three key signs that your funnel is ripe for optimization.
1️⃣ Is there a disconnect somewhere?
The art of customer seduction: Timing, trust, and the perfect pitch
Don’t fool yourself! If your funnel’s not delivering to the level you need, it’s not because it’s broken—it’s because there’s a disconnect somewhere.
Ever dive into Robert Greene’s “Laws of Power”?
Rule number three, “Concealing Intentions,” is your go-to for making your funnel irresistible.
Picture it as a Broadway play, where each act—the ad, the opt-in, the waiting room, the webinar, the pitch—commands its own spotlight in this customer journey.
Now, let’s get real. You can’t afford to show your cards too soon—that’s a recipe for disaster. Your audience isn’t just in it for you, they’re looking for a life-changing solution. Mess up the timing, and you shatter that trust. Rebuilding it? Good luck.
For a lesson in doing it right, you’ve got to check out the Publishing AI webinar. Commit just three hours of your life and witness genius.
Right off the bat, the presenter shares success stories not to boast but to establish immediate credibility. And before you even question it, he explains why he’s sharing these secrets instead of hoarding them for himself. Throughout the webinar, he’s not just presenting—he’s neutralizing objections. Every five minutes, he tackles potential roadblocks—time constraints, qualifications, resources, skillsets—you name it.
By the time the offer drops, your last doubt has been obliterated. It’s a masterstroke, making Publishing AI one of the standout successes in the info product space.
So here’s your game plan: Take a tour of your own funnel, but this time, wear your customer’s shoes. Identify those jarring moments that spoil the story. Remember, your marketing should unfold like a gripping novel or a whirlwind romance.
Disclose your intentions prematurely, and you risk losing that emotional connection, making room for rational doubts. And we both know rational thinking is impulse buying’s worst enemy. Keep them emotionally invested, and you’re golden.
2️⃣ Is my tech stack set up to ensure top-quality leads?
Mastering the tech behind quality leads: The blueprint for optimization
The first interaction between your business and your prospects usually occurs when they see your ad, but the real game-changer happens on your opt-in page.
This is especially true for high-ticket funnels. Why?
Because this is the first time they land on your digital property, giving you a golden opportunity to collect valuable data.
In the webinar space, most media buyers focus their optimization efforts around leads—the people who sign up for your webinar.
And yes, I’m aware of the debate about whether you should optimize around leads or sales, but let’s settle that once and for all and then get back to leads.
Let’s say you have a $2,000 offer and aim for a 200% ROAS, setting your target CPA at $1,000. To adequately test an ad, you’d have to spend 10-20x your target CPA, translating to $10,000-$20,000 per ad. Unless you’re swimming in cash, this approach isn’t practical.
So, what’s the alternative? You optimize around leads.
Back to leads.
Now, here’s where technology becomes your best ally. Gone are the days of traditional targeting. Since the advent of smart bidding, your conversion metrics essentially become your targeting parameters.
Therefore, you need to ensure that the leads you’re optimizing around are both real and high-quality.
Consider implementing the following technology stack:
- A reliable tracking system that sends conversion data back to the ad network.
- A validation system to distinguish between real leads and bot-generated ones.
- A defined criterion for what constitutes a ‘quality’ lead and only send these back as conversions.
Mass-market solutions like Wicked Reports and Hyros might be popular, but they’re not tailored to your specific needs. What you need is a streamlined setup featuring an event tracker, a database or data warehouse, customized queries, and API integrations for real-time verification and conversion transfer.
This might sound complex, but it’s much easier than you think. The right person can set it up in a few days.
Contrarians like myself even see an opportunity in this. If something is complex and provides an advantage, then it’s more likely that not many people will use it. Therefore, your willingness to invest gives you an advantage.
Jelena from our team has written an extensive article highlighting that about 10% of global ad spend goes to junk or bot traffic. You don’t want these leads contaminating your funnel; you want genuine, high-quality leads. And optimizing around those can dramatically improve the ROI of an already functioning funnel.
3️⃣ Does our creative mindset need an update?
The clock is ticking: When success spells new challenges
In a funnel with four stages—ad, opt-in page, waiting room, and webinar—you have full control over three of them.
The one element you’re at the mercy of?
➡️ The creative
I’ve debated this with the world’s best copywriters, and I stand my ground. In the info-product space, a creative should have three properties:
- Build arousal
- Qualify and disqualify
- Be at the mercy of the network
I’ll leave the first two points to our Creative Director, Alex Simic, and focus on the network’s influence here.
In the world of direct response media buying, there are two types of creatives: successful and unsuccessful.
➡️ A successful ad is always on borrowed time, destined to lose its effectiveness eventually.
Having a successful creative in a ‘working’ funnel doesn’t mean you’ve won; it means you’ve created a new set of challenges to tackle.
Often, a successful creative brings with it a sudden surge in costs to support the newfound success, and the countdown begins to find the next winning creative. Otherwise you have to cut costs.
This is why a change in mindset is essential. A successful creative doesn’t mean you’ve won; it means you’ve created a new set of challenges to tackle.
➡️ Being proactive is key. Ditch perfectionism and focus on building a robust pipeline of creatives to test.
Reinvest a portion of your profits into creative production and testing, because they’re not expenses; they’re investments.
At our agency, we own VidTao, the world’s largest YouTube ad library. This gives us a unique vantage point to see what actually works in the realm of direct response advertising.
What we’ve consistently found is telling: only 2-3% of ads for the most successful DR advertisers ever prove effective. So, the importance of volume in your testing pipeline can’t be overstated.
It’s not about achieving perfection; it’s about the iterative process of trial and error. Sometimes you strike gold through meticulous planning, and other times, luck plays its part. Either way, each ad tested is an investment in extending your campaign’s lifespan and, ultimately, its success.
Bottom line: Master these three, but the journey doesn't stop here
Today, we’ve drilled down into three critical signs indicating that your funnel needs attention:
- the timing and emotional pull of your customer journey,
- the technology stack for lead scoring,
- and the constant evolution required in your creative strategy.
But make no mistake, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Each of these areas opens doors to deeper layers of optimization.
Stay tuned, stay testing, and remember – every challenge is a new opportunity for growth!
Brat Vukovich,
Co-Founder of Inceptly and VidTao
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