You can’t give ANYTHING without having it returned to you — whether it’s money, a bad attitude, a good attitude, praise, criticism, etc.
That’s why if your goal as a business owner is to GET more sales, then you must first GIVE value — through sales funnels.
Sales funnels are, by nature, designed to give value.
You might think “sales funnels” are all about sales due to the wording, but actually…a sales funnel is designed to give value first. That’s why it works.
Give value first…then get paid.
Most people have it backwards…they try to siphon money from customers before they’ve given anything of real value. Or they engage in what I call “sloppy giving,” which actually delays the results they want. Those people generally have 2-5 years max before their business fails.
Eventually the “getting” strategy caused my business to implode…and I had to start from scratch.
I tried a new strategy. “Give before getting.” I began reaching out to businesses and offering them free edits their sales pages, where I knew my editing talents could be of high value. I knew I was a gifted writer, I was good at selling other people’s products through writing, and I ENJOYED IT…so I figured why not make this my “free offer.”
Despite my growing success, I realized I still had a lot to learn about giving — particularly, how to give efficiently.
Here’s a breakdown of the various forms of giving:
- Sloppy giving — where you’re giving to people who have no interest in what you’re giving and who cannot appreciate it. (This is like posting info to your Facebook page instead of to your email list.)
- Giving that stinks of martyrdom — where you’re killing yourself in order to “help” others, or you’re bending over backwards to give to someone, while destroying the quality of your own life. (This is where you say yes to too many people, over-extend yourself, and try to help everyone instead of creating a healthy boundary.)
- Giving begrudgingly — where you give only because you think you “have to” give, not because you truly delight in giving.
- Savior giving — where you have a savior complex, you take responsibility for other people instead of allowing them to take responsibility for themselves, and your “gifts” are a form of enabling others to continue in their wretchedness. (The Obama administration is great at this.)
- Broke giving — where you give of your time and energy, without allowing people to pay you appropriately for what you’re worth; or you’re somehow confusing business with charity. (Not to be confused with voluntary/conscientious charity.)
I could go on and on. All of the aforementioned forms of “giving” are dysfunctional and actually serve as a trap. They rob you from doing your best work. They’re distracting, draining, and inefficient forms of giving.
The RIGHT way to give, is to give to those who could do good with it. And give to those who inspire you in some way.
- Precise giving — where you give your gift to someone who can do good with it, appreciate it, and be furthered in life with it.
Now how does all of this relate to sales funnels?… At the heart of every great sales funnel is a FREE GIFT that you offer to people, before you ask them to buy a single thing from you.
Creating a sales funnel is an act of precise giving…because you’re giving something valuable to people who can appreciate and benefit from it…not squandering your gift on time-wasters, tire-kickers, and people scrolling their lives away on Facebook.
If your sales are low, it’s probably because you’re too focused on getting, and not focused enough on giving.
If you feel like you give a lot AND your sales are still low, it’s probably because you’re engaging in dysfunctional/inefficient giving.
In a world where most people are begging and pleading for the sale, and where “getting” is all the rage, being one of the few who GIVES FIRST gets the Universe’s attention. Being a precise giver accelerates your results even faster. It opens the doorway to massive sales, wealth, riches, success…you name it. The “Kingdom” is then open to you, like a buffet.
Design your free gift so that it’s absolutely irresistible to your target market. Don’t half-ass it, or you’ll get half-assed results in return.
It could be a report, an interview, an expose, a free sample of your product, a special introductory priced “sample kit” of several of your most popular products, a free audio training, a book, or anything else that might appeal to people.
Remember, at the heart of every successful sales funnel is a valuable “free gift.” This is something you offer to the world that declares to the universe, “I am openly and freely giving value.”
I’m certain there are some floodgates that are ready to open for you…and it all starts with creating sales funnels!
Talk soon,
Michelle
P.S. It’s not the rote act of giving that’s important — it’s the SPIRIT behind your giving. If you accidentally give someone a hundred dollar bill, but thought you were giving only a $20 — then only the $20 can be returned to you tenfold. It’s like the rich man who gives a chunk of money that seems large to others, but to him it’s small…versus the poor lady who decides she will joyfully give part of her paycheck, even though it may seems a piddly amount to others. Who do you think the flood gates are opened more widely for?…the business that churns out half-assed marketing content, or the business that creates value-delivering sales funnels?
Michelle Lopez Boggs is a copywriter, copywriting mentor, and author of "The Anti-Marketing Manifesto: How to Sell Without Being a Sellout." She's helped her clients sell millions of dollars' worth of products and services online by using the MEI(S) principle — motivate, educate, and inspire, and sell. 