Jab, jab, jab, lead magnet, tripwire, hook: sales funnels that convert

Posted on by Marie Page

“We tried Facebook advertising but it didn’t seem to work for us.”

The above is a very common response I’ve heard when trying to argue the merits of advertising on Facebook with a new client.

“Ah but what was your sales funnel?” will generally be my response.

To be met with a blank look.

Interruptive advertising to cold audiences doesn’t work

Too many businesses are using Facebook ads in the unsophisticated “interruptive” advertising methodology of past centuries assuming that if we just get our ads in front of enough people the sales will come rolling in.

They serve ads about their product to a totally cold audience and then they wonder why their ROI is so poor.

It’s very rare for people to buy a new product online from a previously unheard of brand. That’s why word of mouth marketing works so well. A friend has done your warming up for you so the potential customer is already positively disposed towards your brand when they see the sales pitch.

That friend (likely an existing customer of yours) has gently guided your potential buyer through the first stage of the sales funnel.

But what if you want to take more control and not be reliant on word of mouth promotion? Is there a way for you to coax people into and down the funnel yourself?

Well yes there is and the process is well documented by multiple entrepreneurial types.

Warming up your audience

I referenced Gary Vaynerchuk in the title here. His “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook” process is one that delivers (free) valuable content in the form of jabs multiple times before going in for the sales focussed right hook. By this point the potential customer knows and trusts your brand, and even feels a degree of loyalty to it thanks to all that free stuff you’ve been delivering.

Here’s an example from Hub Spot jabbing me with a freebie offer. The freebie is often called a “Lead magnet” do to it’s data capture mechanic.

If I take up this offer I’ll give HubSpot my email address which then enables them to email me the next offer in their sales funnel. I’m pretty sure that would be an actual purchase.

Converting your warm audience to a paying customer

I also threw in the concept of the trip wire.

Trip wires are those offers you simply can’t refuse – they are such a steal that you can’t stop yourself from taking action. They perform the trick of moving people through the sales funnel into a paying customer, albeit on a heavily discounted ticket item.

Here’s one such example. This appears to be a free offer on a $20 product but in reality you just paid for the shipping and handling at $4.95:

This ad surfaced on Facebook for me mere minutes after visiting Russell Brunson’s website. A very nice example of website custom audience (re)targeting in action:

The tripwire is step one in the journey to becoming a paying customer. It’s then a far easier step to convert them to what you really want to sell them – we call this the “core offer”.

Here’s an example of Amy Porterfield delivering a core offer.

I’m already a Facebook fan of Amy’s. So I’m a warm audience that’s already previously converted to a freebie webinar and then later on a trip wire offer. Now she’s upselling me to her core offer (with, I might add, some spectacular bonuses all designed to get me to convert NOW):

There are further steps for people who fail to convert at any funnel stage as well as profit maximisers following uptake of the core product. It’s a tried and tested formula, particularly beloved of US-based digital marketing gurus but one I see precious few small businesses adopting.

I go into more detail on this sales funnel approach in module 5 of our new course Facebook Audiences and Ad Targeting. I’d love to have you join me there.

You can also view the Online Funnel Marketing course in the Digiterati Academy. Each module has a detailed explanation of content so do have a skim through to see what it covers.

Marie Page

About Marie Page

Marie Page is one of the UK’s leading Facebook marketing experts. She is a founding partner of digital marketing consultancy The Digiterati and the Digiterati Academy e-learning portal for marketers and entrepreneurs. Her award-winning Master's Dissertation was the culmination of three years' academic research into Facebook that resulted in a book (and companion online course) 'Winning at Facebook Marketing with Zero Budget' that became an Amazon bestseller. Marie's work on the Facebook News Feed algorithm was featured in The Huffington Post. A recognised thought leader on social media, Marie is often approached by journalists for comment in articles such as this Telegraph article. She was also interviewed for ITV's Tonight show on Facebook privacy issues in relation to advertising. Marie is a regular guest on digital marketing blogs and podcasts including Social Media Examiner and Smart Insights. In 2018 she is speaking at Brighton SEO, Europe's biggest search and marketing conference. Marie is also author of two Smart Insights books: 'Smarter Guide to Facebook Marketing', now in its fourth edition, and 'Facebook Ads Guide', both edited by Dr Dave Chaffey. Marie is also a part time yoga teacher.

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