The little blâck playbook of sales strategies

A new generation of creative Internet marketers is on the rise who are celebrating the art of business-to-consumer relationships, while increasing revenue, and doing so without large marketing budgets, long sales pages, or pushy guru tactics Instead, they are warming up cold leads using a new sales strategy – Funnel Foreplay - to connect with their ideal customers and increase conversions Funnel Foreplay is a playbook created for small business owners that are tired of over-hyped promises, questionable affiliate marketing protocols, and misleading sales copy and are replacing it with personal branding, email engagement, attractive advertising campaigns, and solution-focused products that provide holistic results Creator of Signature System® and CEO/Founder of HolisticFashionista.com Angel Quintana, explains her step-by-step signature formula and provides valuable examples on the effectiveness of authentic and design-centered marketing for entrepreneurs seeking to grow their brands with style and integrity using the power of the Internet Whether you’re a service provider or a product-based company looking to grow your clientele and reach new markets with your innovations and expertise, and are serious about building your business online, this is your #1 resource for structure, expansion, and explosive profits FUNNEL FOREPLAY The Little Black Playbook of Sales Strategies Angel Quintana Copyright 2016 Holistic Fashionista www.holisticfashionista.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: Never Take Your Eye Off the Prize PART I— Funnel Foreplay: Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER What Talitha Getty Has to Do With Personal Branding CHAPTER The Success Blues CHAPTER Balance is Bull for Success, Yet Mandatory for Sanity CHAPTER Is Being an Over-Achiever a Sickness or a Gift CHAPTER Change Agents: The Artisans of the World CHAPTER Freeloaders are Annoying, But They Aren’t Evil CHAPTER Thank You Mean Girls for Making Me So Successful CHAPTER If You Spit on Los Angeles, You Spit on Your Dreams CHAPTER Business is a Therapy Session PART II— Funnel Foreplay: The Formula CHAPTER 10 The Power of Keywords CHAPTER 11 Create a Compelling Landing Page CHAPTER 12 Launch a Free Marketing Campaign CHAPTER 13 Launch a Paid Marketing Campaign CHAPTER 14 Introduction to Up Sells and Down Sells CHAPTER 15 Close the Sale with a Follow-Up System A WORD BEFORE YOU GO:Support with Setting-Up Your Brand (and Sales Funnels) for Success About the Author DEDICATION I dedicate this book to the over-achiever May this book help to bring your message and passions to the world easier and with more clarity, for if there is anyone who deserves their big break, it is you It is because of your blood, sweat, and tears that mountains will move, lives will change, and history will be made You’re my inspiration INTRODUCTION Never Take Your Eye Off the Prize If I were to give you one sound piece of advice as you embark on creating (and expanding) your business online, it would be: Never take your eye off the prize And that prize is Sales Sales is the reason you got into business and is what clothes your kids, pays your mortgage, and allows you those awesome vacations with friends and family If you didn’t get into business to make money, perhaps your business is really just a hobby at this stage There is nothing wrong with hobbies, but a business is about making money Your sales (and bank account) should also be a reflection of how you are helping to shape the world— for the better I realize not all businesses care about making the world a better place, but I wrote this book of sales strategies for those kinds of entrepreneurs It’s part of my mission here at Holistic Fashionista What I’m about to share with you in this book is a formula that every Internet marketer should be using to generate more sales, reach more clients, and make a greater impact on the planet at large And yes, this formula can be used to make it worse too, because it works for whatever it is you intend to sell So if you have picked-up this book or downloaded it to use as a guide to shove gross solutions down the mainstream markets mouth, please stop reading this I have no interest in helping those who don’t have something to sell that isn’t going to help others be healthier, happier, and more stylish If you haven’t noticed already, the Internet is saturated with all kinds of scams and ploys And let’s be honest, great sales copy can (and will) generate sales But I hope you will use this book to spread goodness into the ether and pay your lessons forward with integrity If you have overcome a serious health condition or made millions selling a restaurant and you want to help others achieve what you have already achieved for yourself… and you did it in a humane way, then I want nothing more than for you to thrive The Internet needs more authentic marketers and holistic solutions It doesn’t matter if you sell real estate advice, know how to get babies to sleep through the night, or are a Chinese metaphysics expert who has a modern solution to everyday problems, Funnel Foreplay can be used for nearly any type of business Funnel Foreplay has worked for: Realtors Chefs and Restaurateurs New Age Experts Holistic Practitioners Wellness Professionals Stylists and Image Consultants Authors and Speakers Business Coaches/Consultants Designers and Artists Accountants, Dentists, Chiropractors Skincare Professionals And nearly any product or service Whatever industry you are in, creating a sales funnel with the secrets presented in this book will set your business up for success— or better yet, it will set your business apart from your competitors because it’s likely they have NOT heard of the steps and strategies presented in this book If you have the drive to bring your message to the Internet, take hours out of your day to set up a functional and smart sales funnel, your business will never be the same You will also never look at the Internet the same way again You see, the Internet isn’t just for connecting with old friends on Facebook or sharing beautiful sunsets on Instagram; it’s not just to search Google for recipes that will impress a gorgeous man on the third date or how to fix your bicycle by watching videos on YouTube The Internet is a powerful tool for growing any kind of business online It has launched millions of businesses and generated more sales for startups than any other platform And the best part about the Internet is, it makes it possible for the businesses that have little start-up capital to not only exist, but to profit If you can get a hang of the formula this book presents, you will be one step closer to changing more lives in a significant way and playing in the big leagues! The World Wide Web isn’t just the largest mall in the world; it’s a holistic platform for millions of prospects desperately searching for a product or service that will help them solve their urgent problems However, as grandiose and glorified as all this sounds… if you take your eye off the prize, your sales, your business, and your products will not gain the exposure they deserve I know this because I have consulted with hundreds of small business owners and start-up brands for years, and while the idea of ‘making money while you sleep’ sounds like a slice of heaven, most people not have the technological skills nor the Internet marketing plan down to achieve their desired results In fact, for most business owners and start-ups, Internet marketing is just another bright shiny object they’re hoping to get the hang of “one of these days.” If you are willing to roll up your sleeves, get a little techie, and follow this formula through to completion, you will not only be richer, you will be ahead of your competition tenfold But just like any good competitor, they will eventually catch on, and before you know it, they will stumble upon this book (because I’m a great Internet marketer) and will soon launch their own sales funnel, too Let’s get a move on it so you are always one step ahead of your competitors and most importantly, so you never take your eye off the prize PART I FUNNEL FOREPLAY: Dirty Little Secrets CHAPTER What Talitha Getty Has to Do With Personal Branding Dear Diary, I have been going through a lot of twists, turns, and changes within myself and in my brand, and it hasn’t all been cherries and snowflakes I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, having your own business and developing your personal brand is the best self-development work of your life It challenges you It changes you The hardest part about creative expression is allowing yourself to use it! This might sound odd because creative expression is fun and ignites your motivation Creative expression forces you to look yourself dead in the eye and believe it’s okay if you share that part of you in your brand and be vulnerable I think of business as an art, and regularly refer to my work with Signature System: The Art of Business That’s because I don’t business the oldfashioned way I’m not an old Hollywood socialite and I’m not a man The kind of change I seek in the world is to shake up the norm and disrupt the old (and tired) rules of running a business, which usually states “be professional”, “be positive”, and “don’t burn any bridges.” And while I am not going to totally disagree that those qualities shouldn’t be present, when it comes to modern-day personal branding, you need only to be yourself; the good, the bad, and the ugly I think about women in history like Talitha Getty, a 1960s Dutch actress and socialite who died of a heroin overdose; she was a style icon and will go down in history She dressed in boho clothing and was married to John Paul Getty But here’s the deal, no one is perfect and we don’t judge her for doing drugs! We appreciate her for the beauty she brought into the world of fashion We all have our problems and it’s okay to be who you are The ones who love you will love you that much more if you get comfortable in your own skin, and the ones that judge will sway with the times and blow away paying for your advertising budget with your up sells If you can that, you’re ready for the next phase You might be wondering… then how I increase sales and grow my business? Let’s discuss that in the next chapter CHAPTER 14 Introduction to Up Sells and Down Sells Who will whip out their credit card for your products and services? That’s the question that should be burning in your head by now Just as we talked about in the introduction: Never take your eye off the prize! The success of your sales funnel is determined by your ability to stay focused on increasing the right traffic and paying attention to your conversions A conversion is the ability to take a prospect and turn them into a buyer If you can get a prospect to walk into the kitchen, grab her purse, open her wallet, get our her credit card, and then walk back to the computer to buy what you’re selling, you have achieved a conversion The easiest way to find out who is a buyer and who is simply there for free handouts or is not ready to go to bed with you is to take a look at your buyers — those special people I like to refer to as your Kismet Clients® Since your sales funnel generally markets a low-cost or free bribe offer, we need to figure out who is willing to whip out their credit card In layman’s terms, the real question is “who desperately wants this problem solved.” That’s where up sells and down sells become vitally important to your sales funnel Up Sells Up sells are (generally) complementary products that support or can be ‘used with’ your free bribe offers I like to price Up Sells anywhere from $27-$297; this is just low enough to be an impulse buy or a “getting started now” product for those who can’t wait another minute If you offer a product as an Up Sell, challenge yourself to find a way to turn it into an information product An information product is a digital, downloadable product where customers can gain instant access after purchasing It could also be a monthly membership, a series of video trainings/tutorials, an audio book, starter kit, etc… Use your creativity to create something awesome for your Kismet Clients! Let’s say you are an author and you have just written a book that is now available on Amazon.com on How to Build a Successful Restaurant Business and it retails $29.99 While your book may have been self published and not a best seller (at least not yet), it’s still amazing and jam-packed with useful knowledge and tips You decide it’s worthy of your free bribe because it has a high perceived value (and none of your competitors are giving away anything remotely as awesome as this, so you’re already ahead of the game.) You order 10 books at wholesale and have them shipped to your home for $1.50 per book You just spent $15 Now you’re ready to put together your sales funnel, which includes a sales video to present your offer for a free printed version of the book— all the customer needs to is pay for shipping You spend $100 on paid web advertising and you give away all 10 books for a shipping cost Let’s say shipping is $6.95 Let’s the math The wholesale book costs you $1.50 and shipping is another $4, for a total of $5.50 That’s your cost of goods sold price You give away 10 books for free, which earned you $69.50 (10 x 6.95 for shipping) and have now paid out $15 for the books and $4 x 10 people (or $40) shipping, which totals $55 You spend $100 on advertising to get 10 buyers Earned: $69.50 Cost of Goods: $55 Advertising Costs: $100 Loss -$85.55 You’re probably thinking this is a bad idea, but it’s not Stay with me In order to make your sales funnel a booming success, we need to introduce an Up Sell, a product we will introduce after they pay for the shipping of the book If your free bribe offer is a paperback book on How to Build a Successful Restaurant Business, your Up Sell offer should complement your free bribe On your website you sell an info product on How Negotiate Your Restaurant Lease to save you tons of upfront money (now that’s an offer I can sink my teeth into) That product includes handouts, templates, and a sales training video for you to watch You price this product for $200 less than how much you sell it for on your website The original price is $397, but for today only, it’s $197 Now that’s a deal! For this one-time only offer (as an Up Sell) in your sales funnel, the prospect can decide if saving $200 for a product that perfectly complements the book offer is worth it It’s only natural that if someone wants a free book on How to Build a Successful Restaurant Business and is willing to pay for shipping, that having a complete training on How to Negotiate Your Restaurant Lease is really a no-brainer And they get to save $200 off the retail price Everyone wins! Here’s what your sales funnel looks like now: You are down $85.55 Let’s say that out of the 10 people who opt-in to get the free paper book, just of them takes you up on your Up Sell! You are now in the black: $197 - $85.50 = $111.50 Once you know what your free bribe offer is, it’s a lot easier to figure out what they would want next The Up Sell is really important to the success of your sales funnel So if you can put together a downloadable product that costs between $27-$297, your advertising will be paid for and you can move them through the sales process to your ultimate goal: to sell them on a highticket coaching program, retreat, seminar, membership site, starter kit, or whatever you can think up next! Down Sells: Down Sells are similar to Up Sells, but they are only offered once your prospects declines your Up Sell offer and they are positioned slightly different Ideally, you want to try one more time to get them to take you up on you Up Sell offer Instead of offering an entirely new product, this is your chance to offer the Up Sell one more time, only this time with a payment plan Here’s how it works: Once your prospect declines your Up Sell, the very next page in your sale funnel is a ‘But Wait’ page This page makes one friendly and simple gesture: to be helpful Because you already know they want to Build a Successful Restaurant Business and your Restaurant Lease Negotiation product is the bees knees, let’s make them an offer they can’t refuse: a payment plan You can even make the payment plan slightly more expensive then the time payment Perhaps payments of $79 or payments of $119 would seal the deal! Another idea for a Down Sell offer is to have a lower priced product altogether For example, if you just gave them the paperback book for free, why not offer the audio book for $47 and they can download it immediately After all, they will have to wait for the book to arrive in the mail before they can get started on Building a Successful Restaurant and this way, they can get started right away! The idea with Up Sells and Down Sells is to give your prospect what it is they want and on a platform where they can get started right away for a small investment This is also how we determine who are buyers and who simply needs more time to date you Don’t get discouraged if it takes time to get the ball rolling Sometimes it’s literally changing out a headline or asking better questions that get your lead to say ‘Yes, Please!’ What if your prospect doesn’t take you up on your Up Sell or your Down Sells? That’s what we’ll talk about in the next chapter CHAPTER 15 Close the Sale with a Follow-Up System If they didn’t say Yes, please! to all your awesome offers, don’t worry There is still hope As I mentioned before, your sales funnel is a well-crafted machine that provides value and offers solutions in a classy, gentleman-like way As long as your bait (free bribe) gets them in the door, we can slowly close the sale to your Up sells and to other offers with a strategic follow-up system (AKA an email campaign.) Similar to an advertising campaign, we are looking for biters— prospects who are ready to take the bait Only this time, we are going to continue to build the know, like, and trust factor as quickly as possible As a businesswoman myself, long schmoozing networking events bore me to tears because time is money, and frankly, if I can automate the system, I would (and I do) Email marketing is not a new strategy in the Internet marketing world, but the majority of small businesses and new brands aren’t using or optimizing it to the fullest capacity If you’re looking to warm up cold leads, there truly is nothing better or more efficient than creating an autoresponder sequence to close the sale on all your offers Autoresponders: An autoresponder sequence is a series of pre-scheduled email campaigns that drips over a given time frame Each email in the sequence is designed to a very specific job: turn your prospect into a buyer With my premium clients, for their first sales funnel, I usually recommend an autoresponder sequence containing emails that arrive in your prospects inbox; email per day for consecutive days To this, you’ll need an email management system like: Mailchimp, Aweber, and Ontraport There are plenty of others, but these are easy to use for beginners and are great for building out your autoresponder sequence They allow you to create multiple lists (essential for having multiple sales funnels), so as your business grows, so will your amount of sales funnels (The more sales funnels your business has, the more money you will make!) It’s best to stay organized from the get-go With each email you want to woo your prospect with your main objective— to get them to click! Now, I’m not going to recommend you try to sell them something in each of these emails, because that just makes you seem desperate, and no one wants to feel ‘sold to’ Let’s not forget, you’re classy And classy people don’t shove their offers down people’s throats, no matter how attractive they are! The goal is to continue building the know, like, and trust factor by showing them your personality and your expertise Yes, people actually buy (and learn) from people they like, and as odd as it sounds, you don’t have to be the best or have the best product on the market Clearly I am not advising you have a sucky product, I just don’t want you to get up on making something perfect It’s best to test the market and then perfect later, once you know you have a winning sales funnel! That’s how you’ll know you have a winning product too Double win Here are some ideas for helping your prospects fall in love with you: Invite them to follow you on a social networking site Choose a helpful article or video on your website (or social channel) and send them the link Invite them to listen to your podcast(s) Give them a helpful tip and ask them to ‘hit the reply’ button to talk to you Invite them to a free or low-cost virtual class There are dozens and dozens of ways you can prove to your prospects that you’re not just a slimy Internet marketing dude with a long sales page looking to make a quick buck You’re interested in building a relationship and taking the time necessary to nurture that relationship I’ve had many premium clients who have been on my mailing list for months, sometimes even years, before they actually work with me one-on-one Once they know you’re not going anywhere and you’ve proved to them that you’re awesome and one of the “good guys”, you’ll soon find your internet sales increasing! Take your time crafting your auto responder sequence You don’t need to write a novel, but you need a call-to-action in every email sent out Once the auto responder sequence is completed, now it’s time to set-up a newsletter to stay in touch with your prospects, invite them to new offers, new events, and share more of your wisdom Pretty soon, you’ll have a die-hard tribe who can’t wait to read your newsletter and share it with their friends Closing the Sale: Autoresponders are known for being closers Each email should be handcrafted to lead and seduce your prospect to close the sale If your prospect didn’t take you up on any of your Up Sells and Down Sells, you need to have new offers to send them, or a followup system that reminds them why your Up Sell is awesome-sauce If you can’t turn your prospect into a buyer in your autoresponder sequence, chances are the product isn’t something they need right now If no one is buying your Up Sell and you have an autoresponder sequence in place, it might be time to change your Up Sell offer Follow-Up Product: Your next follow-up product should be a signature virtual class or workshop and here’s why: If you’ve never hosted a webinar or teleclass, it might be time to think about preparing an evergreen class you can offer over and over again that not only produces new prospects, but also sells existing prospects using an Up Sell at the end of the class The best part about a free virtual class is you can generally sell higher priced products The reason for this is simple In a virtual class, you give your prospect enough time to see you as a leader and expert in your niche, and if you’re someone they “like” Since a virtual class is generally 30mins-3hours in length, your prospect has more time to take all of you in I like to think of a virtual class as kind of like your first weekend together when you’re dating It’s sort of a big deal Your offer at the end of the virtual class could be anywhere from $297-$2500 Anything priced higher than that would require a longer sales funnel— a high-end product sales funnel (more about that if you decide to work with me one-on-one in the future) Just like with the free bribe sales funnel and virtual class sales funnels, there are many other funnels you can create and test to move your leads through the sales process as quickly as possible Remember; never take your eye off the prize! We are slowly moving your prospect closer to that end goal by creating new sales funnels And the best part is there are infinite sales funnels you can create, no matter what niche you’re in! In fact, the better you become at creating winning sales funnels, the more enticed you may be to jump around in different niches and explore the endless revenue streams available to you! And finally, know that just because someone doesn’t take you up on your first Up Sell, doesn’t mean they won’t take you up on another offer at another time As long as they are an email subscriber to your mailing list, they are still waiting to see if you’ll offer them something they want to buy or they are just waiting to copy something you’re doing! Either way, don’t spend too much time thinking about how many people on your list are copying you You picked up this book first, so no matter where they are in the Internet game, you’re much further along since reading this book Right? Closing the sale is a lot easier after you’ve spent some time dating and getting to know your prospect They will be thrilled you took the time and energy to create your beautiful sales funnel to help them along with solving their problems When you look at a sales funnel through this lens, you see how truly lucky your prospect is because you’ve made everything so simple for them And the best part for you is you generate leads and sales by building and tweaking it until it performs With a winning sales funnel both parties win— you and your buyer Take the time to build out your first sales funnel, test it with inexpensive Facebook ads, and make sure to include a follow-up system Then your only jobs become tweaking it until it’s a shining star and increasing your advertising budget It really is as simple as that And remember; stay focused on serving, not selling, and pretty soon you’ll be getting asked out on a whole lot more dates! Just like dating in Los Angeles, it’s a numbers game Perfect your marketing strategy and take your time getting to know your Kismet Clients® They will thank you and respect you more in the morning Build your list and keep the lines of communication open Building relationships is an art, and if you know how to leverage Internet marketing to speak to people with your personality, you’re winning The only thing left is to test and stay consistent You got this A WORD BEFORE YOU GO: Support with Setting-Up Your Brand (and Sales Funnels) for Success Don’t have a product or service to sell yet, but have a plethora of expertise you’d love to share (and sell) with the world? Work with Angel in The Holistic Fashionista Academy to unlock your Signature System™, discover your Kismet Client™, and build your sales funnels to grow a Philanthropic Brand! Learn more about The Holistic Fashionista Academy {HolisticFashionista.com/Academy} About the Author Angel Quintana is the founder and CEO of Holistic Fashionista®, a business academy and magazine helping philanthropists build boutique brands so they can help change the world In The Holistic Fashionista Academy, she helps clients discover their Kismet Clients®, develop a product collection that represents their cause, and build well-thought out sales funnels to change more lives and make more money! In her book, Funnel Foreplay, she teaches change makers how to successfully quickly warm up cold leads and turn them into buyers While her tattooed exterior shows her creative tough side and her road to success has been difficult, it is her thoughtful approach to brand building and unique selling approach that has won her thousands of raving fans Angel and her businesses have been featured on: Apparel News, Examiner.com, Law of Attraction Radio, and spoken on stage at Digital Marketing for Business, At The Helm, and Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, CA References &Recommendations DotCom Secrets: The Underground Playbook for Growing Your Company Online by RUSSELL BRUNSON Launch: An Internet Millionaire’s Secret Formula To Sell Almost Anything Online, Build A Business You Love, And Live The Life Of Your Dreams by JEFF WALKER Contagious: Why Things Catch On by JONAH BERGER Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by NIR EYAL The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by GARY KELLER Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by DANIEL H PINK The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by CHARLES DUHIGG Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising by RYAN HOLIDAY If You’re Not First, You’re Last: Sales Strategies to Dominate Your Market and Beat Your Competition by GRANT CARDONE ... bugging others with their problems too frequently But just as there is a yin to every yang, there is also a dark side of the freeloader Many of the freeloaders I have had the not-so-pleasure of meeting... rather self-indulgent— as if they are the only one working their tail off to bring their magic to commerce They preach their wisdom, practice holistic living, and overcompensate to prove that they... expansion, and explosive profits FUNNEL FOREPLAY The Little Black Playbook of Sales Strategies Angel Quintana Copyright 2016 Holistic Fashionista www.holisticfashionista.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: