That's something I have always struggled with for our clients over the years. I spent the past year in War Room which is Digital Marketer's mastermind group. This was an amazing experience where we had direct access to the marketing funnel gurus like Ryan Deiss, Perry Belcher, Frank Kern and shared the meeting with high-level players such as Neil Patel, Russell Brunson, Mike Cooch and the marketers behind Beach Body.

Talk about getting the inside track on some of the most successful marketing funnels in the industry. The one thing all these gurus have in common is that all of them have a physical product to sell. Josh and I sat there without a product to sell, yes we harnessed some of the knowledge to launch the Seven Figure Agency and the Seven Figure Agency Mastermind. But what we wanted to figure out is how we could take this knowledge and get better results for our plumbing and HVAC clients.

We've tried different campaigns over the years by building small funnels around guides and discount offers for them, but there have not been any grand slam results that have come out of it. Deep down inside I still think there is a play here for us.

Can you only use successful sales funnels with biz op info products and survival products?
I started thinking this was the case until I was exposed to two very well executed sales funnels while recently vacationing in Punta Cana.

I just returned from a family vacation in Punta Cana a tropical paradise located in the Dominican Republic. One of the great advantages of living in South Florida is that it's just a two-hour flight to just about anywhere in the Caribbean. So off we went.

It was our second day staying in this beautiful all-inclusive resort. We were heading to the pool after lunch only to come across a small table covered with handmade jewelry created by Punta Cana's local artists. My first move was to turn my head and look the other way as I saw a guy staring me down from what seemed like a mile away. He had me in his laser beam sights, and I was just waiting for him to throw his “please purchase my jewelry” pitch at us. And then my wife and I would say “no thank you, maybe later” and move on. But that's not what happened. What did happen stopped me in my tracks, I did say “no thank you, ” but his reply was one I never heard in the Caribbean. “Sir, please I'm not trying to sell you anything, this is a gift. Welcome to Punta Cana.” We stopped, and he then placed a nice little wooden necklace around all three of our necks.

This, of course, stopped us in our tracks and we felt obligated to stop, talk and look at his table. My wife started trying on different pieces of jewelry and began to build a small pile of things she wanted to purchase.

That's when it hit me; this gentleman lured us in with the free offer commonly known by Russell Brunson as the bait. His next move was to move us up his value ladder, and sales funnel. I knew it was happening and I was fascinated by it, my wife, of course, had no clue what was going on. So I sat there and watched it all play out. This guy was skilled at moving my wife through a well-crafted sales funnel. I just sat back and watched as it was fun to see.

His next move was to show her items that all had an upsell path. After all, you can't buy earrings with-out the matching bracelet. Each item had a value-added upsell. “Well if you like that I can give you the matching bracelet for $10.00, it's usually $15.00”. He was a master of his craft.

When my wife finally finished buying the stuff she wanted he then showed her the other side of table and mentioned everything over here is $20.00 but since you purchased so much you can have anything here for $15.00 and suggested that it's an excellent opportunity to buy gifts for your friends and family at a discount. Boom he hooked her again. After all, no one wants to go home empty-handed or have to overpay for cheap vacation gifts.

Just when I thought it was over and everything was wrapped and packed in a small bag my wife handed him three twenty-dollar bills. I was eager to get to the pool and enjoy a cold Mojito when this master marketer pulled off another paramount part of the sales funnel. The profit maximizer! He could have simply handed her back her $10 change said thank you, and we would be on our way. But that would be a loss for him. His job at this point is to maximize his profits because after all, he has a good buyer on the line. It was at this very moment that he pulled it off. He made his final offer, I can give you your change, or I can provide you anything on this side of the table for $10.00. These are our most popular items and regularly sell for $20.00 each. He nailed it. He made a $60 sale from a family of three whose only intention that morning was to go to the pool.

This guy killed it, if he would have lead like the regular street artist and said “come see my stuff” we would have kept walking instead he took us and converted us into buyers by leading us down his well-executed sales funnel. Funny thing I observed throughout the entire week was a number of people walking around with his gift around their necks. Maybe not all of them made a purchase, but I think most would. Most people feel obligated to buy something when someone gives them a gift. This is one example of a well-executed sales funnel in an unexpected place.

We continued with our vacation when later that night we walked into another rock-solid sales funnel. First, let me take you to our arrival at the resort. At check-in, we received a welcome kit and in it was this 100-page coupon book for discounts around the resort. While glancing through it, I came across a voucher for a free room upgrade. This immediately caught my attention because we were in the Jr. Suite and the only room above us were the private “Vacation Club rooms” located right on the sand with private swim-up pools. Outside, this private building was a sign that read “Private Vacation Club Members Area.” Wow, would I love to stay in one of those. A dream was planted in my head at this point.

On our third evening upon returning to the room after an amazing dinner, there was a note on our door with the travel club logo and a handwritten message that said: “Welcome, please come down to the lobby to receive your FREE gift.” Hmmm, free gift, aren't all gifts free? This is it, they have to be offering us a free room upgrade to experience their Vacation Club rooms. My eyes widened as I pictured myself in my private pool sipping cold Mojitos while watching the waves break on the coast.

We headed down to the lobby to receive our “free gift” and was met by Diego, our welcome committee chairman. With a clean, bright white pressed shirt Diego welcomed us to Punta Cana and asked the most common question “Is this your first time at our resort?” I had not realized it yet, but I was already in their sales funnel. Each and every question Diego asked us was scripted, rehearsed and part of a bigger plan. I'm certain there was a different path to the funnel if I would have said no, we always stay here.

Diego then invited us to a special breakfast the next day where we would be meeting the resort's Director, and he was going to give us some special information about the exclusive luxury features the resort has. We would also receive two one-hour beachfront massages and the free breakfast at the main hotel. Once we agreed to move forward, he arranged for someone to pick us up the next morning at 8:30 AM. He handed us the invitation and thanked us, and we were on our way. Unaware that we were inside a very expensive sales funnel.

We attended breakfast and then received our gifts and then met with our very friendly salesperson introduced as the resort's director of wonderful experiences. What a great title, they just keep assuring us a great experience. To make a long story just a little shorter we then were pushed through the funnel and offered membership to their vacation club. Without going into every detail of the club, they painted a beautiful picture of what we get as members. Beachfront property, 2 free weeks a year, stay at any of their five resorts located in Punta Cana, Mexico (2), Brazil, Spain, and Jamaica. Discounted flights, transportation to and from the airport, etc., etc. The benefits go on and on. The entire presentation was based around luxury which is exactly what I wanted.

Another great benefit was that we would be able to start today and attend their private members-only dinner on the beachfront that evening. They presented the price in a way that was pretty awesome, they provided the price of $21,000.00 but they reduced it by $4000.00 for that is what I paid for the vacation we were on at the moment. “You are basically on vacation right now for free” was how they described it. In the end, I made the purchase and spent the rest of my vacation on the Vacation Club private beach.

As you can see I was pushed through yet another successful well-made sales funnel. What I wanted was a luxurious vacation, and that is what I received. A funnel that delivered some free gifts on the front end resulted for them as a $17,000.00 sale.

The point of my two stories here is not to show you how I was suckered into buying stuff. In fact, I was not ripped off or taken advantage of I was sold things that I wanted by getting value first.

The first sales funnel was for a physical product and the second one was for a service of rest, relaxation, and luxury. This should open up your minds to what you can do to create successful sales funnels for your clients?

If your niche is Dentists perhaps something like this:

Every local business has a value ladder it's up to us as local marketers to implement a plan for our clients. This separates us from all the other self-proclaimed marketing experts trying to steal away your customers. Best of all it gets results for your clients that they would not have any other way.

Every business has its foot-in-the-door product, their loss leader. The problem is most small businesses don't know how to use them to their benefit. They end up giving away things for free without expressing the value. Use my examples in this post to try and craft solid sales funnel for your clients.