I’ve used the term funnel marketing for years now and just for the heck of it, I did a search on the Internet for it.

The most common sales funnel concept seems to be through the stages of a sale.  Prospects come into the top of the funnel, then there is contact made and some minor commitment from the prospect.  A lot drop off.  There is another step in the process, more drop off.  In the example that I was reading, there were about 750 prospects who ended up becoming 8 paying customers at the end.  Each step in the funnel kicked more people out of the funnel.  The only time there was a payday, though, was at the bottom of the funnel.

Another version of the funnel is something called the “reverse funnel.”  The clever marketing term simply means turning the funnel upside down.  But, that’s when I get a little lost.  I think the term is being used primarily by a Multi-level Marketing company (which they deny and call a “direct sales company”).  As near as I can their idea is give you bigger commissions on bigger sales.  You have fewer sales, but make more per sale that you make. 

Then there is the sales funnel that Seth Godin (author of “Purple Cow” among others) turns on its side.  He says a sales funnel should be a megaphone that your satisfied customers use to tell the world about your products.  Clever, but not exactly what I had in mind either.

The funnel that I use is a standard funnel shaped figure that has different entry points.  For TaxLoopholes, at the very top, after the free information that is new every day, is one of my Special Reports for less than $10 or a book for $25 or so.  Closely following that is membership into the First Class Lounge, which is a monthly recurring charge of less than $10.  From there, we go up with audio courses and home study courses, leading up to becoming a client of mine. 

At this point, though, I’m finding that my funnel acts more like a pipeline. I have about as many people in the First Class Lounge as I do have as clients.