So this is a great question, especially when it comes to acquiring new clients and approaching districts. I’m going to define what a funnel is, touch on a few parts of a funnel, and give you some examples about how necessary a funnel is to building a sustainable business. 

Okay, first things first, what is a funnel? A funnel is the journey that you're intending for your client to go through as they build trust with you, your expertise, and eventually (hopefully) your services. In short, it’s your potential client’s journey from the beginning to end, the end being becoming a paid client. 

Now, people in business and entrepreneurship call this a funnel because that’s exactly what it is. If you envision a funnel, with the top part having a wide opening, and the bottom eventually tapering into a smaller opening. That’s what we mean when we’re talking about a funnel. You are literally funneling your audience from those who are just learning about you to those who are ready to pay for your services.

So if the funnel is about the client journey, what are the steps they’re taking? I’m going to talk about the first two parts of the funnel (there are five), because they are vital to attracting a new audience and building trust with your audience to then convert them into paying clients. 

Part #1 of your Funnel: Building Awareness

This is all about, well…building awareness. How are you intentionally building awareness about you, your business, your services and your brand? You need to be clear and intentional about how you’re building awareness around who you are and what you do because people can't leverage your business if they don't know that you exist. 

For example, most people find out about me through one of two ways: Instagram and/or someone who's worked for me in the past, so referrals/word of mouth. Because of this, I usually go live every two weeks, to bring more people into part #1 of my funnel and to build awareness around who I am and what I do. 

Here are a few examples of things you can do to build awareness:

• Going Live on Facebook, Instagram, Clubhouse, or any other social media platform that allows live streaming

• Going to Conferences (as an attendee or even a presenter)

• Writing Blog posts consistently

Part #2 of your Funnel: Consideration

So now that you’ve brought your audience in by building awareness, you need to bring them to the point where they are considering whether or not they want to work with you or use your services. This change usually requires having multiple touch points of contact with your potential client. 

For example, if you meet someone at a conference and they opt into your mailing list, that means you need to follow-up and send emails to your email list consistently. If you aren’t emailing your email list, you've just cut off your funnel, because you aren’t maintaining a relationship or building trust with your audience. 

So I bring up these two portions of your funnel because I often get the question of ‘how do I acquire new clients?’ or ‘how do I approach districts?’ and it all starts at the first two levels of your business funnel. You can certainly reach out to people and have conversations through connections, but to build a sustainable business you need to consistently nurture your funnel by building an intentional client journey. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, spending money is an act of trust! I am not willing to give someone $15,000 because they just sent me an email. I am willing to give someone $15,000 if I saw them present at a conference and have been on their email list, and I hear from them every week through that email list, while also watching their bi-weekly Lives on Instagram. 

You never know who could be watching your Lives, or who could be on your email list or however you choose to reach out to your audience, and by nurturing those relationships, you are positioning yourself to be the most likely considered option when it comes to providing a service for a client or even a district. 

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