How to Know if Your Marketing Is Really Working

“My marketing is working!”

How do you know?

If someone tells me they have a great funnel, I need to see numbers. It’s not enough to say “I get a ton of leads” or “we added a bunch of members.”

If you’re not measuring these metrics, it’s impossible to know if your funnel is a slippery slope that generates ROI or a confusing, clogged calamity that eats money:

Leads: the people who land on your website, fill out a form, respond to a call to action or engage with you on social media. Leads can come from organic media, your social media and paid ads.

Set rate: the number of people who set an appointment to talk about their problems and your solutions. These are people who are interested enough to sit down and hear your pitch.

Show rate: the number of people who book an appointment and actually show up. Sadly, this is rarely 100 percent, but those who show up are serious about signing up.

Close rate: the number of people who buy.

You’ll never hold onto every lead that enters your funnel. It’s impossible. Some will always leak out, and in some cases, that’s a good thing. For example, it would be great if the Navy SEAL who saw your poorly targeted ad didn’t book a sales appointment if your market is 55-plus seniors.

In other cases, leaks are costing you a lot of money. For example, what if a busy mom who desperately needs your help booked an appointment, forgot the time and never received a reminder? She’s gone—and so is your opportunity to help her and grow your business.

If you know your numbers and analyze your funnel, you can find and fix the problems in your marketing. Like this:

Now I’ll give you some quick ideas to help you improve each part of your marketing funnel.

If you need more leads in your funnel, you can:

1. Increase your ad spend.
2. Refresh your creative.
3. Test an alternate offer.
4. Invite people to follow you on social media.
5. Participate in local Facebook groups and ask people to follow you or your business on social media.

If you need more appointments (set rate), you can:

1. Improve your speed to contact.
2. Improve your call to action on your website.
3. Open more appointment slots at more convenient times.
4. Increase your outreach volume.
5. Reach out to social-media followers, commenters and likers to start conversations. Then invite them into the gym to chat when the time is right.

If you need to improve your show rate, you can:

1. Send personal messages through video or text.
2. Build rapport through email or text.
3. Create some scarcity or urgency before your appointment.
4. Set up an automated reminder sequence.
5. Get them into the appointment as fast as possible.
6. Call them or get them on a video chat “right now”—in-person chats are preferable, but sometimes speed is your greatest asset.  

If you need to improve your close rate, you can:

1. Pre-frame their problem before the appointment.
2. Prequalify your leads.
3. Build rapport.
4. Clarify their problem.
5. Clearly tell them how you’ll help.
6. Create conviction and ask them to sign up.

Of course, not everyone needs to do all of these things at once. A mentor can help you choose your top priority and improve it.

If you’re ready to hear more about that, book a call here.

If not, I’ll give you two more resources, both designed to help you close sales.