In May of 2017, I was closing sales with a new client named Michael over the phone.
His business sold $10,000 hyperbaric chambers, a type of medical treatment used by athletes.
Michael asked me if I had any examples of high-ticket sales funnels. He wanted to know if a sales funnel could work for his type of business, where he sells an expensive physical product.
Having been a digital marketer and entrepreneur for 12+ years, I knew intuitively the answer was yes.
There is a lot of overlap between what a high-ticket sales funnel is and a lead generation funnel for businesses who sell services, as you’ll see.
And since I took the time to answer Michael’s question and offer good examples, I decided it would be useful to create a blog article around this topic.
I thought this could be useful to you as someone selling products for $1,000+ [or high ticket services] since you probably have the same question:
“Does a sales funnel really work? Especially for my business, where we sell expensive products or services?”
Instead of trying to convince you that sales funnels really do work with expensive, physical products and services, I decided it was better to show you in real-time, actionable examples.
First, let’s make sure we’re on the same page when it comes to the meaning of “high ticket”…
Want to learn how to scale your digital marketing agency, eCommerce store, coaching service, SaaS or info product business? Then
join over 22,000 happy subscribers in their journey to scaling their business.High-ticket items are a high-value and high-priced product or service. They cost a bit of money and offer buyers a high value.
These items can include expensive products like cars, jewelry, and high-end bikes. And they could be services like coaching, webinars, and training. Or they could be any product or service that costs more than $1,000 and offers clients a lot of value.
As you already know, a sales funnel is a series of steps that lead a potential customer or client to a purchase decision. Similarly, a high-ticket sales funnel is defined as a selling system that leads a customer, step-by-step, to buy a higher-priced product or service.
High-ticket funnels are a powerful marketing strategy that, when used right, can make you a lot of money. Depending on how well you implement your sales funnel strategies, your high-ticket funnel will convert—it’s already happened for a ton of other companies, including here at AutoGrow.
Anyway, normally people who buy products or services at higher prices are typically much more invested in them and more likely to have higher levels of success with those products or services. That’s one of the main reasons why high-ticket items are great for businesses.
Obviously, they aren’t for all types of businesses though. For instance…
Then, selling high-ticket items is not for you.
Then, high-tickets are perfect for you and your business.
Typically, higher ticket products are also the most profitable ones because they pay for themselves. This is one reason why people start selling high-ticket items in the first place. They know they need fewer sales in order to meet their financial goals.
There’s a lot of potential for skyrocketing your monthly and yearly revenue growth with high-ticket items. But the thing is, generating high-ticket leads can be tricky because it requires different sales funnel tactics than low-ticket items.
For instance, if you’re selling high-ticket products, to drive customer’s engagement you might want to consider asking for a small deposit on a more expensive item. You’ll see below how Tesla used this marketing strategy.
And if you’re selling a service instead of a physical product, you might give the prospect a preview of the paid product in the form of a cheap [or free] report or webinar. You’ll see below how that worked well for ExcelHelp.com.
So, if you’re considering pivoting your company and start selling high-ticket items, here are 5 examples of high-ticket funnels of multimillion-dollar companies that you can model for your business…
Janie Howard owns a real estate brokerage called Woodleaf Realty in Colorado.
She wanted to get more involved with Facebook ad campaigns but she and her small team didn’t know much about digital marketing.
So unfortunately, her lead generation efforts fell short of her goals.
With that, she consulted AgentFire for help.
Below is a lovely photo of Janie [on the far right] and her team.
You want to see how she generated 768 leads in just two months?
Step #1: Find a Niche Audience
It all started with identifying the right audience.
The team focused on a niche audience as opposed to trying to cater to everyone.
This ideal persona would be an older homeowner who is looking to downsize.
According the case study, they targeted Facebook users within 10 miles of Colorado Springs who have been homeowners for 6+ years, are aged 55+ years old, and their home value is between $500,000 and $$1,999,999.
Step #2: Facebook Ad Campaign
Next, it was time to create the ads targeting their “downsizer” audience.
And the team chose the carousel style.
But the Facebook ads were only the beginning.
Step #3: Landing Page
Without an effective landing page, your Facebook ads mean nothing.
For Woodleaf Realty, they selected a clean look that asks for some basic contact information.
Moreover, the copy was personalized, dependent on which Facebook ad was clicked on.
Although the team tried several variants, the following was the highest performer:
Step #3: Reaching Out Quickly
A lot of sales opportunities go out the window because of a slow response time.
Whether the salesperson doesn’t want to come off as needy or there’s a systematic flaw, it doesn’t matter. Your leads want to be contacted really quickly.
In a study by Harvard Business Review on 1.25 million sales leads, they found that companies that respond to a lead within an hour of a sign up are 7 times more likely to qualify the lead as companies responding after two hours.
And this is what Woodleaf Realty decided to do with its new landing page leads.
By following up with leads quickly, Woodleaf gave itself a competitive advantage over the many brokerages that take over 24 hours to respond.
Step #5: Drip Email Campaign
Using the LionDesk CRM platform, the marketing team followed up with its leads with a personalized email campaign.
For the first week, leads received one email per day.
Then throughout the next 12 months, emails were sent sparingly.
For a drip email campaign, it’s all about nurturing the lead with valuable content.
Step #6: Google Remarketing
The sixth and final step of Woodleaf’s sales funnel was a Google remarketing campaign.
Website visitors that left without taking an action would see relevant ads from Woodleaf to keep the brokerage in top of mind.
According to Google, you could see as high as 161% more conversions with remarketing.
HIGH-TICKET FUNNEL EXAMPLE #2: TESLA’S LAUNCH FUNNEL – $1,000 DEPOSIT
In 2008, the electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla was worth about $15 million. Today, Tesla’s valued at over $1 trillion. That’s an absolutely massive growth.
So as the case study goes, the company rolled out a compact premium sedan named the Model 3. The vehicle made its debut at a launch event in 2016. It’s price has hovered around the $35,00 to $40,000 mark to date.
At the time of launch, demand and interest in the vehicle were incredibly high. This made Tesla open preorders for the vehicle with a very smart sales funnel strategy.
This is probably the most successful product launch that we know of in history.
And part of the reason Tesla’s pre-sale launch was so successful was that the company [and its founder Elon Musk] received a lot of press for its positive vision of moving everyone away from gas-powered vehicles.
Whether you agree with that vision or not, the success of this launch proved that the market is very in tune with Tesla’s vision.
Basically, Tesla used a very simple sales funnel that you can model because it’s proven to convert. Here’s a quick breakdown of the steps in the funnel:
Step #1: Webinar Registration
Prospective customers would first opt into a webinar page to learn more about the launch event for the Model 3 car.
Step #2: Live Webinar Landing Page
When the webinar was live, prospects were then taken to a webinar watch page.
Step #3: Checkout Page
After the live webinar was over, the prospects were redirected to click on a call-to-action button that would take them to a checkout form, where they’d make a deposit of $1,000 to reserve their Tesla Model 3 pre-order.
Do you want to know what that simple funnel resulted in?
Customers placed over $14 billion in preorders.
Now, some people may have gotten cold feet and decided at the last minute that they didn’t want to pay the full amount for the car later on. But still, this is regarded as one of the most successful product launches in history.
But how did Tesla do that?
Well, one interesting tactic they used in this funnel is the foot-in-the-door technique.
The foot-in-the-door technique is where you get someone to agree to a large request by getting them to commit to a smaller one first.
It was easier to ask prospective buyers to pay only a portion of the cost upfront [in the pre-orders]. This allowed Tesla to maximize the number of people who’d eventually want to pay the full amount for the car later on.
Want to create a funnel or optimize an existing one for your company or your clients to scale your agency? AutoGrow.co gets quality marketing work done-for-you fast by letting you delegate your marketing projects without the typical headaches of hiring. Check it out to learn more.
HIGH-TICKET E-COMMERCE FUNNEL EXAMPLE #3: $10K TREK BIKES
Trek Bikes sells high-end bicycles for up to over $13,500.
This includes bikes customized by color and size.
Now let’s take a look at their funnel and how it’s structured…
Step #1: Landing Page
If a prospective customer were to start the checkout process or even sign up for a newsletter after arriving on their landing page, they’d receive follow-up emails encouraging them to buy and a pop-form to sign up.
Step #2: Follow-up Emails After Cart Abandonment
If a prospective customer bounces out of the checkout page, they receive a cart abandonment email.
According to Klaviyo, the click-through-rate for the first cart abandonment email follow up is 14.53% – way higher than your typical email click rate.
These emails invite the prospect to come back to their website and add a specific bike to the cart.
However, when it comes to increasing e-commerce conversion rates, one of the 313 case studies analyzed in the Proven Sales Conversion Pack shows that something as simple as a free shipping incentive can increase sales by 23%.
And also, a different case study says that adding a clear call to action can boost conversions by 250%. And that’s exactly what Trek Bikes did. They added a very clear call to action: “find your bike.”
They also include real testimonials from users who bought bikes from them in the past. This typically makes a prospective customer feel more comfortable with the idea of buying an expensive bike because adding customers’ photos to a landing page can translate to a 23% increase in adds to cart.
HIGH-TICKET FUNNEL EXAMPLE #4: MICHAEL ROZBRUCH’S CPA TRAINING PROGRAM [INFO PRODUCT] FOR $1,500
Michael Rozbruch is a tax expert and entrepreneur. He created Michael Rozbruch’s Tax and Business Solutions Academy, and works with attorneys, IRS enrolled agents, and CPAs to manage their finances and avoid money pitfalls.
In addition to owning a $23 million tax resolution firm that’s generated 168 consecutive months of revenue growth, Rozbruch also does training programs, conferences, and consulting as well.
His sales funnel for the CPA training program is valued at $1,500. And one of the training courses he currently offers on his website is priced at $497.
Now let’s see how this high-ticket funnel example is structured…
Step #1: Webinar Registration Page
Rozbruch hosted a live training webinar to get people interested in the product launch for his training program. He used affiliates, emails to his internal list, and Facebook ads to promote the webinar. 3,000 people registered for it.
Webinars are used by the majority of marketers for good reason. They attract the right audience for your business.
According to ON24’s Webinar Benchmark Report, 89% of marketers cite webinars as the top channel for generating qualified sales leads.
Step #2: Thank You Page With Product Offer
His thank you page for signing up for the training was more than mere courtesy. It included a one-time press release template offer valued at $197. Of those who signed up for the free training, 139 customers took advantage of the offer, netting him $27,383.
You could also try cross-selling with your thank you emails, which can boost your transaction rates by 54%, as per Experian.
Step #3: Automated Follow-ups
To drive interest before the event, Rozbruch’s team sent out 11 follow-up emails. This may seem like a lot, but it was spread out over three weeks. If a customer opted in closer to the event, they would receive more emails in a shorter span of time than customers who’d signed up earlier.
Even though only 1,093 people actually attended the webinar live, the launch brought in a whopping $402,693 in sales for his training program.
And I bet you’re wondering which marketing tactic he used. And the answer is the 11 follow-up emails preceding the webinar.
Still skeptical about getting quick wins in your email marketing strategy?
HIGH-TICKET LEAD GEN FUNNEL EXAMPLE #5: FOLLOW-UP FUNNEL FOR $50K-$200K CUSTOM ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE SERVICE
ExcelHelp is a professional Excel programming firm dedicated to helping companies make the most of their investment in Excel & Microsoft applications.
They build custom software integrations for Fortune 500 companies like NASA and Revlon. These integrations help streamline operations like automatic data entry or form creation.
The average amount that ExcelHelp.com charges for a project is in the mid-five figures [~$50,000] to mid-six figures [~$300,000].
As a former client of AutoGrow’s Done-For-You service, we helped them grow their sales funnel and revenue by 30%.
Here’s the before and after graphic…
This high-ticket service is for sure one of our best case studies.
And here’s one nice compliment that their VP gave us…
Pretty cool, right?
Now let’s review the breakdown of this high-ticket lead gen funnel and how they promoted their high-ticket product, the Paperless Construction Company whitepaper.
Step #1: Website Homepage
Prospects would visit the ExcelHelp.com website and see an exit pop-up when they’re about to leave the site. This is a free opt-in offer for their whitepaper, which 71% of B2B buyers interact with during their purchasing journey according to Demand Gen.
Or, if people are interested in a specific service, ExcelHelp would show them 2 clear call-to-action buttons for a consultation across their homepage.
Step #2: Follow-up Email
Once the prospects sign up with their name and email address, they could download the whitepaper or brochure and give ExcelHelp.com an opportunity to nurture them via email automation.
ExcelHelp.com might also send retargeting ads to bring users back to the website if they’d left without opting in, and hopefully, convert them upon return. As reported by Wishpond, retargeting ads have a 10 times higher click rate than display ads.
The extra offer incentive when opting in is an interesting tactic because it’s one more way to add value to prospects. The prospective customer can download the whitepaper and read it or pass it along to colleagues, which may help speed up a purchasing decision.
HIGH-TICKET FUNNEL EXAMPLE #6: $8,000 PER CLIENT SALE FOR COACHING SERVICE
Winning International is a coaches-to-coaches service that assists leaders in growing their businesses.
The company was created in 2014 by Ryan Magdziarz. He works with dating, finance, fitness, health, life, and business coaches.
This company’s sales funnel relies heavily on paid Facebook ads. These drive people to their website where they can then opt in and become customers.
For this funnel, their Facebook ads promoted a free fitness-related report.
Let’s take a look at this high-ticket funnel…
Step #1: Landing Page
When prospects arrive on this page, they’re encouraged to download their lead magnet that is a template.
Step #2: Free Consultation
On the top right corner prospects can see a call-to-action button that invites them to check out the “Free Training”. After clicking, people are redirected to a landing page with outstanding CTAs to book a free call.
Step #3: Thank You Page
After downloading the lead magnet, prospects are taken to a thank you page. On that page, there’s an offer for a free call. The end-goal is to convert the prospect into a paying client.
Their lead magnet offer is what makes this sales funnel so unique. Because it then leads to an offer to become a coaching client, which is a great upsell.
CONCLUSION
You may sell high-ticket products or services that cost you $1,000 or more per item, but you can still use any sales funnel strategy proven to convert your website’s visitors into buyers.
When you sell high-ticket items, your sales funnel may be a bit different from other companies that sell less expensive products.
However, as you’ve seen in the examples above, it’s still possible for you to build a high-converting high-ticket sales funnel regardless of the price of your offer.
Need help optimizing your high-ticket sales funnel?
No worries, just reach out to AutoGrow and we’ll do it so you don’t have to lift a finger.
Now tell me something, do you sell high-ticket items?
Which of the examples above is more relevant to your business?
Are you going to try one of these sales funnel tactics for your own company? Which one?
Let me know in the comments below.
Keep AutoGrowin’, stay focused,
Matt