The $100 MBA Show: MBA2249 – How to Sell More Products Passively with a Deadline Funnel

Release Date: February 21, 2023
Host: Omar Zenhom
Podcast Description: Awarded Best of Apple Podcasts, The $100 MBA Show delivers practical business lessons for the real world. These no-fluff episodes are packed with only the pure business-building training you want.

Introduction to Deadline Funnels

In episode MBA2249, Omar Zenhom delves into the concept of deadline funnels, a powerful strategy he has employed in his own business, Webinar Ninja, to drive passive sales. Drawing from over 20 years of entrepreneurial experience, Omar presents a comprehensive guide on how to implement deadline funnels effectively to boost product sales without continuous active marketing efforts.

Omar Zenhom [01:11]: "A deadline funnel is basically a specific offer that has a deadline, uses scarcity for a specific subscriber on your email list."

What is a Deadline Funnel?

A deadline funnel is a marketing strategy that creates a sense of urgency and scarcity around an offer, tailored to each individual subscriber. Unlike traditional deadlines that can be bypassed by savvy users (e.g., opening an incognito window), deadline funnels set real, unchangeable deadlines that ensure the offer expires for each subscriber at the intended time.

Omar Zenhom [03:45]: "It's a real offer that cuts off at a real time for each individual."

Benefits of Using Deadline Funnels

1. Enhanced Scarcity and Urgency

The core strength of deadline funnels lies in their ability to create genuine scarcity. By setting individualized deadlines, businesses can ensure that subscribers feel a compelling need to act promptly, thereby increasing conversion rates.

Omar Zenhom [08:30]: "The scarcity part, true, real scarcity. They got you covered."

2. Automated Sales Process

One of the most significant advantages is the automation of the sales process. Once set up, deadline funnels work on autopilot, continuously driving sales without the need for constant manual intervention.

Omar Zenhom [06:20]: "I'm letting automation sell my product. For me, it's like outsourcing sales to a system."

3. Targeted Offers

Deadline funnels allow businesses to present offers at the optimal moment in a subscriber’s journey. This targeted approach ensures that each subscriber receives a relevant and timely offer, enhancing the likelihood of conversion.

Omar Zenhom [04:50]: "Give compelling offers to your subscribers at the right place at the right time in their journey."

Setting Up a Deadline Funnel

1. Choosing the Right Tool

Omar recommends using Deadline Funnel, the premier tool in the market that ensures deadlines cannot be bypassed. He shares his personal experience of meeting the founder, Jack Bourne, and how the tool seamlessly integrates with various email marketing platforms like ConvertKit.

Omar Zenhom [02:45]: "I recommend the best one out there, which is called Deadline Funnel."

2. Integration with Email Marketing

Integrating Deadline Funnel with your email marketing provider is crucial. Omar illustrates this with his use of ConvertKit, where subscribers are nurtured through a sequence of emails before being presented with the time-limited offer.

Omar Zenhom [05:10]: "Deadline Funnel integrates with your email marketing provider. I use ConvertKit. It works brilliantly."

3. Creating the Offer Page

The setup involves creating a dedicated offer page on your website, embedded with a unique countdown timer for each subscriber. This ensures that the deadline is strictly enforced, regardless of the device or browser used.

Omar Zenhom [07:00]: "They start an email sequence and in that first email I will start nurturing them... This page is just an offer page that you create, but it also has integrated with it a deadline, a countdown timer."

4. Post-Deadline Handling

Once the deadline passes, subscribers are redirected to a "deadline missed" page. This closure reinforces the authenticity of the scarcity and prepares the ground for future offers.

Omar Zenhom [09:15]: "You have to notify them that you missed the offer. That way, when you run another offer, they will take action."

Overcoming Challenges

While deadline funnels are highly effective, Omar acknowledges potential challenges:

• Initial Setup Time: Implementing a deadline funnel requires an upfront investment of time, typically between 6 to 12 hours for the first setup. However, subsequent funnels can be created in approximately four hours due to system integrations already in place.

  Omar Zenhom [04:40]: "It took me about between 6 and 12 hours in total, from just concept of offer all the way to it's live."

• Consistency and Testing: Ensuring that the deadline funnel operates smoothly across different platforms and devices necessitates thorough testing and occasional tweaks.

Personal Experiences and Results

Omar shares his transformative experience with deadline funnels, highlighting a notable 200% increase in conversion rates for webinar offers when combined with deadline timers. This substantial uplift underscores the efficacy of integrating urgency into marketing strategies.

Omar Zenhom [10:05]: "With my follow-up emails after the webinar, I integrated Deadline Funnel. It converted 200% better than without the deadline funnel."

Ethical and Effective Marketing

Omar emphasizes that deadline funnels are not just effective but also ethical. By providing genuine scarcity, businesses respect their audience’s time and decision-making process without resorting to manipulative tactics.

Omar Zenhom [05:50]: "It's honest, it's ethical, and it's effective, which is a trifecta that's not that common in marketing."

Implementation Tips

To maximize the effectiveness of deadline funnels, Omar offers several practical tips:

1. Solid Product Offering: Ensure that the products or services being offered are high-quality and provide real value to the customers.

2. Compelling Copywriting: Craft persuasive and clear messaging in emails and sales pages to complement the urgency created by the deadline.

3. Continuous Optimization: Regularly analyze performance metrics and tweak the funnel components to enhance conversion rates further.

Conclusion

Omar Zenhom wraps up the episode by reiterating the timeless effectiveness of deadlines in business. By leveraging tools like Deadline Funnel, entrepreneurs can harness inherent human psychology to drive sales passively and sustainably.

Omar Zenhom [11:47]: "The things that work in business have worked for centuries. The idea of a deadline, of a sale, of urgency has been around since the dawn of commerce."

He encourages listeners to adopt deadline funnels to optimize their conversion rates, emphasizing that while it's not a magic bullet, it significantly enhances existing marketing efforts when paired with a solid product and strategic communication.

Key Takeaways

• Deadline Funnels Create Genuine Scarcity: Setting real deadlines for each subscriber ensures authenticity and effectiveness in driving urgency.

• Automation Enhances Efficiency: Once set up, deadline funnels operate on autopilot, generating passive sales without continuous active marketing.

• Significant Impact on Conversion Rates: Implementing deadline funnels can dramatically increase conversion rates, as evidenced by Omar’s own 200% improvement.

• Ethical Marketing Practice: Deadline funnels respect the audience’s decision-making process by providing clear and honest offers with true scarcity.

Notable Quotes

• Omar Zenhom [01:11]: "A deadline funnel is basically a specific offer that has a deadline, uses scarcity for a specific subscriber on your email list."

• Omar Zenhom [06:20]: "I'm letting automation sell my product. For me, it's like outsourcing sales to a system."

• Omar Zenhom [10:05]: "With my follow-up emails after the webinar, I integrated Deadline Funnel. It converted 200% better than without the deadline funnel."

• Omar Zenhom [11:47]: "The things that work in business have worked for centuries. The idea of a deadline, of a sale, of urgency has been around since the dawn of commerce."

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking to enhance your product sales passively, implementing a deadline funnel could be a game-changer. As Omar Zenhom demonstrates through his experience with Webinar Ninja, deadline funnels not only streamline the sales process but also significantly boost conversion rates by leveraging the innate human response to scarcity and urgency.

For more insights and practical business lessons, visit The $100 MBA Show and learn how to apply these strategies to your own entrepreneurial endeavors.