Build Demand and Drive Revenue For Your Venture By Flipping Your Sales Funnel Upside Down

Dear Bunker,

For the last few weeks, I’ve been reading any and everything about demand generation, targeted marketing programs to drive awareness and interest in a company's products and/or services with their ideal buyer.

Instead of focusing on top of the funnel activities to drive general awareness and fill your sales funnel, demand generation emphasizes building rapport with ideal buyers who are already at the bottom of the funnel, i.e. their actively seeking a solution to a problem that your company’s positioned to solve. In the early days of a venture, this requires a lot more 1-on-1 relationships, which leans more heavily towards sales then marketing. However, as you start to gain traction and have data/feedback from your customers, you’re better positioned to find others with similar paint points and market to them accordingly. For early stage ventures, demand generation starts by flipping your sales funnel upside down.

The key is to identify high-value prospects who know they have a problem and are actively seeking a solution for it, and engage with them directly through referrals and direct marketing activities.

As the Founder and CEO of your company, you can’t be afraid to have one-on-one conversations with other CEO’s or “economic buyers,” those with the decision making ability and purchasing power. For B2C brands, this means you have to get out there and sell directly to customers, not expect them to magically find your website. Here are some quick recommendations for driving demand generation sooner rather than later:

1. Create a list of 20-30 dream clients, with a problem or painpoint that your company provides a solution for.

2. Update your marketing copy on your website and sales PDF’s to specifically address the pain, ex. “We help B2C Small Businesses in Nashville, TN drive revenue through online marketing,”

3. Create content that speaks directly to the pain point of you ideal buyers. Continuing our example from above:

   • 3 Ways B2C Small Businesses in Nashville Can improve their online marketing efforts.

   • How B2C Small Businesses in Nashville Can Increase Their Revenue with Email Marketing

   • Are You A Frustrated B2C Small Business in Nashville, Frustrated By Your Marketing and Branding Efforts? If So, read this..

4. Join groups and organizations where your ideal buyer congregates, such as your local chamber of commerce and community facebook groups, and focus on building relationship and providing free content. The goal is to position yourself as an authority and the go-to for the solution your company provides.

As you start to build and execute on your demand generation efforts, there’s no guarantee you’re going to hit a home run right out the gate.

However, you are putting yourself in best position to serve higher quality prospects, and drive real revenue. Business is a contact sport, and if you want to drive revenue, you have to engage with your ideal buyer. Trust me, don’t wait, start today.

Let me know your thoughts on Demand Generation by commenting below. In the meantime, check out this video from MicroConf on “How to Acquire Your First 100 Customers” from 2019.