1674 – The Funnel Ecosystem with Digital Trailblazer’s Leah Rae Getts

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0:58with us right now lia ray gets lia ray uh you are the co-founder of digital trailblazer you're found on the web at digital trailblazer.com lia ray thank you so much for joining us yes thank you so much for having me josh it's it's a blessing to be here yeah all right so give us an overview of your work at digital trailblazer who you work with and the impact you have in the world Yeah. So we love working with impact driven entrepreneurs, specifically consultants, course creators, coaches that have amazing value to give, but need to reach more people, do it bigger. They're looking to scale, right?

1:36They're looking to increase things. So our gift is really helping people to connect with the right folks, get the right automations and systems in place so that they can make their full impact in the world. And so that's what we love to do, helping good people who can make a positive impact reach more people so that we can impact millions of lives by just focusing on our thousands. Yeah. And so obviously in the world of marketing and specifically, so, you know, as I'm going through your website, you're using the term funnels. And so I think we're all familiar with that concept. What do you see working well today when we think about the concept of a sales or marketing funnel versus what do you see not working so well anymore today that maybe worked perfectly fine three to five years ago?

2:21Maybe it's just a little played out. Yes, that is a really great question because I feel like we're in a season of change, right? That the traditional one directional funnel of, you know, they get introduced to you, they're sort of pushed through your process, pushed towards a sale. That I feel like is not working as well today as it once was. Okay. Where it's just a simple basic funnel from point A to point B driving them through. What we're seeing working very well today is really thinking about your funnel as an entire ecosystem where you're not just pushing them in one direction, but you're really creating this entire ecosystem and experience where they're seeing you in multiple places and multiple platforms, all nurturing them and inviting them to take the next step with you.

3:06And what does that look like? It's a great question. So an example would be instead of a traditional, a traditional funnel for like a consultant or something might be like a VSL funnel, right? Where there there's an ad and then they watch a video and they book a call. That in today's space is getting very, very expensive and very hard to get an ROI on. What we're seeing instead is just driving traffic, generating leads, and then pushing them through essentially like multiple funnels at the same time where they're getting onto your email list, where you're nurturing and loving on them. They're maybe getting into a text message sequence.

3:44They are maybe joining your Facebook group. They're somehow getting into all of your content, that you're hitting them now in your reels and everywhere else. So all of a sudden they're in like a pressure cooker of everywhere they look is this company, is this brand. And wow, they can really help them. And it really nurtures people super well. And it takes people from just another ad that they clicked on, just another person trying to sell them to something into, hey, this is a real person who has real value that can truly impact my life or my business. Yeah. And someone might be listening to us and go, well, that sounds a little complicated.

4:21I, you know, you know, and again, I think there was a lot of messaging a number of years ago, kind of the whole one funnel away kind of thing. And so, but what you're describing is a little bit more holistic, you know, and I guess, why do you think that this has changed? Like what's going on in the market? I think our customers are just savvier, right? And they're used to the basic funnel. They're used to this process. They're seeing we're inundated with ads on Facebook and Instagram, these different platforms. And we're used to just clicking things, getting downloads, clicking through whatever.

4:58And we're used to people trying to sell us constantly. And it gets numb, right? The more that you're hit with that kind of stuff, you kind of get numb to it. And so by just getting them to take micro steps towards you and then creating this holistic ecosystem where they're going to continue to see you in all of these different ways, day after day, that's when it really strikes home for them. And they're like, no, this is a real person and they have real value. And it's not just, I'm just not another number because people are sick and tired of fully automated, just like the days of full automation and full, just like driving traffic and everything just happens.

5:37That, that was five years ago, right? That's when that worked really well. This is where there it, I love personal touches, but you can do personal touches in one to many, and you can even just make it feel like a personal touch when all of a sudden, you know, they saw your ad yesterday and now they're sitting in bed scrolling through their reels on Facebook and now you're popping up again, right? And now you're popping up again over here and other places. And now there's something like it's creating that holistic ecosystem, which really works well. Yeah. You know, I want to think about, you know, something that I recently bought.

6:08So I just bought a bass guitar and I'm not going to do that unless I know that I've got like a good, you know, a good lesson, you know, a good teacher, you know, and so I've got like six months of lessons because I built a virtual relationship with a YouTuber, watched probably about an hour and a half of his video content. And he just, you know, know, in a very non-salesy kind of way is like, Hey, you know, and if you're real serious about this and, you know, you want me to work with you over a period of time, um, I have a full course and that course is linked below and here's the website. And, and then of course you go there and it's more, it's not, uh, I mean, it's, it's not salesy.

6:49It's just like, you can tell that he cares very deeply about, you know, creating great outcomes. It's service oriented and it's about me and it's about, you know, the emotions that I want to experience. And, you know, it's just very, like, it just felt good during the whole process. And, but then, you know, I think we all know what it feels like to be carnival barked at, right? And it's like, you know, and overhyped promises and that sort of thing. I don't think you need to do that anymore. And I think that that works against you. Yeah. And I can't tell you how many times I've been on a sales call with someone And they, you know, at the end of the call, they want to join and ask them why.

7:33And like, cause you're a real person. Like none of this felt like you were selling me. I actually want your help. I want to work with you because I want my customers to feel the same experience. I don't want to be that aggressive going after people salesperson. I just want to help and serve the people who are ready and want my help. And so that's that I feel like it's a very warmer space today than the very aggressive kind of cold pitch space that we had several years ago. Yeah. So in regards to social media as a great way to kind of build these relationships, what are you seeing in social right now that you're kind of bullish on?

8:16Or maybe not today, but you're like, keep your eye on this. This seems to be working right now. And I think that this is, we got some good life in this aspect of social. What do you see out there that you like? so they're used to used to hear about all about group funnels okay group funnels were a really big thing for a long time i'm not saying that they don't work we use them they absolutely work but really looking at a platform like facebook as an ecosystem versus a one funnel thing right starting to shift your thinking and shift your content and shift how you're reaching people so So you can see other platforms like TikTok and where they have like their shorts, like their short form vertical video.

8:59They're great. It's punchy. It works. However, that's one form of content. A lot of the people who are offering consulting, offering coaching, they're speaking to people who are in their 30s and up because they're the people who are just at that stage in life where they have that kind of income. They're ready to improve themselves or their businesses and their lives. people in that age range, they're absolutely on Facebook. All of the other platforms where you have just one or two different types of content, they're great. But if we can use those same places of content are available on Facebook and it creates an ecosystem.

9:34So you can drive ads, paid ads on Facebook, because if you're solely relying on your content marketing, it's going to take forever, right? Like it's going to take forever to reach the amount of people that you want to reach. So you can, you can drive ads. Well, you can in the, in your process, when they're getting introduced to the ads, they can also be pushed into your Facebook group. When they get pushed to your Facebook group, you can tell them to send you a friend request or follow your personal account or your business page. And now when they're following your business page or your personal account, they're also going to get all the content that you're putting out there.

10:02And that's where you get that holistic approach where you're creating that whole ecosystem where they're really getting warmed up fast, that it's not this slow drip process. And you're not just relying on them to read an email because very few people read emails these days. You're really maximizing your reach to them and getting them where they need to be. Yeah. What do you say to a client or someone who says, that sounds like it's just so much work and I get stressed out thinking about creating all that content. Any happy news that you can give to them? Yeah. Well, and the truth is you don't start there.

10:39You don't start with all of these different things happening at once. You start with one thing and then you add as you go, as you get comfortable, but you definitely need your ads running. In your Facebook group, you should have that set up so you are not managing that. That's where VAs come in, right? That should not be you doing that. If you're jumping in there, doing a live once a week and loving on them there, that's plenty. Your VAs should be going through and actually booking sales calls and doing the different things that need to be done, welcoming people to the group. So you should have your VAs helping you out with that.

11:06When it comes to short form vertical video, you can really do that in a couple hours a week, right? So it's all about, you know, batching is fabulous scheduling and then leveraging virtual assistants or people, your team to help you to do that mundane work that doesn't need to be done by you. So if you can spend two and a half hours a week loving on people in Facebook and letting your team do the rest, right? So two and a half hours, that would be creating the content, whether that's a 30 minute live in your Facebook group, plus hitting your reels, creating shorts, that's then your team can handle the rest, right?

11:44And you've got all of your automations and systems to drive people where they need to be. And then it can be really hands-off, but you take it one step at a time. And then you just refine your process and your automations from there. So don't try to tackle everything at once, but just take it one step at a time. Yeah. What is the process like? Your website is digitaltrailblazer.com. What is that process typically like for you when somebody raises their hand and says, hey, let's talk and see if it might make sense for us to work together? What do you usually, how do you usually see that flow going for you?

12:16Right. So usually they've come through some sort of lead magnet. So we're giving them something great. And then through that process, whether it's through our email, through a Facebook group, they're reaching out and they're connecting with us saying, hey, what do you got going on? So we have a team that does that initial sorting for us, if you will. So we have appointment setters that have that initial discovery call and just say, hey, is this a good fit? Are we really able to help you with what you got going on? If not, here's some great free resources to help you on your way. And if you're ready for that next step to really explore what it's like to get our help, then they book to an actual strategy session.

12:50Then on those strategy sessions, it's really just a deep dive into their situation, figure out the problem, see if we have a solution, and move forward from there. So it's really a problem-oriented process, helping to solve problems for people versus pushing sales, if you will. Yeah, right, right, right. And then do you typically work with folks long-term, ongoing, short-term? What's the scope of the typical project look like? So we usually like to work with people at like a six month timeframe because there's often every next phase has different challenges, right? So by working, having a full six months to work with someone, we're able to really help them through that scaling process, through setting up all the automations and technical stuff that they need to do.

13:38But then, you know, dealing with all of the little bumps that end up always happening and getting that guidance through it to make it as streamlined as possible. So that by the end, you're really rocking and rolling. You're driving a ton of traffic. You've got your, your, everything is your evergreen sales process essentially in place and you're up and running. Yeah. And what does the, so digital trailblazer as a company, how does that company, what does that look like today? Like how do you manage operations and how do you run the company? Yes, that's been a fun endeavor. So So just for some backstory, I was a registered nurse.

14:14We've come a long way in this space. First learning the marketing side, learning how to make sales and things, and then eventually creating our own offers and helping and coaching. And managing is an entirely different endeavor. And that's been a process, really learning that and growing into that space. Management is much different than leadership, I feel like, in the online business space. So actually managing a team, it's been quite a journey. We've built, you got to kiss some frogs along the way, and you've got to learn and grow as the manager of your organization. But we've built an amazing support team.

14:53So how we've structured ourselves is that when it comes to working directly with clients, when it comes to coaching, that's where they work with the experts. They work with myself. They work with my husband who have built a seven-figure business and have been through it themselves, have worked with a lot of different clients and can help them with the little nuances and has that experience. We don't outsource the coaching, right? That's not where we've built our team. Where we've built our team is really on the sales side, right? We've built our team with setters, with closers, and with admin staff to help manage the business and keep the sales pipeline flowing and really maximize the efficiency of the organization.

15:33Yeah. Your website, digitaltrailblazer.com, when somebody goes there, I know you got a lot of free things here. What should somebody grab when they go to your website? Yes. So if you are offering a high ticket, something high ticket, so coaching, consulting, anything high ticket space right on that first page is an amazing, awesome freebie. It's our three coaching funnels that convert high ticket clients. So I highly suggest that you grab that. If you are working in another space or you're looking at some different things, just head over to the free tab on the top and explore because we have tons of good stuff, including our Facebook group, which is our community.

16:10That's where we love on our folks the most. That's where our peoples are. So if you want to interact personally, make sure you head over to the Facebook group. You can find it under the free section, the free tab and on the website. Yeah. Awesome. All right. Leah Ray gets your website, digitaltrailblazer.com. Leah Ray, it's been great having you. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.

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