Building an Evergreen Sales Funnel

Updated:
November 6, 2024
Created:
November 6, 2024

Imagine you're on a much-needed vacation with your family, soaking up the sun on a beautiful beach when your phone buzzes. You check it and see a notification: another sale for your course just came in! All this while you're sipping on a refreshing watermelon cooler.

That's the beauty of an evergreen sales funnel—it works tirelessly for you, even when you don’t. 

With an evergreen sales funnel, you can:

  • Free up your time: Automate lead generation and sales, allowing you to focus on product development and personal pursuits instead of daily sales tasks.
  • Scale efficiently: Grow your business without the stress of frequent launches or manual interventions.
  • Earn steady income: Enjoy consistent revenue without the ups and downs typical of traditional sales models.
  • Optimize your sales process: Streamline your operations, enabling you to prioritize strategic growth.

So, what is an evergreen funnel and what do we need to set it up effectively? 

What is an evergreen sales funnel?

Definition and Purpose

An evergreen sales funnel is an automated system designed to generate consistent, repeatable, and scalable results. This system operates independently, meaning it doesn’t rely on you or any one person. By leveraging automation, an evergreen sales funnel transforms new leads into customers quickly and efficiently, without requiring direct interaction from you.

The key components of an evergreen sales funnel include:

  • Automation: Streamlines processes to nurture leads and convert them into sales.
  • Continuous Leads: Attracts potential customers consistently, ensuring a steady flow of prospects.
  • Sales Generation: Facilitates self-service purchasing processes, allowing customers to buy at their convenience.

While the funnel is highly automated, it’s important to note that it’s not completely effort-free. Like any sales process, it requires regular maintenance and updates to remain effective.

Traditional vs. Evergreen sales funnels

Traditional sales funnels typically depend on specific launch events. Preparing for these events takes a lot of time and resources, resulting in sales spikes followed by quiet periods. This method requires constant attention and can be inflexible, as making any changes usually involves a complete redesign.

On the other hand, evergreen sales funnels run continuously. They automate lead generation and sales, eliminating the need for constant launching. This saves you time and creates a steady income stream, letting you focus on growing your business. 

Benefits of Evergreen Sales Funnels

  • More Time for Core Activities: For course creators and solopreneurs, an evergreen sales funnel means you can spend more time on the parts of your business you enjoy and are passionate about, rather than chasing clients or making sales.

  • Consistent Sales and Leads: With a well-automated funnel, you can achieve a predictable number of sales or new leads over time. This consistency makes it easier to plan and strategize for your business.

  • Long-Term Scalability: As your business grows, an evergreen sales funnel can easily be scaled to accommodate increased traffic and sales volume, allowing you to expand without significantly increasing your workload.

Building blocks of an evergreen sales funnel

Creating a High-Converting Offer

A high-converting offer is often a lead magnet, serving as the foundation of a successful evergreen sales funnel. The goal is to provide enough value upfront to entice visitors to join your funnel and explore your paid solutions.

A lead magnet is a free, valuable resource (e.g., e-book, checklist, webinar) that gives prospects a taste of your offering. To make your lead magnet irresistible, ensure it addresses a key pain point and is directly related to your course or membership.

Here are essential elements to include:

  • Clear value proposition: Highlight how your offer solves a specific, year-round problem.
  • Urgency and scarcity: Create urgency with limited-time bonuses or exclusive features.
  • Social proof: Use testimonials and case studies to build trust and credibility.
  • Enhanced sales page: Craft a clear sales page explaining the offer, its benefits, and a strong call to action.

Pro Tip: Start with live launches to fine-tune your product before automating with evergreen funnels.

Driving Traffic to Your Funnel

Your funnel won’t work if no one sees it, so it’s essential to share it everywhere. Use a mix of organic and inorganic methods to capture attention and drive traffic to your evergreen funnel. Here are some strategies to get started:

  • Send emails
  • Use Pinterest marketing
  • Get on a Podcast
  • Run paid ads on Facebook, Google, or other platforms
  • Enhance your website and funnel content for search engines
  • Post on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn

You don’t have to use every method. Choose what works best for your audience. Keep experimenting until you find the most effective way to generate continuous leads.

Did you know? SEO accounts for 53% of all trackable web traffic, making it a highly effective, long-term traffic source.

Building the Sales System

Once you have regular traffic coming in, it is time to build an automated sales system to make sure they convert. You can do this with:

  • Email Funnels: Use a combination of welcome funnels and webinar funnels to nurture and convert leads. Welcome funnels introduce new subscribers to your brand, while webinar funnels provide deeper education and strategically move leads toward a purchase.
  • Webinars: Automated webinars are often the core of evergreen funnels. They educate prospects, build trust, and convert leads into customers. Tools like EverWebinar help automate the entire process, from registration to replay.
  • Sales Pages: A well-crafted sales page is useful for converting prospects. It should be compelling, clear, and consistently optimized for high conversions.

Pro Tip: Start with a smaller, simpler funnel and expand as you gather data.

Tools for Automating Your Evergreen Funnel

Here are some of the most popular tools you can use to automate your evergreen funnels.

Email Marketing Automation Tools

An effective evergreen funnel depends a lot on email marketing to nurture leads and drive conversions. Some of the top email marketing platforms to consider include:

  • ActiveCampaign (our favourite)
  • ConvertKit (second favourite)
  • Mailchimp
  • Drip
  • AWeber

These platforms offer automation features, allowing you to set up and schedule email sequences, segment your audience, and track the performance of your campaigns.

Pro Tip: Use personalized emails to increase open and conversion rates.

Webinar Platforms

Webinars can be a powerful component of an evergreen funnel. They allow you to educate and engage your audience. Here are some popular webinar platforms:

  • EverWebinar
  • WebinarJam
  • Demio
  • EasyWebinar
  • GoToWebinar

These platforms offer automated, on-demand webinar options that simplify creating and scheduling webinars for your evergreen funnel. This flexibility allows leads to watch at their convenience, making it easy to scale your efforts.

Did you know? Webinars remain one of the most effective sales tools, with a 73% success rate in B2B lead generation.

Landing Page Builders

A well-designed landing page helps in capturing leads and driving them towards your offer. Some popular landing page builders include:

  • WordPress
  • ClickFunnels
  • Leadpages
  • Unbounce
  • Deadlinefunnel
  • Kartra
  • Kajabi

These tools offer templates, drag-and-drop features, and integrations with various marketing platforms, simplifying the process of designing high-converting landing pages for your evergreen funnel.

Pro Tip: Ensure your landing page has a clear and compelling call to action (CTA) to guide visitors on the next steps.

Step-by-step guide to setting up an evergreen funnel

Let us look into the step-by-step process of setting up an evergreen funnel.

Step 1 – Choose your evergreen product

For your sales funnel to be evergreen, the product or service you sell must also offer long-term value. Start by selecting a product that meets the ongoing needs of your prospects.

  • Avoid seasonal products: A product tied to specific seasons or trends won’t work in an evergreen funnel. Make sure what you offer remains relevant year-round.
  • Low maintenance: Choose a product that doesn’t require frequent updates or modifications, ensuring it’s ideal for automation.

For Example:
In the fitness industry, a product like a "Beginner’s Guide to Strength Training" e-book or video course is an ideal evergreen offering. It covers foundational techniques that stay relevant over time, making it a valuable resource for new clients year-round. 

Step 2 – Build your traffic source

With your evergreen product ready, the next step is to drive traffic to it. Start by focusing on one primary traffic source, such as SEO or Facebook Ads, and expand as your funnel matures.

  • Identify your ideal customer: Understand where your target audience is most active. Select the best way to reach them through paid ads, social media, or content marketing.
  • Set up lead magnets: Use free guides, checklists, or other valuable content to attract potential buyers and guide them into your funnel.
  • Create a consistent traffic flow: Build sustainable, ongoing traffic by focusing on SEO to rank higher in search results, engaging your audience with regular social media posts, and using retargeting ads to convert past visitors.

Pro Tip: On a budget? Prioritize organic traffic through SEO or content marketing to keep costs low while still generating leads.

Step 3 – Set up your email sequence

Most visitors won’t purchase in their first interaction. You need to nurture them with a well-crafted email sequence. Use automated emails to build relationships and guide them toward a purchase.

  • Provide Value: Send personalized, informative emails that offer tips, insights, and case studies relevant to their needs.
  • Tailored Messaging: Use segmentation to deliver the right messages to leads based on where they are in the customer journey.
  • Convert Leads into Sales: Mix educational content with soft sales emails, including testimonials and product offers, to encourage conversions.

Step 4 – Implement a webinar funnel

In addition to emails, webinars are a powerful tool for nurturing your prospects. They allow you to engage with your audience and answer their questions in real time. 

However, live webinars can be time-consuming and difficult to scale. Instead, consider developing a pre-recorded evergreen webinar that works on autopilot. 

  • Automate the Process: Use tools like EverWebinar and WebinarJam to let users watch your webinar on-demand or at scheduled times, providing flexibility for your prospects.
  • Drive Conversions: Guide attendees from the webinar directly to your product offer, combining urgency with value to increase conversions.

Pro Tip: Keep your webinar concise, engaging, and focused on answering key objections to avoid overwhelming your audience and ensure effectiveness.

Grow Your Business with
Deadline Funnel

Deadline Funnel gives each of your leads a unique and authentic deadline for your offer.

Sign Up

Optimizing your evergreen sales funnel

A/B Testing and Data Analysis

A/B testing involves comparing two versions of a specific element (such as headlines, CTAs, or email subject lines) to determine which one performs better. For accurate results, change only one element at a time.

You can experiment with various components, including email subject lines, webinar times, and landing page CTAs, to find out what resonates most with your audience. 

For example, create a paid ad for your new workshop, with Version A featuring a CTA like “Learn More” and Version B using “Register Now.” Run both ads simultaneously and analyze the results to identify the more effective CTA.

Use the insights gained from your A/B tests to make informed decisions that enhance your overall funnel performance. 

According to Optinmonster, split testing can significantly boost conversions, with some clients seeing increases as high as 1,500%. 

Fine-Tuning Your Traffic Sources

An evergreen sales funnel requires a steady flow of traffic. Avoid relying on just one source; instead, diversify your traffic channels as your funnel matures. 

Consider incorporating strategies such as podcasts, guest posts, and influencer marketing to ensure a more consistent influx of visitors.

By expanding your traffic sources, you enhance both your reach and consistency. This strategy not only broadens your audience but also strengthens your brand presence across multiple platforms.

Evergreen Sales Funnel Case Studies

Let us look at some successful real-world examples to understand how evergreen sales funnels can deliver impressive results for businesses of all sizes.

Outdoor Goods Business

A small outdoor goods company aimed to effectively convert website traffic into sales through an engaging sales funnel.

Challenge:
The company struggled to engage visitors and turn website traffic into paying customers.

Solution:
The company implemented a straightforward evergreen sales funnel, starting with an opt-in pop-up offering a discount code. This led to a welcome email sequence that delivered the coupon and nurtured new subscribers.

Result:

Gillian Perkins' Automated Funnel

Gillian Perkins sought to create a consistent revenue stream while minimizing manual efforts in her sales process.

Challenge:
She needed a way to consistently generate revenue without the burden of ongoing manual sales funnel management.

Solution:
She created an automated evergreen sales funnel that operates independently. This funnel attracts cold traffic with valuable content. It then directs visitors to free offerings, such as webinars or downloads, which convert leads into customers.

Result:

BNB Mastery

Founded by James Svetec, BNB Mastery employs an automated evergreen webinar funnel to drive impressive results.

Challenge: Initially, the business relied on a traditional model where webinars led to sales calls. This approach limited scalability and created a bottleneck in the sales process.

Solution: James transitioned to an automated evergreen sales funnel that enables sales directly from the webinar, eliminating the need for sales calls. After making some initial adjustments, the funnel was optimized for performance.

Result: The automated funnel achieved a remarkable 271% monthly ROI and generated $50,000 in monthly profit with minimal ongoing effort. 

Conclusion

Building an evergreen sales funnel provides you with a consistent flow of leads and sales without the need for constant intervention. By putting your sales process on autopilot, you can dedicate your time and energy to other important aspects of your business. 

Use the AI tools mentioned in this article to create a self-sustainable system that requires minimal input from you. This way, you'll have more time to concentrate on growing your business and exploring new ideas!

Megha Goel

Megha Goel is a content writer with a strong technical foundation, having transitioned from a software engineering career to full-time writing. From her role as a Marketing Partner in a B2B SaaS consultancy to collaborating with freelance clients, she has extensive experience crafting diverse content formats. She has been writing for SaaS companies across a wide range of industries since 2019.

Most Popular

4 min read
Quit Selling Ice To Eskimos — Finding Product Market Fit
Read More
7 min read
The Webinar Marketing Playbook — Free 6-Step Guide To Masterclass Profits
Read More
Cross-Selling and Upselling: How To Use Both To Increase Sales
Read More

Convert More Leads to Customers on Autopilot with Evergreen Email

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.