What Everyone Can Learn From My Experience Launching My First Sales Funnel (Must Read Before Launching Funnel or Shopify Store) and First Client??

Hey guys, Kelechi here, and in my last blog post which you can check out here, I mentioned that I was working on my sales funnel (I was selling gold chains which I was dropshipping from suppliers in China) which I wanted to launch, drive traffic too and then hopefully make a couple hundred bucks. Hang tight and I would be telling you how it went and the things I learned in the process.

So I launched my sales funnel Friday morning at around 11:30am. I had stayed up the night before trying to dot my “i’s” and cross my “t’s”. Making sure that the little things that needed to be fixed, were fixed.

I was at work when my influencer shoutouts went live and I was besides myself with excitement. I was pretty sure it was only a matter of time before my phone started going “ka-chings” from all the stripe payments of my new customers. I couldn’t wait to make some money so I could show my classmates see, it’s real, see this entrepreneurship thing works!

An hour went by and I thought you know a couple hours from now my phone would start buzzing. I started making excuses. Yeah my customers are probably just at work and they haven’t seen the influencer ads I put up. Give them some more time I thought…

Then 2, 3 hours went by and then I started thinking you know. They’re probably just not going to buy. I decided to enjoy the little wins instead, I launched my first funnel like I said I would, that means I can do the things I set my mind to do. I got it out there, that means I can go back and tweak it and make it work.

I remembered in my last post I said I would tell you all how it goes. So regardless of the fact that I didn’t make any sells, I’d like to turn this into a WIN for you, my reader, so if ever you’re at a point where you’re about to launch an online sales funnel or online store maybe you can learn from my experience and make some tweaks to yours to make yours a little more successful.

Start reaching out to influencers at least a week in advance and shoot for 100.

After you build and launch your funnel or store, the next step is getting your customers to show up. They are referred to as Traffic. There are a bunch of ways to go about getting traffic. Facebook ads and Influencer shoutouts are some of the easiest ways to go about it though, especially if you are short on time.

The latter, influencer shoutouts, is best if you’re short on cash. I fall into that category so I decided to reach out to influencers. I reached out to about 30 something influencers about two days before I launched my funnel. And only 5 of them responded. Out of those 5 I was only able to reach an agreement with 2 of them. They had total of 37k combined followers on IG so I thought I was going to be fine.

In hindsight, I should have reached out to more influencers. I didn’t get anywhere close to 100 views on my page which is the least I should be shooting for so I can properly analyze how good my funnel is doing…

My mentor suggests I reach out to a 100 influencers next time. The reason being not all of them would respond to you. Not that they’re mean, but sometimes they have so many people reaching out to them, that your message just goes to a long list of people trying to get their attention and do business with them…

Also pro tip, send both “dms” and emails. It would increase your chances of being noticed and getting across to the influencer and being taken more seriously. Reaching out a week before your launch allows for any delays in hearing back from them.

You learn by DOING not by thinking about it or watching youtube videos. 

If you ever wanted to start an online business, you’ve probably googled, “How to make money online” or maybe searched for it on Youtube. This is great. It helps to see that what you are wanting to do is possible, that there are people like you succeeding and that you aren’t weird for wanting to do that.

Here’s the thing though, because of the wealth of information and content on the internet, it is very easy to be sucked into a vacuum of videos, tutorials, vlogs and what not that have nothing to do with starting. People get stuck watching videos and looking for answers to every single objection that might arise instead of simply starting…

It’s going to be uncomfortable and borderline scary but embrace it!

From experience, I know throwing yourself in uncomfortable situations is the only way for you to ever get good at that stuff. Just get started! You will learn as you go. This is something Stephen Larsen calls “Selective Learning”. Only learn what you need to know for the very next step… 

This last weekend, right before I launched my funnel I didn’t know how to launch it. I knew how to build it though, but launching as in making it go live, buying a domain name, adding your products to the software integrating a payment gateway and designing the swipe up ads were all foreign to me. In my head I’d assumed that when the time came, my mentor Mason, would hold my hand and we’d figure it out.

Nothing could be further from the truth! When I thought I needed him most, he let me be uncomfortable. He was busy working on his own funnels and so I had to go figure it out by myself.

Trust me on this: Nothing compares to the feelings of confidence and certainty you get from figuring something that you thought was once really difficult!

The next thing is…

Set a Hard Deadline and Tell People about it. 

While working on this funnel, my biggest fear was not that I wouldn’t make any money from it, it was actually that I wouldn’t launch it. See somehow I knew one key to being successful in this funnel game and online business is to take that first step! To get my first one out of the way or first failure if you will.

So how I made sure that I did launch it was to one,  set a hard deadline. I told my self come rain or shine I would launch my funnel Friday and then the second thing is to tell people about it. I told my siblings, my accountability partner, posted it on my blog and the influencers I reached out to.

I made it so that I had to get it done and live by Friday and it worked for me. One thing this really helped with is that it made me only focus on the things, that really really mattered. If it was not going to help me get my funnel up and running I didn’t bother with it. So it’s something I would recommend. And not just in the funnel game but this is something you can apply in life as well.

Are there things you’ve been putting off that you want to get done?? Set a goal to do it, set a hard deadline and then tell people about it! If you still don’t get it done after doing this then it’s probably not that important to you and you shouldn’t be worrying about it anyway.

Whew…

If you’ve read this far, “you’re a real one, you’re loyal and I appreciate you” *dj khaled voice*

I know I did not make money from my funnel this weekend like I wanted, but I don’t want you to feel bad because I’ve got some good news!

Today, at the agency, Mason got a referral from one of our clients and decided the agency couldn’t take him on but I could as a personal client. Mason put in a good word for me and I am going to be meeting with him tomorrow. If the meeting goes well, I would have my very first client and can get paid.

I am excited but to be honest I am also nervous and a little uncomfortable. I have never managed a whole client’s account just by myself. So this is a first but it is in the right direction. I’m looking forward to the positive stress and growth that will come as a result. I will let you know how it goes.

So again guys, thanks for reading and till next time…

be great!

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5 ideas to INSTANTLY turn your life around and Achieve your goals BEFORE THE YEAR IS OVER.

Here are some ideas that I’ve been learning from mentors and applying the last couple weeks. I feel following these to the detail would bring me a lot closer to my end of the year goals than anything else.

Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. You would either lose a ton of money or time in the process, and there is the risk of having nothing to show for it. You need to find somebody who is operating in your field and winning and model, not copy but model, what they do! This is advice that works in anything from writing papers(lol trust me I would know), to starting a business.

Proximity is key. They say your income is the average of your 5 closest friends, and I firmly believe they. If you want something or want to become a certain somebody go to places where people who a) already have that thing, and b) people who want to have that thing congregate. The advantages of being in that atmosphere of people gunning for similar goals cannot be overstated. Just by being there your eyes are opened to possibilities you never thought possible and networking.

This next one, goes hand in hand with the previous tip and has a lot to do with what you feed your mind. One thing I have convinced myself is that the difference between me and the people who have what I want or the people I want to be like can be boiled down to three things. One, what they feed their mind mind with; Two, how they spend their 24 hours, and Three, the people they associate with. I then decided that one way to achieve my goals is to immerse myself in the same content as my mentors. Not to hate on rap but music has been reduced to just when I’m in the gym and occasionally I would listen to an audio book  in the gym instead, that’s how deeply I am trying to immerse myself.

Careful who you take advice from. If they don’t have what you want you don’t have any business taking their advice. For example, a broke individual doesn’t have shit to tell me about where to put my money and investing, and a dude who’s never had girlfriend can’t teach me how to get a girl . Once you get started on this journey you would have a bunch of naysayers and negative people who try to tell you it won’t work out or that the people you are following are scammers. If such a person doesn’t have what you want don’t listen to them.

Lastly, never eat lunch alone. I have a mentor who said in the last 15 years he’s never eaten lunch alone its always with a client or prospective business partner. Thats a whole lot of lunches which translates to a whole lot of deals which means a whole lot of money. So I put my own spin on it, I will not eat lunch alone, it will always be with people who I can learn something from or people with whom I am interested in furthering a relationship with.

I would love to know which of these ideas you thought was really cool or which of these ideas you’re already working on.

Remember execution is key.

YOU WON’T ALWAYS GET IT ON THE FIRST TRY, BUT THAT SHOULDN’T STOP YOU.

It is said that whoever has not failed before, has not done anything for the first time. Now while failure could be relative and its meaning varying with different individuals, one constant applying to everyone is that you would not always get it right the first time. 

You fall while learning to walk, while learning to ride a bike the odds are great that you would fall and perhaps sustain an injury, and it is said that while learning to drive if you have not had an accident(reversing into an electric pole or hitting the goal post in a football field perhaps, you guessed right, those were my accidents) you have not started.

Whether you agree with this or not, the fact still remains that you won’t always get it right the first time. 

Given this piece of somewhat discouraging information, what do you do? Do you because you fail at your first try you give up? And pick the path of less resistance or do you keep on?

Many times I start writing something, it’s not flowing as I want and I get discouraged and leave it entirely. But this is wrong and something I plan to stop. Which is mainly why I’m writing this, because you like me might have gotten discouraged when you didn’t get something right the first time. Stopping because of that would not make things better but only end your chances of ever getting it right in future. 

You just have keep moving. Just like you did with walking, talking and writing, you’ll get the hang of whatever it is eventually. And in due time, you’ll get to the point where getting it on the first try becomes second nature, and whenever you touch it it turns to gold. 

Do have a great week ahead! 

Regards, 

Kelechi Ochulo.

Photo source. 

TWO THINGS THAT CAN KEEP YOU FROM MORE SUCCESS.

Don’t let past failures get in the way of your future success.

Yes. This is very true. That you’ve tried and failed doesn’t mean you should just stop there, though I tell you sometimes it can feel like there’s no hope anymore, but still you have to keep pushing. 

If it were like that, I mean if all the greats an inventors gave up after their first few failed attempts we might not have the light bulb, airplanes, cars, electricity, iPhones to mention but a few products where the inventors had to fail and start again. 

Yeh yeh, you might be thinking someone else might have taken their place and invented it but you get what I’m trying to say. 

But more than that, it’s even more important that you don’t let previous success get in the way of future success. 

With the right mindset, one successful event, task or goal can be a stepping stone to more greater things or shall I say more wins! 

But the minute you decide to dwell on past successes instead of going to work, allowing your head to “swell”, thinking all there is to be gotten has been gotten, chai. I won’t say more than that. 

Previous successes are a good thing. Let them encourage you to do more. And that’s the key, do more. 

See ehn, If there’s anything you shouldn’t be contented with in this life, it’s how much you’ve achieved. *drops mic. 

*picks up mic again*

Please have a good day everybody and a wonderful week ahead. 

Feature image source.

I KNOW A GUY; DJS, VALUE PROVIDERS AND MONEY CHASERS!

I know a guy. He wants to be a DJ. He’s serious about it and I’m proud of him. 

  
He took to his Twitter the other day, to inform friends and haters of his new love. I sent him a Dm, I wanted to know just how serious he was. And he really meant it. 
I hope he knows that when I said I was in support I really meant it too. 

In a time when everyone wants to take photos, start a cloth line or model it’s very refreshing for me to see someone doing something outside the established clichés. 
I think the reason for that, why people are crowding those three I mentioned earlier is because they’ve adopted this chase money mentality. And they feel like oh people have made it through this fields so I must too, forgetting that they are breaking and entering Into an already crowded market and are making matters worse for themselves. 

  
See money is like someone out of your league. Why you spend time and energy chasing after money, money is chasing after the person in its league. That person is called value. 

So what if you stepped up? What if you provided something people value? Things that are in demand? If the demand is not existing already, then create it. Help people see why they need what you’re offering. 

The result would be that this time, money would be the one chasing you. 

  
I hope in your life, you get to the point where money chases after and overtakes you. 

It’s my wish and prayer for you this day and also that you have a wonderful week. In Jesus Christ’s name amen! 

  
Happy mothers’ day all!

FOR THE STRENGHT TO MOVE ON.

You ever been in a situation where you try so hard in an old relationship that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. 

Like you know it’s not going anywhere but you just hang on you know? For the sake of old times and all of that? 

Well I’ve been there. And what usually happens is that forcing it? Rather than fixing stuff it’ll most often sour the relationship even more. 

Everyone comes to our lives for a reason. Some have their purposes fulfilled in a short term. Some in the mid term to long run and some would be there for the rest of our lives.

Interestingly, some won’t even discover/fulfill their purpose in your life. They just come and perambulate. But this isn’t about them. They are they. Let’s leave they alone. 

So my point is, we are not going to be friends with everyone for ever. 
Some people we would have to let go you know. Not because of pride, arrogance or any of that. But because we change, we grow, we develop different interests and get on different paths. 

In my opinion, when we force things we ruin the good memories, good times and lessons we’ve accumulated over the years or time spent together. 

So here’s what I suggest. Should you find yourself in a relationship that’s gone sour past the point of no return, it’s time to end it. 

Treasure the memories, treasure the good times, and all the lessons and just let it be. 

After all, in the words of Sandi Lynn, “at some point you have to realize that some people can stay in your heart but not in your life.”

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DONT PLAY YOURSELF.

Have you ever been in one of those situations, where in all sincerity you know you were the one who put yourself in a position of disadvantage? Or should I say in a point to be insulted? 

Well, if so you played yourself. 

The message here is simple. Don’t play yourself. Don’t ever play yourself. 

Sometimes we play ourselves unconcsiously. You have a class to attend an you decide to cut class for no reason. Congratulations. You just played yourself. 

What if in that class the instructor touched on very key points you’ll need later? Besides all the lessons are like pieces of a puzzle that might not look like anything on their own, but are part of the big picture. 

You are playing yourself if you have opportunity to learn a skill, but you pass on the opportunity because no one else is doing something like that. Or maybe you are ashamed for one reason or another. 

If so, you are playing yourself big time! Because no one ever becomes truly wealthy with just one 9-5 job. And the way Nigeria is that jobs are not guaranteed, you need to have something doing other than what you’ve studied in the university. 

You are playing yourself if you have the opportunity to learn a foreign language and you pass. Extra languages and skills are some of the things that look attractive on a C.V and set you apart from other job seekers! 

You are playing yourself if you look down on others and pass on the opportunity to make contacts and meet new people. Because you are no fortune teller and can’t write someone’s future off. You never know whose help you might need in future. 

You are playing yourself if you think you are being smart by cutting corners and cheating. You are setting a trap for yourself that would catch up to you in the future. 

I’ll allow you to figure out other ways in which you can play yourself and avoid it. 

Don’t play yourself. Don’t put yourself in a position to be insulted or that would be a disadvantage to you later. 

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SOME ADVICE FOR THE NEW YEAR!

Hey everyone! Let’s take a minute of our revelry to do a brief reflection shall we? Thank you. So here’s the thing. 

This same time last year, there were probably resolutions made and goals set. Probably. Now I want to ask you, would you being honest agree to have achieved that? 

If no, that’s okay. You aren’t alone. I at times, am haunted by the goals I set for myself with a deadline of my 14th or was it 16th birthday now. Let me just say it’s a work in progress. 

Well why is it so? Why do we make resolutions and cave before the end of the first quarter? You’re lucky if you even get to the end of the month! Why is this so? It’s become so bad that, when you if you tweet your resolutions, trust Twitter, there’ld be people who’ll deride you. 

I feel it’s because it’s usual to make decisions in the excitement of the moment. We sometimes make this decisions and promises to ourselves without carefully calculating the costs. And it’s sad, because if there’s any mortal who you should treat your promises to with the utmost care, it’s yourself! 

So what can we do to make these resolutions have more meaning. What can we do in order to make 2016 be different for us and to actually achieve these goals we’ve set for ourselves! 

One, we’ve got to be familiar with the price! Every tom dick and Harry knows that there’s a price to pay for success. It’s no more news. But not as many people know what exactly that price is. So get familiar with the price. 

What would you have to sacrifice to get this? Would have to watch less tv to study more? Or maybe wake up earlier to go for a run if such is your speed? I hope you have an idea. Know what it’ll take and be prepared to do it. 

Again, it’s been said that a goal not written down is merely a wish. A goal written down with steps becomes a plan. A plan followed through with action is almost always equals to success. Even if you didn’t get exactly what you wanted, you’d be closer to success than the one who merely wished. 

So break your goals into plans, that span across months and weeks which can be further broken down into tidbits. Breaking your plans into weekly/daily activities make for easy remembrance and subsequently, success! 

Finally, don’t go to sleep on your good ideas this year. JUST DO IT. Notice I’m capitalizing. Well this is mainly for me to be honest. I’m shouting at myself at this point, because it’s pains me that I didn’t write some things in 2015. It pains me that I didn’t bring some ideas shared with me into light this last year. The relationships I allowed to die… I could go on and on but I’m all about positivity you know. And I don’t want to jinx this brand new year. 

But the thing is, you might have such things you should and could have done last year but for some reason you weren’t able to do. That’s alright. You’ve got a new year/chapter to write as you wish. A clean slate if you will! So you make it count. 

I really hope you put these into consideration dear reader. 
I hope 2016 is bigger than you ever imagined. 

Most importantly, don’t play yourself. 

Remain blessed! 

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GET IT DONE!

Today was a good day. 

At the beginning however, it looked like it was going to be the opposite. 

We’d made plans for the day, but Lagos traffic as it often does, had other plans and imposed it’s agenda on us. 

I was annoyed that we had to change plans at first, but knowing fully well what i can and can’t control I decided to adjust my attitude. 

The day went quite well, I did get a lot of sleep and balanced my accounts in the shut eye realm, which was really a high point for me. 

The most important thing however, is that I was always to make significant progress on a project I’ve been putting of for a while. 

What happened? 

Well today, as I awoke and I was going through my daily plans I just decided that I had to do it! 

I made the decision, and I was able to do it. 

At the moment, I really feel good with my self.

So let’s get you feeling that way too. 

I’ll love for you to ponder over some important things that you’ve been putting off for like forever. 

Please do. 

Did you? Great! 

Now I need you to decide to get it done Tomorrow. 

No excuses, no buts, no ifs. Just do!

Get it done tomorrow and see the difference in the way you’ll feel. 

I look forward to you getting results!

Cheers! 

THE SEEMINGLY HARD THINGS.

THE SEEMINGLY HARD THINGS. 

I was talking with my friend Simi yesterday when she mentioned how tough school is for her at the moment. According to her it wasn’t Math, Physics or Chemistry that were her problem, but Academic skills. A compulsory class for students in her school that focuses on skills like writing and the rest. 

She says it’s quite stressful and since she started school in September, one of her friends have dropped out for the mean time, and some others tease her because she’s the only one who attends every class. They claim it’s cause she’s still “young.”

I empathize with Simi because I have and still am and still would in the future, deal with hard things. I’m not wishing my self ill, but I say this knowing that the path to achievement and success in one’s goals is fraught with challenges and these “simingly” hard things. (hehe, you see what I did with Simi’s name yeh? Oh you don’t. Ok moving on)

I’ve come to understand that in this life, there’s a price to be paid. There’s always a price. Everyone has their own share of hard things. There’s no two ways about it. The only differences exist in the form my hard things may take vs yours, and when I decide to face these hard things or other wise pay the price. 

You might be doing these hard things, these stressful things and making the sacrifices now, while I might be laughing or teasing or simply just being chilled. In the long run, that choice would catch up to me. 

Jim Rohn said, “you can either pay now or play later. Or play now and pay later. But you would always pay.”

I choose to pay now. 

I choose to do the hard things now and live easier later. 

I choose to work my butt of now so I can get what I want later. (I don’t need butt anyway) 

One needn’t think later would be so soon or very far ahead either. Take Simi for example. If she consistently takes her academic skills classes and does everything she has to do now, in two or three years from now, the difference in her education would be very clear from those of her counterparts picking the easy way out. 

And that’s what I use to encourage myself whenever I have to do hard things and those around me seem to be picking the easier way out. I simply remind myself that we’re headed for different destinations. And that kind of comforts me. 

Now, as we’re different individuals, what might have a cooling and comforting effect might not do the same for you. Heck, even panadol works for some and doesn’t work for others. But I want you to know that it’ll be worth it in the end. I know. I know.

So this post is for Simi, and for all others who have to do these hard things. No matter how young or old, it’s never to late to pay the price for a better and brighter future. 

With love, 

Kelechi Ochulo.

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