Let me describe the perfect sales scenario for you.
- Prospect finds out about your company
- Prospect looks into your company and what you do
- Prospect buys without having to speak to anyone in your company
Wouldn’t business be simple if it always happened that way? No need to hire any salespeople and invest in tools and systems to make contact and have a conversation.
Just put messages out there, have a good website or social profile, and watch the money come in…..
Ah alas. And then we all woke up and the dream ended. It never seems that easy in reality is it?
I had a conversation with a business owner who sells business services this last week about the challenges he was facing with his sales team and he described what he wanted to ideally happen. I agreed with him and said it would be the Nirvana.
He asked me ‘How can we make this happen’ and we then talked about a few things before I proceeded to mention the words TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU to him. And how important it was to understand these stages and ensure that his prospects had the relevant information they needed at each stage in the journey.
He looked at me as if I was talking about foods at the Vegan Deli….
This business owner isn’t alone in wanting to simplify the buying process for his business.
We all want prospects to find out about what we do and then just buy without having to speak to someone but whilst it can be done, it’s nigh on impossible to do this without the right content and materials being in place.
Enter our vegan deli products the OFU’s 🙂
So what role do TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU have in solving this challenge?
The basic building block of ANY sale (whether product or service) is either a Problem or a Desire.
It can be both combined or one on its own but it has to be one of these.
For example, you send lots of proposals but don’t hear back from those you speak with (problem) and you want to win more business so that you can achieve your target and impress your boss/other people (desire).
Regardless of whether you sell a product or service every purchasing decision starts with one of these 2 aspects.
And more people (7 out of 10 people) take action from the problem than they do from the desire. It’s just human nature. If you have toothache, you want to see a dentist in the next 48 hours but if you want to get your teeth whitened then most people would be happy to wait a few weeks to get an appointment.
So this is where the buyer journey starts.
And this is also why you have to put in place effective content at that stage of the process for the buyer to engage with.
Enter our friend TOFU: Top of Funnel Content
If someone is sending lots of proposals but not hearing back from people, what are they likely to do?
Most people will start to search on Google or search on YouTube or search on other social networks or maybe ask other colleagues for advice.
They are at this stage looking for information (ie content) that can help them solve their issue. They are looking for blog posts that answer the issue or maybe a video or podcast that can share some insights on the problem.
TOFU content is the materials that companies share to help buyers solve their problems and desires. It could be a Blog, a Video, a Podcast, an Infographic, or a Research Article but the goal of this content is to share ideas and tips to help the buyer who has the problem solve the issue. The person with the problem (potential buyer) searches and is made AWARE of a solution. An example of this would be the video below – See what I have done there 🙂
So let’s carry on the journey for this buyer.
Hello to our next friend MOFU - Middle of Funnel Content
They watch the video and think this is helpful. They are keen to implement some of the new ideas they learned in the first video, but they also start to wonder what other resources this person/company has to share that could be useful for them. They even start to think whether it could be worth investing in some help to get the problem resolved.
They consume more videos and then find other content that they like. The person/company has a podcast and a blog with other valuable ideas. They then see a link to a free educational resource which they can download if they enter their email address. They think why not? They have built some trust with this person/company and like the way they come across. The buyer is now EVALUATING whether they might want to work with them and when they get the resource sent to them, their positive perception of the person/company increases even more.
MOFU Content is the material that builds on the good work done at the top of the funnel. It might include an educational resource, a quiz, an email to sign up for, or even an online event to attend. It’s content which is more detail-rich and valuable and so is likely to require some form of commitment from the buyer.
That might only be the commitment of an email address but its content which is too good to give away for nothing.
A sample of this type of content is in the link below. Once again, sharing, for example, purposes only. 
‘https://www.jameswhite.business/resources/52-of-the-best-sales-qualifying-questions-to-ask/
Let’s finish this journey for our imaginary buyer and introduce…
Our final OFU friend BOFU - Bottom of Funnel Content
A few days after they received the educational guide, they get sent another bonus resource guide, and then a week later (after they have consumed more of the good content the person shared) they get an email with 2 customer stories. The stories outline how these people (and there are links to social media to see they are real) have, as a result of buying one of the courses from the company been able to win more business. The email outlines what is covered in the course, who it is suitable for, and who it’s not aimed at.
The email isn’t pushy but informative. It is congruent with the rest of the material shared by the person/company and provides a link to an online course. They click on the link and see a course that is offered at a reasonable price and which others seem to like.
They see a sample of what is offered in the course and how it is provided with worksheets that can help them implement the learnings.
The price of the course is also very reasonable and one which doesn’t require a huge amount of thought to buy. It could even be put down as a business expense
At this point, the buyer is convinced that this would help them solve some of their problems and is CONVERTED. They enter their card details, purchase the service, and become a customer.
All from a journey that started a few weeks back about a problem that they wanted to solve.
BOFU content is where you can share videos of demonstrations or examples of how your service works or comparison sheets to show what it offers when compared to other competitors or customer stories and testimonials.
These are the materials that are used at the bottom of the funnel where the buyer is bought into the overall offering but just needs a bit more help, assistance, and assurance to complete the job and purchase from you.
The content here should build on what you have already shared and facilitate the final buying decision rather than add more complexity or questions to the process. It is all about reinforcing why the buyer can solve their problems by choosing your solution and what the impact will be once they do this.
No, I am not going to share an example of this as you will think I am just here trying to sell my courses. Oops – how did this link get in this email 
Of course, once you have someone as a customer, it’s your job and responsibility to then build strong relationships with them but the initial hard work has been done. And all without any salesperson having to make a call as well!
I share this information and method with you not in some glib sense that I have got it all right.
Far from it. We still have lots of work to do in our business to make this overall process slick and effective for buyers and I also know that if the course or service I shared was £1000 plus, the process would be harder.
But, what this hopefully does show is how through the provision of TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU content and materials, you can provide the buyer with more of a self-service guide through your company.
I am a MASSIVE believer in the value of content and the impact it can have on buyer journeys. It’s why I have invested nearly £200,000 in creating content over the last 5 years and why I will continue to invest in this area in the coming 5 years.
Content works when done in the right way and with the right structure. It sells for you when you are asleep dreaming of the perfect sales scenario….
Right off to the Vegan deli 
