How to Build a Challenge Funnel

About this video

Martell presents the Challenge Funnel as a paid, time-boxed challenge that packages a desired customer outcome, drives product adoption, and reduces churn. Examples he cites include ClickFunnels’ One Funnel Away Challenge, described as a 30-day challenge charging $100, Trevor at Carrot.com’s Authority Challenge, and Omar at WebinarNinja’s Automated Webinar Challenge. He attributes results to clients as their claims/results in his coaching: one client generating 1,200 net new leads every week, some clients reducing churn by 30%, others doubling activation from 30% to 60%, and many acquiring a challenge customer for about $36-$37 with 60% or more becoming software customers. His five principles are: 1) drive adoption by using the challenge as a boat across the difficult setup stage; 2) build a bite-size bridge from A to B, not A to Z, with daily 6-7 minute chunks; 3) stack the offer (e.g. extending a 14-day trial to 30 or 45 days, templates, coaching) and add order bumps and a final ascension upsell so the first order can liquidate acquisition cost; 4) engage the cohort with daily homework and positive peer pressure; and 5) bolt the funnel onto trials, webinars as a downsell, podcasts, and onboarding.

Key takeaways

• Frame a specific outcome customers want as a paid, compressed-timeframe challenge rather than a free funnel alone.
• Design the challenge to drive product adoption: participants should use the product to complete the outcome and get activated.
• Break progress into bite-size bridges — A to B, not A to Z — with short daily steps over the challenge period.
• Stack the offer with trials, templates, coaching and tools, plus order bumps and an end-of-challenge upsell to raise average order value.
• Engage the cohort daily for positive peer pressure, and bolt the challenge onto signups, webinar downsells, podcasts, and onboarding calls.

Episode details: published May 18, 2020 · 14:11 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dan Martell’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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