Third in the series, Listen First, Optimize Second: Digital Marketing in the Age of AI, focused on sales funnels and why the path to a purchase starts with a small “yes.”

Interview by Rachel Stewart

They found you, followed you, clicked around, then left. Shannon Littke says that’s not a always a traffic problem, It might be a sales funnel problem.

In Part One of this series, Shannon, founder of Keep Your Money Local, walked us through SEO as a form of listening at scale: learning what your customers are already telling you before you spend your marketing budget trying to reach them.

In Part Two, Shannon explained how a marketing funnel moves people from total strangers to customers who are actually ready to buy, and keep buying (because you’ve already thought about what they’ll need next).

This time, we’re taking a deep dive into sales funnels. Once someone is ready to buy, how do you guide them to purchase? And then to purchase again?

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Picking Up the Thread

RACHEL: Last time, you said marketing builds trust and the sales funnel turns that trust into customers. Now that we’re here, how does “listen first, optimize second” apply to the sale itself?

SHANNON: Love how you tie it all in together, Rachel. This is where the sales funnel really comes into play. You’ve done the work to understand your customers, what they’re struggling with, and what they’re looking for. Now you get to use all that information to help them take the next step.

A good sales funnel follows your customer’s journey. You help them solve that first problem, but you don’t just leave them hanging! What’s the next thing they’re going to need? What new problem comes up once you’ve helped them with the first one? That’s where your next offer, product, or service comes in.

And this is where the optimize second part gets really interesting. It takes creativity, research, and a lot of testing to figure out what that next logical step should be. Sometimes what you think your customers need isn’t what they want. That’s why we pay attention to what they’re clicking on, what they’re buying, and where they’re dropping off.

And you don’t need an expensive analytics platform to start figuring this out. Want to see what people are actually doing on your website? Sign up for a free Microsoft Clarity account. You can see where visitors click, how they scroll, and where they might be getting stuck. Thank me later!

The First “Yes”

RACHEL: So how do you move from a marketing funnel to a sales funnel? You gave us a preview last time with the ice cream stand: napkins, a drink, sunscreen. Walk us through how that works for an online business.

SHANNON: It really comes down to a series of small yes’s. You’re not asking someone to go from discovering your business for the first time, to buying everything you offer. You’re helping them take on logical step at a time. And that first step is going to look different depending on who your customer is and how well they already know you.

Someone who’s never heard of your business before needs a different conversation than someone who’s been following you for months, or someone who’s already bought from you and loves what you do. Remember, we called these cold, warm, hot in the earlier parts. So rather than sending everyone to your homepage and hoping they figure out what to do next, you create one clear entry point that’s specific to that customer and where they are in their journey.

For someone new, that first “yes” might be downloading a free guide, signing up for a helpful resource, or trying a small introductory offer. For someone who already knows and trusts you, it might be booking a service or purchasing a product they’ve been already thinking about.

Now here’s where the fun begins. Once they’ve said yes, what’s next? For example, someone downloads your holiday gift guide, purchases a gift bundle, and then coming back for another occasion because you’ve continued to show up in their inbox and on social media. You’ve stayed top of mind and made it easy for them to buy from you again. That’s your second and third “yes”. It’s not about pushing more products on people. It’s about understanding what they’re trying to accomplish and helping them get there, one step at a time.

Expert Tip: Help first, sell second. This weekend, take a moment and really put yourself in your customers shoe’s as we head into the holidays. Think of one thing your ideal customer needs help with, right now. Maybe it’s a gift guide, a seasonal checklist, or a little advice that makes their life easier. Share something genuinely useful and give them one simple next step. This first “yes” can become the beginning of an entire customer journey.

From Follower to Customer

RACHEL: You said last time that a sales funnel can turn a $5 sale into $150. I think I saw one recently. You know the Instagram trend where you comment “Recipe” and the account automatically DMs you a link to buy something from their website? Mine was for a $30 meal planning PDF. I didn’t buy it, but I imagine the purchase would have added me to their mailing list, and I’d have started getting emails about their next PDF, or even a much bigger $300 meal planning course.

SHANNON: Yes, absolutely. That $30 purchase would have brought you into their world. And if you agreed to receive their emails, they could keep the conversation going.

That’s one of the biggest advantages of building your own customer list. You’re not relying entirely on social media algorithms to reach people who are already interested in your business.

Once someone is on your mailing list, you can communicate with them much more directly, often at very little additional cost. That direct connection could be what turns a one-time customer into a repeat one.

And once again, “listen first, optimize second” is the key. You need to understand what your customer’s next logical step is to keep them coming back.

You might set up a sequence of five to seven emails to keep that welcomes them, shares your story, offers something useful, and eventually introduces the next product or service that makes sense for them.But keep listening! If you customers’ needs change and your emails stop being relevant, they’ll naturally lose interest and look elsewhere.

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Expert tip: Your people already love you, have you said hello recently? One small step you can take this weekend is to reconnect with customers who already know and love your business. Send them a nice holiday preview email, a seasonal favourite recipe, or a fun early access to something special. For the next level, if you don’t have a simple automated email sequence welcoming your new subscribers and customers, sharing your story, building your relationship, and introducing the next logical offer, put it on your list. The real opportunity comes from creating a system that turns one-time buyers, into real returning customers.

Where Customers Slip Away

RACHEL: Last time, you mentioned a leak point in a funnel: businesses get people warm, then send them to a sales page that isn’t built for them. Where else do small businesses lose customers along the sales funnel?

SHANNON: There are so many little places where we lose customers without even realizing it. Sometimes it’s a confusing website, a missing call to action, or even a missed call.

But one of the biggest missed opportunities I see is what happens after the sale. Be truthful. When what the last time you reached out to your customer list to share something new, something relatable, or just to say hello?

You’ve already done the hard work of earning their trust. Don’t disappear once they’ve purchased!

Every business should have a simple follow-up process, whether that’s a personal check-in or an automated welcome series of five helpful emails. The point is to keep building that relationship without having to remember every single follow-up yourself.

And that’s actually where I want to go in our last conversation: customer retention, the relationships that keep people coming back, and all those little things that make your business relatable and awesome.

Tip: Make sure you show up for your customer who’s already looking for you. This weekend, do two things: First, check out your Google Business Profile, if your business is eligible for one. Make sure your hours are up to date, upload some fresh photos, and double-check your location and business details. Next, pull up your website on your phone and pretend you’re a first time customer. Can you easily find what you need? Understand pickup or delivery options? Complete a purchase or booking without getting frustrated? Every confusing step is an opportunity to lose a customer you worked hard to attract. Use your website analytics to find where people are leaving, and start fixing those gaps. Make shopping local the easy choice!