3 Common VSL Book-a-Call Funnel Mistakes (Part 1): Everything But the VSL

If you have a VSL book-a-call funnel, buckle up!

See, after driving hundreds of thousands of clicks to this type of funnel, and after optimizing and tweaking dozens of them, I've identified the 3 common blunders that can obliterate conversions and shoot up your cost per booked call. And consequently, your cost per sale.

As you know, VSL book-a-call funnels can be nerve-wracking. You see money going out (ad spend) but don't know when (and if) the money will come in.

In this article, I'll share the 3 common VSL book-a-call funnel mistakes. I'm dedicating part 1 (the one you're reading right now) to the 3 mistakes that have nothing to do with the VSL but affect conversions just as much.

Knowing these will allow you to spot them in your funnel and fix them ASAP. Which, in turn, will reduce your cost per call, increase your margins, and allow you to finally scale your funnel.

So, without further ado, let's dive in!

What's a VSL book-a-call funnel?

A VSL book-a-call funnel is a type of funnel designed to generate calls with prospects. Typically, it looks something like this:

Ad → Landing page → VSL → Application → Book a call.

The biggest users of this type of funnel are businesses that sell their services via a sales call. Typically that includes coaches, consultants, and service-based businesses such as agencies and freelancers.

Even though VSL funnels are amazing at quickly generating sales calls, they are one of the hardest funnels to nail at scale and on cold traffic (keywords: scale and cold traffic).

Truth be told, anyone who's half decent at marketing can build a VSL book-a-call funnel that works on a warm audience. Doing the same thing on cold traffic isn't as easy, and it requires a higher level of competency for two reasons:

First off, asking people who already know, like, and trust you to watch your "free" training (i.e. your VSL) is wildly different from asking strangers who never heard of you to do the same thing.

Secondly, the stakes are high. You can spend a few thousand dollars before finding out your funnel isn't profitable. Which, for any owner-operated, bootstrapped business, can be a disaster.

The first step to prevent such a disaster is to avoid the most common pitfalls. Let's start with the first one.

Mistake #1: Low-intent traffic

When optimizing VSL funnels, most people jump straight into optimizing the VSL. And even though it's arguably the biggest lever to pull, it doesn't work in a vacuum.

See, optimizing a VSL funnel starts at the ad level. Your ad must amplify intent, pre-qualify, and pre-sell your audience on watching your VSL.

The worst thing you can do is have a clickbaity or "blind" ad that drives a ton of traffic to your VSL but with a LOW level of INTENT.

Hook people in. Let them know what it's about. And sell them on the benefit of watching your free training. For example:

"In this free training, I reveal the 3-step system to build a six-figure business in the next 90 days."

Mistake #2: Landing page extravaganza

Sometimes I click on an ad, I get to the landing page, and it's an extravaganza of distracting stuff. Features and benefits. Origin story. Testimonials. FAQ. Etc.

Listen, all of the above is a must-have on any landing page or sales page. And I know this may sound counterintuitive, but when it comes to the VSL book-a-call funnel, after optimizing dozens of them, I GUARANTEE you that simple always wins.

All the elements mentioned above should NOT be your landing page. Your LP should be single-handedly focused on one goal: make your audience watch the VSL.

Nothing else to do. Nothing else to see. They either watch the VSL. Or they bounce.

Mistake #3: No retargeting

This is a big one.

Generally speaking, when driving paid traffic to a funnel, you need to squeeze the most juice out of the traffic. And in the case of a VSL book-a-call funnel, that's even more important.

Because you only get paid AFTER you close the deal, which typically takes a few days. Therefore, you can't afford to let any lead slip through the cracks.

You need a comprehensive retargeting and follow-up strategy to ensure you book as many qualified calls as possible.

That's it for the mistakes around the VSL. In Part 2, I get into the VSL itself, the 3 pitfalls inside the video that quietly tank your conversion rate.