The Sales Funnel

Sales 101 = there is the marketplace where you find leads, identify interested prospects, and hopefully convert them in to sales. In this online dating scenario Match.com is the marketplace (with 15+ million users), the faces and profiles you come across are the leads, the prospects are people who initiate or respond to contact with you, and a “sale” is the date. Hell - I suppose a relationship is a loyal customer.

It’s not just the straight-up numbers you need to consider. It’s the conversion rates.

Marketplace to leads:
How many profiles come across my plate? The way Match is setup, five new profiles are sent to you each day. Signed up for 3 months, so that’s 450 leads pushed at me. Not to mention any extra profiles I view…. So to make this a round number and reflect the reality of my online usage, let’s say in 3 months I will come across 1,000 leads. Calculate 15 million by 1,000… that makes this conversion rate far less than 1%.

Leads to prospects:
Here’s the acid test. Am I being forward and winking or emailing? Am I responding to those who give me attention, or am I being critical and stingy? It’s too early to calculate a true conversion, but I would guesstimate out of 1,000 leads, we may convert 5% into prospects. That would be 50 people in 3 months that we communicate with.

Prospects to sales:
If magic happens and 50 interesting prospects fall across my Raggedy lap in the next 3 months, how many will turn in to a date? I would like to set a goal of 10. Ten dates in 3 months.

As would any good sales manager, I will monitor my numbers and conversions rates to see if anything needs tweaking along the way. Here’s to hoping at least one of those 10 dates turns into a loyal customer.

Wrinkled Winkers

I’m signed up. Built my profile. Set my dream date criteria. And I’ve even winked at a dozen dudes already. Who is winking at me? The Wrinkled Winkers.

I’d hate to admit I have ageism, but the rule-of-thumb I am sticking with is that the guy I date can’t be older than my Big Brother (who is 36). It just doesn’t seem right that I’d date someone who potentially was my Bro’s peer, or worse yet, his senior. My Big Brother is my buffer… as in I can’t be getting too old because my Brother is that much older. Always. Maybe this is my way of protecting myself against my own aging. Denying it, even.

Don’t get me wrong. So far in my 30 years I have loved each year of my life more than the last. But sorry gentlemen, I am old enough to know that if you’re over 36 I am not mature enough to entertain dating you. This chick wants a rooster closer to my genre.

Disclaimer about "Raggedy Ann"

Don’t want you thinking I am a homely girl, or red head, or have stitches coming out of my seams or any other doll-like characteristics. Truth be told I am all natural, slender, very tall, quite active brunette… and in most places outside of Southern California I dare say I've been regarded as a pretty lady. But I find myself in the state of Californ-I-A, in a state of befuddlement. To compete with the bountiful beauty and mayhem of modification I figured I’d make this a numbers game. The more guys I can meet through online dating, the more likely I will find one who sees through the haze of hydrogen peroxide and into my black button eyes. (And if I find a true love and his name is Andy I am going to laugh my metaphorical ass off).