# Funnel-audit Human Guide

## What This Is For
Audit existing sales funnels against RMBC and CRO best practices — score each step, identify conversion leaks, and output a prioritized fix matrix. It gives the agent a clearer input/output frame for funnel-audit: what context to ask for, what decisions to make, and what usable artifact to return.

Use this as a human-readable version of the Funnel-audit agent skill. It is meant for marketers, operators, founders, and other non-coders who want the workflow without reading agent-specific implementation instructions.

## When To Use This
- Use this when you need a repeatable process for funnel-audit.
- Use this when the task needs judgment, examples, constraints, or a clear output format rather than a one-off prompt.
- Use this when you want to hand an AI assistant enough context to produce a usable marketing artifact.

## When Not To Use This
- Do not use this when you only need a quick factual answer.
- Do not use this when the work depends on private data you cannot share with the assistant.
- Do not use this as a replacement for legal, compliance, financial, or medical review.

## What You Need Before Starting
- The goal or business outcome you want.
- The audience, customer segment, or market context.
- Any source material the assistant should respect, such as notes, briefs, examples, URLs, or brand guidance.
- Constraints such as tone, length, channel, deadline, region, or approval requirements.
- A clear definition of what a good final answer should look like.

## Step-By-Step Workflow
1. State the job clearly: "Use the Funnel-audit guide to help me with..."
2. Add context: audience, goal, offer, channel, source material, and constraints.
3. Ask the assistant to identify missing inputs before producing the final output.
4. Have the assistant follow the skill-specific guidance below.
5. Review the result against the final checklist and ask for revisions where needed.

## Skill-Specific Guidance
- **The leak** — Which step and what's failing
- **Revenue impact** — Estimate how much revenue this leak costs (if metrics provided, calculate; if not, estimate based on typical benchmarks)
- **Root cause** — RMBC diagnosis: is it a Research failure (wrong audience assumptions), Mechanism failure (weak "why"), Brief failure (unclear page strategy), or Copy failure (poor execution)?
- **Benchmark gap** — Compare the step's performance to industry benchmarks for this funnel type
- **Revenue Impact (1-5):** How much revenue will fixing this recover?
- **Ease of Fix (1-5):** How quickly can this be implemented? (5 = copy change, 1 = rebuild)
- **Priority Score:** Impact × Ease (highest score = fix first)
- Every funnel step must be scored — no skipping steps because they "seem fine"
- Scores must be justified with specific observations, not just numbers
- Revenue impact estimates must show reasoning (conversion rate × traffic × AOV)
- Fix priority matrix must rank by Impact × Ease — not by gut feeling
- Structural gaps must be flagged even if the user didn't mention them

## Decision Points And Nuance
The original skill emphasizes: Purpose, Inputs, Execution Protocol, Step 1 — Load Framework Context, Step 2 — Map the Funnel Steps, Step 3 — Score Each Step, Step 4 — Identify Conversion Leaks, Step 5 — Build Fix Priority Matrix, Output Format, Funnel Audit: [Funnel Name/Product].

Use these questions to steer the work:
- What is the intended audience or buyer?
- What source material must be preserved?
- What should the assistant optimize for: clarity, persuasion, accuracy, speed, creativity, or conversion?
- What examples represent the desired quality bar?
- What should the assistant avoid?

## Common Mistakes
- | Input | Required | Description |
- [List any missing funnel steps that should exist but don't]
- Every funnel step must be scored — no skipping steps because they "seem fine"
- Scores must be justified with specific observations, not just numbers
- Revenue impact estimates must show reasoning (conversion rate × traffic × AOV)
- Fix priority matrix must rank by Impact × Ease — not by gut feeling
- Structural gaps must be flagged even if the user didn't mention them
- Mobile experience must be evaluated for every step — it's not optional for DTC

## Copy-And-Paste Prompt
```text
Use the Funnel-audit human guide.

My goal:
[Describe the business outcome]

Audience:
[Describe who this is for]

Context and source material:
[Paste notes, examples, links, or existing copy]

Constraints:
[Tone, length, channel, timeline, must-include items, must-avoid items]

Before producing the final output, ask me for any missing information that would materially improve the result.
```

## Final Checklist
- [ ] The output matches the original goal.
- [ ] The audience and context are reflected in the answer.
- [ ] Important constraints and source material were preserved.
- [ ] The assistant made the relevant decisions explicit.
- [ ] The final artifact is ready to use, review, or hand to the next person.

## Source
This guide was generated from the coleschaffer/copywritingskills-rmbc skill entry for `funnel-audit`.

## Source Skill Notes
These notes preserve the nuance from the original skill. Use them as supporting reference when the workflow above feels too generic.

# funnel-audit

## Purpose

Audit an existing DTC sales funnel against RMBC methodology and CRO best practices. Every funnel leaks revenue somewhere — the question is where and how much. This skill evaluates each step in the funnel (traffic → landing → order → upsell → thank you → email) with per-step scoring across five dimensions. Output: a funnel health score (0-100), identification of the top 3 conversion leaks, and a prioritized fix matrix ranked by revenue impact.

## Inputs

| Input | Required | Description |
|-------|----------|-------------|
| `funnel_description` | Yes | Detailed description of each funnel step — pages, copy approach, offers, flow |
| `funnel_type` | Yes | One of: `tripwire`, `webinar`, `vsl`, `quiz`, `free_plus_shipping`, `other` |
| `funnel_url` | No | Live URL to audit (if available — describe what you observe at each step) |
| `current_metrics` | No | Existing performance data: conversion rates per step, AOV, CPA, ROAS, traffic volume |

## Execution Protocol

### Step 1 — Load Framework Context

Read `rmbc-context/SKILL.md` to load RMBC framework definitions. Funnel auditing applies RMBC as a diagnostic lens — Research quality determines whether copy speaks to the right audience, Mechanism consistency determines whether the "why" threads through every page, Brief alignment determines whether each page has a clear strategic job, Copy execution determines whether the words convert.

### Step 2 — Map the Funnel Steps

Identify every step in the funnel and classify it:

| Step | Type | Examples |
|------|------|----------|
| Traffic | Entry point | Ad, organic post, email, referral |
| Pre-sell | Warm-up | Advertorial, quiz, webinar |
| Landing | Core offer | Sales page, VSL page, product page |
| Order | Checkout | Order form, cart, payment page |
| Upsell | Post-purchase | OTO page, bump offer, cross-sell |
| Thank You | Confirmation | Order confirmation, next steps |
| Email | Follow-up | Welcome sequence, onboarding, ascension |

If a step is missing from the funnel, flag it as a structural gap.

### Step 3 — Score Each Step

Evaluate each funnel step across 5 dimensions. Score each dimension 0-20 points:

| Dimension | What It Measures | 0-5 | 6-10 | 11-15 | 16-20 |
|-----------|-----------------|-----|------|-------|-------|
| **Message Match** | Does the copy match what the prospect expects from the previous step? | No connection | Loose match | Good match | Seamless transition |
| **Friction Level** | How many obstacles stand between the prospect and the conversion goal? | High friction, confusing | Multiple friction points | Minor friction | Frictionless path |
| **Proof Density** | Is there sufficient, varied evidence to support the claims being made? | No proof | Single proof type | Multiple proof types | Stacked, specific proof |
| **CTA Clarity** | Is the desired action obvious, compelling, and easy to take? | No clear CTA | Vague or buried CTA | Clear CTA | Urgent, specific, visible CTA |
| **Mobile Experience** | Does the page work well on mobile (80-90% of DTC traffic)? | Broken on mobile | Functional but poor | Good mobile layout | Mobile-first design |

**Per-step score:** Sum of 5 dimensions (0-100 per step)
**Funnel health score:** Average across all steps (0-100)

### Step 4 — Identify Conversion Leaks

Rank all steps by their scores. The bottom 3 are the primary leaks. For each leak:

1. **The leak** — Which step and what's failing
2. **Revenue impact** — Estimate how much revenue this leak costs (if metrics provided, calculate; if not, estimate based on typical benchmarks)
3. **Root cause** — RMBC diagnosis: is it a Research failure (wrong audience assumptions), Mechanism failure (weak "why"), Brief failure (unclear page strategy), or Copy failure (poor execution)?
4. **Benchmark gap** — Compare the step's performance to industry benchmarks for this funnel type

### Step 5 — Build Fix Priority Matrix

Prioritize fixes by: (Revenue Impact × Ease of Fix). Score both 1-5:

- **Revenue Impact (1-5):** How much revenue will fixing this recover?
- **Ease of Fix (1-5):** How quickly can this be implemented? (5 = copy change, 1 = rebuild)
- **Priority Score:** Impact × Ease (highest score = fix first)

## Output Format

```
## Funnel Audit: [Funnel Name/Product]

**Funnel Type:** [type]
**Steps Audited:** [count]
**Funnel Health Score:** XX/100
**Grade:** [A (80+) | B (60-79) | C (40-59) | D (20-39) | F (0-19)]

---