What is a Sales Funnel and how to create one?

A sales funnel is a process that every person must go through to become your customer. Every person running a business should create a sales funnel especially when running an online business. Why? To turn people who visit the website into those who are able to pay for your product or service. In this article we will explain how you can create a sales funnel for your online business.

Why is the sales funnel so important?

The sales funnel allows you to illustrate the path taken by your potential customers.

If you analyze and understand your sales funnel, you will be able to see where the holes appear in it. Holes are where your potential clinets drop out and never convert. Understanding your sales funnel will allow you to optimize it.

Funnel stages

Online sales funnels have several options to bring the internet user to the finalization of the purchase. What characterizes customers at different stages?

• ToFu – Top of the Funnel

The top of the funnel is path the awareness stage. At this point we need to attract as many potential customers as possible, generate traffic, and reach reach the largest possible group that is not filtered. The main sources from which people will reach us are blog, social media, infographics, e-books and guides. ToFu is primarily about educating users and attracting their attention.

• MoFu – Middle of the Funnel

The middle of the funnel is the interest and decision stage. Here are users who have received answers to their bothering questions, but still try to explore their knowledge, so they will be happy to come back to your website in search of valuable knowledge. Unfortunately, this stage is more complicated than ToFu. Therefore, we must use more engaging content, such as: a product e-book, in which we can encourage users to buy in our store, webinars or demonstration films.

• BoFu – Bottom of the Funnel

This is the third and last stage, which means that the user makes a purchase. Its main goal is to obtain leads and convert. At this stage of the sales funnel, potential customers are well-informed about how to solve their problem, so it’s important to emphasize why your offer is the best compared to your competitors. At this stage, a presentation is required, and the seller must show interest to the buyer.

Online sales funnels have several options to complete. What characterizes the audience at different stages?

• Building brand awareness and discovering

This is the most important point that we cannot move on without. We catch attention with advertisements, specific keywords or other marketing activities addressed to all Internet users. At this stage, you need to know who belongs to your potential target group and how best to attract their attention.

To attract the attention of your target group is most often used decoys to attract interest.

To attract the attention of potential customers, you must most often use the so-called “baits”, and they can be:

– Free e-books, trainings, guides

– Organized events and trainings

– Discount codes

– Product samples

• Raise interest

At this stage, the funnel begins to slowly narrow down and some people begin to see the value they can get.

Potential customers, thinking about their problem they are trying to solve, will ask us and competition for a quote to make sure that our offer is the best.

If the client leaves us at this stage of the funnel, it is worth considering why he did it, if our first acts caught his attention.

If the client leaves us at this stage of the funnel, it is worth considering why he did it, since our first activities caught his attention.

• Lead scoring

It is nothing but a classification of the obtained leads. In this process, we provide numerical values ​​based on the activity and behavior of specific leads, and then divide them into three groups: hot, warm and cold leads.

What is the classification?

1. Hot leads are those that are immediately redirected to the sales department because they are very interested in the offer and you should not wait with them.
2. Warm leads are also interested in the offer, but not as much as the hot ones. They require heating, i.e. creating a special strategy for them that will remind them of your offer. You can do it by sending personalized offers, shopping vouchers and showing other customers’ reviews.
3. Cold leads are also called long leads because they yet do not belong to the group of potential customers and they do not require an immediate response, but you must not stop contacting them, because there is a possibility that in the future they will become warm leads and then hot leads.

• Sales and after-sales activities

This is the last stage of the sales funnel where you need to make sure that the customer is satisfied with the transaction and will be informed about updates and new versions – it increases the chance that they will come back to us.

Examples of after-sales activities are, for example, loyalty programs, discount codes for subsequent transactions, satisfaction surveys, after-sales thanks, invitation to another transaction, or request for opinion.

By analyzing the stages of the sales funnel, we can monitor the conversion rate and control the number of recipients at each stage, and then choose the appropriate strategy.

How to create the sales funnel?

There are five simple steps to help you create the sales funnel.

1. Build a website

You need to have your landing page, because when your customers will click your ads they have to go to this page to download e-book or something you are advertising this moment. This website should tell your audience who you are as a company and inform them about the unique benefits they will get when they sign up for the form on your website

2. Offer something interesting

You have to give something to your prospects in exchange for their email address. Examples of lead magnet: e-book, discount code, product samples.

3. Start taking care of your audience

When your prospects moved from the awareness stage to the interest stage and you have all their email addresses from the landing page, you should create a series of email nurture emails to share educational content about your offering.

4. Just sell

Your potential customer goes to the decision-making stage and you can offer him everything that will help him make a purchase decision. For example, it could be a free trial period or a special discount.

5. Keep it going

At this stage, all you need to do is to keep communication going. Remember that the ultimate goal is not to make a one-off sale. Instead, the goal is to create returning customers with lifetime value.

Are you using the sales funnel? Tell us if this article was useful to you.