What is a sales funnel

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A sales funnel is the marketing term for the journey potential customers embark on towards making a purchase. This journey typically consists of several stages, commonly referred to as the top, middle, and bottom of the funnel. However, the exact steps can vary depending on your business model.

Every business owner understands the frustration of missing a sale. After weeks of pitches, demonstrations, engaging conversations, and personalised interactions, a prospect may still drop out of the sales funnel without making a purchase.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. With effective sales funnel management, you can significantly reduce these drop-offs. Many small business sales funnels resemble sieves, riddled with holes caused by improvised spreadsheets, sticky notes, missed appointments, and forgotten follow-ups.

There’s a better way. Sales and marketing automation software can seal those leaks in your sales funnel, transforming near-misses into successful sales.

Why is the sales funnel important?

Understanding the sales funnel is crucial because it provides insights into what your potential customers are thinking and doing at each stage of their purchasing journey. These insights enable you to invest in the right marketing activities and channels, craft the most relevant messaging for each stage, and ultimately convert more prospects into paying customers.

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What are the Sales Funnel Stages?

From the moment prospects first hear about your product or service to the point they decide to purchase (or not), they traverse different stages of your sales funnel. While this journey may vary for each prospect, their evaluation will ultimately be based on their interest level, the problems they aim to solve, and their research into competitive solutions.

Generally, there are four main stages:

1. Stage 1: Awareness

• Definition: The stage where potential customers first become aware of your product or service.

• Examples: Clicking on an ad, reading a blog post, finding your website via a Google search, or hearing about you through word of mouth.

2. Stage 2: Interest

• Definition: Prospects evaluate their interest level, considering the problem they need to solve and researching competitive offerings.

• Action: Engage prospects with informative content that highlights how your solution stands out.

3. Stage 3: Decision

• Definition: Prospects delve deeper into your pricing and service options.

• Tools: Utilise sales pages, webinars, and personalised calls to influence their purchasing decision.

4. Stage 4: Action

• Definition: The final stage where prospects either make a purchase or decide not to.

• Strategy: Implement nurture campaigns to stay top of mind, whether securing new customers or re-engaging those who didn’t convert.

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Find the cracks in your sales funnel stages

Even the most promising prospects can slip through the cracks of your sales funnel if not carefully nurtured. Effective sales funnel management is essential to prevent these losses by maintaining a clear and organised sales process.

Identifying Bottlenecks and Leaks in your sales funnel

Start by examining your sales process to pinpoint where potential customers are dropping out. Consider the following questions:

• Where are the bottlenecks in my sales process?

• Where do I tend to lose track of potential customers?

• What are the positive trigger points—the specific actions that typically result in a sale?

Action Steps:

1. Conduct a funnel audit:

• Review each stage of your sales funnel to identify where prospects are dropping off.

2. Engage your team:

• Collaborate with your sales and marketing teams to gather insights on common obstacles and areas for improvement.

3. Utilise Analytics Tools:

• Leverage revday’s analytics to track prospect behaviour and engagement at each funnel stage.

Example:

A business might discover that many prospects abandon the funnel during the decision stage. By addressing this with targeted webinars or personalised follow-ups, you can re-engage these leads and increase conversion rates.

How sales funnel management can help

Leaks in the sales funnel often stem from three primary causes: prematurely discarding leads, follow-up failures, and delayed responses. Fortunately, effective sales funnel management can address each of these issues.

1. Throwing Away the “No’s” Too Quickly

In sales, a “no” might simply mean “not right now.” For instance, a common objection to CRM software could be, “I don’t have time to organise my content to make the platform useful.” This often translates to, “I’m interested and see the value, but I can’t take advantage of it at the moment.”

Solution:

Implement an automated email follow-up campaign that addresses this objection. By sending tailored information designed to alleviate concerns over time and organisation, you can nurture these leads until they are ready to commit.

Action Item:

Review the most common objections from your prospects and develop automated educational campaigns to address them.

2. Follow-Up Fails

Persistence is key in sales. Statistics show that:

• 80% of sales require five follow-ups

• Only 44% of sales reps follow up more than once

• 46% of leads require 3-5 touch-points before qualification

Solution:

Adopt a marketing automation funnel that ensures consistent and friendly follow-ups at every stage, allowing you to focus your personal attention on the hottest leads.

Action Item:

Analyse your recent leads to determine your average follow-up rate. If you identify gaps, utilise revday’s automation tools to enhance your follow-up strategy.

3. Too Slow

Responding to leads promptly is crucial. New leads are nine times more likely to convert if contacted within the first five minutes. Delayed responses drastically reduce the likelihood of conversion.

Solution:

With sales funnel management automation, you can set up immediate responses to new leads, regardless of when they contact you. Automated personalised emails ensure timely and relevant communication, even outside regular business hours.

Action Item:

Assess your current response time to new leads and implement automated responses to ensure immediate engagement.

Deliver the right message at the right stage of the sales funnel

Effective communication is pivotal in guiding prospects through the sales funnel. Tailoring your messages based on the prospect’s current stage and objections can significantly enhance your conversion rates.

Crafting Targeted Communication

Consider common objections such as:

• “We don’t have time to implement.”

• “We’re not sure we need it.”

Develop a series of automated emails that address these specific concerns over time. For example:

• Testimonials: Share success stories from other clients.

• How-To Videos: Demonstrate the ease of setting up your system.

• Friendly Check-Ins: Maintain a personable connection with prospects.

Leveraging CRM Systems

Integrate a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to pull in comprehensive data from your database. This allows you to personalise every email, ensuring each interaction is relevant and impactful.

Action Steps:

1. Segment Your Audience:

• Categorise prospects based on their funnel stage and specific objections.

2. Personalise Your Messaging:

• Use CRM data to tailor your communications, making each message feel bespoke and relevant.

3. Automate Your Campaigns:

• Set up automated workflows that deliver the right message at the right time.

Example:

A prospect in the decision stage might receive a personalised demo video showcasing how revday simplifies their sales process, followed by an invitation to a live Q&A session.