The concept of sales funnels is nothing new, still surprisingly many organizations either don’t have a clear funnel they adhere to or their funnel simply isn’t working for their specific customer base.
We’ve talked before about how important it is to have every member of your team on the same page, moving towards the same goal, and a clear sales funnel helps everyone involved visualize the customer journey from beginning to end. The sales funnel process also provides valuable insight into your business, meaning you can analyze and adjust accordingly.
How you define and then manage your sales funnel is of huge importance to your business.
What is a sales funnel?
Picture an actual funnel. The idea is your potential leads go to the top of the funnel; then you move them through the funnel towards your goal (i.e. a sale). There are several areas to focus on throughout the process, getting new leads into the funnel in the first instance, then moving them through each phase ending in a sale. So, your sales funnel demonstrates the customer journey.
In a small team, each person or persons will have a clear area to focus on along the route. From initial marketing to closure of sale.
How does it work?
Your organization has a presence on social media for example, your aim is to gain visibility and awareness of your product or service. Those who land on your site via social media or otherwise, then become a prospect. They may have a look around at what you offer, check out your blog, browse your products or services and at some point, you will likely offer them the opportunity to sign up to your mailing list or book a call to learn more. When taking you up on this initial offer, they will now be considered a lead. You’ve got them in the funnel rather than loitering around the rim.
You’ll then be likely to attract them back to your site by offering them special discounts or suchlike, the aim being to maintain awareness and tempt them further down the funnel.
Of course, you’re going to have more people at the top of the funnel and fewer as you move towards the sale, this is normal, but obviously your aim is to convert as many of those prospects as possible.
Stages of a sales funnel
Depending on where you look or what kind of business you operate, there are either 4 or 5 stages of the sales funnel. For digital businesses, it’s likely you’ll need to consider all 5 stages.
- Awareness
- Interest
- Decision
- Action
- Retention
Each stage is relatively simple when you break them down but bear in mind each stage is just as crucial as the others and should be considered in detail and implemented with precision.
Awareness
Is your audience aware of your existence? Do you have a strong online presence? Are you creating fresh content to drive traffic towards your site?
Interest
What are you offering something valuable in return for customer data? Do you have a lead magnet? Are you giving your prospects a good reason to become a lead? Why do you differ from your rivals and how does that make you better equipped to deliver?
Decision
Do you make it easy for your leads to say yes? Are you addressing their problem by offering a solution? Have you considered what objections they may have and provided clarification? Have you reiterated your USP?
Action
Have you offered the right solution and been convincing as to why you should be the one delivering it? Have you tempted the lead to such an extent as they see a purchase as a ‘no-brainer’? Have you made promises you intend to keep?
Retention
Are you regularly giving your customers a reason to stay with you? How are you consistently proving that you are worthy of their business? Do you providing ongoing support and communication? Are you reminding your customers you value their business?
How to create your winning sales funnel
Depending on what business you’re in, your sales funnel will differ from others, but the principles remain the same.
You need to:
- Attract prospects and opportunities
Whether this be through networking, online marketing, telesales, social media… you need to raise awareness and attract potential buyers to your door.
- Qualify prospects and convert to leads
Communication is super important here, not in just giving, but in receiving. You need to know whether you have the right prospects in your funnel. Do they have the budget? Are they in need of your service or product right now? Is the timing correct? Are they simply interested or do they intend to purchase?
How you organize and prioritize prospects at this stage will inevitably help you convert the right leads at the right time and bag that sale.
- Stay connected, maintain their interest, build trust and authority.
Again, communication is essential throughout this process as you need to make sure your leads remember you for the right reasons. Take another look at where your prospects are in the process and tempt them with timely offers and valuable content. Are you consistent? Do you keep the promises you’ve made?
- Address pain points and objections
You should already be aware of any hurdles your lead may be facing in their decision-making. This could be down to timing, budget, lack of understanding of how your product or service will help them, deliberating between you and a competitor. Ensure you have considered all possibilities from your lead’s perspective and address this in your FAQs or in blog posts.
- Convert to sale via persistence
We don’t mean bombardment, but persistence is proven to help convert those teetering on the edge of a decision. Persist in communication and offering relevant, valuable content. Give your leads more reasons to make that purchase.
- Retain your customer by being consistent
Once you have the sale, you have a potentially retainable customer. How will you make sure they stay with your service? By continuing to offer value and remembering that retained business is just as important as new business you will keep your customer engaged and happy. Fulfil the promises you’ve made, maintain communication and offer continued support.
Optimizing your funnel
There is one clear way to optimize your funnel and it’s all about research. You absolutely must understand your customer in depth at every stage of the process.
What are their needs? What are their pain points? What are they thinking?
If you offer your prospect, lead, or customer the right thing at the right time, they are much more likely to say yes to you.
Jarvis CRM helps organize, streamline and automate your sales funnel, no matter what stage of the process your prospect is in. Your team will clearly see where the customer is and what they need to do next.
Contact us today:
Phone: +1 877-501-8038
Email: [email protected]
