What is a sales funnel: how it works, benefits and steps

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If you are an entrepreneur, at some point during your career you will ask yourself: “What is a sales funnel?”

Know that it is a very important concept for the application of Inbound Marketing formed by a set of steps and triggers.

The Sales Funnel is a representation of the customer's purchasing journey, that is, it is the center of the entire sale.

For some, the concept of a sales funnel can be a little difficult to understand. However, it is generally divided into 3 stages.

Aiming to assist the entrepreneur in his journey, Soften Sistemas, in this article, will explain in detail what a sales funnel is, how it works and what its stages are.

Follow this article and understand more about the subject!

What is a Sales Funnel?
A Sales Funnel is a strategic method that shows the journey of a potential customer, following them from the first contact until the sale is completed.

In other words, it is a representation of the entire sri lanka whatsapp lead path that the consumer takes until the purchase is completed.

It consists of several stages and its objective is to monitor and provide support during the customer's purchasing journey.

How does the sales funnel work?
The moment of purchase occurs in stages, as the consumer, throughout the journey, goes through several moments until the moment of purchase.

In other words, these are stages that show how close the customer is to completing the purchase.

The customer has their first contact with the brand, product or service when they hear about it.

Soon he researches the solution in question, if it is interesting to him, the purchase is completed and he recommends it to other people when he checks it out.

All these moments are divided into a few steps, which will be described in the following topic.

Watch the video below for more details about the Sales Funnel process:

How important is the sales funnel in digital marketing?
The sales funnel is very important in a company to define the health of customer prospecting and, thus, plan strategies aimed at achieving results.

With the sales funnel creation process, it is possible to understand how the customer's purchasing journey works , in addition to knowing which strategies to invest in to optimize sales.

Without planning a sales funnel, it is very common to see companies investing in strategies that promote little performance.

With the sales funnel it is very different, as it allows the entrepreneur to have a broad view of their business.

Furthermore, the sales funnel allows the entrepreneur to have greater sales predictability and create a sales pattern for their consumers.

As the entrepreneur will have a broader view of their consumer, with the sales funnel it is possible to prospect loyal customers for the business.

Today, the sales funnel is essential for any marketing and sales department of a company that wants to increase its results.

A good integrated team with knowledge of the sales funnel can generate insights into possible improvements in all internal processes, and also for other areas.

What are the stages of the sales funnel?
What are the stages of the sales funnel?
The Sales Funnel, as previously mentioned, is divided into several stages.

There are 3 stages in total: Top of Funnel, Middle of Funnel and Bottom of Funnel.

Check out what each one is below:

1. Top of the Funnel – Learning and Discovery
The Top of the Funnel is the knowledge stage, that is, it is known as the product awareness stage.

ToFu (Top Of The Funnel) is when the potential customer discovers their needs or problems.

Therefore, she was not looking for any product or service of that type, but when she finds out and has the first contact, she goes looking for more information about it.

Therefore, it is important for the company or brand to make material available to the public, so that a potential customer can verify their needs and understand that your product/service can help them.

It is a stage in which people come to your company or brand for something, because of this, it is important to offer them materials, so that they become a potential customer, making them enter the funnel.

2. Middle of the Funnel – Recognition and Consideration
The Middle of the Funnel is the problem recognition stage, known as MoFu (Middle of the Funnel).

Here, the person already understands what their problem and needs are, and therefore seeks to solve them all.

The role of the company or brand is to present ways to help the customer, whether with tips, techniques or solutions.

The Middle of the Funnel Stage is when customers have already had some interaction and provided contact information when accessing some content, that is, they are called leads.

Work to mature it and thus create qualified leads, but do not try to sell at any cost, offer alternatives besides the purchase, so it will be possible to move on to the last stage.

3. Bottom of the Funnel – Decision and Finalization
The Bottom of the Funnel is the purchase decision stage, that is, it is when the potential customer decides whether to complete the purchase.

At BoFu (Bottom Of the Funnel) it is time to deal with qualified marketing leads or MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads).

Potential customers have already gone through the entire education and development process.

This lead (potential customer) already knows their problems and needs and understands that they will not be able to solve them alone, requiring a quality service.

And in this sales process, your company or brand is already a reference, as the person has researched and received your materials.

Therefore, this is the moment when the company must show its partnership and reveal itself to be the perfect option for her.

The Sales Funnel closes when the person makes and completes the purchase, becoming a customer.

The Sales Funnel has several benefits for a company, and some of them are:

Prospect of good results;
Double productivity;
Optimized management;
Customer feedback;
Better opportunities.
Take advantage of the Sales Funnel and have great sales results with your future customers.

How does the customer purchasing journey work?
How does the customer purchasing journey work?
Creating a sales funnel is very important to know what stage each Lead is at. This way, it is possible to know what level of the customer journey they are reaching.

The customer's purchasing journey takes place in four stages: Attraction, Conversion, Closing and Delight. Let's learn a little more about them? Check them out below!

Attraction
Attraction is the first contact a customer has with your company or product. This contact usually happens when a person searches for a specific topic on the internet and finds your company.

The first contact is always the most important, so it is very important that you show quality products and have impeccable advertising. This way, you will be able to transfer your customer to the next stage.

Conversion
After discovering your company, the consumer will learn more about your products. At this stage, they should develop a need to purchase your services.

Therefore, it is important that the company shows authority on the subject, offering high-quality products and a solid campaign.

Closing
Once he discovers the need for your product, he has already decided that he needs the item. However, generally, the consumer will look for the best alternative, that is, the best price and material.

Therefore, at this stage, try to gain your customer's trust by showing the quality of your product and the benefits they gain from it. Then, use advertising to your advantage and show the capabilities of your product in comparison to others on the market.

Enchantment
This is the final stage, where the consumer is already delighted with your product and decides to close the sale with you. However, don't think that's the end of it. You must provide all the necessary support in the purchase.

Therefore, have a quality customer service team that specializes in answering questions about your product. This way, if your customer has any problems during the purchase, they can count on your company to make the purchase in the best possible way.

How to build a Sales Funnel
You can create a sales funnel in 3 steps: mapping the purchase journey, defining milestones, and defining stages. Check out each step below:

Map the shopping journey
The first step of the Sales Funnel is to identify the purchasing journey or consumer journey of an organization's persona.

Consumer Journey
It is very important to know the customer, so it is possible to optimize and map the entire purchasing journey.

Therefore, to discover it, a representative must make contact with potential customers and discover their desires, as well as the difficulties they encounter throughout the journey.

With those who are already customers, it is possible to carry out a persona survey, with direct questions that will help in the process.

Define the milestones
Right after mapping the journey, it is time to define the milestones, which show the customer's maturity.

The milestones will tell you the stage of the funnel the customer is in and thus use the exact tools to guide them to a new stage as soon as possible.

Define the steps
The funnel stages must be planned, as their objective is to support the customer on their journey and deliver the value needed for them to move forward and complete the purchase.

Marketing and Sales
Marketing and Sales teams must come to an agreement on how each sector can help.