Why does every business need a sales funnel?
This is the topic of the article, but it also turns out to be a very logical question. We could limit ourselves to just saying that it increases a company’s sales, but that is a very superficial approach. This type of
strategies makes a company something more complete, more thought out and elaborate. It is a quasi-automatic customer acquisition system that allows any company not to be forced to dedicate most of its time to the commercial side. It is basically a combination of conversions with efficiency and professionalism that makes any company a more complete machine.
Steps in the Sales Funnel
Top of funnel/Visitor
This is an
awareness step. This is where the potential customer understands that they have a problem/need and that maybe you could be the solution. Here you have to arouse the customer’s interest. It’s the customer’s
first impression of the company, value here is everything, if the customer is not at all captivated, you’ve just lost a possible lead. Content such as eBooks can be an asset in this situation, who says ebook means any type of valuable content that you can provide for free in exchange for just the email and username of whoever wants to download the content.
Middle of Funnel/Lead
At the moment we are already working with Leads, the needs/problems are already being identified as a possible solution but it is still not enough to take them to the conversion stage. It is still necessary to mature and qualify Leads, with more information about the service and relevant content in order to keep them interested.
Funnel/Opportunity Bottom
It is at this stage that qualified Leads become opportunities! The lead is now practically ready to be contacted by the sales team. At this point, they have already identified the problem and found a viable solution in you.
The trust relationship that you create between you and your Leads makes them identify you as a quality option for the problem to be solved. The relationship and taste for the brand and services make them not only an option but also see you as a true working partner!
The
sales funnel is closed when these leads turn into customers.
Tips for building the sales funnel:
Now that you are familiar with the stages of a sales funnel, it’s time to understand the process of creating a sales funnel in order to increase your conversions and expand your brand.
To
build a sales funnel we recommend that you follow the steps below:
Determine the top of your funnel
The top of the funnel is the customer’s first contact with your company.
Beyond sales, the relationship with customers is something very important and whether you like it or not, the first impression it causes is the beginning of that relationship, a bad impression and you have just missed an opportunity to create a relationship . However, it is necessary to take the step to create that relationship, don’t wait for users to do it, you need to encourage customers to register and enter the company’s funnel through perks such as: special offers,
free content,ebooks, etc.
Above all, it is essential to know your market in order to outperform the competition at all levels with your sales funnel.
Focus your efforts
Here you are deciphering where to focus your efforts most efficiently. You can focus your energies around an exact location in the funnel or divide it across the entire funnel. Usually the most common places are the top and bottom of the funnel.
At the
top of the funnel you need inspiration from the customer, showing that your company can do something to help the customer with a given problem. However, it is not always easy, until the customer sees value in the product, there is a process that, when poorly tuned, can compromise their acquisition of leads. Conversely, at
bottom of the funnel, you need to persuade the customer to convert. It is necessary to create a strong relationship to the point that the client trusts you to solve the problem at hand.
By this, what we mean is that it is difficult to do everything perfectly, so we should focus our efforts on the phases we think are most important for the success of the funnel.
Evaluates the advantages and disadvantages of each stage of the funnel as your evaluation makes a decision.
Minimizes the risks
Contrary to popular belief, a risk is not just about losing money, it is also about wasting time and becoming stagnant. This is the most common problem in sales funnels, being stagnant at some stage of the funnel and not being able to make the customer reach the conversion stage. Here, the concept of timing is fundamental, as you need to know the right timing to take a certain action and make the customer move forward in the funnel.
To avoid stagnation and get the timing right, it is above all necessary to know the customer and the signals he gives in each of the phases to avoid a high risk of stagnation:
Moves customers at the right time
One of the biggest proofs that the funnel is working is the natural movement between phases. Without moving from top to bottom there is no funnel,
just doesn’t work.
Let’s give an example:
- In case a consumer gives you the email at the top of the funnel, the ideal is to start sending content free and valuable email with a more personal approach to building a relationship;
- In the second stage of the funnel, the ideal is to work with the client so that directing more towards conversion still brings you a lot of free value, but already promoting some paid content, even if little;
- In the last phase, where the key is conversion and the relationship is already established, many times it is not even necessary to take action, customers end up converting naturally. If the conversion doesn’t come naturally, a small boost like a special offer greatly increases the chances of conversion when targeted to this stage of the funnel.
Conclusion
Building and developing a sales funnel is not exactly an easy task. The sudden and progressive change of the markets makes the strategies inserted in the funnel stages to be variable, the strategy depends entirely on your type of business, which makes giving you a specific strategy not the best option.
Even so, if you know how to adapt what we refer to in this article to your business, you will easily convert more than any other company without a sales funnel.
Are you looking for a company that is capable of creating easy and functional sales funnels that bring you practical results?
Ask for your quote now and let’s work together!
