How to Develop a Sales Funnel Correctly?

The sales funnel is one of the fundamental tools when thinking about sales strategy. It is this funnel that represents the customer’s path until they close a purchase.

The sales funnel is traditionally divided into 3 phases: top, middle, and bottom.

The top represents brand recognition. This recognition must be converted into a lead that thus enters the middle of the sales funnel. In this medium, the company qualifies and categorizes the lead, informing you later of the solutions at its disposal.  If this relationship is successful, we reach the bottom of the funnel, where the customer decides to make their purchase.

The better you define the sales funnel, the higher the conversion ratio of a lead into a closed business customer. To help you design and manage this sales funnel, we have some tips for you.

1# Understand the base structure of the sales funnel

As we have seen, a sales funnel is traditionally divided into 3 phases, starting with the top of the funnel. But in order to be able to develop a more assertive sales strategy, we propose a structure divided into 4 stages.  For each step, we will have a simple and practical example of what can be done.

1.1# Funnel top: brand recognition/attraction

The first phase, right at the top of the funnel, is responsible for attracting prospects (potential customers) and increasing recognition of the brand, service, or product to sell. Marketing strategies directly influence the success of the first phase of the sales funnel. The more efficient and attractive these strategies are, the more recognition you will capture for your sales funnel and, consequently, convert that recognition into leads.

Example

A B2B software company develops a digital marketing strategy to attract customers, for this the company uses a blog where it regularly publishes articles, is active in social media and in addition, competes with its software for an award that will give you more recognition in the sector and is present at fairs and professional events;

Result? These actions will help increase the recognition of this company’s software, bringing more prospects to your sales funnel.

1.2# First half of the funnel: the entry of leads

In the first half of the funnel, the leads that arrive from marketing and the previous phase are qualified. These leads have shown interest in the product and it’s time to try to understand what customers are looking for. The most important thing at this stage is to understand the needs of the customer.

Example

The sales team begins to categorize the leads arrived by the marketing actions. This step is essential for the company to know which software plan and functionality best suits each lead that arrives.

1.3# Second half of the funnel: the presentation of solutions

From this stage it is essential to inform the customer in the best way and according to the profile outlined, without being hardselling or too intrusive. Presenting solutions to customer needs is what will lead you to get to the next stage of the sales funnel.

Example

The software company presents one or more solutions that can address the needs identified in the previous step. It does so in an elegant, captivating but informative way. You can do this by contacting lead directly and through newsletters, videos about the experience of previous customers.

1.4 # Funnel Bottom: the purchase decision

The customer has already decided he wants to buy. All that’s left is to take the last step. At this point we have a qualified lead for sale and the sales team should be able to close the deal by presenting a personalized opportunity for this client. This is the last step of the funnel, and this is where the sales team can take a “hardselling” attitude.

Example

At this time, the software company has already captivated all customer interest, and he is ready to make its decision. The sales team can make a final forcing and offer a special price for the annuality of the software instead of a monthly price. The client takes the opportunity and closes the deal.

To retain

The funnel sales strategy should take these processes into account:

Recognition > Conversion in Lead > Qualification and relationship with Lead > Conversion of relationship in a sale

2# How to manage the sales funnel

In the business world nothing is static. The sales strategy must adapt constantly and so does the sales funnel.

To manage the funnel, you need to make a constant assessment of each step. Check where you have the most success and least success. Check which strategies are working and which are not working. Bring new ideas, implement them, and re-verify them.

Contact us,  we can help you set up a sales funnel and more.