A sales funnel is a system that takes a prospect on a journey with your business while end goal of producing a sale. There are many phases in a sales funnel, such as:
- Awareness Phase – prospects become aware that a solution exists to their problem.
- Interest Phase – prospects demonstrate interest in a product or service and then begins to research.
- Evaluation Phase – prospects examine competitors’ solutions as they slowly reach a final buying decision.
- Decision Phase – prospects make a final decision to purchase.
- Purchase Phase – prospects buy the product or services.
- Repurchase Phase – in which a customer repurchases a product or service.
This is one example of how a sales funnel could be. Depending on the market, such as B2B, there may be other phases such as when considering reestablishing a contract or subscription.
Why are Sales Funnels Important?
Sales funnels offer a visualization of a customer’s journey with your business. It often looks like an inverted pyramid which examines the top-of-funnel (i.e. leads) and the pathway to the bottom of the funnel (i.e. sales).
The top of the funnel employs marketing strategies such as demand generation.
The entire funnel requires ongoing evaluation to carefully orchestrate the journey from initial contact with your business, educating them on your products and services, responding to doubts and questions, and, finally, closing a sale.
