The Sales Funnel Explained

The sales funnel is a sieve that leads prospective customers through your sales process. It casts its net wide and then gradually weeds out unqualified prospects that are not likely to buy your product.

As the term ‘funnel’ suggests, it’s wide at the top (the entry point) and narrow at the bottom (the point of purchase). At the top, a sales funnel attracts casual website visitors through a special offer that lures them in. You then use marketing techniques to offer them other deals. This gives you a chance to gather information about your prospects and further qualify them.

Why Businesses Use Sales Funnels

Sales funnels are important for a number of reasons. First, they make the sales process more efficient. Since only qualified buyers get to the end of the funnel, your sales team doesn’t waste time dealing with uninterested prospects who are just kicking tires.

A good sales funnel helps to make your sales process more predictable. Sales are never fully predictable, but when your sales process is organized in a standard, systemized way, you can arrive at a good estimate of your ROI.

Finally, a sales funnel helps you track different metrics at different points of the process. It’s organized into clear steps so that when there’s a problem within your funnel, you can troubleshoot and tweak accordingly.

An Example of a Sales Funnel

Here’s an example of a sales funnel in action:

Imagine that you own a business that sells supplies and information about rooftop gardening. You create a blog about green roofing that includes a form on the sidebar where visitors can sign up for your list and receive a free eBook on the topic.

Once a visitor downloads the book, you begin marketing to them through emails, offering them exclusive content, helpful tips, and special offers. The offers gradually increase in price, leading them to your main product, a comprehensive collection of rooftop gardening tips with a fairly high price tag.

At first, visitors read your blog for information about rooftop gardening. At that point they may just be considering the feasibility of starting their own garden. Those who sign up for your list are truly interested, and the ones that jump on the email offers are seriously looking for a way to start a rooftop garden. The people in this segment of your list are the most likely to buy your kit, and therefore you begin marketing the kit to them.

Drive Them Away

An important concept to remember about the sales funnel is that you don’t need to appeal to everyone. You only need to focus on those who are truly interested in your product. When you lose subscribers, this is a good thing (as long as it’s not too many) because you don’t waste your time with those who will never buy. That’s the magic of the sales funnel in action.