For past decades, businesses have relied heavily on the sales funnel for success or failure. The idea was simple 👉 Attract prospects at the top and direct them through until they purchase at the bottom.
However, there’s one thing ⤵️
While the world of B2B sales is constantly changing, the funnel has remained the same. Buyers no longer follow a simple, straight path from learning about a product to making a decision and purchasing. Instead, their journey is full of twists & turns. 🔀
Now, you might be wondering: What is a sales funnel in today’s digital world, how does it work, and how can you build a winning one to increase your sales in 2025❓❓❓
Don’t worry! This article will answer the questions above and cover everything you need about a sales funnel. 😊
So stay tuned. 👀
What is a Sales Funnel?
A Sales Funnel, also known as a marketing, revenue, or purchase funnel, visually depicts the stages of a customer’s journey. It illustrates the process from their initial contact as a potential customer to when they purchase and convert into loyal customers.
As the name suggests, a sales funnel is wide at the top with a large number of potential buyers and narrow at the bottom with a smaller number of prospects. 🔻
Each stage moves the most qualified prospects to the next stage and filters out those who aren’t the right match for your business.
As every transaction progresses through the different sales funnel stages, the likelihood of closing the deal increases. Also, during the sales funnel, prospective clients gain more information and understand what benefits they will get from using that product or service. And they become more enthusiastic and quickly attracted.
The ideal situation in sales is when all prospects become real and paying customers. In this case, a sales cylinder can be outlined, but this is not realistic in the sales world because customers may exit our sales process at any stage in their journey.
Therefore, the sales process takes the form of a funnel based on the entry and exit of a certain number of customers and leads.
Why Does the Sales Funnel Matter for Marketers?
The sales funnel is one of the most effective models or tools for helping businesses. Marketing managers spend a lot of time on marketing activities, sales prospecting, and customer attraction. These activities include investing in SEO, creating invaluable content for blogs, social media, events, online PPC ads, and more.
In these cases, the sales funnel helps marketers to ↓↓↓↓
- Generate qualified and targeted leads
- Segment & manage prospects or customers
- Improve their sales forecasting
- Understand and streamline the customer’s buying journey
- Increase the Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
- Boost trust between their customers
- Establish customer loyalty
- Grow their targeted audiences
- Coordinate customer needs with existing products
- Focus on lead nurturing and customer satisfaction
- Determine a certain period of time to complete a sales cycle
- Build statistics around the size & the number of deals
- Define a methodology to teach their sales reps or SDRs
Sales Funnel vs. Sales Pipeline [What’s the Difference?]
The terms sales funnel and sales pipeline are thrown around in B2B circles like confetti at weddings. These two concepts sound similar, and it’s easy to see how people confuse them and sometimes use them interchangeably. Sales funnel and pipeline often work in tandem.
But make no mistake; they serve very different purposes in a business’s sales strategy.
I’ve compared the two in the figure below to highlight their key differences. ⤵
How Does a Sales Funnel Work? [The Six Stages of the Sales Funnel]
It’s important to note that not all sales funnels are the same for all companies & organizations, and there are different models based on company size & industry type. Some have more, longer, and more detailed stages that even include after the prospect becomes a customer.
However, a basic sales funnel for the buyer journey is described as consisting of four (AIDA: Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action) to five steps (awareness, interest, decision, purchase, and loyalty).
But one thing is true for any business funnel: There is a top, middle, and bottom. Here is an example of the sales funnel stages:
- Top of the funnel (TOFU): Lead generation driven by the marketing team
- Middle of the funnel (MOFU): Lead nurturing driven by the sales team
- Bottom of the funnel (BOFU): Buying customers at the purchase stage
Below, I’ll take a closer look at the different steps of a six-stage sales funnel model. Marketers can take inspiration and use this structure to design their own sales funnel to suit their needs.
Let’s explore them. 🔍
Stage 1. Awareness 📢
The first stage of the sales funnel is awareness. This is where your potential customers first learn about your brand or product. This stage is the widest part of the funnel, located at the top.
It may be the first time they visit your website or hear about your business through various marketing methods such as paid ads, social media, email campaigns, events, and word of mouth.
Now, why and how they enter the next stages of the sales funnel depends on your sales & marketing strategies and campaigns.
Although leads in the middle and end stages of the sales funnel are more significant because of their conversion rate, this stage cannot be ignored either. As brand awareness improves, conversion and engagement rates increase.
If you can provide solutions to your potential customers’ challenges, specific pain points, and needs at this stage, you’ll definitely have a successful sales funnel.
🛠️ Strategies for the awareness stage
- Create engaging explainer videos or tutorials about your industry or product.
- Publish educational & SEO-optimized blog posts about your target audience’s common pain points.
- Use trending topics or hashtags to expand reach via social media platforms like LinkedIn or Instagram.
- Participate in forums, events, or online groups where your prospects are active.
📌 Here are some ways to build awareness about your brand:
- Landing page
- Social media posts
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Co-selling
- PPC advertising
- Promotional videos
- Podcasts
- Infographics
- Online or in-person events
🔥 Hot tips for the awareness stage:
To determine which marketing efforts work best, look at your website’s marketing analytics and see which keywords and campaigns are getting your audience’s attention & engagement.
Stage 2. Interest 👍🏻
Once potential customers are aware of your brand & products, they reach the interest stage of the sales funnel, where they need to be informed about your offerings.
To generate & increase interest in prospects, start with valuable, informative online content that describes topics related to your business offering. This can play a major role in driving the customer to the next stage.
At this stage, they are motivated to be added to your prospect list by taking actions, such as following you on social media, subscribing to your email list, asking a question, or sending you direct messages.
They then actively begin to explore how your offering solves the problem that was discovered in the first stage.
As such, you should focus on customer acquisition techniques to capture the interest of a prospect who has learned about your products.
🛠️ Strategies for the interest stage
- Share blog posts relevant to Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs).
- Research the top keywords that your prospects use when searching for information online.
- Drive targeted traffic to your website or social media accounts.
- Create engaging content that is relevant to your ideal customer.
📌 Here are a few ways you can promote your product during the interest stage:
- Email campaigns
- Social media and blog posts
- Free trial or demo
- Retargeting campaigns
🔥 Hot tips for the interest stage:
The goal is to engage with your prospects and build trust so they’re interested in subscribing to your email list or blog.
To increase the likelihood of them opting in to receive your emails and updates, focus on creating visual content, such as infographics or videos, to publish on your website.
Some companies give away e-books with information relevant to their target audience as an incentive to join their mailing lists. Other businesses offer special discount codes to encourage prospects to make their first purchase.
Stage 3. Evaluation & Desire 🔎
Now that a potential customer is interested in your product or brand and is considering purchasing your products or services, they enter the evaluation and desire stage. This means prospective customers are doing competitor research, comparing prices, and evaluating their options.
At this stage, potential customers are actively looking for the solution that best meets their needs within their budget. They may research multiple products or offerings. Accordingly, they are deciding whether to buy your product or not.
Your main goal should be to differentiate your brand from competitors by providing the best answer to their problems.
Emphasizing your competitive advantages, informing the potential buyer about your offerings & pricing plans, and introducing attractive & various products or services help them make an informed purchasing decision and understand your offer is the best option for them.
🛠️ Strategies for the evaluation & desire stage
These include landing pages, social media posts, or ads that contain lead magnets like:
- Newsletter subscriptions
- Downloadable free ebooks
- Special calendars
- Surveys or polls
- Workbooks or guides in PDF format
- Free templates or checklists related to the problem
- Free trials of your product or service
- Online events like free webinars
- Free workshops
- Free educational videos
📌 Here are some ways to promote your product in the consideration stage:
- Customer testimonials
- Case studies
- Ungated whitepapers
- Customer reviews and recommendations
- Demo or tutorial videos
- Product comparisons
🔥 Hot tips for the evaluation & desire stage:
To do this, use more attention-grabbing elements like eye-catching visual content. You can also partner with social media influencers to help promote your brand or product.
Focus on your product pages. Besides, you can increase your prospects’ desire by creating blogs with helpful content or offering free shipping.
Stage 4. Engagement 🔗
The engagement stage of the sales funnel is in the middle of the funnel and is where you actively build a stronger connection with potential customers who have shown interest in your brand.
At this stage, your prospects are aware of your offerings and are exploring their options, but are still hesitant to buy from you. So what’s the solution? The only way to continue making a buying decision is more engagement & encouragement.
Your company’s main objective at this step is to create meaningful interactions with targeted leads by providing personalized & value-driven content.
Engaging & encouraging content helps build trust & credibility, as well as keeps your brand at the forefront of your audience’s minds as they move closer to buying.
🛠️ Strategies for the engagement stage
- Send personalized, relevant messages based on your prospects’ behavior and preferences.
- Use nurturing content campaigns like industry reports or case studies to meet your customers’ needs.
- Provide live opportunities for prospects to increase engagement by hosting webinars or live Q&A sessions.
📌 Here are some ways to enhance the engagement rate:
- Quizzes and surveys
- Remarketing ads
- Social media engagements
- Dynamic content on your website
- Loyalty rewards
- Gamification on your website
🔥 Hot tips for the engagement stage:
The key to generating & boosting engagement with prospects is segmenting them. That is, segment your audience into groups based on common characteristics (e.g., location, preferences) to deliver more relevant content.
Use user-generated content. That is, encourage your customers to share their successful experiences with your brand on their social media posts.
To get fast results at this stage of the sales funnel, utilize sales automation software. For example, email follow-ups can be performed using email marketing automation tools like Mailchimp.
Stage 5. Action 🎬
At the action stage of the sales funnel, prospects have reached the bottom of the funnel and are ready to finally decide to buy.
Your company’s priority at this step is to meet the potential client’s needs and expectations successfully.
To do this, you can help them learn how to use your product correctly or effectively by creating tutorials & guides and building strong customer service. This improves customer satisfaction levels.
🛠️ Strategies for the action stage
- Connect with qualified leads through relevant & consistent emails.
- Follow up promptly on any questions about your products.
- Provide special limited-time pricing features, bundles, or time-sensitive discounts or deals.
- Conduct live chats or consultations, emails, or phone calls.
- Take advantage of retargeting techniques.
- Offer clear Calls to Action (CTAs).
- Optimize mobile-friendly design.
📌 Here are some ways you can improve your action stage:
- Customer success stories
- Customer feedback
- Special offers
- Tutorial videos, FAQs, and guides
- Product bundles
- Email campaign tracking
- Transparent return or exchange policies
🔥 Hot tips for the action stage:
To increase the likelihood of a purchase online, focus on simplifying the payment checkout process that makes it easy, intuitive, and secure for people to buy.
Use A/B testing techniques to experiment with the checkout process, different CTAs, product images, and layouts to see if anything can impact your website’s conversion rate.
Additionally, analyze metrics like cart abandonment rate and average order value to optimize conversion rates.
Most importantly, pay special attention to common pain points in the purchasing process, such as slow page loads or confusing navigation.
Stage 6. Loyalty ❤️
Customer loyalty, also known as re-engagement or retention in the sales funnel stages, focuses on converting a customer into a repeat buyer.
Customer retention is a key component of a successful sales strategy because it reduces the cost of acquiring new potential customers. As long as customers are satisfied with your service and need your offering, they are likely to continue to buy from your company.
Implementing retention strategies also keeps customers happier and may turn them into brand advocates.
🛠️ Strategies for the retention stage
- Increase customer loyalty or reward campaigns.
- Offer discount coupons for referring first-time buyers.
- Provide dedicated, 24/7 customer support.
- Conduct re-engagement email campaigns.
- Follow up with feedback surveys.
📌 Here are some ways to engage customers:
- Referral or loyalty programs
- Upsell campaigns
- Re-engagement email campaigns
- Product or service-specific videos
🔥 Hot tips for the loyalty stage:
You can work to increase CLV at various stages of the sales funnel, a metric that estimates the total amount a customer is expected to spend with your business over their lifetime.
By boosting CLV, you can significantly impact your company’s profitability.
How Do You Build a Sales Funnel for Your Business?
Now that you understand the concept and importance of a sales funnel and how it works, let’s discuss how to build a winning sales funnel for your brand.
1. Create a Lead Generation Landing Page
A landing page is often the first opportunity for potential customers to learn about your business and your products or services.
Visitors—Sales-Qualified Leads (SQLs)— arrive on your website landing page in a variety of ways. They may click on an ad or link on a social media or blog post, download an ebook, or sign up for a webinar.
2. Offer a Valuable Incentive
At this point, you need to provide the customer with something valuable in exchange for collecting their contact information, such as email addresses.
Using a lead magnet, such as an e-book, handbook, or exclusive content on your landing page, is an effective way to entice prospects to share their information.
3. Start Nurturing the Prospect’s Mind
Now that your prospective customers have moved from awareness to interest and expressed interest by sharing their email addresses, it’s time to nurture the relationship.
Build a targeted email list and send prospects personalized, educational content about your products and services to keep them informed.
4. Focus on Upselling
Once your prospects reach the decision stage, you should focus only on encouraging them to buy with upselling techniques.
These include free trials, time-sensitive discounts, or special offers that create urgency and add value.
5. Continue to Engage
In the action stage, you’re either acquiring new likely customers or finding out why some prospects aren’t interested in buying. Either way, continue engaging with both groups.
Focus on educating new leads on how to use your product to engage and retain them.
Also, build a list of people who haven’t bought and follow up regularly to nurture them further.
6. Find the Gap Between Stages
Analyze your funnel to determine where prospects are dropping off between stages. Are leads engaging with your content but not converting? Are prospects showing interest but not taking action?
Use feedback to refine your sales strategies at each stage. For example, optimize landing pages, simplify email campaigns, or strengthen sales techniques to close these gaps and improve your funnel performance.
Free Sales Funnel Template for SaaS
Now, it’s time to introduce a free template for a successful sales funnel so that you can reimagine the dream of great online or in-person sales in digital marketing.
Let me give you an example: A sales funnel is like a smooth-running system that can guide potential customers through a step-by-step roadmap that ultimately leads to a profitable deal and purchase.
Let’s take a look at an example of a winning sales funnel in the Software as a Service (SaaS) industry. You can customize your sales funnel using this free template to show how you convert leads into customers.
- Awareness: Ads, content marketing, emails, or calls
- Interest in features: Phone calls and email marketing
- Product demo: Trial downloads and demo requests
- Business proposal: Pricing plans
- Consideration: Product strengths
- Purchase decision: Payments and onboarding activities
- Client renewal: Feedback and loyalty programs
💡 Pro tip: If you want to take a more in-depth look at each stage of the funnel and each deal, you can download the free HubSpot sales funnel template.
Bonus Suggestion. A Successful Sales Funnel with CUFinder
Do you want to succeed in the stages of your sales funnel and win more purchases? CUFinder is what you’re looking for. 😊
With CUFinder’s prospecting and lead generation services, it’s not difficult to create a sales funnel that works well.
This platform helps you grow your sales pipeline with updated, accurate, and verified sales data.
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- Over 98% guaranteed accuracy rate
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Bottom Line
Now that you understand what a sales funnel is, how it works, and its steps, you can learn to optimize your sales funnel. The better you understand your prospects and their needs, the more sales you can close, and the more successful you will be.
Any question about sales funnel? Comment please. 💬
FAQs
1. What is the difference between a sales and marketing funnel?
The main difference between the two is the ultimate goal of each funnel. A marketing funnel focuses on attracting potential customers & expanding the Marketing-Qualified Leads (MQLs) net, while a sales funnel aims to convert prospects into buyers.
2. When do sales funnels not work?
A sales funnel doesn’t work when it’s poorly designed. This means that prospects’ needs aren’t met at each stage, high-quality leads aren’t generated and engaged with, personalized & follow-up messaging aren’t sent, and post-purchase retention strategies aren’t implemented.
3. Is a sales funnel a CRM?
No, a sales funnel is different from a CRM system. A sales funnel represents the customer journey. CRM, on the other hand, is software for customer relationship & interactions management, lead tracking, and customer data storage that is used to improve the sales process.
4. What are real-life examples of sales funnels in e-commerce?
There are some real-life examples of the sales funnel in e-commerce, including Huel’s sales funnel with Instagram shop (landing page & newsletter signup), Beardbrand’s sales funnel with content marketing (CTA, text SMS, and blog articles), and Absolute Collagen’s sales funnel with a lead magnet (free handbook, welcome email, and landing page).
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