Every business existing on the face of earth needs people who buy their products and services. No one would start a business if we didn’t have the concept of money. Money is a major factor in everyone’s lives and we cannot deny it. But it isn’t the main topic of this blog.

The main topic of the blog is the sales funnel. So, what is the sales funnel?

A sales funnel is a person’s journey from being a regular person knowing about your company for the first time to becoming a customer. Now, it may not look like much to a person who has recently started their business. But it is a pretty big deal for anyone who’s been in the industry for some time. It is because they know how crucial it is to understand the sales funnel.

A sales funnel is mainly divided into three main parts- the top, middle and the bottom. When a person is unfamiliar with your business, they’re at the top of the funnel. They're somewhere in the middle when they know a bit about your business and its products and services. And when they buy your product/service, they’re at the bottom of the funnel.  

Confused?

Don’t worry. We’ll explain it in more detail in the blog. We’ll also tell you how you can create a sales funnel for your business.

So, without any further delay, let’s start with the blog.

Stages In A Sales Funnel

Initially, we’ll tell you the stages in a sales funnel because, as simple as it may seem, there are many things you have to know to create one successfully.

It is crucial to follow the stages in order because you can’t sell your products/services without first telling people about them.

Awareness

The first stage in a sales funnel is awareness. At this stage, people know about your company and your products/services. They might get the information from a simple Google search, social media or word of mouth.

Most businesses that don’t invest in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Social Media Marketing (SMM) don’t get the chance to make people aware of their company. It is the reason why marketers always stress investing a good amount in the awareness phase.

Interest

When people know about your business, they might do research on it (considering they are interested in the products/services you sell). They will check your products’ prices and compare them with your competitors. It is a step that most of us usually do because we want to be sure about the thing we’re about to buy.

At this stage, it is crucial to impress people with the in-depth information you have about the industry your business is in. You must not tell people how good your services are at this stage because they’re getting familiar with your website. In a restaurant, you can’t directly serve food to guests before they look at the menu.

We’ve stressed writing good content on your website in many of our previous blogs. We also have a blog that talks about tips for becoming a better SEO writer. You might want to check them out if you struggle with your website’s content.

Decision

At the 3rd stage, users are evaluating in more detail because they don’t want to spend money on something that offers them no value. As they’re so close to buying your products/services, they’ll look at the prices and compare them.

Most people may think that nothing from their side can be done at this step. But that is not the case. You can provide people discounts, offers, extra products and free shipping. Your competitors might not be doing these things, which will give you an edge. You have to be extra careful at this step because you don’t want to lose people after keeping them engaged for so long.

Action

So they’ve bought your product/service, and you’re confused as to what now. A regular marketer not familiar with the power of keeping a good relationship with customers after purchase will most likely do nothing. Don’t be that person.

We can even say that after the product purchase, you’ve only covered half the journey. You have to follow up on people who bought your service constantly. Ask them if they like it and want any changes.

Also, if you want them to become your repeat customers, you have to follow up. BTW, action is at the bottom of a sales funnel.

How To Create A Sales Funnel?

Now that you know all the sales funnel stages, it is time to know how to create it. It will help your business in major ways and let you determine what you’re doing well and where you can improve.

Build A Landing Page

To create a sales funnel, the first step is to create a landing page. Now, what is a landing page?

A landing page is a website’s page entirely dedicated to converting users into customers. All websites create it, but as a newbie, you may forget about it or simply don’t know how you can create it.

It is like any other page on your website. The difference comes when you write the page’s content. On the landing page, make sure to tell everything about your company to people. You don’t have to tell your company’s features because users are not interested in knowing them. Instead, tell people the benefits they’d get by choosing you. Also, include a form so you can get users’ emails. We’ll tell you more about it in the next point.

You should also tell a bit about your products and services. You don’t have to write all the information about them because you have dedicated pages for them. Moreover, more than required content on the landing page can actually defeat its very purpose.

Offer Value

You got emails from people who visited your website’s landing page (discussed in the previous point). But what exactly do you have to do with them? You don’t have to do anything with them right now. You simply have to reward people with something because they gave their emails to you.

Providing something valuable to people in return for their time is called a lead magnet. It is an exciting offer that they’d love. It varies from business to business. To give you an idea, you can offer people interesting information or a fact or stat.

Lead magnet works because most of us can’t resist offers, and some go to the extra length to get them. Proceed to the next step and know what you have to do after offering something valuable.

Nurture Them Through Regular Emails

In one of our previous blogs, we discussed how email marketing should be a marketing tactic every business should use more often. Regular educational and informational emails work amazingly. All big companies do it.

Even you may have received several emails from websites you subscribed to a long time back. Most companies create a database of all the email IDs they have and regularly send them emails. It helps increase repeat customers and people who constantly look at your website and social media but never buy your products/services.   

Provide Offers

When you know that people are close to buying your products/services, it is advised to provide them offers and discounts that will encourage them and give them more reasons for choosing you. Most businesses make the mistake of not offering anything valuable to people just when they’re about to purchase. Because of this, they lose out on people and therefore have a decreased conversion rate.

If you’re constantly wondering why people don’t buy your products/services, you might be making this mistake. And don’t worry, when you provide people with some value, you don’t lose money but make more of it. You have to think in the long term and make decisions accordingly.

Identify Why Some People Didn’t Convert

A lot of your audience converted and bought your product. That’s good news. But what about the people who didn’t convert. You also have to pay attention to them because it will help you know the mistakes you made. We feel knowing the mistakes is essential because you can improve when you know your shortcomings.

It might take some time to identify the issues. But believe us, it will be worth it and only improve your strategy even more.

Conclusion

A sales funnel is something you can’t ignore if you want your business to become successful. Many new businesses often ignore it and realize after failing how important it is. We don’t want you to do it, which is why we’ve written this blog.

This blog covered everything from the stages of a sales funnel to how a business can create it. We wrote in an easy-to-understand language that will help more people easily understand this complex topic.

You can appreciate our efforts by commenting and sharing the blog with others.

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