How to build effective sales funnels?

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Sales funnels are a strategic marketing tool that illustrates the path of a potential customer from initial acquaintance with a product or service to the final purchase. They help companies understand and improve the sales process, optimizing interaction with customers at each stage. The main idea is that it is enough to correctly set up a funnel once, periodically supporting it with an advertising budget and new lead magnets, to ensure a constant flow of loyal customers.


Another important function of the funnel is analytical. band database It helps to identify weak points in the marketing strategy and allows you to rely on specific data to determine priorities and adjust actions. Sales funnel analysis allows you to evaluate the profitability of advertising campaigns, plan future promotions, see mistakes and potential areas for development.

The sales funnel is applicable both in online and offline environments. An automatic funnel in the CRM system allows you to track the activity of website visitors, create lists of potential clients according to certain criteria, and send messages.

Pros of a Funnel

Cost savings, no need to pay for the work of managers;
Eliminating human error eliminates the impact on the performance of salespeople, their attentiveness and motivation;
To facilitate the analytics process, the system independently collects the necessary information and generates analytical reports.
Cons of the Funnel

Not all aspects of customer interaction can be automated. For example, a customer’s interest in a product does not always mean that they are ready to move on to the next stage of the funnel. Sometimes additional persuasion is required, which only a manager can provide. However, analytics tools allow you to experiment with different scenarios and choose the most effective ones.

Stages of creating a sales funnel


The number of steps may vary depending on the complexity of the product, characteristics of the target market, features of advertising campaigns and other factors. Let's consider a standard model for creating a funnel, which includes seven stages.



1. Audience analysis and USP preparation
Determine who your target audience is. Research the socio-demographic indicators, interests, needs and habits of potential customers. Use various methods of collecting information, including analysis of search queries, social networks, surveys and focus groups.

2. Attracting "cold" clients
After creating a portrait of the target audience, establish the first contact. The main goal is to attract attention and cover the target audience as much as possible. On the Internet, this is often achieved through contextual advertising and SMM, offline through "cold" calls, outdoor advertising and promotions.

3. Generating interest
The task at this stage is to convert "cold" clients into "warm" ones, arousing their interest. The goal is to obtain contact information for further communication. Instant sales are possible, but the main emphasis is on building communication.

4. Overcoming objections
At this stage, many clients have doubts. Although they are interested in the product, they are not yet convinced of the need to buy from you. There are various methods of working with objections. For example, you can use a "passive" approach, where the client himself comes to the understanding that his fears are groundless. An effective tool here is a landing page - a one-page site that describes in detail the advantages of the product and its benefits for the buyer. To eliminate doubts among the most skeptical users, add a section with answers to frequently asked questions. You can also overcome objections on other resources in social networks, on a blog, through email newsletters.

5. Completing the deal
At this stage, the client is on the verge of making a purchase. However, even now the deal may not take place, for example, due to a misunderstanding of the payment and delivery process or forgetting about the product in the basket. Retargeting is effective when banners "haunt" site visitors on other resources. In addition, the abandoned cart recovery function in CRM helps to detect users who have not completed the purchase and sends them automatic notifications with a reminder and a special offer.

Stage 6. After-sales service
The sales process does not end at the moment the deal is closed. The main goal is to turn one-time buyers into regular customers. Improve customer loyalty in various ways: control product quality, provide technical support, answer questions and resolve complaints.

Step 7. Analytics
Analyze the results of your sales funnel and other marketing activities to assess the effectiveness of your chosen strategy. The main criterion is conversion at each stage: the ratio of the number of target actions to the total number of visitors. Monitoring conversion at each stage will help you identify weak points in the funnel. For example, if you find a high percentage of bounces at the interest generation stage, you should review the structure, design, or content of the landing page.

By using sales funnels, companies can not only increase their revenue, but also improve overall customer interactions, creating the basis for long-term relationships.