A sales funnel is an effective marketing tool that leads to business growth. However, to reach your business goals, the sales funnel you design has to include the following six stages.
Stage 1 – Awareness
This is the point where prospective new customers are just learning about your company and what it does. They may have heard of you but may not be clear on what your business offers.
Stage 2 – Interest
If the first interaction someone has had with your company or product has caused them to seek more information, then they are at this stage in the sales funnel. They will do some research on your company and services online by checking your website or flipping through a catalog. They may even read blog posts and reviews from previous customers to gain some insight.
Stage 3 – Evaluation
At this stage, a prospect will have some additional knowledge about you and your products after going through the interest stage. Now they will dig deeper and this could include contacting your customer service department with some questions. It may include filling out online forms seeking additional details. Prospects at this place in the funnel are doing extra homework which includes comparing you to your competitors and weighing out all their options.
Stage 4 – Negotiation and Decision
The prospect is seriously considering making a purchase from you at this stage. Depending on what your products are, they will spend some time negotiating the terms of purchase, the purchase price or both of them combined. Regardless, when a prospect gets this far into the sales funnel, they intend to purchase something from your business.
Stage 5 – Sale
By now, the prospect and seller have come to terms with the item for sale. Once the prospect pays the seller, they instantly become a buyer. This is where the conversion term comes from. A prospect converts into a buyer or customer.
Stage 6 – Renewal/Repurchase
Depending on the products or services you offer, the customer will make contact with your business again in the future. It may be to renew or repurchase something. It is at this point that the customer has to decide if they plan to continue to support your business. Your customer service will play a huge role in convincing the customer to become a repeat customer.
How Sales Funnels Benefit Business
Several benefits come from a well-built sales funnel. They include:
Messaging
A solid sales funnel lets you understand what a prospect does as they follow the process to conversion. This insight allows you to present relevant and timely messaging to help guide them through the funnel.
Marketing
With the assistance of customer service early in the sales funnel, potential customers learn more about your company and service when they have questions or concerns. This form of marketing pushes prospects further through the sales funnel.
Savings
With a good sales funnel, marketing efforts are focused on good leads that show greater potential for converting. This saves you on the cost of chasing prospects that are not seriously considering making a purchase.
How To Measure The Success of A Sales Funnel
Sales funnels change shape and size to meet your business goals as your business grows. Plus, your sales funnel will adapt to respond better to the needs of those prospects who enter it. It is important to note that a good sales funnel will evolve as your product line changes. With all of this activity, there is still just one measuring tool that reveals how successful a sales funnel is. That is the conversion rate. It can be broken down in many different ways ranging from how many visitors are converted into leads, how many of those leads convert into prospects, and how many of those prospects convert into paying customers.
Where To Find Help With Your Business Plans
Business coaching can benefit your business by helping you define your business goals and building a sales funnel to match. Action Coach Business Coaching offers business coaching services in Brisbane. Contact us today for advice to help your business grow.
In Conclusion
A sales funnel can help your business grow. It is the process a prospect follows that converts them into a customer. Several steps in a good sales funnel may change as your business changes or your customer needs change. However, when the sales funnel is correctly designed, it does a great job of increasing sales revenue. For help in defining your business goals so you can create an effective sales funnel, you should seek business coaching. In Brisbane, that service is available from Action Coach Business Coaching.
