I’m sure you’ve heard all about sales funnels and how important they are to the success of your business. Let’s take that theory and apply it to real life with some simple sales funnel dos and don’ts for every stage!
What Is A Sales Funnel?
A sales funnel is a visual representation of your sales process that outlines the journey of your customer interactions from when they first discover your brand to when they purchase your product or service. You can personalize the stages in your sales funnel, but let’s walk through the three layers of a sales funnel and their dos and don’ts.
TOP: Awareness/Discovery
At the top of the sales funnel, potential leads discover your brand, however they are still identifying their challenge and are looking for credible information.
Do
• Research your target market, so that you can understand their challenges (symptoms, misconceptions, solutions, etc.) and what prompts them to look for a solution.
• Provide lots of “snackable” content surrounding the topics your potential leads are looking for. Some examples might include webinars, infographics, blogs, research reports, assessment tools, etc.
Don’t
• Don’t push your product or service! At this stage they are looking for information they can trust, so focus on their challenge or the goal they are hoping to achieve.
• Don’t assume that everyone needs your product or service. It is far more beneficial to target your energy and marketing to leads that may be a good fit. Too much advertising to the masses will get you labelled as a spammer and will hurt your credibility.
MIDDLE: Researching Solutions
Leads determine the specifics of their challenge and identify possible solutions available and evaluate options
Do
• Provide information on possible solutions, pros and cons lists, success stories, product review and demonstrations
• Portray the quality of your brand and develop trust
Don’t
• Don’t be pushy!
• Don’t forget to nurture leads at this stage
BOTTOM: Educated Purchase
Lead understands their challenge, has chosen the ideal solution, and is now comparing vendors and ready to make their educated purchase.
Do
• Research your competitors offers and options and demonstrate how your solutions are better
• Offer promotions and discounts
• Use abandoned cart emails to recover lost sales
Don’t
• Don’t forget the correct call-to-action at this stage: Purchase Today!
• Don’t forget to convert new customers into brand advocates using loyalty programs, social media communities, etc.
It’s important to study your sales funnel so that you can better understand and meet the needs of your leads and customers at each stage and guide them smoothly through the sales funnel. Ensure you have content for each stage of your sales funnel so that you are not losing leads unnecessarily. The marketing landscape is forever changing and so is your audience, so consider studying and optimizing your sales funnel on a regular basis.