What is a sales funnel and how to apply it to your company

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There are many business concepts that we may be more or less familiar with, and more than one is easy to apply in our daily lives. This is the case of the sales funnel. However, it is estimated that almost 70% of companies have not identified theirs, something that can directly affect the achievement of their objectives.

This means that many companies are missing out on golden opportunities to convert leads into sales . A sales funnel allows you to increase the percentage of leads that end up becoming customers. Before you can gain customer loyalty, you must lead them through a whole process: from capturing their attention to getting them to buy your product or service.

sales funnel
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What is the sales funnel
A sales funnel or conversion funnel is the purchasing process through which a company guides its potential customers until they become real customers. Through this "funnel" a company discovers, identifies and sells its products and services to potential customers.

We talk about a funnel because of the shape of the visual albania number data representation of a consumer's journey . That is, from the first contact with a company to the closing of a sale and, subsequently, becoming a loyal customer. The lower part is narrower because in many businesses the conversion rate usually does not exceed 20%.

Defining a sales funnel is essential to understand what potential customers think and how they behave at each stage of the purchase. Constantly analyzing and optimizing it helps the sales team understand which part of the process is failing or needs strengthening, as it is a leakage point for potential customers.

The goal should always be to get as many leads as possible to the bottom of the funnel to increase conversions and, therefore, sales. That's why understanding the funnel will make it easier for us to meet key customer needs by delivering the right marketing message at the right time. It also allows us to forecast and scale the sales process to increase revenue and achieve business goals.

commercial success sales funnel
The stages of the sales funnel
Understanding this process involves analyzing its stages. In this sense, each company can create its own funnel and the variables that affect it can be broad . But overall these are the main phases that a customer goes through:

Stage of knowledge
Here our target audience will get to know us. Creating and promoting a brand is no easy task, and this is partly because it requires us to know our client's profile in depth. Only if we ensure this "wide end" of the funnel can we move towards the difficult conversion to sale. In this phase it is about standing out and attracting the attention of the potential client , for which the main marketing and sales strategies are very useful.

Stage of interest
If potential customers already know our brand and feel attracted by it, they will evaluate whether our product or service is the solution to their needs. This is where the necessary trust must be generated to become their first choice.

Decision stage
When the potential customer has all the information about our product or service, he or she will make the purchase decision, but not without making comparisons before making a decision. At this stage, it is essential to be ready to resolve any doubts, offer discounts, personalised treatment and other actions that encourage sales.

Action stage
Our potential customer has become a customer by purchasing. Closing the sale should be a very simple process and we should resolve all doubts along the way. For example: regarding delivery times if the order is online, or about possible returns.

Loyalty stage
The customer should repeat their experience with us and to do so, in addition to successfully completing the sale, we must carry out a task of loyalty or retention. Communication with the customer must be maintained, either with satisfaction surveys or promotions. The other strategies will also be focused on keeping their attention and reminding them that we are still there to help them in the future.