Selling is not a race; rather, it's an ongoing journey. With today's customers taking their time to make well-considered choices, you can only convert more leads by engaging them throughout the stages of the sales funnel. But how do you create a funnel that brings in results?

Achieving a good setup requires an organized plan for different stages and touchpoints, but it's essential if companies wish to increase their growth and ensure their businesses last. This blog post will teach you what a sales funnel is, why it matters, how to construct one, and what is one of the best sales funnel examples to look up to. 

What is a Sales Funnel and How Does it Work?

A sales funnel is a customer-focused marketing approach that aims to map out the journey taken by prospects as they move from being unaware of a product or service to making a purchase decision. This model outlines the lead's stages, from acquiring information early to taking action and making a purchase at the end. 

As a result, it offers great potential for businesses to optimize their marketing efforts and drive more qualified leads further down the funnel to increase conversions. Notably, a sales funnel can be simple. However, it must be tailored to suit the requirements of each company, offering the best experience for prospects during their journey with the brand.

A sales funnel help guide potential customers through the sales process. It's a visual representation of how customers move from being aware of your product or service to be interested in it, evaluating it, and eventually become paying customers.

• Marketers use marketing campaigns and targeted content to attract potential buyers and lead them to the top of the funnel.
• At this stage, customers get familiar with your product and begin to understand what value you offer.
• As prospects go deeper into the funnel by exploring different offers and informational material, they become more invested in your offering.
• Finally, they reach the bottom of the funnel, converting into paying customers.

What are the Different Stages of the Sales Funnel?

As customers travel along the buyer's journey, they come across various touchpoints with different businesses. From an overarching perspective, these touchpoints can be divided into three distinct stages of the sales funnel:

1. Top Funnel: At the top of the funnel, brands attract potential customers through marketing activities such as promotional materials and campaigns.

2. Middle Funnel: These prospects are further developed at the middle of the funnel by providing more specific content, such as case studies or customer stories.

3. Bottom Funnel: Finally, at the bottom of the funnel, consumers are given additional details to help make a final purchase decision, including product comparisons and user reviews.

Each stage is important in moving people from casual website visitors to happy paying customers.

The Classic AIDA Model

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Developed to describe the stages of a customer's journey, the AIDA model is a four-step process that outlines 4 integral stages of a customer's buying process. These 4 steps, when brought together, derive the term AIDA.

AIDA specifically stands for:

A- Attention

I- Interest

D- Desire

A- Action

This hierarchical approach presents itself in the form of a funnel, as potential leads move further down each funnel step, there occurs a decrease in prospects. The entire process traces the steps taken by an individual before completing their purchase.

It suggests that customers progress through each stage as they move closer to a purchase.

The 6 Stages of the Sales Funnel

The sales process has come a long way since its inception. Nowadays, customer-centricity is the cornerstone of successful businesses. As a result, companies have begun to understand that customers should be their highest priority. As part of that realization, they have enhanced the classic AIDA model to include customer retention as a critical factor.

The current sales funnel now includes 6 essential stages. They are:

1. Awareness

2. Interest

3. Consideration

4. Intent

5. Purchase

6. Retention

Each of the aforementioned stages plays an integral role in achieving client satisfaction.

Stage #1: Awareness

At the first of a sales funnel, potential customers become aware of their need for a certain product or service or recognize the existence of a problem that needs to be solved. Then, prospects begin to ask questions and look for answers, often turning to search engines for educational content about their issue. 

Stage #2: Interest

In Stage 2 of the sales funnel, creating content that sparks interest and moves prospects down the funnel is important. This means providing helpful, relevant information, such as expert guides, features, benefits, how-to videos, consultations, product-related webinars, and podcasts. 

Stage #3: Consideration

The consideration stage of the sales funnel is an important step in helping prospects decide which product or service to purchase. 

This stage involves:

• Prospects assessing their needs,
• Evaluating different options, and
• Researching solutions that best fit their requirements.

To successfully move through this stage, businesses need to provide content tailored to their target audience and showcase why their offering is the best option. Content types such as product demos, customer testimonials, training videos, case studies, and vendor selection checklists can help educate prospects on what sets a business apart from its competitors.

Stage #4: Intend

At this point, prospects are likely to show strong interest in what your business offers, and you should focus on showcasing your product or service's value and potential ROI. It's important to create a proposal that addresses their biggest pain points and drives them closer to a purchase decision. You should aim to understand the customer's needs and expectations to personalize your offer and make it more appealing.

Stage #5: Purchase

In the purchase stage of a sales funnel, the customer is ready to make the final commitment. This is when they feel confident in their decision and commit to buying your product or service. To ensure this process goes as smoothly as possible, it's important to have clear messaging throughout the entire sales process. Customers should know what they're getting, how much it costs, and what payment methods are accepted. 

Stage #6: Retention

This last stage is undoubtedly one of the most important steps in the sales funnel process, as retention focuses on providing customers with an engaging customer experience that encourages long-term loyalty. To accomplish this requires taking proactive steps to ensure customers understand your product or service and how to use it to its fullest potential. 

5 Best Examples of Effective Sales Funnels

Understanding the value of a good sales funnel is essential for businesses that want to take their operations to the next level. To help illustrate the concept, numerous organizations have put different types of funnels into action and seen their results. 

To understand the essentiality and how giant firms ace their sales funnel game, here are some examples to help you decipher the art of the sales funnel. By examining how these companies have succeeded with their sales funnels, businesses can recognize and capitalize on multiple opportunities to uplevel their funnel structures. Have a look:

Example#1 - Grasshopper

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What: Grasshopper is an innovative virtual phone system created with small business owners in mind. It allows entrepreneurs to create a professional and customized phone number for their company while still utilizing existing landline or cellular technology.

How: As potential customers work through the sales funnel, they are guided by concise copy, leading them toward a trial plan that clearly outlines product variations and pricing. This makes it easy to understand which services will be the best solution for their business needs.

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Grasshopper's Steps In The Sales Funnel

• Traffic Generation: PR, blogs, and ads

• Homepage USP: Content is clear, precise, and simple. They offer a 7-day trial which is explained minimally. Their services are explained in an easy-to-understand listed format.

• Pricing Page: The pricing page is concise and clear. Products are listed in comparison to each other regarding costs and features. Also their free trial plan is also displayed on the page below every offered package.

• CTA: Visitors must choose a phone number to register with Grasshopper for an action-driven request. You can use a local or a Toll-free number. Once done, the next page will send a text message to the same number for access. Post this, you’re brought to the billing page. Simple, easy, and quick!

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Why Grasshopper's Sales Funnel Works?

Grasshopper has honed in on what works, using strategic design elements and testing to drive better sales performance to the funnel. Yet, even years later, they have largely kept the same look and feel of their website.

What makes Grasshopper's Approach Unique?

The unique attribute of Grasshopper is that they stay true to the product's simplicity by utilizing a brand character of a grasshopper and maintaining an easy-to-use interface.

What Can be Improved?

Grasshopper could still work at better appealing to its customer base by posing questions like “How many customers are you losing out on due to not having a professional phone system for your business?”

Example #2 - Groupon

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What & How: The sales funnel of Groupon begins with its clear and prominent email opt-in pop-up. This allows them to capture leads and start building relationships with potential customers. After capturing the lead, Groupon offers exclusive discounts, promotional emails, and other incentives to entice customers to purchase their products or services. 

During the checkout process, Groupon uses nudges such as trust badges, coupon codes, and reward programs that may increase the likelihood of conversion. Additionally, they offer multiple payment options, such as PayPal and Apple Pay to make it easier for customers to complete purchases. 

Once a purchase is made, Groupon follows up with post-purchase emails designed to increase customer satisfaction by reinforcing why they made the right decision by buying from Groupon. They also use this opportunity to build loyalty through promotional offers for repeat purchases or referrals. 

Through this comprehensive sales funnel strategy, Groupon has reached millions of consumers every month and has successfully grown its audience since implementing this approach years ago.

GroupOn’s Steps In The Sales Funnel

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• Traffic Flow: from google ads, referrals, affiliates, email, and social media campaigns.

• Homepage: their homepage pop-up incentivizes visitors to share their email addresses. This move results in an easy database. Visitors, in return, save up to 70% on restaurants, spas, and other deals. Visitors can then browse and shop for services post signing on the website.

Why Groupon's Sales Funnel Works?

There’s a clear CTA to get you to click when you like a deal on their website. Groupon’s follow-up offers are customized to its customers' needs to get them to use its service again. The idea is to make their product addictive via something everyone loves, Discounts! Their offer is comparatively more tailored for women as females make up most of its customer base.

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What Makes Groupon's Strategy Unique?

It comes with no free trials, unlike other companies and products. The users either want a discount/ a coupon or want something else.

Groupon’s business model and sales funnel can be described as a meta-database factory with a website. Simple, convenient, confusion-less, and hassle-free!

Example #3 - Basecamp

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What & How: The sales funnel of Basecamp starts with content marketing and leads to conversion. They demonstrate how their product can help organizations better manage their projects, work, and communications through blogs, videos, and other content. This stimulates engagement as potential customers learn more about the platform and its capabilities.

Basecamp then entices users to sign up for an account with a free trial or discounted offers. This lets them experience the entire suite of features without immediately committing to a full plan. Once they are familiar with the different workflows available on Basecamp and the power it brings to their teams, they are encouraged to upgrade when their free trial is over. 

The company has also implemented several support systems, such as live chat, onboarding calls for new users, user guides and tutorials, email lists for updates and offers, etc., to ensure that customers are supported throughout their journey with Basecamp. With these systems in place, Basecamp's customer retention rate is high compared to most other software companies.

Basecamp’s Steps In The Sales Funnel

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• Traffic Flow: Blogs, PR, organic search, strong SEO.

• Homepage: Besides their social proof on the website, they show their product “in action" by putting a face on their logo for a direct emotional connection.

• Comes with a tempting 30-day free sign-up: Basecamp is free for visitors to try and make up their minds about their services. Users need not fill in their card details during sign-up; they can purchase the service after a 30-day trial. They keep their pricing details simple, concise, and complex-free.

Why Basecamp Works?

Its “new” design emphasizes testimonials. They’re promoting how it’s free to sign up, and let’s face it, who doesn’t love free stuff?

What Makes Basecamp's Strategy Unique?

Every company wants to solve problems for their customers. They speak to customers on a very real level, making them own a successful sales-driven, profit-churning sales funnel due to its element of human connection.

Where Can Basecamp Improve?

If Basecamp adds pictures of users to their testimonials, they may make their user experience more relatable and personal. When people see faces, especially in testimonials, they tend to connect and trust more.

Example #4 - HelpScout

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What & How: HelpScout sales funnel begins on their website, offering a demo video to watch. The visuals are designed with a lot of emotion and care, while contrasting colors and fonts are easy on the eyes. Social proof is also added through brand logos at the fold to reassure website visitors that other companies also trust them. 

A clear call-to-action (CTA) button should be clicked at the end of the page to proceed further into Help Scout's sales funnel. On the next page, there is further information about their products. 

This includes features, pricing plans, and customer reviews. Along with this, more social proof can be found in logos from renowned companies that have chosen Help Scout for their customer service needs. 

The page ends with another CTA prompting visitors to immediately sign up for a free trial or use Help Scout. After completing one of these steps, they are taken to a personalized dashboard where they can create tickets and manage customer queries within minutes. ‍

HelpScout’s Steps In The Sales Funnel

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• Traffic: blog page and resources page

• Homepage: Their homepage is neat, visually appealing, and contrasts greatly. Additionally, social proof and a clear CTA help.

• Pricing Page: There are three pricing tiers on Help Scout's pricing page. They are Company, Standard, and Plus, and they come with an uncluttered CTA that is appealing for a free trial.

Why HelpScout's Sales Funnel Works?

Help Scout has an alluring design, their offerings, and message are understandable. They have done their homework to cover the basics. Their blog is fascinating and has tons of exceptional resources supplemented with great visuals. The content is intricate yet has a simple layout for everyone to understand. 

You can take a sneak peek into the background of the team on their website as well as access their lead magnet, including a CTA to get their tool kit downloaded. Starting with helpdesk services, they have kept expanding their offerings by adding research and creating a data library.

Example #5- SharpSpring

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SharpSpring's sales funnel designed to help businesses of all sizes and types reach their goals. For small businesses, the sales funnel begins with determining the needs and objectives of the company. This helps to create a personalized plan that is tailored to each specific customer. From there, SharpSpring will identify relevant leads and target them through various channels such as display advertising, email marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and more.

Once potential leads are identified and converted into customers, they will be moved down the funnel toward the actual purchase. Along the way, they will be provided with customized support and education to understand better their needs and how SharpSpring's products can meet them. Once customers have been converted into paying customers, an additional layer of ongoing customer service is provided to ensure that the customer's experience is as seamless as possible.

Finally, SharpSpring will measure success by tracking ROI from sales conversions and customer retention rates. With its comprehensive suite of tools, SharpSpring offers a full-service approach for businesses looking for a dynamic sales funnel solution to maximize their profits.

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• Homepage: if you've visited their website in the past, you'll be directed to the website again where you last left it and will be encouraged to return to the process to complete your unfinished business.

• Demo: SharpSpring focuses more on booking demo leads. Demos come as bait to their visitors. This lets them provide a personalized overview of their platform as a whole.

Why It Works

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When it comes to design, SharpSpring did an impressive job, from the amount of social proof present to adding both case studies and whitepapers in their Resources tab. Of course, this is not without valid reason either; Demand Gen reports that a whopping 54% of B2B buyers read through case studies, and even more (71%) skim through whitepapers.

Though overall, the design for this organization is well thought out and attractive, the same cannot be said for its pricing page. However, the consistent fee is $399 for small businesses, but with closer inspection, this is far from accurate. On the left side is a slider that adjusts depending on how many contacts are intended to be included in the service. As a result, what may have been $399 for 1,000 contacts could suddenly jump to $1,299 for 20,000 contacts- an increase worth noting!

Convert leads into sales—using RevenueHero!

Suppose you want to increase your form-fill to demo conversion ratio. In that case, you should check out RevenueHero, an instant demo meeting booking software that can qualify and distribute all the leads in your CRM.

RevenueHero aids you in visualizing your funnel activity and outcomes. You can effectively track how well you're progressing toward your conversion goals and keep your team updated on anomalies. The leads are also prioritized based on their revenue-making capacities, ensuring that your company registers profits to scale.

Here are some more features of this lead qualification and distribution tool:

• Enables meeting scheduling in a round-robin fashion to automatically distribute them across the sales team and instantly create unique distribution logic.

• Allows CRM sync so that the outcome of each meeting is registered in the CRM. This ensures that sales reps don’t chase unqualified leads and extract maximum sales from the funnel by simply checking in with the CRM.

• Automates meeting workflows to enhance your meeting attendance rates and sends automated reminders and notifications with full context at each sales funnel stage.

Want to learn more about this platform? Schedule a demo TODAY!