The sales funnel, otherwise known as revenue funnel, are the steps that customers go through when purchasing your product. Generally the funnel begins with the customers finding out about your product, and ends with them taking the action to purchase it.
There are 4 key steps to a standard sales funnel, each losing a percentage of customers along the way:
Awareness – First the customer must become aware of your product. This is done through marketing. A customer can not recognize your product as a possibility if they have never heard of it.
Interest – Next you have to captivate your audience and show these potential customers why your product is superior to competitors. Maybe you have the newest and fastest technology, or maybe you’re just half the price of the others. Either way, demonstrate what makes your product different.
Decision – After you’ve captivated a potential customer’s interest, now it’s time for them to make their decision. This is the point where your potential customers are teetering on the edge of moving forward or not, and it’s your job to push them to the next step. You can do this by “sweetening the deal” and throwing in a discount or subscription extension, or putting a highly trained account executive on the job and having them play the role of closer.
Action – Lastly, after your new customers have made their decision and decided to move forward with a purchase, it’s time for them to take action. Your sales funnel will lead the customer into a purchase screen, or lead them to a sales rep who will guide them on how to purchase and what means of payment your company accepts.
