What Is a Sales Funnel? (And How Is it Changing?)

A sales funnel, stretching from early-stage brand discovery to final purchase, represents the customer journey. Most companies use the funnel to ... SkiptoContent SkiptoContent PrimaryMenu Topics Automation BusinessasaPlatformforChange CustomerRelationships DataCulture DigitalTransformation FutureofWork PartnerAppsandConsulting SalesforceonSalesforce Sustainability Trailblazer Roles CEO Commerce CorporateSocialResponsibility HumanResources IT Marketing Sales Service SmallBusiness Industries Communications Energy&Utilities FinancialServices HealthcareandLifeSciences Manufacturing Media PublicSector Retail Organizationsusethesalesfunneltotrackprospectsastheymovethroughsalesstages,adjustingstrategiesandmarketingmethodsinresponsetotheirbehaviors.[Juno/Stocksy] Nov19,2021 6minread Asalesfunnel,stretchingfromearly-stagebranddiscoverytofinalpurchase,representsthecustomerjourney.Mostcompaniesusethefunneltotrackprospectsastheymovethroughsalesstages,adjustingstrategiesandmarketingmethodsinresponsetotheirbehaviors. Usinga“funnel”asametaphorissomewhatmisleading,however—especiallyinarapidlychangingdigitalsalesenvironment.Inreallife,thebuyingprocessisneversolinear.Digitalmarketing,artificialintelligence(AI),andmulti-facetedCRMshavedrasticallychangedtheprocessofconvertingnewleadsintocustomers.  Business-to-business(B2B)salesandmarketingteamsneedtounderstandhowthemodernsalesfunnelworks,andwhatstrategiesmostefficientlymoveprospectsthroughthebuyingjourney. Thisarticleaddressestheseandotherfundamentalsalesfunneltopics: Whatarethestagesofatraditionalsalesfunnel?Whyisthesalesfunnelimportant?Howisthesalesfunnelchanging?Howdoyousuccessfullymanageyoursalesfunnel? GettheSalesin60Secondsnewsletterforthelatestandgreatestsalescontent. Signupnow Whatarethestagesofatraditionalsalesfunnel? Thetopofthefunneliswherenewleads,orprospects,enterthebuyingjourney,whilethenarrowbottomreflectshowmanyofthoseleadsareconvertedtocustomersbytheendofthesalesprocess.Thestagesofasalesfunnelcanvary,butatraditionalmodelfollowsthesephasesfromtoptobottom: Awareness–prospectbecomeawareofabrandorproduct/serviceInterest–prospectshowsgenuineinterestinaproductorserviceDesire–prospectsshowsdesiretopurchasewhenitbecomescleartheproduct/servicemeetsaspecificneedAction–prospectdecidestopurchaseproduct/serviceWhyisthesalesfunnelimportant? Awell-definedsalesfunnelhelpsyouunderstandyourprospects’knowledgeofandinterestinyourproductsorservicesatvariouspointsofthebuyingjourney.Trackingthiscarefullycanhelpyoudeterminehoweachleadshouldbeapproached,whichproducts/servicesarebestforasalespitch,andwhatmessagingyoushouldusetoclosethedeal.  Gettingthecommunication(andtiming)rightpreventslosingprospectsbybombardingthemwithtoomuchinformationorgivingthemthehardselltooearly.Thisiswhymovingprospectsthroughthefunnelisoftencalled“nurturing.”Infact,78%ofbusinessbuyersseeksalespeoplewhoactastrustedadvisorswithknowledgeoftheirneedsandindustry.Thiscanonlybeachievedifyouknowwhatneedsaprospecthasinthemoment.  Howisthesalesfunnelchanging? Thechangingnatureofmarketingandselling—recentlymarkedbythemovetodigitalenvironmentsandapushforcustomer-firstselling—meanssalesfunnelsmustadapt. AsMichaelBosworth,authorof“SolutionSelling,”pointsoutinthe“StoryofSales”documentary,salesusedtobeaboutconvincing,persuading,overcomingresistance,handlingobjections,andclosingthesale.“Today,mydefinitionofsellingishelping[people],”Bosworthsaid.“It’shelpingyourcustomerachieveagoal,solveaproblem,orsatisfyaneed.” Thewaysprospectsandcustomersinteractwithbusinessesarealsochanging.Email,socialmedia,andotherdigitalchannelsarepreferredbymanyinadigital-firstworld. Highperformersare1.6Xmorelikelytoprioritizeleadsbasedondataanalysisthanunderperformers—andhalfaslikelytouseintuition. There’sgoodreasonforthepivot:Videoconferencingandotherappsofferanopportunitytoengageatatimeandplacethatsuitstheprospect.Infact,60%ofsalesrepssaidtheyspendmoretimesellingvirtuallythantheydidinpreviousyears,accordingtoSalesforce’sglobalStateofSalesstudy.   Tokeeptrackoffast-paceddigitalbuyingcycles,dataandanalyticsarebecomingincreasinglyimportant.InourStateofSalesresearch,analyticsanddealmanagementtoolswererankedasthetoptechnologiesusedbysalesteams,with68%receivingdatainsightsonsales,customers,andprospects.  Datainsightschangehowsalesandmarketingteamsmakedecisions.Salesrepsnowrelylessonintuitioninpursuingopportunities.AsnotedinStateofSales,“propensitytobuy”isthemostpopularmethodofprioritizingleads—infact,it’stwiceaspopularasintuition. Asyoutakeonabiggerbookofbusinesswithmoreopportunities,quarterafterquarter,relyingonyourownmemorymeansmistakesandwastedtime.TonyRodoni,EVPofemergingbusiness,SALESFORCE “Timeismoneyforarep,”saidTonyRodoni,SalesforceEVPofemergingbusiness.“Youneedtoknowthemostimportantthingtodorightnow,andwhattodonext.Ifyou’renotclearonwhichopportunitiesareaccurate,you’rerelyingonyourmemorytoknowwhichonesneedwork.Asyoutakeonabiggerbookofbusinesswithmoreopportunities,quarterafterquarter,relyingonyourownmemorymeansmistakesandwastedtime.” StateofSalesalsocomparedthehabitsofhighperformers(salesteamsthathavesignificantlyincreasedyear-over-yearrevenue)withunderperformers(thosewithcomparativelylowerrevenue).Itrevealedthathighperformersare1.6Xmorelikelytoprioritizeleadsbasedondataanalysisthanunderperformers—andhalfaslikelytouseintuition.  Howdoyousuccessfullymanageyoursalesfunnel? Managingyoursalesfunnelboilsdowntoonekeytask:Reviewandadjustyoursalesstrategybasedonleadchangesinthefunnel.Dothisusingthebestdataavailableand,whereappropriate,humanintuition. Let’ssay,forexample,thataleadislingeringinthe“Desire”stagebutishesitatingtomaketheleaptopurchase.Ordinarily,yourprocessmaybetopresentadynamitesalespitchandfollowupwithacontract.Butiftheleadwaffles,asksalotofquestions,backpedals—whatthen?Youneedtoreviseyourstrategytokeepthemmovingthroughthefunnel,eitherbyofferingmoreincentivetobuyorbyeffectivelyaddressingtheirconcerns. Reviewandadjustyoursalesstrategybasedonleadchangesinthefunnel.Dothisusingthebestdataavailableand,whereappropriate,humanintuition. Thesecondpieceofthisisoptimization.Evenifaleadrespondswelltothenurtureprocess,youmaydiscoveryoukeepthemtoolonginaparticularstage.Thiscutsthemomentumtheyneedtomakeapurchase.Adjustyourstrategyaccordingly.Movethemto“Action”morequicklybycreatingurgencyusingcleardeadlines.Organizationscanalsoimprovetheefficiencyofsalesteamsbyre-allocatingresources,offeringadditionalincentiveoptionsorteamsupportforcomplicateddeals.  Datainsightsaretheheartofthisfunneloptimization.Threedata-driventechnologiesfollowanalyticsandsalesreportingasthemostpopularsalestools: Accountandcontactmanagement(65%)Salesforecastingtools(56%)Customerrelationshipmanagement(CRM)systems(58%)Thelastoftheseisaparticularlycrucialtoolforoptimization,allowingyoutoorganizeallcustomer-relateddatainacentrallocation. Salespeoplealsousedatatobetterunderstandaprospect’srelationshipwiththeircompany.Three-quartersofsalespeoplesaiddataonprospects’propensitytobuyagainhelpsthemprioritizeleadsandopportunities.Thissuggestsashiftfromthetraditionalsalesandmarketingdynamic.Nowthefocusisonthevalueofleads,ratherthanthevolume. Itshouldbenoted,however,thatwhiledataiskeytosalessuccess,thesalesfunnelisultimatelyaboutpeople. AsStateofSalesfound,salespeoplebelieveacombinationofhumanskillsanddata-driveninsightsisneededtoconvertprospectsintocustomers.Theabilitytolistenisconsideredacriticalattributeforlandingdealsby78%ofthosesurveyed.Salesrepsalsohavetodemonstrateindustryknowledge(74%),trustworthiness(74%),andknowledgeofprospects’businessneeds(73%). Thesequalities,pairedwithdata-driveninsights,willensureprospectsfloweasilydownthesalesfunnel. Seewhatskillsareneededtosucceedinvirtualselling,whySalesOpsisamust,andhowleaderscanmapapathtoconsistentgrowth. Learnmore Icon/Divider/Increase RelatedStories GuildaHilaire Youhaveaconnectionwithyourcommunity.Buildonthatrelationshipwithcustomers,prospects,andsupporters—andstrengthenloyaltyforyourbrandalongtheway. HillaryScott Feedbacktakesonnewvaluewhenyouconnectittocustomerdataandartificialintelligence. EranAgrios Ourresearchrevealsfirmsmustwrangledatabetterandtracktheentirecustomerjourneytomeetrisingexpectations. IsmaelBrown Gonearethedaysofschedulingafixaweekoutandhavingcustomersstickwithyou.Remotesupportsoftwarehelpsagentsfixproblemsfaster. BijayitaMohapatra Howdoyouensureyourproductisdesignedforcustomerstoeasilyuse?Checkoutourguidetosuccessfulproductadoption. KellyHorn Today,customerserviceinbankingisaboutpracticesthatputindividualneedsfirst. BrandiHolness Thesecompaniesareusingmarketingautomationtoreachcustomersinrealtime,andareseeinganuptickinvirtualevents,webinars,andemailperformanceasaresult. LizSimms Automatingcustomerserviceanswersgivesemployeesthebandwidthtodiginandsolvecomplexproblems. JohnDurocher AtSalesforce,ourcustomersuccessexpertshavewitnessednearlyeverypossiblecustomerscenarioplayout.Hereareourbestpractices. GetthelateststoriesfromThe360Blog,everyweek. Subscribe Close GetthelateststoriesfromThe360Blog,everyweek. 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