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

A sales funnel, stretching from early-stage brand discovery to final purchase, represents the customer journey. Most companies use the ... SkiptoContent PrimaryMenu Topics Automation BusinessasaPlatformforChange CustomerRelationships DataCulture DigitalTransformation FutureofWork 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 IsmaelBrown Gonearethedaysofschedulingafixaweekoutandhavingcustomersstickwithyou.Remotesupportsoftwarehelpsagentsfixproblemsfaster. BijayitaMohapatra Howdoyouensureyourproductisdesignedforcustomerstoeasilyuse?Checkoutourguidetosuccessfulproductadoption. KellyHorn Today,customerserviceinbankingisaboutpracticesthatputindividualneedsfirst. BrandiHolness Thesecompaniesareusingmarketingautomationtoreachcustomersinrealtime,andareseeinganuptickinvirtualevents,webinars,andemailperformanceasaresult. LizSimms Automatingcustomerserviceanswersgivesemployeesthebandwidthtodiginandsolvecomplexproblems. JohnDurocher AtSalesforce,ourcustomersuccessexpertshavewitnessednearlyeverypossiblecustomerscenarioplayout.Hereareourbestpractices. MartinKihn Customersareincreasinglyhesitanttosharepersonalinformation.Herearesomewaysmediacompaniescaneasethosefearsandbuildatrustingrelationship. GuildaHilaire Thesetipswillhelpyoudevelopcommunityappreciationandstrengthencustomerloyaltyforyourbrand.Learntobuildahealthyandmutually-beneficialrelationshipwithcustomers,prospects,andsupporters. MichelleFeinstein Nomoreface-to-facemeetings?Findconnections,gettherightinformation,andstartconversationsthatmatter. GetthelateststoriesfromThe360Blog,everyweek. Subscribe Close GetthelateststoriesfromThe360Blog,everyweek. 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