What is a Sales Funnel?

So many clients and social media connections are confused about what a sales funnel really is. Yes, there is a big buzz these days due to the rise of applications like the amazing Clickfunnels but I always say that it is a great strategy to come back to basics and start from there.

The core definition of a sales funnel (which is also known as a revenue-generating funnel or the actual mapping of a sales process) refers to the very important buying process that businesses lead their customers through when they purchase products or services. It is a process starting with the moment when a lead is generated and is a reflection of the customer journey leading to repeated sales. Of course, not all leads will become customers, some will never buy, others may buy later and there will be few which will buy a lot and become raving fans.

A sales funnel is a process and it is backed by science and is divided into several steps, which are different depending on the particular sales model. One common encountered sales process has seven parts:

Awareness — in this phase the prospects become aware of the existence of a solution but are not actively looking for it.

Interest — in this phase the prospects demonstrate their interest in a product by performing product research.