Sales Funnel Overview

Sales Funnel Overview

by Yariv Peled | on January 9, 2013

Article #6 Sales Funnel Overview
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“I have made it! I have made it” shouted the clown as the crowed kept flowing right into his funnel” – 3 things that will set your sales funnel on fire.

Please read on as your are about to enter the new moment, where theconcept of our beautiful sales funnel, is changing into a new powerful concept, as we call – The 3 Steps Formula!
I say, that the most essential representations of a sales process, is a funnel.
We don’t really think that all of the prospects that go right into the top of this so-called funnel are about to turn into huge fans of us.
Based on my experience I know today that, a good sales funnel has a tested way to get aware of early enough, which of the prospects will be more serious and  convert into income maker, and which won’t.
I see a lot of so called gurus who think it’s just a numbers game and try to put as many visitors as they can through the funnel.
This process leads to a funnel that is not consistent and very inefficient.
We want to make sure that we put the best prospects through the funnel to maximize our ROI.
After your form a marketing process that consistently produces leads, then you should conclude that the stage of the funnel that you have the most control over is the top of the funnel.
At each of the stages that you proceed deep into the sales funnel you are forming, the potential buyer has more influence over the your next decision.
So if you don’t get any reward, the first stage to focus on is the very beginning of the funnel.
Do more of what has worked before to create more leads, or work with a marketing partner to develop a new marketing moves that will generate targeted leads.  The more targeted the leads will be, the higher the results will be that produce sales.
A lot of potential buyers step into the top of the funnel, and some of them are not qualified (do not relate to what you offer them, don’t have problems that they are bothered by enough, or don’t want to buy anything) and fall out of the sales funnel excel sheet that you made, so a smaller quantity make it into next stage.
During this stage, we do all we can to convert the problem and suffering they identifying themselves with, into a phase of action to alleviate it. Sometimes that comes naturally from the discussion, and in other cases we find that something else is needed or is missing.
So a smaller number of visitors get proposals that enter discovery, and further a smaller number of customers will buy then get proposals. The percentage that continues from this step and move on is the yield of YOUR SALES FUNNEL; the percentage that makes it from the beginning to the bottom of the funnel is called “closing ratio” (CR).

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Once you are consistently bringing in leads into the top of the funnel, you should to focus on your results from each phase of the sales funnel example. Too many visitors are falling out in that stage of targeted lead generation. You conclude that not enough people continue are falling out in discovery? You need to improve your qualification process, and so on.
The making of a great funnel needs to be improved from the start to the end.
The most important factor to being able to create working improvements is a process, where every dialog with every prospect follows  defined answers and script.
Do you have five to ten standard qualifying questions that you ask every visitor?
Did you have a consistent script for the discovery conversation that you use time and time again?
Are your proposals compelling?
DO your proposals have a consistent script that you move and check again. A little bit from the first to second etc…?
If your process is set as a repetitive tactic, than you can make small changes and measure the impact your tweaks.
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The last part of the sales path, is the one that we tend to discount; the post-close conversation.
For many excellent marketers when the client says yes, it’s a big relief.
for us; we take off our marketers hat and we now have to work.
But for the buyer, it is a fragile moment. They’ve just gave you a lot of money, and you haven’t done anything yet.
Let’s not move forward quite yet and keep on as a salesperson a little longer and see how we can prevent any uncomfortable situations that your prospect might have.
First, congratulate the buyer for Joining you; remind them that you are going to help them and guide them. Be passionate; Show appreciations and empathy to the fog they are in.
Then, have a conversation with the new team member about what they are going to say when they talk to their team, advisers, spouse or friends about why they decided to work with you. Make sure they stay hyped.
Then put them to work
Get them started working on tasks that you have prepared for them; they can read something before they start or work on some homework, but don’t waste time, give them something that will contribute you both and the whole sales funnel.
Next, ask them for referrals.
Yes, they are never going to have higher expectations of you than they carry with them right now.
You have said you are going to solve their problems and you you should remember that things are fresh still!
Introducing you to others, creates the feeling that they have made a great decision. So don’t hesitate with this move.