The Sales Funnel Concept for Websites

Have you ever been to a website and wondered where to go first? If you have, you are not alone. There are thousands of users that hop on websites that give no direction or path for them to go. Don’t get me wrong, as time goes on and with Major Search Engines hard at work to keep these type websites out of sight. In time we will no longer see websites with out a clear user path. To avoid having your website ranked out of major search engines. It is suggested that your website design uses some type of user path. The sales funnel concept can build a solid user path for your website.

In short, a sales funnel is a marketing strategy designed to lead a consumer through a process that ultimately ends with them becoming your customer.

There are three main categories within the sales funnel; at the top, you have your leads, then prospects, then you finish with your customers. When you see this in diagram form, it looks like a funnel – hence the name.

The aim is to take a lead, make them a prospect, and turn them into a loyal customer. Leads are people that are aware of your business, they’re basically any consumer on the market. A prospect is a consumer that has connected with your business in some way and shown an interest in you. Then, we all know what a customer is – someone that buys your products.

How to Create a Sales Funnel on Your Website

Now you know what a sales funnel is, it’s time to look at how you create one. All sales funnels start with the same step; generating leads.

Generating leads

One of the easiest and most common ways of generating leads is with a landing page. A landing page is the first page most people will see when they visit your site via a link. The purpose of this page is to educate potential leads about a problem that your business can solve. Often, at the bottom of the page they have forms on them or boxes where people can put in their contact details to hear more about a solution to their problem. This provides you with a means to contact them and follow up on your leads.

Follow up on your leads

The next step is to follow up on your leads (who are now prospects) to get more information out of them. Following up allows you to contact them and learn about their interest. It tells you how keen they are to become a customer, and sets the wheels in motion for the final step. You can follow up on leads by sending them a promotional email or a company newsletter that leads them back to your website that invites them to make use of an offer you have tailored for them.

Make the sale

Finally, you must make the sale and transform your leads into paying customers. Usually, things are set in motion by your follow up, which entices people back to your website. They like the offer, and you can sell it to them on your site with provocative text that promotes the product. Worst case scenario; they don’t purchase anything, and you can just follow up later and bring them back. Best case scenario; they make a purchase right there and then meaning you didn’t even have to follow up!

With a sales funnel you can start converting more leads to customers and generating far more sales via your website.