What Is a Sales Funnel?
A sales funnel is the journey a prospect takes from first becoming aware of your business to becoming a paying (and ideally repeat) customer. Every step has a specific job, and each one must be optimised independently.
Stage 1 — Awareness (Top of Funnel)
At this stage, strangers discover your brand. Your job is to attract the right people through SEO, social media, paid ads, or referrals — and make a strong first impression.
Stage 2 — Interest (Middle of Funnel)
Now a visitor lands on your site. Compelling copy, social proof, and a valuable lead magnet convert them from anonymous visitors into identified leads in your CRM.
Stage 3 — Consideration
Leads are evaluating you against alternatives. This is where email sequences, case studies, product demos, and comparison pages do the heavy lifting.
Stage 4 — Decision
The prospect is ready to buy — they just need a final push. Risk-reversal (guarantees, free trials), urgency (limited offers), and frictionless checkout close the deal.
Stage 5 — Retention & Advocacy
A customer who stays and refers others is worth 5× more than a one-time buyer. Onboarding sequences, loyalty programmes, and proactive customer success keep churn low.
How to Build Yours
Start by mapping your current customer journey. Identify where prospects drop off, create specific assets to address those drop-off points, and set up tracking to measure improvement at every stage.
