The Stages of a Marketing Sales Funnel
Shockingly, a 2019 survey of small and medium-business owners revealed that half of them did not have a marketing plan. If you’re part of this 50 percent or are just uncertain of your marketing plan, this article may be the catalyst to helping you jump-start it this year.

In 2021, there was a growth of 2.5 percent in small and medium-sized businesses, with an overall increase of 9.8 percent over the past four years. What’s even more notable is that 32.5 million small businesses make up 99.9 percent of all companies in the US. With this increase in competition, it will be vital to the health of any business to have a solid marketing plan.
The importance of a sales funnel
Some of the biggest challenges business owners struggle with are how to generate leads and ultimately convert them into paying customers. For that reason, a sales funnel can be one of the most effective ways to convert these leads into buyers.
The sales funnel is a nurturing-based approach to courting prospects—nurturing them through each stage of the sales process by building trust and positioning your business as the expert in your field. Without this, it will be difficult to build and sustain a relationship with potential customers.
Whether you are part of the 50 percent who is not currently utilizing a sales funnel or have one that may need some beefing up, consider the next steps for how you can create a successful sales funnel strategy that puts your business heads and shoulders above your competition.
Consistency in sales
An effective sales funnel strategy should ultimately capture qualified leads, procure new clients, and enable you to successfully scale your business. You can’t, however, just set it and forget it—monitoring and tracking results will showcase where the holes are and at what stage most of your prospects are dropping off. Adjusting your sales strategy based on lead changes in the funnel can put you back on track for success.
Consistency in messaging
Your content needs to be consistent, targeted, strategic, creative, and goal driven. If you remain steadfast in delivering relevant and useful content throughout each stage of the sales funnel process, you will build trust and credibility with your audience. Consistency in your sales funnel strategy will increase the likelihood of moving your prospects from one stage to the next—whether it’s a call to action, special offer, email campaign blast, or social media blitz.
Consistency in company efforts
The sales funnel method is the same for any type of business; therefore, understanding the “why” of your business and why someone should buy your product or service is essential. Your goal as a company is to rely heavily on your ability to shift when necessary and be someone your prospects can count on, making them more likely to become customers.

The four stages of the sales funnel
Each of the four stages of the sales funnel has its own approach and requires different strategies to move the prospect through it. Once in place, check in regularly to get a bird’s-eye view of where your successes are occurring, what may need tweaking, and what needs to be scrapped from your current marketing strategy.
1. Awareness
The prospect becomes aware of your business during this time. Perhaps they found you on a Google search, a shared social media post, or some other type of marketing campaign you did in the past. Even though some buyers are ready to buy immediately because they already know what they want and are just looking for the best price and place to complete their purchase, this is not generally the case. So this beginning stage should generally be treated like a courtship—maybe entice your prospects with some type of a special offer or CTA to keep them interested and engaged. Your main objective at this juncture should be to capture their attention to keep them coming back for more information.
2. Interest
Your next goal is to lead capture and begin the nurturing process. You might start to lose prospects at this point, but the opportunity to convert interested leads into customers increases exponentially. Once they start to engage, your sales funnel must direct them somewhere—a landing page, your social media platforms, or any place that your business markets to the public. Position your business as the industry leader for the product or service they are searching for. Prospects are still comparison shopping and reviewing all their options before making a buying decision. Offering them items of value, such as relevant content or tips or an infographic, can be quite successful in keeping their attention and remaining in the sales funnel.
3. Decision
If your lead has made it this far in the funnel, your odds of capturing them as a client or procuring a sale are significantly higher than in the previous stages. They are on the cusp of selecting the company they want to purchase from, hence the importance of your business continuing to provide valuable information; how-to guides, a business landing page with a CTA they can’t refuse, an FAQ page, or videos are great ways to stay connected. This is also a vendor-driven phase. The consumer is asking questions and seeking additional information to help them make their final decision. It’s the ideal time to reinforce the reasons why they should buy from your company.
4. Action
Your prospect is ready to buy. This is the perfect opportunity to offer them a handful of options or your best deal. Maybe it’s matching your competitor’s price, giving a larger discount or bonus product, or even adding in higher levels of service. Whatever you choose, make it irresistible! Now that the prospect is your customer, focus on post-sale customer support. Will they need additional services, such as procedural help, setup assistance, or answers for problems that arise?

Always express gratitude when a customer chooses your business. There’s nothing like a warm or hot lead, so be sure to ask for feedback and testimonials because a satisfied customer will help generate referrals for your business, ultimately adding to your customer base. And never remove your current clients from the sales funnel. If you keep your business top of mind, they will more than likely refer your products and services to others.
Leads allow you to build a connection with a potential customer, nurture the relationship, and build trust by providing more value at each stage of the sales funnel process.
Take action: Develop a plan for holiday or seasonal marketing for prospects at each stage of your sales funnel.