How to Build an Effective Marketing & Sales Funnel

Whether you own a startup or an established firm, sales funnel is the core of any business marketing strategy. If you want the sales process of your business to run effectively, you must get your marketing funnel — the procedure of converting a browser or visitor into a paying client.

Most business owners avoid the term “marketing funnel” as they think it’s entirely mechanical to explain the lead nurturing order. Being a business owner or marketer, it is essential to be aware of the basics of marketing and sales funnel.

There are several factors you need to take into consideration to boost your business sales and revenue. For instance, at what point your marketing team should hand over a lead to your sales team? If you’re not sure about it, you’re definitely about to lose out on potential revenue.

Building an effective marketing & sales funnel is essential to make your business thrive in the marketplace. If you’re looking for ideas on how to create an effective marketing and sales funnel, continue reading this post.

What is a Funnel in the Business?

Before diving into details directly, let’s begin with the initial term “funnel.” As you can see, this topic revolves around this specific word, so it is essential to figure out exactly what it is.

A sales funnel is known as a revenue funnel and a sales process. It refers to the buying procedure on how brands lead their clients. It is a step-by-step process that enables you to bring your potential clients one step closer to your offerings.

Also, a sales funnel is separated into multiple steps, which can vary based on the respective sales model of your business. Usually, the sales process is divided into the following phases:

• -Awareness Phase
• -Interest Phase
• -Evaluation Phase
• -Purchase Phase
• -Re-evaluation Phase

Steps to Create an Effective Marketing & Sales Funnel

Be Clear on Sales Funnel Terms

When it comes to revenue-generating processes and functions, you need to ensure that everyone from your marketing and sales departments is on the same page. For instance, the word “lead” usually means something different to the marketing team than it does to the sales team.

Obviously, every company has its own definitions for sales funnel phases. But, for many businesses, “lead” stages are as follows:

• -Marketing Accepted Lead
• -Marketing Qualified Lead
• -Sales Accepted Lead
• -Sales Qualified Lead

Defile SQL Handoff Needs

When it comes to landing new clients, sales representatives know that timing is a critical asset. As per sales experts, the schedule makes a substantial impact on turning a prospect to the consumer. To make the most out of this timing, your marketing and sales teams require to determine the standards that specify readiness for the sales procedure.

Although the criteria vary as per business requirements, there are some which are applicable for all sizes and shapes. Here are some that most companies use to determine the leads, which are all set for the sales procedure:

• -Ideal job titles
• -Vertical markets
• -Geographies
• -Tech stacks
• -Engagement level
• -Employee counts or company revenue

Do Not Ignore “Sales Accepted Lead” Status

The Sales Accepted Lead status is the most overlooked part of the sales funnel. This is the phase between SQL and MQL – you can consider it as a “handshake phase.” During the Sales Accepted Lead stage, the sales department can have a closer look at leads to evaluate their actual quality.

Some leads that look like they can be transferred to sales depending on their standards might not be a great fit.

Other quality leads that are not qualified for SQL depending on existing standards might be held back because of internal data irregularities and operational challenges.

In an ideal case, leads will only be in the Sales Accepted Lead phase for a limited time. After the complete evaluation by the SDR (Sales Development Reps), these leads will be shifted along to become MQLs or SQLs.

Clear Up the Standard for Qualifying Marketing Leads 
As you can see, we are talking about the standards for qualifying sales leads so far. But there cannot be any qualified sales leads at the end of the sales funnel if there are no qualified marketing leads at the top.

For this reason, the sales department needs to work in collaboration with the marketing team to help them with qualifying their leads.

Overall, the alignment between both teams is essential in the qualification phase of the sales funnel. In case, if any disconnect or miscommunication occurs between targeting, sales qualifications, and marketing qualifications, the whole value chain can be compromised.

Inspect, Refine, and Repeat 
All the decisions related to your sales funnel advancement standard must be dependent on shared criteria of how you assess success – at every step and throughout. Also, though customer growth metrics, subscription numbers, and conversion rates play critical roles, the final success measure is dependent on the overall revenue.

The Bottom Line
All in all, to understand which elements can help leads to shift from one phase to the other, firstly, you need to determine which clients are adding the most value to your business revenue in the long run.

For more posts on how to maximize business revenue, stay tuned to Chargezoom.