How a sales funnel can boost your B2B conversions – and the three stages it needs
It’s been shown that when it comes to business to business sales, a cold call follow up is not the best strategy for bringing in new customers.
Your effort may be wasted if that is how you are relying on bringing in sales. Even if you have the most expertly designed website, you may not be drawing in the numbers that you would like.
A sales funnel is effectively a targeted series of marketing actions that will help draw your customer step by step through the purchase decision making process.
Through a campaign of email newsletters, articles, videos and landing pages you can take your customers through your offer without losing their interest.
As a business owner, you always want to increase your conversion rates. With a B2B sales funnel you can make a better connection to your customer that will help you to target potential leads.
Here are the three stages to building a profitable sales funnel.
1) Get focused leads
So much time is spent chasing sales leads that don’t end up translating into sales dollars. When you initiate a marketing sales funnel you create a guide that draws your truly interested customers further into the sales process. This gives you more time to focus on the customers that are proceeding and less on cold-call customers.
You can set up checkpoints through your funnel with tools like surveys and polls. These can help you identify what the needs of your customers are and get to know them better. The more that you know about your potential leads, the better you can tailor your marketing approach to your true target audience.
2) Sort your leads
A sales funnel can show you what customers are truly interested in and who are just browsing. By creating points of interest in your presentation, you can gauge who wants to know more and who you can lead through the process with better success.
You will have the opportunity to have more intimate communication with your potential customers through a sales funnel. Making that connection is what can help you to easily lead and retain the interest of your customers.
Your B2B sales team is most likely to succeed once a strategy has been settled. Test your audience and then tailor your campaigns and products accordingly.
3) Nurture your leads long term
When your sales team is targeting a large corporation, your marketing campaign needs to accommodate the “long game.” Big companies don’t make decisions quickly. When they are shopping for new suppliers or vendors, it can take months of searching for them to finally make a decision.
With a sales funnel that is designed to automate appropriate contact with your long term leads, and a well-planned sales page, you can stay relevant and in the race for the contract. You should give your customers access to your newest products, updates on company news, and any sales opportunities. Your funnel should be able to help you nurture and develop these kinds of important relationships.
Use a sales funnel to build relationships with your leads
For your business to be successful, you have to be able to grab your customer’s attention away from your competition. Building relationships with your leads is one of the best ways to encourage a closing.
With a sales funnel, you can bring in more sustained interest with a higher percentage of your casual users converting into paying customers.
