For many businesses, a “methodical” system that takes online traffic and converts it to money that flows directly into their cash flow would be a dream come true. What if we told you that such a thing was possible? With a well-designed sales funnel for B2B, you can quickly generate traffic, attract prospects, and nurture them according to their stage in the buyer’s journey. As a result, you’ll receive an influx of hot, ready-to-buy leads.
This post will educate you on how to effectively use sales funnels and patterns you can identify.
A sales funnel a method of promoting a product or service
Before making a purchase, your prospects must navigate a series of processes referred to as a sales funnel, alternatively called a conversion funnel.
Around the turn of the century, St. Elmo Lewis coined the phrase AIDA, which stands for Awareness, Interest, Desire, and Action. As an illustration, consider the following procedure divided into four steps:
- The point at which a customer first learns about a product.
- At this point, the customer’s interest in the product has been piqued.
- Desire – the point at which clients express their preferences for products and brands and generate interest in acquiring the solution they’ve selected.
- Clients are anxious to get their hands on the items immediately (whether they sign up for a trial or make a purchase) (they either start a trial or make a purchase).
The basic framework of a business-to-business sales funnel
A standard funnel is divided into three sections: the top, the middle, and the bottom.
The Pinnacle of the Funnel (TOFU). This is the most critical portion of your marketing funnel since it includes both leads who have not yet connected with your organization and prospects who have.
This stage is entirely dedicated to selling your product. In other words, there is currently little demand for it. Your objective is to generate both. In addition, by establishing a connection with your audience, you can pique your clients’ curiosity. Once they’ve descended thus deep into the funnel, it’s up to you to keep them there.
The Middle of the Funnel (MOFU). At this stage, prospects are evaluating if your product or service is a good fit for their current needs.
Marketing-qualified leads are individuals who have indicated an interest in your marketing efforts but have not yet demonstrated a readiness to purchase from you. In addition, prospects who have a genuine interest in purchasing are referred to as sales-qualified leads, and they should be pursued to turn them into paying customers.
For instance, you’ve spent much time and effort convincing prospective clients that your firm is the perfect fit for their needs, and you’ve reached the funnel’s conclusion. They have qualified leads who are pretty likely to buy your goods or service. Also, at this moment, the customer will make a purchase decision. Establish a favorable impression and gain their business by displaying your value and honesty.
Methods for constructing a B2B sales funnel
A well-constructed sales funnel model enables the development of high-quality leads, speeding the sales process, and identifying and optimizing customer journeys. The sales funnel is an integral part of the operational process for building a long-term strategy for new and current clients. Let’s go through each stage of creating a sales funnel.
1. Recognize your target market’s demands
Customers in today’s digital environment are flooded with data and have virtually limitless options. First, understand that you will advertise to individuals who are a suitable fit for your product or service.
According to a 2021 study, almost 75% of B2B firms do not have long-term marketing objectives. Customers are turned off by irrelevant information, such as adverts, promotions, and articles. Pursuing an unhappy user might have far-reaching ramifications. Businesses that engage in unethical behavior waste money, lose customers and tarnish their names.
What you should do next is as follows:
Conduct audience research before beginning. Visitors to your website should describe their activities, and the time they spend performing them. Site monitoring and analytics tools will assist you in identifying specific demographics to target with your marketing efforts.
RFPs, conversion rates, mailing lists, and other kinds of client contact may be more critical than site analytics. You can more effectively target your consumers if you understand how they act.
2. Identify whether your audience is paying attention or not
Due to an abundance of options and a general lack of confidence, customers’ attention spans are shorter than they’ve ever been. The most effective communications are personalized, relevant, and timely. Since the return on investment is not always evident, some marketing executives may struggle to justify it.
On their first visit to a website, visitors do not purchase. Prospects are typically introduced to your brand and products via a series of visits to various industries. Months may pass before a potential consumer moves from awareness to consideration.
What you should do next is as follows:
After identifying consumers interested in your products, you may direct them to the funnel’s broadest point. This will take some time, as action is rarely taken at the first meeting. According to marketing mythology, messages must be repeated seven times to be effective, which holds even in B2B.
E-commerce and CRM software may assist you in tracking leads throughout the evaluation and purchasing process, enabling you to make a favorable first impression when you contact them.
3. Learn how to nurture relationships
Numerous businesses struggle to maintain momentum following a fruitful first encounter. Contacting leads prematurely or inadvertently runs the danger of frightening them away or losing their attention.
As digital natives take center stage, buyers of all types are increasingly more comfortable making purchases without consulting others. According to Forrester, the average B2B consumer will study five pieces of information before making a purchase. In other words, prospects are unlikely to desire (or anticipate) communication from you by phone or email.
What you should do next is as follows:
With the assistance of a drip campaign, these cold leads may be moved more quickly through the funnel. It’s simpler to “warm people up” and close the deal if you consistently provide them with entertaining and valuable content, particularly if it meets their goals and pain points.
Because drip programs may be customized to meet your unique requirements, they can be fine-tuned for each of your target groups. You’ll need to demonstrate that you understand the client’s requirements and that your solution and offer appear to be tailored specifically to them.
4. Prepare for a meeting of the minds
When it comes to contract negotiations, first impressions rarely suffice. You must convince your prospective client to become a paying customer. However, first impressions are critical since they frequently indicate whether or not a prospective customer will go down the sales funnel.
You should be aware of a few points at this time. Your CRM system should incorporate all essential research, RFP information, website and communication activity, as well as any customer data. When you first meet a customer, they may help you better grasp their issues and create a good impression.
What you should do next is as follows:
To connect with their consumers, salespeople must be adaptable and think outside the box during the sales process. As a result, standardizing your sales process has the potential to have a significant influence on your sales funnel, pipeline, and overall productivity. Rather than a script or playbook, standardization is a guideline that may be altered and updated to follow a specified course.
Due to the repetitive nature of some of these activities, you may be able to automate them to free up salespeople’s time to focus on customer relationships and revenue growth. For instance, behavioral data might be used to determine a customer’s pain points. As a consequence, you may tailor the product to their specific requirements.
5. Ensure that you keep a close check on everything
According to HubSpot, salespeople who leave after the first “no” have a 44 percent greater chance of failure than those who persevere. This is because most salespeople focus their efforts at the very top of the funnel on completing transactions.
By following up, you can avoid missing out on big commercial chances. Additionally, you may utilize email notifications or calendar reminders to remind your sales representatives to follow up on follow-ups.
What you should do next is as follows:
Additionally, your sales funnel may profit from the follow-up technique. You may be able to eliminate them from your database after a series of failed efforts to contact them. You’ll be able to track each lead’s progress through the sales funnel and their likelihood of making a purchase.
Don’t forget to maintain contact with existing clients. You may elicit information about their experience with your product, what they like about it, discover possible testimonials, or urge them to promote favorable word of mouth via their social networks.
6. Conclude the deal
If you want people to purchase anything, now is the moment to determine if they will or will not. Lead nurturing programs are critical because directed prospects account for over half of all significant B2B purchases.
Please pay attention to what your consumer says to ascertain the factors preventing them from purchasing. According to David Jacoby, the ASK approach is the most effective way for obtaining a buyer’s commitment and resolving closing issues:
- Please make a list of your objectives and prioritize them. Utilize existing relationships with your clients to corroborate any feedback you’ve gotten via phone conversations, meetings, or written correspondence. By sharing them here, you may ensure that the buyer is aware of your concerns and remembers their requests. By requesting reassurance, you may help build trust and mutual understanding.
- It is necessary to establish commitment. Both parties gain from doing business with you and utilizing your product or service. At this point, the customer may have further worries or inquiries, so ascertain what they are.
- Keep your gaze fixed on the other individual. Even if you succeed in securing a commitment, your task is not yet over. Consider whether extra decision-makers or contractual issues require resolution before signing on the dotted line.
- After completing a large purchase, customers are likely to have second thoughts (or buyer’s remorse), so make yourself available to address any concerns they may have following the transaction. Maintain open lines of communication to foster a long-term relationship.
7. Optimize the effectiveness of your funnel
Whether you’re a distributor of medical supplies or gadgets, you must interact with your target consumer. At each stage of your sales funnel, an actual, live consumer is waiting for responses. To better address your clients’ needs, each level of your funnel should have a choice of options.
The client is exposed to various information via landing pages, blogs, social media, videos, and infographics. Eventhough it looks that all of this material is unrelated, it must be catered to a specific funnel persona.
For example, in FMCG e-commerce, you may wish to target a specific merchant who offers a particular product, brand, version, or item category. Additionally, it may be utilized for A/B testing and content flipping. If one CTA or tagline does not work, try another until one does.
Leads become increasingly concentrated as the funnel narrows, necessitating more precise product information. They will have access to various materials, including whitepapers, manuals, webinars, and case studies. Regardless of where your leads are in the funnel, it would help keep them engaged, motivated, and on track to complete the purchase.
Ascertain that your B2B sales pipeline and funnel are future-ready
Are you looking for strategies, ideas, or solutions to aid in the growth of your business? To successfully navigate the myriad obstacles associated with digitizing your pipeline, you must choose the most adaptive CRM platform available.
