If you aren’t familiar with sales funnels it’s time you have a clear understanding of exactly what a sales funnel is and what it does, as well as how sales funnel charts can help you work smarter. Thos businesses that understand and use sales funnel charts excel over those who do not.
Your sales process is made up of a series of steps that are there to help you achieve a sale. It generally begins with reaching out to your market in an effort to identify your prospects, then qualify them into real leads, later turning those leads into sales. At each step of the way you will lose some, because not all of your leads will become sales.
A sales funnel chart looks like an inverted pyramid, or a funnel, and it show you all of the steps in your sales process. Let’s look at the steps to create a sales funnel chart.
Step #1 – Identify the First Step in Your Sales Process
Indentifying the first step in your sales process is usually accomplished with some type of outreach to your target market. This can be done using cold calling, advertising, direct mail outs, etc. In your sales funnel chart enter the description of your first step.
Step #2 – What Next?
In your sales funnel chart enter your description in the second row of your chart. For example, the prospect who answer an email request for more information.
Step #3 – Let’s do it all Again
Here you will simply repeat each step in your process.
Step #4 – Using the Sales Funnel Chart
As your prospect passes through your process you can begin to measure each step’s success. For example, you can determine what percentage of emails sent request additional information? How many quotes result in a sale? How much revenue you generate from each mail out? And the list goes on. All of this helps to make it easier for you to identify how you can improve your sales process. You can identify where changes need to be made because something is not working.
The value of sales funnel charts is underestimated and by understanding the full value and using the tool in the manner it was designed to be used you can reap the benefits. Your sales process is critical if you plan to generate revenue efficiently, the sales funnel is a great tool that should be an important role in your overall strategy to grow your business and your sales.
