How to Build a High-Converting Sales Funnel

Most of you have probably heard of a sales funnel.

It’s a key component in digital marketing.

It refers to a series of steps that lead prospects to the decision of purchasing your product.

Sales funnels are normally broken down into 4 parts or stages.

So how does it work?

Well, picture a funnel- wide at the top and narrow at the bottom.

In a sales funnel the wide top illustrates your target market while the bottom represents your customers.

The purpose of creating a sales funnel is to convert the people at the top of the funnel into loyal customers.

How do we do this?

Okay, let’s go back to our funnel stages.

In the awareness stage, you’ll need to familiarize people with your brand.

They must know who you are and what you do.

Become the authority in your niche.

Think of Nike, the moment you hear their name you think of sneakers.

The interest stage involves getting people interested in buying your product.

You need to show them why they'd need it, perhaps it will fix a problem they’re facing.

Decision refers to the moment prospects choose between buying your product or a competitor’s.

They’re willing to spend money, you just have to make sure it’s on your merch.

The action stage involves them checking out and paying for the product.

We’ve optimized the typical sales funnel for the e-commerce market.

Here are the 6 steps you need to follow.

You want people to know of your brand and what products or services they can obtain from you.

Most companies overlook this stage but it’s important to leave an impression on your target market.

Some ways you could create awareness include:

Creating a blog for your business is a perfect way to drive traffic to your site.

You’ll want to post informative content that eventually leads people to your product.

An example of this is creating content about health and fitness if you’re selling nutritional supplements.

Use Facebook groups to interact with potential customers.

Here you can find out what problems they face and offer solutions.

You can also use Twitter to drive conversations.

Post content with trending hashtags in your niche.

Once people are aware of your brand you can focus on the next stage.

People at this stage of the funnel are considering buying your product, so you have to sell it to them.

If you’re unsure how to do this, then we’ve got you covered. Systeme.io is an all-in-one digital marketing software.

Using systeme.io you can create lead magnets, opt-in prompts, landing pages, and email campaigns as well as host your blog.

After people have signed up for your email list, use tracking and analytics to send them personalized content.

It’s important not to overwhelm prospects with too much information.

You'll want to create an email campaign, this way you send scheduled emails at specific times or when a certain action is performed.

The great thing about email campaigns is it can be automated and you can segment your leads into different categories so they receive content more suited to them.

Check out this list of email marketing services that will provide you with the features you require to automate your campaigns.

Paid ads are the best way an e-commerce store can promote its product.

There are numerous places to insert these ads so they increase sales.

These include:

Affiliates use their own strategies to market your product and you pay them a commission for successful referrals.

This tactic provides you with a larger audience and doesn’t require any effort on your part.

At this stage, your target is considering purchasing your product but they’re also going to look at your competitors.

To close the sale, your brand has to be better than the rest. Here are factors people consider before choosing between two brands.

Present your shoppers with limited time offer deals or discounts so they choose your brand.

Exit-intent pop-ups that are triggered if the prospect hovers their mouse above the exit sign are also a great way to keep them on the site.

It’s important to remember you're not just competing with other brands but with the fact that customers can choose not to buy from anyone.

After putting in the work to get them to this stage you don’t want to lose them over technical issues.

Make sure:

Congratulations! Your leads have made the decision to purchase, but there’s more work to be done.

How many times have we seen people place an item in their shopping cart but not proceed to checkout?

Reasons for customers abandoning their carts include:

You can avoid losing sales due to technicalities by creating a seamless checkout process.

Only ask for relevant information so forms are filled much quicker and make sure the total price is conveyed before the process starts.

After completing the sale you want to ensure customers keep coming back.

You can recommend products to them based on their purchase history and personalize the type of ads they see.

The goal is to keep them in your funnel.

Now that you know how to build an effective e-commerce sales funnel, let's show you how to optimize it for higher conversions.

Although systeme.io provides such a range of features their price plans don’t break the bank.

If you’re still unsure whether a sales funnel builder will benefit you, then try out systeme.io’s freemium plan!

When it comes to online shopping, it's important to focus on the consumers your product is created for.

There are 4 types of e-commerce models.

Determining which category you fall into will help you build a funnel better suited to your audience.

Track conversion rates at every stage of the funnel!

How many people from your blog or social media account signed-up for your lead magnet?

You could change your offers to see if more people sign up.

Measure email opening rates and click rates to determine if you need to modify your content.

Re-evaluating at every step will ensure the success of your sales funnel.