11 Sales Funnel Examples in 2023 to Drive Sales

The website sales funnel illustrates how a company first attracts a wide audience and turns it into clients. The simplest ecommerce sales funnel example has only four steps: acquaintance, consideration, desire, and action.

There are options with more stages. There are also those where the path does not end with the action. It is followed by loyalty and building relationships with the brand.

User behavior is hard to predict because it's not that linear. Touches are mixed and affect the result differently, so marketers must provide as many options as possible. To do this, you need to build not one but a group of funnels. They will complement each other and generally make the communication more persuasive.

Let’s take a look at the best sales funnel examples with such content. Use this collection for inspiration. You may be missing just simple funnel ideas to be successful.

1. Lead magnet

The bottom line is to prepare detailed and useful material and open access to it only after the action has been completed. Often this is filling out a form or signing up for a newsletter.

Sales funnel example:

1. Acquaintance. Users come from a blog, social, or advertising.
2. Consideration. They read the description of the material, leave their contacts, and downloads.
3. Desire. They receive a special offer by email.
4. Action. They activate a promo code and request a demo.

In addition to helping collect user data, content in this chain improves brand metrics. Now you are an expert in the eyes of the client and maybe a savior.

Checklists, research, e-books, white papers, and infographics traditionally work in the funnel. The main thing is to guess the most relevant topic and offer real value.

This approach to promotion is used by many IT companies, for example, HubSpot:

2. Advertising on content

An underestimated approach that will come in handy for complex products. For them, promotional discounts or a call to subscribe to social networks will sound rather weak. After all, users first have to recognize the need and then figure out how to satisfy it.

Sales funnel example:

1. Acquaintance. Prepare general material for beginners and launch an outreach campaign on it.
2. Consideration. Then, target more detailed and complex content to those who read the first article.
3. Desire. Add a call to action in the text with a brief description of what to expect after the transition.
4. Action. Drive traffic on the landing page and collect applications.

This is where the quality of the content plays a decisive role. In the coverage material, it is important to articulate the client's pain and show that there is a solution for it. In the expert material, you should name the advantages of the brand and respond to objections.

3. Outreach

If you promote it organically, it takes a long time to wait for decent traffic from your blog. But there is a quick option - to post content on websites that are already popular with your target audience.

Sales funnel example:

1. Acquaintance. Media readers notice your article on the front page.
2. Consideration. They are interested in the topic, open the material and read.
3. Desire. In the text, they see a link and brief information about your company. They want to know more.
4. Action. They go to the website, study the information and activate the trial period.

There may be issues while creating a funnel: you need to negotiate with editors and edit the material, and links are not always allowed to be added for free. However, the effort will pay off if you choose the right website. You should also support the publication on your socials or through advertising to expand coverage. Consider not only the media but also the blogs of experts and opinion leaders.

4. Traffic from social networks

What does the best sales funnel do? It attracts attention, engages people, and at the same time, works for a wide audience. Those subscribers who want to understand the issue can be led to detailed materials.

Sales funnel example:

1. Acquaintance. Users subscribe to the brand community and follow the latest publications.
2. Consideration. They see a recent company study post and want to learn more.
3. Desire. They go to the website and see a brief description.
4. Action. They leave personal information and download the file.

The funnel can also be adapted in such a way as to motivate users to subscribe to a company account with the help of content. Then it is better to attract initial traffic through advertising.

5. Blog

You maintain an expert blog on your website and create articles for different customer journey stages. Thus, you gradually warm up leads or win customer loyalty.

Sales funnel example:

1. Acquaintance. Users google the query.
2. Consideration. They evaluate the search results and go to the website.
3. Desire. They study the material.
4. Action. They see a call to action at the end and go to the landing page.

In this approach, you should focus on organic search promotion and optimize the articles. You can back it up with ads to get results faster.

6. Newsletter

Action in the funnel is not always a purchase. This may be a small step towards the brand that will lead to the purchase in the future. Let's say subscribe to a newsletter.

Sales funnel example:

1. Acquaintance. Users navigate from a search to a blog post.
2. Consideration. They see an offer to subscribe to a newsletter of useful materials.
3. Desire. They leave their contacts and begin to periodically receive messages from the brand, including promos.
4. Action. They follow the link and buy the product at a discount.

7. Templates

You offer the user a template to solve a specific problem: a sample contract, a file with a report, or a design for social networks.

Sales funnel example:

1. Acquaintance. Users go to the page from the search.
2. Consideration. They download a template and use it for their task.
3. Desire. They understand that they need more: consultation, a complex document, or the development of an individual project.
4. Action. They contacted the company for help.

It is important to choose a template that will attract your target audience and at the same time, will gently motivate customers to return.

8. Selections

It is a proven approach for promoting tools and SaaS services.

Sales funnel example:

1. Acquaintance. Users are looking for a tool to solve a specific problem.
2. Consideration. They see a selection of services authored by your company.
3. Desire. They go to the article and study the pros and cons of different options.
4. Action. They understand that your product suits them more than others, so follow the landing page link and request a demo.

In such selections, it is important to maintain a neutral position so that the text does not seem advertising. You should objectively compare different offers and try to consider as many options as possible.

9. Tool

A tool is a variant of interactive content. It can be simple (like a headline generator) or professional (like a social media analytics service). Quizzes and questionnaires can also be included in this category. The latter can be created without the help of a developer.

Sales funnel example:

1. Acquaintance. Users go to the page from a search or ad.
2. Consideration. They use the tool to solve their problem.
3. Desire. They remember the brand and want to learn more about it.
4. Action. They make an order.

It is better to make the tool free and use it only to attract potential customers. However, if it starts to catch on, consider monetizing it and adding features for paid plans.

For example, offer several free SEO tools to get to know your company's capabilities. Such "samplers" motivate users to purchase basic products.

10. Premium Content

Free content can generate interest in paid content. Such a marketing funnel example is useful for information business, media, and bloggers.

Sales funnel example:

1. Acquaintance. Users read blog articles.
2. Consideration. They register for a free webinar.
3. Desire. They want to get to the bottom of the subject.
4. Action. They sign up for a course.

There is fierce competition in the field. So, make your paid content truly exclusive. You should also connect paid promotion through advertising. This will increase your chances of success.

11. FAQ

A detailed section with answers to frequently asked questions will reduce the burden on the support team and bring leads closer to purchase without additional effort.

Sales funnel example:

1. Acquaintance. Users go to the landing page from an ad.
2. Consideration. They study your proposal.
3. Desire. They understand that they're interested, but they lack information.
4. Action. They find the answer in the FAQ and leave the application.

Keep updating your database of questions. Draw them from the history of appeals and comments on social networks; prepare separate articles or videos for particularly complicated topics.

Shopify has a separate section of the website devoted to answering questions, many of which are discussed in detail in articles.

Content works at different sales funnel stages: attracts attention, informs, and convinces, so you should test different formats and approaches. Indeed, even if the offer is the key to success, it is possible to maximize your turnover by sales funnel optimization.

How to Build the Best Sales Funnel 

To improve your sales funnel and increase its efficiency and visibility, you can use the following tips and tricks:

• creating informative content that answers customer questions;
• use of calls to action;
• use of omnichannel marketing, for example, chats in instant messengers;
• using engaging media to help potential customers explore and better understand products or services;
• collecting reviews, testimonials, and customer stories;
• willingness to help potential customers, provide answers to questions of interest;
• a reminder about yourself to redirect leads to the site.

How to track and test funnel performance

After launching the sales funnel, you should regularly evaluate and make the necessary changes. To do this, the conversion of the transition from the current stages to the next ones is calculated (the percentage of target customers from the total number of target audience).

To solve this problem, you can use:

• web analytics service: shows statistics for each marketing channel - how many visits were made to the site, the number of applications left, the percentage of users who are filtered out and leave without a targeted action;
• end-to-end analytics service: allows you to see the picture of the marketing strategy for each traffic channel and point of contact with users - the service links information from CRM, advertising platforms, and websites;
• the CRM system: tracks data on the actions of managers at individual stages of the sales funnel (providing a commercial offer to leads, successful completion of transactions, the number of failures, and repeat sales).

Common Mistakes When Building a Website Sales Funnel

1. An attempt to create a "perfect funnel"

Errors and failures will be in any case. You need to start with a simple scheme, and after that, by analyzing each stage, improve the model.

2. Too many funnel stages

It all depends on the specifics of the business and on how you build relationships with customers. In the funnel, you need to leave only those actions that make sense in a particular case.

3. Delay of the client at one of the stages

 This error is the result of the previous one. Building the wrong funnel leads to a situation when potential buyers don’t move further and don’t make an order.

4. Duplicate funnel stages

For the client, duplication may be an invisible factor, but it complicates the work with the analysis. For example, the order stage is erroneously divided into the stages “item in the cart,” “order completed,” “order paid,” and “order confirmed”.

5. Movement in the opposite direction

The client should only move through the funnel until the deal is closed. The funnel should not have returned to the previous stages.

The best sales funnel is the one that takes into account what your customers want and roughly how far they go before and after a purchase. Keeping track of the funnel means controlling customer acquisition and the quality of work with them. Updating your funnel and keeping it flexible means automatically increasing audience reach and conversion to purchases. These seem to be key business objectives.

Website Sales Funnel: Powerful Tool to Boost Your Business

With increasing market competition, it becomes essential to optimize the prospect journey.

As the prospect's path with your company, the sales funnel is one of the key elements.

96% of your website visitors are not ready to buy right now. What can we say about those who first heard the company's name? The more complex the product, the more interactions the consumer needs before purchasing. And each such interaction should approach the target action. This is done by building sales funnels.

A sales funnel is a basic marketing tool that helps to competently and accurately attract customers and increase sales and company profits. By analyzing each stage, you can find weaknesses in the business, eliminate them and increase conversion. The more carefully the funnel is worked out, the more attentive and loyal to the potential product customers become, and the lower the risk that they will start to go to competitors.

This, therefore, requires you to know the following about your typical customers from the start:

• their needs,
• their problems,
• their fears,
• the keywords they use.

You also should answer the following questions:

• Is the customer promise clear and rewarding? Will the prospect identify what your offer will bring him? 
• Is the transformation between situations A and B sufficiently clear?
• Are the methods of payment suitable?
• Is there a chat, chatbot, or FAQ to answer all customer questions?

The sales funnel is not a simple funnel where the potential user goes through all the stages, but more a vision in “customer journey” mode, a path to follow with different branches. Not everyone will take all the branches of the sales funnel, some will stop at the first step, while others have all the steps done and all of your offers ordered.

The objective is always the same: to convert your prospects into customers and to maximize your sales. With sales funnels, you will create a journey to accompany your potential customers, step by step, by taking them by hand until the purchase decision and exploding your conversion rate.