When marketing a business, it’s tempting to try to cast the widest net possible. After all, the more people you reach, the likelier you are to achieve success, right? That may be true at the beginning of the lead generation process, but it becomes less and less true the farther down the sales funnel people go. Losing prospects may sound like a bad thing, but it’s specifically what a lead generation sales funnel is designed to do. Without weeding out those who aren’t really interested in buying your products or services, you’ll waste a lot of time.

The Top of the Funnel:

Awareness At the top of the sales funnel, those who visit your website are considered prospects. The fact that you’ve attracted their attention is great, but you need to keep it by teaching them as much as possible about your brand. This needs to be done as quickly as possible too. The content on your main page should be engaging and informative. It should also include links to landing pages for more specific products and services.

The Middle of the Funnel: Turning Prospects into Leads

If visitors are prospects when they arrive on your page, the next step is turning them into leads. Some people will land on your main page, not see what they want and head for greener pastures. Those who remain should have at least moderate interest in what you have to offer. Gauge their interest by establishing landing pages for specific products and services. Each landing page should include an offer to sign up for more information.

After they’ve opted in for more information, your prospects officially become leads and move closer to the bottom of the funnel. This is the time to offer them as much top-notch content as possible. It should include things like white papers and e-books. This is the time to ask for people’s email addresses too and to begin sending them messages. Just make sure the emails you send are informative, interesting and worthwhile.

The Bottom of the Funnel: Closing the Deal and Earning Long-Term Customers

While providing valuable content and information to your leads earlier in the lead generation sales process, you also collect important information about them. At this point, your leads should trust your authority and knowledge and should be ready to make purchases. Show them you value their business by offering loyalty programs, memberships and deals that are for regular customers only. After all, the funnel doesn’t end with the first sale. It should continue indefinitely as you turn buyers into long-term customers.