From Sales Process to Revenue Funnel
Today’s Reality: The Buyer is in the Driver's Seat
In today’s world, buyers hold all the cards. They have more choices, access to DIY solutions, and high expectations for customer experience, even when spending small amounts. This leaves businesses asking: how can we stay ahead? The answer lies in aligning your sales process with a revenue funnel.
To build sustainable success, businesses need to know their buyers better than the buyers know themselves. This means playing the long game by understanding the buyer's journey and aligning it with every stage of your revenue funnel.
Traditional Sales Process: From Lead to Close
The image below illustrates the traditional sales process, consisting of five stages:
Lead: Capturing potential buyers' attention and identifying interest.
Discovery: Understanding the buyer's pain points, goals, and needs.
Demo: Presenting your solution as a way to meet their needs.
Proposal: Formalizing the offer, including the scope, pricing, and deliverables.
Close: Finalising the deal and transitioning the prospect to a customer.
While this structure has guided B2B sales for years, it's important to recognise that today's buyers don’t move through these stages in a linear fashion. They now control the pace and direction of their journey, moving back and forth between stages, or skipping some entirely. That’s where the revenue funnel comes in to fill the gaps.
Why Aligning Sales Process with Revenue Funnel Matters
The traditional sales process is no longer sufficient in today’s market. We’ve entered the era of the revenue funnel, and there’s no turning back.
At Revenue Funnel, we believe that getting closer to your buyers and aligning the sales process with the revenue funnel is the key to success. This alignment helps you navigate a buyer’s complex journey by merging sales and marketing efforts, creating a seamless experience that prioritizes customer lifetime value.
As George Bradt stated in Forbes, “Manage sales funnels for transactional sales. Manage revenue funnels for customer lifetime value.”
What is a Revenue Funnel?
The concept of a revenue funnel isn’t new, but it’s gaining momentum as businesses realise that aligning the sales process with a revenue funnel transforms sales and marketing strategies. Elias St. Elmo Lewis introduced us to the idea through the AIDA model (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action). However, today's buyer journey has evolved significantly.
Key Stages in the Revenue Funnel:
Awareness – Buyers learn about your solution.
Interest – They explore your product’s benefits.
Decision – They compare your offering with competitors.
Action – The purchase stage where the sales process closes the deal.
Retention & Advocacy – The post-purchase stage, where maintaining value is crucial.
Aligning your sales process with the revenue funnel means recognising that buyers jump between these stages, especially in today’s digital landscape. Their journey isn’t linear, and your approach shouldn’t be either.
The Misalignment Problem Between Sales and Marketing
The biggest challenge most businesses face today is misalignment between sales and marketing teams. Both are trying to guide the buyer through the journey, but they often define the buyer’s stages differently. Sales are focused on closing deals, while marketing is geared towards educating the market. This misalignment leads to:
Inconsistent messaging
Missed opportunities
Internal scapegoating
A well-implemented revenue funnel solves this issue by creating a unified approach that focuses on customer lifetime value, consistent messaging, and an aligned strategy.
Practical Steps to Align Your Sales Process with the Revenue Funnel
To succeed, it’s not just about understanding the revenue funnel, it’s about aligning your sales process to it. Here are practical steps to get started:
1. Map the Buyer Journey
Understand each touchpoint in your customer’s journey and align your sales and marketing teams with the revenue funnel stages. This ensures a consistent experience from initial awareness to advocacy.
2. Break Down Silos Between Teams
Foster collaboration between sales, marketing, customer success, and product teams. Regular check-ins ensure everyone is aligned and working towards the same goals, delivering seamless customer experiences.
3. Focus on Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
Instead of focusing solely on closing deals, align your sales process with a long-term view. Ensure post-purchase stages like retention and advocacy are prioritized to boost CLV.
4. Automate Wherever Possible
Leverage CRM tools like HubSpot or Salesforce to automate the customer journey. Automate email follow-ups, data collection, and sales reporting to reduce friction.
5. Track Metrics Consistently
Use performance metrics that evaluate both short-term sales success and long-term customer retention. Ensure that sales and marketing teams are evaluated by the same standards to foster alignment.
The Value of Aligning Sales Process with Revenue Funnel
By aligning your sales process with a revenue funnel, you’re positioning your business for long-term success. A revenue funnel focuses on consistent value throughout the buyer's journey, creating more meaningful connections and higher customer retention.
When sales and marketing teams align on the buyer’s journey, the result is a unified strategy that reduces friction, improves conversions, and delivers better customer experiences.
Ready to get started? Click here to take our assessment and learn how to align your sales process with the revenue funnel in less than 5 minutes!
The Future of Revenue Funnels
Sales and marketing are evolving rapidly. Companies that refuse to adapt will struggle to keep up. By embracing the revenue funnel and aligning your sales process accordingly, you can create a seamless buyer experience, drive higher conversions, and improve customer retention.
Start transforming your approach by taking a closer look at your current process. Is it truly aligned with the buyer’s journey? If not, now’s the time to adjust and make the switch.