Sales Funnel: the essence, significance and simple example of building

Currently, produce a quality product or buy it at wholesale, warehouse price is not too much trouble.The greatest difficulties usually arise with its promotion and sale.In order to monitor, analyze and forecast the sales of products, there are many techniques and tools.One of the most popular of these is the so-called sales funnel.Excel, 1C, and similar programs allow not only easy to build it for a particular company, but also to obtain practical benefit from this business.

concept

In fact, any sale of products associated with the transfer of a potential buyer into a real customer, ready to exchange their money for the benefits offered by the product.Sales Funnel is the embodiment of the idea that the process can be divided into several stages, each of which requires its own approach, skills and working methods.All this makes it possible not only to analyze and plan the end result, but also take into account many other factors.Overall sales funnel - is the ratio of successful transactions to the number of contacts with potential buyers.On its upper level is usually displayed the number of initial communication with prospective clients, and at the bottom - the number of sales took place.

Relevance

Sales Funnel has great practical value.In addition, it gives a visual representation of the process of the sale of goods, it can help to make the transition from passive to active sales by building on its basis an appropriate incentive scheme managers are just that and directly engaged.Sales Funnel allows you to identify and eliminate the weak stages of the sales of not only the entire department, and separately for each vendor.And this, in turn, allows you to concentrate on their elimination and ultimately improve the effectiveness of their work.

Example of

Suppose that we have a company that is engaged in the retail sale of toys.Then the sales department can simulate the following sales funnel:

  1. Identify potential customers in a given specific area.For example, the number is 1,000.
  2. first contact with prospective customers.Since not all will be contacted during the reporting period (travel, illness, etc.), this number will be less.For example, 900 people turned out to ring.
  3. definition of interested buyers.It would be naive to assume that all who first hears about tempting offer, immediately rushed to make purchases.Some people miss the information on deaf ears, and the rest will be an interest and desire to learn more.Suppose that we've got these 300 people.
  4. Discussion prices.At this important and difficult step for many sellers will dispel all doubts about future purchases.Designed even funnel issues in sales, which recommends to build communion in a certain sequence.At this stage otseetsya some more number of potential buyers, say, 100 people.As a result, we still have 200 potential customers.
  5. signing of the contract.If a customer believes that the price is acceptable, it does not mean that he is ready to make a purchase.Perhaps at this point it does not need these products or not satisfied with some of the nuances in the contract.After this initial stage of the thousands of documents to sign consent, perhaps only 150 people.
  6. first shipment.It so happens that the buyer, for whatever reasons, stalling for time.Nothing can be done - we must also make an effort so that the buyer has agreed to pick up your order.There will be even less - 130 people.
  7. Payment.Quality of goods may not like it, and they can return.Also do not forget about the probability of occurrence of the receivable.Anyway, the time of reckoning will be even less.Let this number is 100 people.

As we can see, our sales funnel reveals that at the stage of interest we have the most problems, and so it was here in the first place to introduce new methods and techniques.