How to build a sales funnel and not lose customers at every stage

Imagine: 1000 visitors come to your website, but only 10 buy. Where do the other 990 disappear to? They get lost at different stages of the sales funnel - like breadcrumbs scattered along an unoptimised path to purchase.

But here's the good news: A properly set up funnel can increase conversion rates by 3-5 times! According to HubSpot, companies with fine-tuned funnels get 80% more leads for the same marketing spend. In this article, we'll explain how to create a "magnet" for customers that will smoothly lead them from first click to repeat purchase.

 What steps a customer must go through before buying

 Step 1: First Date with the Brand (Awareness)

Your website is like a handsome stranger in a bar. You only have 3 seconds to get your visitor interested.

What works:

•  Provocative headlines ("Want to increase sales by 200%? We know the secret.")
•  Video stories instead of boring text
•  "Bribe" for contact (checklist, mini-course or demo)

Real Case Study: One SaaS startup increased 40% conversions by replacing the standard pop-up with an interactive "Which tool is right for you?" quiz

Addendum:
According to a Nielsen Norman Group study, visitors spend 57% of time viewing the first screen. Therefore, place:

• Clear TOS in large print
• Video presentation up to 90 seconds long
• CTA button in a contrasting colour

Step 2: Flirting with the customer (Interest)

Now you need to ignite passion for your product.

Secret tricks:

•  Before/after photos with real cases
• UGC content (let customers sell for you)
•  "Reverse Timer" ("7 out of 10 visitors have already downloaded this guide")

Important: Add a game element - e.g. "reveal 3 cards to get a bonus".

Addendum:
Use the fear triggers of lost profits:

• "Today only: free website audit for the first 20 submissions"
• "3 places left in the group" (with dynamic counter)
• "Price will rise in 48 hours" (countdown timer)

How to reduce the number of lost customers

Mistake #1: The path to purchase is too complicated

Solution:

• Create a "breadcrumb trail" - a visual itinerary with steps ("Step 1 of 3: Choose your fare")
• Implement a "smart basket" that saves data on exit

Addendum:
According to the Baymard Institute, 69.8% shoppers are abandoning the basket because of:

• Unexpected additional costs (shipping, taxes)
• Compulsory registration
• Complicated clearance process

How to fix it:

• Show the final cost at once
• Add a guest payment
• Simplify the form to 5 fields

Mistake #2: Customers doubt until the last minute

Chips for an instant solution:

• "Live" counters ("There are 3 people buying this course right now")
• Real-time messages from support ("Marina just bought this course")
• Guarantee-flip ("If you don't get results, we'll refund your money + $100 for your time")

Addendum:
Add. social proof:

• Trust badges (SSL, Norton Secured)
• Media logos where your product has been mentioned
• Video testimonials are 30-60 seconds long

 Tools for automating the sales funnel h 4

Neural networks in action:

• 🤖 ChatGPT for personalised email chains
• 🎨 Midjourney to generate unique images for each audience segment

Must-have systems:

• ClickFunnels 2.0 - AI-assisted funnel builder
• Wask - targeting advertising automation
• Carrd - super-easy landing pages in 15 minutes

Addendum:
Automation case study:
An online children's goods shop has introduced:

• Chat bot in WhatsApp for counselling
• Auto-chain of 5 emails with behaviour triggers
• Push notifications about abandoned basket

Result:

• Increase in conversions by 62%
• Reducing the workload of managers by 40%
• Growth in average cheque per 27%

Lifehack: Set up trigger SMS like, "Ivan, you left a course in the basket. Here's a special bonus for you!"

 The sales funnel is not a scheme, but a living organism. Test, improve, surprise your customers!

💡 Try at least one technique from this article today and you will see the first results tomorrow.

P.S.. What stage of your funnel is "leaking" the most? Describe the situation in the comments - we will suggest a point solution!