VISUAL MARKETING FUNNEL:
BUILD A SALES FUNNEL THAT
CONVERTS MORE LEADS INTO QUALITY PAYING CLIENTS
Marketing Funnel
Before we traverse the world of excel, let’s go over briefly what a sales marketing funnel is. It’s made up of the different stages of a sale, and it starts with the browser showing interest in a product, and then that visitor or browser turning into a paying customer, and then hopefully, a repeat customer who comes back and buys again.
A Visual Method Which Shows The Process People Go Through Before They Make A Purchase
You’ll get a lot of interest at the beginning of a potential sale, people will come and look, but only a few will commit to making an actual purchase, that’s sales for you.
It’s a matter of examining the purchase funnel to see how people are buying from you, and what it is you can do to improve the process. It can be complex, and some businesses are reluctant to use the “marketing funnel,” term because they believe it may be a little too simplistic.
However, it’s a really good visual method for seeing exactly what happens when a potential customer visits your site and the process they go through before they make any final commitment.
Can You Explain What You’re Doing Great And Where You’re Going Wrong?
This visual process is even better if you can actually see it in a way that makes sense, and that is often via charts and diagrams. Yes, it may sound boring and off-putting, but it could be the difference between making more sales, or staying where you are.
In short, a visual representation will help you perfect the conversion funnel process whether you are involved with ecommerce, local business, content marketing, B2B marketing or something else. If you can actually see where you’re going wrong, or pinpoint areas for improvement, you can make the necessary changes.
A sales funnel chart is similar to a more traditional bar chart, but naturally it’s in the shape of a funnel – no surprises there then. You can create a sales funnel chart using different methods, but the most popular one is Excel.
It Doesn’t Have To Be Perfect
When you’ve entered the data into your excel chart, you won’t always get a perfect funnel shape, but if you’ve centred it, it makes the bars easier to understand. More importantly, it’ll make it easier to explain to other people.
Sales Funnel Chart Template In Excel
Ideally, you want the biggest bar at the top and the shortest at the bottom so it takes on a funnel shape. This will mean inputting the data in reverse order. Make sure you choose your categories so they are in reverse order also.
There are a few steps to follow in order to create a sales funnel chart in Excel, which is a little complicated to explain here, although we have an example of one we made earlier. We would also recommend the following links here and here, where the step-by-step explanations give a slow and easy introduction for those unfamiliar with Excel software.
It’s Popular And Its What People Know
Many organisations use this type of graphic chart as a way of conveying the sales journey from prospects to closing the sale. You may even be asked to create this type of chart for your department, and be in a position to explain what it all means, where the business is failing, and where it can improve.
Although it may not be your favourite means of creating a sales funnel chart, Excel is the most heavily used and the spreadsheet software most businesses are familiar with. If you know how to use it well, then it can be a useful tool to use in the sales process.
Click the image below to download your FREE Sales Funnel template
Shane McEvoy is a seasoned SEO and inbound marketing expert with nearly 30 years of experience in advertising. He established Flycast Media, a specialist B2B digital agency, and is a published author of two well-received guides while contributing to several industry publications - read his complete profile here.
