Before you can make a sale, you need leads.
Leads are individuals who have shown interest in your product or service but haven’t committed yet.
The thing is, not all leads are ready to buy right away. You need to nurture their interest, provide value and address their concerns before they feel confident enough to make a decision.
This is where a lead generation funnel comes in.
A well-structured lead funnel helps you qualify and prioritize leads, focusing your efforts on those most likely to convert. It guides potential customers through each step, building trust and engagement until they’re ready to seal the deal.
Let this blog teach you everything you need to know about lead generation funnels, including:
• A Primer on Lead Generation
• What Are Lead Generation Funnels?
• Lead Generation Funnel vs. Sales Lead Funnel vs. Sales Pipeline
• Why Do Lead Funnels Matter?
• Stages of the Lead Generation Funnel
• What Happens to Leads That Don’t Convert?
• The Lead Funnel in Action
• A Reminder of Privacy Policies
• 7 Tips on How To Build a Lead Generation Funnel
• Lead Funnel Building Best Practices
• Want To Keep Your Funnel Overflowing With Leads?
• Lead Generation Funnel FAQs
A Primer on Lead Generation
Lead generation is attracting and nurturing prospects (leads) to your business so that you can convert them into customers.
To generate leads, businesses use something of value to entice prospects (a lead magnet), often a free service or product, such as trial subscriptions, whitepapers, samples, free consultations and eBooks.
They do this in exchange for information, typically gathered through lead capture forms placed on landing pages or embedded in content.
Here’s a good example of a lead capture page from Cornerstone:
Note that not all leads will convert, which is why having a lead capture page is essential for filtering out less qualified prospects. A well-crafted lead capture page helps you attract and identify qualified leads from the start, allowing your sales team to focus on those most likely to convert.
What Is a Lead?
We’ve mentioned leads throughout, but what exactly are they? A lead is an individual or organization that has expressed interest in your products or services.
This interest is often shown by taking action, such as filling out a contact form, downloading a resource, subscribing to a newsletter or engaging with marketing content.
Leads are at the beginning of their customer journey and can vary in how ready they are to purchase. Some leads may be exploring options, while others might be closer to a buying decision.
Don’t confuse leads with prospects, though. A lead has shown interest in your business but hasn’t been qualified yet. To become a prospect, a lead needs to be vetted to confirm they’re a good fit and have the potential to become a future customer.
There are four main types of leads based on their level of interest:
• Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL): These leads show interest through marketing efforts, such as attending a webinar or downloading a resource, indicating they’re more likely to become customers than general contacts.
• Sales Qualified Lead (SQL): Vetted by the sales team, these leads are ready for direct sales engagement, often display clear purchasing intent and align with the ideal customer profile.
• Product Qualified Lead (PQL): Leads who have interacted with a product, often through free trials or freemium versions, show signs of being ready to upgrade to a paid version through frequent usage or exploring premium features.
• Service Qualified Lead (SQL): Leads who have expressed interest in your services through requesting consultations or more information, often indicating their readiness for a potential purchase.
What Are Lead Generation Funnels?
Leads don’t just show up at your door; ready to buy. They must be guided through a journey that builds awareness, interest and trust in your business.
For this, we use a lead generation funnel.
A lead generation funnel is a process that moves potential customers from first discovering your brand to becoming paying clients. Each stage is designed to attract, engage and nurture leads, helping them move closer to a purchase.
You may encounter a lead funnel more often than you think. Imagine you’re at a local farmers market and a bakery offers free samples of its fresh bread.
That sample grabs your attention (the awareness stage), and as you taste it and learn more about their products (the interest stage), you’re encouraged to buy a loaf to take home (the decision stage).
Before we move further, here are other articles you might love:
• Lead Generation: The Ultimate Guide to Outbound Marketing
• How To Improve Your Lead Generation Efforts Throughout Your Sales Funnel
Lead Generation Funnel vs. Sales Lead Funnel vs. Sales Pipeline
There’s a lot of talk about funnels and pipelines in sales, but it’s important to know that your lead generation funnel, sales lead funnel and sales pipeline are all different processes.
Each needs its own approach based on your sales style, company size and product type. Here’s how they differ:
Lead Generation Funnel
A business-to-consumer (B2C) or a business-to-business (B2B) lead generation funnel brings in potential customers who haven’t bought from you yet. It takes them from first hearing about your brand to showing some interest. The goal is to qualify these leads so they’re ready to move into the next stage: the sales funnel.
Sales Lead Funnel
The sales lead funnel picks up where the lead funnel leaves off. It guides leads from awareness to purchase, using the right tactics to move them through each stage. Prospects in this funnel are current customers or qualified leads passed over from the lead generation funnel.
Sales Pipeline
The sales pipeline overlaps with lead and sales funnels but focuses on the sales team’s actions rather than the customer’s journey. It tracks tasks such as making contact, following up and sending proposals to move leads toward closing.
For example, when a prospect is in the awareness stage of the sales funnel, the sales rep might be at the initial contact stage in the pipeline. This could mean sending an introductory email or calling to introduce the product.
The pipeline helps sales reps stay organized by tracking the actions needed at each stage to move the prospect toward a purchase. This ensures no steps are missed and deals are consistently pursued.
Why Do Lead Funnels Matter? More Importantly, Why Generate Leads in the First Place?
Leads are the lifeblood of your business. They keep your sales pipeline active. More leads equals more deals to close, more opportunities for growth and more revenue.
But then again, not everyone interacting with your brand is ready to become a customer. A lead funnel acts as a filter that helps you identify and nurture potential customers at different stages of their journey.
It ensures that only qualified leads progress, allowing your sales team to focus on prospects more likely to convert.
The benefits don’t end there:
1. Boost Sales and Profit Ratio
The more leads you attract to your business, the better your chances of making sales. Picture a funnel: it starts wide at the top, allowing lots of leads to enter.
As these leads move down, some will drop off, but others will stay interested and eventually make a purchase.
Again, not every lead will reach the end and convert into a sale, but if you have a lot of leads enter the top, you’re bound to have some that do. This helps boost your sales and profits, which is key to growing your business.
2. Build Customer Relationships
An effective lead generation strategy helps you understand who will likely buy your product or service. For example, if you sell artisanal coffee, your marketing should target coffee enthusiasts who appreciate specialty blends and unique flavors.
While you might still attract casual coffee drinkers, knowing your ideal customer profile lets you focus on the right audience. It also allows room for personalization, a key factor for converting leads.
“Lead funnels are a popular approach because they allow for a highly personalized customer journey,” said Jimi Gibson, Thrive’s Vice President of Brand Communication.
“Each stage of the funnel allows for lead nurturing and relationship building. Funnels have proven to increase conversion rates and build stronger relationships.”
3. Bank on Customer Data
Data powers modern marketing by giving marketers valuable insights into their target audience, including customer identification, needs, pain points, demographics and preferences. With smart use of landing pages and sign-up forms, businesses can collect this crucial information from customers.
Here’s what you can do with that data:
• Standardize brand messaging across channels
• Understand the buyer’s circle of influence
• Improve buyer engagement
• Optimize your marketing strategies
• Improve audience targeting and segmentation
4. Improve Lead Quality
We sound like a broken record at this point, but not all leads are created equal. Lead funnels allow you to sort and rank your leads through a lead scoring system.
Lead scoring reduces subjectivity by showing which leads are most likely to convert. These systems can range from manual scoring (like spreadsheets) to automated systems.
This is a great example of how a lead scoring model works:
The model above assigns points based on different actions and lead characteristics, helping to prioritize which prospects are worth pursuing.
• High-Value Actions: Leads that fit the ideal customer profile (+30 points), visit the pricing page (+15 points), submit a contact form (+20 points) or register for webinars (+10 points) indicate stronger interest and readiness to convert.
• Moderate-Value Actions: Actions like opening emails or downloading free content add +5 points, showing engagement but at a lower level.
• Negative Scoring: Certain actions or lack of engagement can decrease a lead’s score, such as unsubscribing from a newsletter (-10 points) or being inactive for an extended period (-30 points).
If you’re going the automated route, predictive lead scoring can take this model even further.
These advanced systems use machine learning (ML), a subset of artificial intelligence (AI), to build algorithms that automatically analyze data from customers and prospects.
With this data, predictive lead scoring programs can forecast the quality of leads and their likelihood of converting. This is perfect for big businesses or those handling a high volume of leads.
5. Reduce Cold Calling and Emailing
Cold calling and emailing can feel like a shot in the dark, often yielding little return for the effort. A B2C or B2B lead generation funnel changes the game by delivering warmer, more qualified leads to your sales team.
Instead of reaching out to people who have never heard of your brand, your team can focus on those who have already engaged with your content and shown genuine interest.
6. Automate Lead Management
Capturing leads and then qualifying them manually can rob your marketing team of hours that could be better spent on more critical business tasks. Thankfully, automation tools like email marketing platforms, CRMs and customer data platforms (CDPs) help make lead generation more manageable.
For instance, a CDP collects data on your leads and segments them into targeted nurturing campaigns managed by your email marketing tool. Your CRM tracks all interactions between your team and these leads, ensuring everyone has up-to-date information.
These tools align your teams and make moving leads through the sales process easier.
The 4 Stages of the Lead Generation Funnel
Unlike business-to-consumer (B2C) companies focusing on quick sales, business-to-business (B2C) companies need a long-term strategy since their sales cycles require more time and planning. This allows them to segment and nurture leads effectively before handing them off to the sales team when they’re ready to buy.
Here’s an overview of the of the lead generation process:
• Awareness or Top-of-Funnel (TOFU): Prospects become aware of your brand through content and marketing efforts introducing your solutions.
• Lead Capture: Use forms to collect basic information from prospects (like name, contact number and email). At this point, visitors are identifiable leads, meaning they’re ready to engage further.
• Consideration or Middle-of-Funnel (MOFU): Leads evaluate your offerings more seriously. Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) show interest through engagement, and Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) are vetted by sales teams as ready for outreach.
• Conversion or Bottom-of-Funnel (BOFU): Leads have now reached prospect status. It’s time to make a sale.
Learn more about each stage below:
Stage 1: Awareness or Top-of-the-Funnel (TOFU)
Lead generation begins when your audience first visits your website or encounters your brand. The TOFU stage aims to attract a wide audience and engage potential customers without promoting products directly.
At this stage, consumers know they have a problem or need but may not fully understand it yet. They often find your content while researching solutions for more insight. Your job is to provide educational content that builds awareness and positions your brand as a helpful resource.
“Blog posts, infographics and videos are all great choices for this stage,” Gibson said. “Targeted social ads can also help you reach the right people who are the most likely target for your offer.”
The TOFU stage is where you create trust and spark interest in your brand to set the foundation for deeper engagement.
| 💡 Pro Tip: Resist the urge to rush the sales process at this stage. Pushing aggressive sales pitches too soon can alienate potential leads and drive them away. Focus on providing value and building trust to guide them naturally to the next step. Also, consider investing in prospecting tools to collect customer information so you can follow up with prospects later. |
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Stage 2: Lead Capture
Once prospects know your brand, the next step is to get their information. At this stage, visitors show enough interest to exchange their contact details for something of value, such as a discount, a free eBook or a demo.
Your goal is to make it easy and enticing for them to take this step. This is vital for turning anonymous visitors into leads you can follow up with and nurture through the buying journey.
Strategies and tools to capture leads:
| Landing Pages | Dedicated pages for specific offers (eBooks, webinars) with simple forms to capture key info like name and email. |
| Sign-Up Forms | Forms placed across your website (homepage, blog, pop-ups) to collect basic visitor information. |
| Lead Magnets | Offers like discounts or exclusive content in exchange for contact details to encourage voluntary sign-ups. |
| Surveys and Quizzes | Interactive content that gathers visitor insights by asking a few targeted questions. |
| Chatbots | Automated chatbots can engage visitors in real time, answer questions and prompt them to provide contact information for follow-up. This conversational approach can feel more natural for prospects. |
| Gated Content | Restrict access to valuable content (whitepapers, guides or case studies) by requiring visitors to fill out a form before accessing it. This will ensure that you collect data only from users who are genuinely interested in your content. |
| Social Media Lead Forms | Built-in forms on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn that allow users to sign up directly on the platform without leaving the platform. |
Stage 3: Consideration or Middle-of-the-Funnel (MOFU)
Once prospects know your brand and share their contact information, they’re entering MOFU territory.
Here, they understand their problem and are researching specific solutions, but they aren’t quite ready to decide or choose a vendor yet.
Prospects are weighing their options and exploring solutions to their problems. This is your chance to provide valuable content and support that show why your solution stands out.
During this stage, leads can be classified as either Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs), who have engaged with your content, or Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs), who are ready for direct outreach.
Exploratory calls are a great way to engage prospects at this stage. These calls are meant to understand consumer goals and challenges (not to make a sale). Use this opportunity to learn more about their needs and offer insights that demonstrate the value of your solution.
Types of content to use in the MOFU stage include:
• Guides, Walkthroughs and Comparisons
• Videos and Webinars
• Podcasts
Stage 4: Conversion or Bottom-of-the-Funnel (BOFU)
We’ve reached the bottom of the funnel, a.k.a the BOFU stage.
Here, leads have transformed into qualified prospects. They’ve been nurtured with information about potential solutions, and your product or service is now part of that discussion.
However, it’s not quite time to celebrate.
These prospects know, trust and like your brand enough to consider doing business with you, but they still need reassurance to choose your solution confidently.
In short, it’s time to make your pitch.
Every piece of content you provide casts away doubts and inches prospects even closer to becoming customers.
The types of content you can use at the bottom of the funnel include:
• Case studies
• Comparisons
• FAQs
• Demos
• Reviews
What Happens to Leads That Don’t Convert at the Bottom of the Funnel?
Again, not all leads will convert at the bottom of the funnel, and that’s perfectly normal. Some prospects might need more time, additional information or different circumstances to purchase.
Instead of writing these leads off, you can use lead recycling to keep them engaged.
As the term suggests, lead recycling is reaching out to old prospects who once showed interest but didn’t convert. You can keep your brand on their radar with targeted content, updates and offers to encourage them to re-enter the funnel when ready.
For example, let’s say Martha, a marketing manager at a mid-sized tech company, showed interest in your company’s project management software and even scheduled a demo.
However, after some initial discussions, Martha went silent, and you removed her from your sales pipeline.
A few months later, you follow up with Martha to see if her company’s needs have changed or if they’re ready to revisit your solution. You send an email mentioning new features, a success story or a special offer to reignite her interest.
She finds the new information helpful and might be ready to pick up the conversation again.
As seen in the example above, lead recycling keeps your business top of mind, so when the timing is right, leads are more likely to re-engage and convert.
The Lead Funnel in Action
Let’s bring all of these elements together with an example.
TOFU Stage
Imagine you’re the new head of marketing for a growing SaaS company that’s recently been struggling to engage new customers. Your company has a solid product, but sign-ups have plateaued and retention rates lag behind industry averages.
After reviewing the existing data, you notice that many leads drop off after the initial free trial period, and the team needs more follow-up engagement. You quickly realize the need for a stronger lead nurturing process.
So, you start researching and find an article titled 5 Strategies to Nurture Leads Through the Funnel. This article outlines lead nurturing tactics, from automated email sequences to personalized product walkthroughs — exactly what your company needs.
At this point, you’re in the TOFU stage, gaining insights and defining your approach to keeping leads engaged beyond the trial period.
Lead Capture
As you explore these resources, you see a landing page offering a free eBook on Maximizing Engagement in SaaS Trials. You enter your email to access the guide.
Now, the SaaS company has captured your contact information, making you a lead they can follow up with in the future.
MOFU Stage
You continue researching and find a webinar on Using Customer Data to Improve Retention. Intrigued, you watch the session and learn how to segment leads based on behavior and engagement levels — strategies to tailor your company’s follow-up efforts.
Now, you’re in the MOFU stage, evaluating specific solutions and seeing how they might fit your needs.
You decide to take things further by downloading a guide, Creating Automated Workflows to Re-Engage Leads. This guide provides actionable steps and templates for setting up email campaigns, personalized reminders and user tips to keep trial users engaged.
BOFU Stage
Realizing that your team needs more resources to fully implement these strategies, you research agencies specializing in SaaS lead nurturing. After identifying a few promising options, you schedule consultations to see which can best help set up a re-engagement system.
Lead Recycling
After implementing your lead nurturing strategy, not all leads convert immediately. Some, like Martha in our previous example, may show interest and then go silent.
Instead of losing touch, lead recycling helps you re-engage these leads. A follow-up email with relevant offers can keep your brand top of mind.
When their needs change, these recycled leads are more likely to re-enter the funnel and convert, ensuring your efforts continue to pay off.
A Reminder on ‘Privacy Policies’
If your website gathers personal information through lead capture tools, a privacy policy isn’t just a good practice — it’s a legal requirement.
A privacy policy tells visitors how their data is collected, stored and used. It should explain:
• Why you’re collecting their information.
• Who has access to their data.
• Whether you share it with any third parties.
• What rights visitors have to opt out of data sharing and collection.
Every visitor has the right to know how their personal information is managed. Ensure your privacy policy is clear, easy to find and compliant to build trust and maintain transparency.
8 Tips on How To Build a Lead Generation Funnel
Let’s take a closer look at the funnel building process to inform your strategy:
1. Define Your Ideal Customer
Knowing your audience will allow you to tailor marketing strategies to attract and engage individuals most likely to convert into customers. This targeted approach results in higher conversion rates and a more effective allocation of resources.
If you have an established business, analyze your data to identify your typical customer or client.
Questions to ask when narrowing down your target audience:
• Age Range: Are your customers predominantly younger adults, middle-aged or seniors?
• Gender Distribution: Is there a significant skew toward male or female customers?
• Interests and Hobbies: What are their primary interests?
• Professional Background: What industries or job roles do they occupy?
• Challenges and Pain Points: What common problems or needs do they have that your product or service addresses?
If you’re starting a new business, research your market by studying your competitors. See who engages with their social media and what type of people their ads target. This should help you make an informed guess about your ideal audience.
Create a profile of your ideal customer and keep it in mind as you build your funnel to ensure everything aligns with their needs and preferences.
The richer your data, the more opportunities you have for personalization. As Gibson put it:
“Personalization is the key to higher engagement. The more you know about your target audience, the better able you are to tailor your content accordingly. If you are looking to engage from past interactions, use data and segmentation to craft the right message to the right subset of your list.”
2. Hook Leads With Great Content
Before you can ask someone to become a customer, you first need to win them over as a lead – and that starts with a strong introduction.
This is where you create brand awareness content.
Your content shouldn’t be pushy. If there’s a call to action, it should be subtle, like suggesting they follow you on social media. The main goal here is to educate your audience and offer something of value.
Start by identifying your audience’s problem and creating content that provides answers or solutions. Your content strategy should center on genuinely helping your audience and demonstrating your expertise.
Examples of effective brand awareness content include:
• Blog posts that share insights or how-to guides.
• YouTube videos that offer tips, tutorials or behind-the-scenes looks.
• Social media posts that start conversations or share quick value.
• Podcasts that explore relevant topics or feature interviews.
| 💡 Pro Tip: Your content has to be good enough to get people through the door. Content that gets attention but doesn’t engage your audience will build brand awareness but won’t generate leads. |
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3. Choose a Lead Magnet
Consumers who have engaged with your content are now leads. They’re aware you exist but not yet invested enough to engage further.
Your mission at this stage is to get them to provide their contact information so you can continue nurturing the relationship.
Sounds easy enough, but the reality is that most people are hesitant to share their details. After all, you’re just another stranger on the internet.
This is where a lead magnet comes in handy.
A lead magnet is gated content you offer in exchange for a customer’s contact information. If you provide content that addresses a customer’s problem, they’ll be more inclined to share their email, contact number or other essential details.
Examples of effective lead magnets include:
• eBooks
• Checklists
• Templates
• Webinars
• Resource lists
• Free trial
• Discounts
• Bundle offers
So, how do you choose the right lead magnet for your audience? Think of it this way: Your brand awareness content answers your audience’s initial questions, and your lead magnets solve their problem.
For example, if you want to help people budget their monthly expenses, you could write a blog post outlining the steps to create an effective budget plan. Then, offer a downloadable budget template they can use to track their expenses (in exchange for their email).
Learn how lead magnets can boost your conversions here.
4. Build a High-Converting Landing Page
Next, you need a landing page to place your lead magnet. These pages are also called lead capture pages for the obvious reason that they’re meant to convert visitors into leads.
Use these best practices to boost engagement on your landing page:
• A Compelling Headline: Your headline should immediately communicate the specific problem your lead magnet addresses and the benefits it offers. The more precise you are, the more likely you are to catch the attention of your target audience.
• High-Impact Imagery: Images, particularly the hero image, play a crucial role in your conversion rate. Select visuals that illustrate the advantages of your lead magnet and resonate with your visitors.
• Social Proof: Incorporate customer testimonials, client logos or any other evidence that validates your product or service. This builds trust and reinforces your credibility.
• A Strong CTA: To collect email addresses, you need to ask directly. Ensure your call to action clearly states what visitors will gain and why they should provide their email.
• A Lead Capture Form: Your form should be easy to access, whether embedded on the landing page itself or as a pop-up when the CTA button is clicked. See other types of lead capture tools here.
For beginners, landing page builders make creating web pages easy without coding. Most come with professional templates, drag-and-drop tools, plug-ins and more to help you get your site published quickly.
More on how to build high-converting landing pages.
5. Use Email Marketing to Engage Leads Further
Integrating your landing page with your email marketing platform is crucial to nurturing leads. Email marketing services allow you to share content that keeps leads interested and gradually guides them toward conversion.
Most platforms simplify this by automatically capturing new leads from your landing page, adding them to a dedicated list and triggering a welcome sequence to keep them engaged.
6. Launch an Automated Email Sequence
Setting up an automated email sequence won’t get you leads on its own, but you’ll be glad you did once your funnel is live. An automated sequence ensures you’re ready to nurture new leads right away.
This means you can build a relationship, show your authority in your niche and guide your leads toward making a purchase — all without needing to follow up with each one manually.
While the setup process varies by platform, the basics are the same: create a mailing list for your leads, and when someone joins, they receive a series of pre-written emails.
Typically, these sequences consist of five to seven emails, spaced out to maintain interest and build momentum toward your offer.
Start with valuable content and gradually shift toward introducing your product or service to make the sequence effective.
Here’s another example of an effective lead nurture sequence:
1. Introduce yourself and link to key resources.
2. Share a blog post related to the lead magnet or a common issue.
3. Invite them to a webinar or free training showcasing your product/service.
4. Offer an exclusive deal for subscribers.
5. Remind them of the offer and include a strong call to action.
7. Direct Traffic to Your Content
With your lead generation sales funnel in place, the next step is driving traffic to your content and landing pages. Here are some effective strategies:
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): While results take time, SEO is a long-term traffic driver. Use quality content to attract organic visitors and guide them to landing pages with pop-ups or alerts. See how SEO takes your lead gen efforts to the next level.
• Link Building: Earn backlinks from reputable sites to boost SEO. Quality links pass “link juice,” improving your search rankings and attracting referral traffic. Partner with industry sites, guest post and link back from discussions to enhance credibility and drive more visitors.
• Social Media: Share your content regularly to keep your audience engaged and aware of what you offer. Use paid ads to boost visibility and reach. Check out this article for more tips.
• Search Ads: New to SEO? Run targeted search ads to appear in relevant searches and maximize ROI.
• Retargeting Ads: Use retargeting ads to stay on the radar of people who’ve shown interest in your brand. These ads remind visitors about your lead magnets and encourage them to return.
• Influencer Collaborations: Partner with influencers in your niche so they can share your content with their following. This helps expand your reach, drive targeted traffic and introduce your content to a wider audience.
• Email Marketing: Send out newsletters or email blasts with links to your latest content to keep your audience engaged and drive repeat visits to your site.
• Content Syndication: Publish your content on third-party platforms and websites to reach a broader audience. Syndication attracts new readers and directs them back to your site for more.
These strategies will help you boost traffic to your content and create more opportunities to capture leads and grow your business. Depending on your budget, experiment on multiple channels to see which ones work best for your audience.
8. Test, Track and Optimize Your Lead Gen Funnels
Consumer habits change; what works today might not work tomorrow. Regular testing helps you understand what resonates with your audience and optimize your lead funnel accordingly.
Tools and tactics to help optimize your strategies:
• A/B Testing: Run experiments by comparing two versions of content or a webpage to see which one performs better. This helps you make data-driven decisions.
• User Behavior Analytics: Track how users interact with your content and identify patterns highlighting what’s working or where improvements are needed.
• User Experience (UX) Testing: Gather real user feedback as they move through your funnel to ensure a smooth, intuitive experience.
• Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): Increase the percentage of visitors who take desired actions, like signing up or purchasing. Conduct audits to improve user experience.
Of course, you’ll also need to track whether your strategies are working. Pay attention to:
• Traffic to Your Pages: Check if your traffic sources are effective and brainstorm ways to increase page visits.
• Landing Page Conversion Rate: Aim for a conversion rate between 5% and 15%. Don’t settle for average. Use A/B tests to push past average and achieve better performance.
• Lead to Customer Rate: Measure how many leads convert to customers. If this metric is low, consider tweaking your lead nurture sequence.
• Bounce Rate: Analyze the percentage of visitors who leave without interacting. A high bounce rate signals potential content or design issues.
• Engagement Metrics: Review how long users stay on a page and their interaction levels. High engagement usually leads to better conversion opportunities.
The most effective lead generation funnels are never static. Continuously monitor each stage, test new ideas and find ways to give your audience the best experience.
As Gibson summed up:
“Exceptional lead generation funnels are finely tuned at each stage. The goal is not only to capture the lead but provide valuable and relevant content. Again, data is crucial for optimization and the seamless integration between marketing and sales. Ideally, the prospect travels through the stages of the funnel in a smooth and engaging way.“
| 💡 Pro Tip: Regular analysis can help uncover bottlenecks, spot ineffective elements and measure your marketing impact. Use lead scoring software to identify top-converting leads and sales analytics tools to analyze drop-off points. |
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Lead Funnel Building Best Practices
Want to get the most ROI from your lead generation process? These funnel building best practices will help you get there:
✔ Use AI and Automation: Integrate AI tools to qualify and verify leads efficiently.
✔ Set Clear Goals: Define success for each funnel stage, such as boosting email click rates or doubling demo requests.
✔ Monitor Lead Progress: Track where leads are in your funnel and use software to simplify communication and data tracking.
✔ Listen to Prospects: Use customer feedback to refine your funnel and show that you value them beyond conversions.
✔ Know When to Let Go: Recognize when a lead isn’t likely to convert and shift focus to higher-potential prospects.
✔ Analyze Rejections: Study rejected leads to understand weak points in your process and make improvements.
✔ Respond Quickly: Ensure timely responses to maintain engagement and prevent leads from going cold.
✔ Qualify Leads: Direct efforts towards leads with higher conversion potential, like those starting free trials.
✔ Choose the Right Tools: Pick tools that align with your workflow to streamline lead capture and follow-ups.
✔ Experiment: Test different content, ads and landing page formats to see what works best.
✔ Invest in Outbound and Inbound Marketing: Use outbound marketing to reach potential leads and expand your audience. Combine it with inbound marketing to attract customers through valuable content.
✔ Automate Follow-Ups: Use lead management tools for fast responses and sustained momentum.
Want To Keep Your Funnel Overflowing With Qualified Leads?
Here’s how Thrive’s lead generation and conversion rate optimization (CRO) help you achieve just that:
“We offer a tailored approach that combines creativity with data-driven strategies,” Gibson said.
“There’s no one-size-fits-all here. Each client is unique, and so should be their strategy. We’re passionate about delivering measurable results while continuously optimizing the process.”
What sets us apart from other digital marketing agencies?
“It’s our commitment to custom solutions and client success,” Gibson said.
“Our true strength comes from a blend of innovative thinking and solid analytics. We won’t hide behind fluffy metrics. We want the relationship to include transparent reporting on how your campaigns are performing.”
And, most importantly, “We have a team that works closely with you to adapt and refine strategies, providing the best possible outcome.”
Lead Generation Funnel FAQs
WHAT IS A LEAD GENERATION FUNNEL, AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
A lead funnel moves potential customers from initial awareness to conversion. It guides them through stages like awareness, interest, consideration and decision.
WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID WHEN BUILDING A LEAD FUNNEL?
Common mistakes include unclear targeting, using weak lead magnets, neglecting follow-ups and not testing or optimizing regularly. Addressing these can prevent lost leads and improve results.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO SEE LEAD GENERATION SALES FUNNEL RESULTS?
It varies, but most businesses see results within weeks to a few months, depending on the strategies and industry. Factors like traffic sources and nurturing efforts also play a role.
HOW DO I SEGMENT LEADS WITHIN MY B2C OR B2B LEAD GENERATION FUNNEL FOR BETTER TARGETING?
Segment leads based on their behavior, engagement and demographics. This helps you tailor content and interactions to boost relevance and conversions.
HOW CAN I AUTOMATE PARTS OF MY LEAD GENERATION FUNNEL?
You can automate it using email marketing tools, CRM platforms and chatbots. These tools help manage follow-ups, lead scoring and responses to keep your lead generation process running smoothly.
WHAT STRATEGIES CAN HELP REDUCE LEAD DROP-OFF IN MY LEAD GENERATION SALES FUNNEL?
Keep your forms simple, use retargeting ads to re-engage visitors and ensure your content is engaging at every stage. Regular email follow-ups also help maintain interest and prevent drop-off.
