How to Build an Effective Lead Generation Funnel in 7 Steps

Are you looking for leads to promote sales in your business, so you can take it to the next level? Not sure how to build an effective lead generation funnel that can help your business grow? Worry not! 

This article can help you understand what a lead generation funnel is, the different stages in the funnel, and how to build an effective lead generation funnel yourself.

Table of Contents:

1. What Is a Lead Generation Funnel?
2. What Are the Different Stages of the Lead Generation Funnel?
3. Steps Involved in Building an Effective Lead Generation Funnel

What Is a Lead Generation Funnel?

Lead generation funnel refers to the series of steps that is used to funnel a business’ target audience from the very first interaction to closing a deal with them, and making them into a client.

A lead generation funnel is a systematic approach that is helpful in generating leads who have the potential to become the business’ clients in the future. The lead generation funnel consists of three distinct stages. 

Let’s discuss the different stages in the lead generation funnel.

What Are the Different Stages of the Lead Generation Funnel?

The different stages of the lead generation funnel are as follows:

• Top of the funnel (TOFU)
• Middle of the funnel (MOFU)
• Bottom of the funnel (BOFU)

TOFU

Generally, the top part of the funnel is the awareness stage. This is the stage where the visitors learn about your business, and the type of service or product you offer them. As your website is the very first thing people visit to learn about your business, it is essential to optimize your website to offer a good, and personalized experience.

The best way to create awareness about your business among your visitors, or target audience, is by offering content consistently at the right times. By delivering timely content, you can help your website visitors to move to the next stage of the lead generation funnel.

MOFU

Usually, visitors at the MOFU stage of the lead generation funnel are people who explore your business. In this stage, people generally explore the various products, services, options, or solutions available in your business that can help solve their problems.  

The main goal for a business at this stage is to prove to the visitors, or the target audience, that the kind of solutions, products, or services you offer can benefit them, and is a good solution for them. You should also convince the visitor that your business can help solve the problems their company is facing.

BOFU

By the time the target audience, or the visitors, reach the BOFU stage of the lead generation funnel, they are usually ready to transact with your brand. This target audience and visitors now become qualified leads at this stage of the funnel.

At this stage of the lead generation funnel, your main goal should be to get potential customers to purchase your product or service. In this stage, you can also make use of price comparisons, product demos, and case studies to convince potential customers.

Steps Involved in Building an Effective Lead Generation Funnel

Optimizing the lead generation funnel helps to increase the conversion rate. When the funnel is optimized according to your business requirement. Let’s discuss some of the steps involved in building an effective lead generation funnel. The steps are as follows:

• Create your client persona.
• Map the client journey. 
• Create brand awareness.
• Drive traffic to your business.
• Gather information about the leads.
• Convert the leads into clients.
• Close the business deal.

Let’s dive into the details.

1. CREATE YOUR CLIENT PERSONA

The very first step to building an effective lead generation funnel is to create your client persona. A client persona is a fictional representation that represents your ideal client. Defining your client persona is essential, as it helps you identify your client’s needs, understand their decisions regarding their purchases, and empathize with your client.

Defining your ideal client helps you create quality content that is relevant to them. Generally, the quality of leads generated through this process is of higher quality. Client personas help you gain insight into building an effective lead generation funnel that best suits your target audience.

2. MAP THE CLIENT’S JOURNEY

Mapping the client journey refers to the visual representation of the steps your ideal customers will take from visiting your website to becoming your client. It is the roadmap that begins with a visitor coming across your business to sign up or purchase your product or service. 

Mapping out every step involved in this journey helps you come across new lead generation platforms, nurture leads effectively, measure the lead quality and conversion rate, and find out, and eliminate friction points in the lead generation funnel.

3. CREATE BRAND AWARENESS

One of the most essential steps in the process of building an effective lead generation funnel is creating brand awareness. As a growing business, it is essential to create brand awareness among your target audience. 

Your target audience must be aware of your business, and the type of product or service you offer as a solution to their pain points. Various methods can be used to create brand awareness among your ideal customers, but some of the most effective ones are content marketing and social media marketing.

4. DRIVE TRAFFIC TO YOUR BUSINESS

Once the base foundation of the lead generation funnel is played, it is time to drive traffic to it. There are two main ways to drive traffic to your lead generation funnel. They are:

• Inbound lead generation
• Outbound lead generation

These lead generation methods help the business ensure a steady stream of leads in the lead generation funnel. Driving traffic plays a vital role in generating more leads and increasing visibility. 

5. GATHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE LEADS

As a part of building an effective lead generation funnel, it is important to gather information about your leads. As a growing business, you need to be aware of your ideal clients, their companies, their needs and requirements, and their problems and pain points. This also helps you understand how your business can benefit your ideal customer. 

6. CONVERT LEADS INTO CLIENTS

One of the best ways to convert leads into clients is by offering a resource, or a deal your ideal client cannot resist. At this point, it is essential to focus on Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO). It is the systematic approach used to increase the number of people that go through the lead generation funnel and convert into your clients.

You can offer discounts, trials, demos, and promos to attract leads to purchase your product or service. Explaining to your ideal client how your product or service can help solve their problem or pain point helps the prospect purchase your product or service.

7. CLOSE THE BUSINESS DEAL

Last but not least, the last step after you have converted leads into clients is to close the business deal with the client. The process of closing a business deal varies for different companies. It is essential to experiment and analyze what works best.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Wrapping Up

If you have been looking for ways to build an effective lead generation funnel, this article should have helped you gain clarity. Make sure to follow the steps discussed above to achieve the desired results.

If you have been looking for services that can help you boost the quality of your sales opportunity, make sure to reach out to us for an excellent appointment-setting service.

Related Posts:

• 8 Best Lead Generation Tips for Effective Conversion
• 13 Best B2B Lead Generation Tools
• 5 B2B Lead Generation KPIs You Need to Measure

^{Illustrations by Storyset}