B2B Sales Funnel: Key Stages, Strategies, and Optimization Tips

Are you looking to learn more about B2B sales funnels? This is the perfect place because we’re going to share the key stages, the best strategies and optimization tips. We’ll also share why your B2B business needs to take a different approach than a B2C business in this process. 

What is a B2B Sales Funnel

A B2B sales funnel or sometimes referred to as pipeline, is referencing the steps that B2B customers go through before the sales cycle is completed. The goal of a B2B sales funnel is to convert business leads into paying customers by addressing their unique needs at each stage of the funnel. Another goal is to increase your ROI. The B2B sales funnel stages follow the general structure of : Awareness, Interest, Evaluation, Action, but can differ depending on the product or service. 

It’s crucial to look at your funnel as stages leads go through rather than a linear path that is taken. Each customer will require different amounts of nurturing. One of the best tools to do this is a conversion rate optimization tool that is designed to increase your conversion rate, and it actually works.  Some customers who have used this tool have seen an 81% increase in conversions that last, not just a one month fluke.

The B2B sales funnel takes longer to optimize than a traditional B2C funnel because you likely have less customers entering your funnel so proper A/B testing will take longer. Once you have enough traffic its essential to begin as early as possible and regularly review the data so that your funnel brings in more leads for your sales team. 

Difference Between B2B and B2C Sales Funnel

The main difference between B2B and B2C sales funnels is the amount of detail and how long the process takes in B2B funnels when compared to B2C. If you have previously worked exclusively with B2C sales funnels this may take a bit of adjusting. Consumers are much more impulsive with their purchases than B2B sales as there is often a whole team making decisions.  There is usually internal debate and senior executive approval required before large purchases are made.

To build an effective B2B funnel you have to build a system that is ready to nurture leads, rather than make quick sales. This customer lifetime value tool is a great way to do so. One of the best ways to generate leads is to create educational content that explains your product. In the final stages of your funnel buyers are likely looking for any documentation regarding how and why your product works. 

What are the B2B Sales Funnel Stages

The typical B2B sales funnel is made up of 5 stages 

1.Awareness 

During this first stage of the B2B marketing funnel customers are becoming aware of a pain point in their business and are looking for solutions. This can happen because they are looking for a solution and find your business, or if they have found one of your marketing campaigns. 

Your potential customers are likely browsing the solutions available during this time by doing research on their issue and the solutions available. This is a great place to start positioning your business as an authority in the field in order to gain visibility through SEO and content marketing. 

This is the time to start increasing your acquisition efforts at this point in the B2B marketing funnel, as set out in your marketing strategy. We recommend having an all inclusive approach that includes PPC, social media marketing, email marketing and SEO efforts. If you’re looking for a great SEO tool to support you in these efforts, this is the one we recommend. 

At the end of this stage, leads are becoming more aware of what they need from a solution and are looking for the best fit for their unique business needs. This is where they become motivated to move to the next step and are likely looking to learn more about a business and their products.

2.Interest  

At this B2B sales funnel stage, your leads are beginning to look into the resources available to them in order to learn more about potential solutions to their needs. The interest stage is where they are learning about what solutions your company has to offer them, but likely aren’t ready to hear about your products or services yet. 

During this stage, your leads likely aren’t comparing your business to your competitors yet. Rather, they are looking for answers to their general questions like who, what, why you, and other questions that address their needs. These are essential questions that need to be targeted and answered in your SEO efforts. 

This point in the funnel is where costumes are often looking to move past their pain and are now looking for solutions and products to support their needs. This is where they begin to learn about your business, products and services. They are likely learning about both you and your competitors’ business, so make sure to give them a reason to remember you. Now, your customer is moving into the evaluation stage where they are learning if your product or service is going to work for them. 

3.Evaluate 

During the evaluation phase of the B2B marketing sales funnel, your customers are beginning to determine if they think that your solution is a good match for their needs. This is the point where you need to demonstrate how your product is a solution to their pain points. 

Your main goal during this phase of the funnel is to make sure that you have a relationship with your leads, and begin to understand what their end goal is. This is how you are able to understand what they need to know from you before they are able to trust your business. As a result you will build a lasting relationship, establish credibility and express your value adds. 

This is where your unique value proposition (UVP) comes into play. Your customers want to know why you’re better than the rest, so tell them! Once you are done here, your customers are ready to enter the action stage, which is likely going to be the hardest part. You’ve convinced them your business is worth it, now they just need to convince the rest of the team.

4.Action

During this stage, your leads will be interacting with your sales team. To begin, you typically need to qualify your B2B sales funnel leads, this is typically done by an SDR. This is done so that your sales team is not wasting time on a prospect that you know will not do well with your business. 

Some great engagement strategies to try are offering live demos, offering educational lunch and learning sessions, sending out newsletters and more. Also going into details regarding the onboarding process, special discounts available and technical support offered is also important at this stage. 

Once you have qualified your leads, this is the time to build personal connections with the buying company and share the products that will act as the best solution. This is how you show that your business is able to fulfill all of their needs if they invest in your products. Then, you must show how your product is implemented and the next steps. Clear communication is crucial during this stage.

5.Purchase 

At this stage, your customers have decided to make a purchase and begin working with your company. The purchase itself is quite simple, as this is where months of hard work pays off and your lead becomes a customer. Now, it’s more important than ever to deliver what you promised. 

This is not where your journey ends, it is really where it begins. You must continue to deliver great value to your customer and prove that you are a worthy addition to their team. 

How to Optimize a B2B Sales Funnel

Now that you have a sales funnel, you need to ensure that it is optimized. To begin, you need to define your goals, this is where you look at your data, see what isn’t working and decide why you are making the changes that you are. 

Next, you need to identify your ideal customers and target audience. This is where you choose your most valuable buyers to focus your marketing efforts around. Don’t be alarmed if some less qualified leads leave when you do this. 

After that, you need to improve your CRM solution in order to ensure that it is organizing and automatizing your sales process, so your team can focus on the important stuff. But, in order to do this you need to make sure that your CRM is proving accurate data, or all these efforts may be not be worth it. 

Finally, it’s time to make sure that your marketing team and sales team are all on the same page. The B2B sales funnel requires the marketing team to hand off their efforts to the sales team. With poor uses of data this can be an issue, try a fully integrated sales and marketing system if this is an issue your team faces. 

Conclusion

All in all, the B2B sales funnel is not as complicated as you may think. While the process is longer and more detailed than the B2C journey the reward is also greater. It’s essential to track and regularly check the results in real time to see if there are any issues with your funnel. 

If you’re looking for some tools to help, we recommend this SEO tool and this customer lifetime value tool in order to keep you ahead of the game. Building a sales funnel isn’t easy, but with these tools you will be in a great place to begin.