Sales Funnel Vs Marketing Funnel - What’s The Difference?
In the online marketing world, you will have heard the words ‘sales funnel’ and ‘marketing funnel’ used interchangeably and this causes a lot of confusion.
You will have wondered at some stage…
Is a sales funnel and a marketing funnel the same thing, or two separate things?
What’s the difference between the two?
Do I need a sales funnel or a marketing funnel… or BOTH!?
The top-line takeaway is that sales funnels and marketing funnels are in fact two different things.
BUT they’re both referred to as ‘funnels’ because its a great way of visualising what they do…
Let me explain what the difference is between sales funnels and marketing funnels, and help you figure out which one you need (or if you need both) in your business.
What is a marketing funnel?
Your marketing funnel is ultimately a combination of your marketing strategy, and what you’re doing in your marketing to move your audience along the customer journey.
When someone buys from you they will have been through a ‘customer journey’ where they…
First discovered your brand - found you through a google search, talking on a podcast, mentioned in a TikTok video
Then got to know you, like you, trust you - by watching your videos, trawling your blog, bingeing your podcast episodes, being a subscriber to your regular emails
Then been invited to buy from you - by clicking a link in your email that invited them to ‘find out more’ about your product or service and buy now!
You can break this customer journey down into
DISCOVER
NURTURE
INVITE
Notice how those words make a funnel shape - only just noticed that but I love it!
Your marketing funnel is a strategic and intentional process for helping your audience move along your customer journey and it’s made up of the marketing channels you’re using, and what marketing you’re doing to….
Help the right people DISCOVER you and your brand
NURTURE your people from just discovered you to becoming a raving fan of your work
Inform your people of what you do, how you can help them and INVITE them to buy from you.
If you have clarity around what the role is of each marketing channel you’re using, and what marketing you’re doing that’s serving your audience at each stage in the customer journey - you already have a marketing funnel. Yay!
What is a sales funnel?
A sales funnel is an automated system you put in place to setve your audience and drive sales without having to be there, in person hustling for every click, sign up and sale.
The main component of a sales funnel is a series of automated email sequences that connect up with lead pages, lead magnets, webinars, sales pages etc.
The most traditional sales funnel you will be aware of is where you…
Opt-in to receive a free offer (lead magnet)
You are then added to a segment on that business’ mailing list, which will trigger…
A series of emails that deliver a mix of value-based and sales messages that invite you to find out more and buy
There are lots of different types of sales funnels and figuring out which one is going to be the best fit for your product, or where people are in your customer journey is an essential part of building a sales funnel that delivers results.
What’s the difference between a marketing Funnel and a sales funnel, and how do they work together?
A marketing funnel encompasses all of your marketing. It defines how you’re reaching people, nurturing those people, and ultimately converting those people in your audience to clients and customers.
Your sales funnel sits WITHIN your marketing funnel around the NURTURE & INVITE stages. And you could have multiple sales funnels within your marketing funnel.
Do I need a marketing funnel AND a sales funnel in my business?
The short answer is - **you absolutely need a marketing funnel**. You can’t have a successful business without a marketing strategy and clarity around your customer journey - AKA a marketing funnel.
Whereas, a sales funnel is a marketing channel that fits within your wider marketing funnel - so whether you have a sales funnel or not depends on your marketing strategy.
A sales funnel will usually come into play for a business once they’ve built an audience and have a proven digital product that they know sells and delivers results for their clients and customers.
Knowing when it’s the right time to build a sales funnel can trip a lot of business owners up.
Sales funnels are often branded online as the solution to ‘six figures overnight, in your sleep’.
But the truth is - a sales funnel will only start to deliver those autopilot sales we all dream about, WHEN it’s consistently being ‘fed’ with new leads.
Fueling your sales funnel requires having your wider marketing funnel in place and knowing what’s doing the role of your DISCOVER marketing to keep bringing new people to your business and into your sales funnel.
Is my business ready for a sales funnel?
You can build a sales funnel at any stage in your business (as long as you have an evergreen, passive offer to sell). But ultimately, the right time to build a sales funnel in your business is when it’s going to bring you RESULTS!
If you have….
A proven product you can sell on evergreen, as a passive income stream
Built an audience, and have an established mailing list of subscribers
Got your DISCOVER marketing in place (as a means to feed your sales funnel)
You’re ready for a sales funnel my friend!
Download my sales funnel calculator to see how many sales, and what revenue a sales funnel could be delivering for you on autopilot.
Ready to build your sales funnel but wish someone awesome could just crack on and get it all done for you? Let’s get this show on the road!
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