Funnels aren’t just for college parties. They’re also a way to see more sales and get customers to finally buy. Whether it’s a lead generation funnel or a sales funnel, it’s important to know when you actually need one. Let’s get into it. 

Sales funnels are powerful tools for a variety of reasons:

• Split testing
  If you are an eCommerce store owner or course creator, you might want a sales-specific funnel because you are able to A/B split test every step of your buying journey. For example, if you have an opt-in step, sales page, check out page, a one-time offer (OTO), upsell, and downsell. A sales funnel lets you split test each and every single step to determine why and how something is working. It is much easier to do that through the use of a funnel than it is through your eCommerce site or through an LMS like Kajabi or Teachable.
  You’re able to effectively create new variations based on things that were performing well, downgrade them very easily, and access a wealth of information to improve your overall stats and identify bottlenecks. 
• Integrate all offers
  The next reason why you need a sales funnel is if you have upsells and downsells that you’re not able to build into your eCommerce platform. It’s really hard to customize that in a way that looks like it was branded and designed to align with your website because most apps within Shopify, for example, don’t allow that. If you’re using Magento or BigCommerce, it’s even harder. A sales-driven funnel makes it easy and streamlined. It is ideal to have your upsells and downsells built onto the back end of your sales funnel to increase the average order value. 
• Maximize profit from organic traffic
  There are only a few ways you can adjust levers within your website or through ads to influence profitability. It comes down to average order value and website conversion rate, as these are typically the two biggest levers that are going to influence that for you. If your website converts at 1% or less, it means 99% of your traffic is seeing your site and saying, see ya later! However, with a sales-specific funnel and through the use of A/B split testing, you will be able to identify what’s working, what isn’t, and how to improve.
• Keep the focus on the sale
  Usually, eCommerce websites have navigation links that can distract people from the product. They fall down the rabbit hole and totally forget why they landed on your site in the first place. A sales funnel doesn’t have all these distractions. One simple product page/product grouping leads your prospect down a very specific journey that has one main goal: the sale.
  They won’t be able to click away or look at different pages. They’re either going to buy or they’re going to bounce. By streamlining that user flow, you cut down on the noise and boost your conversion rate. 

But what if you are a service-based provider and you were thinking about having landing pages or funnels to capture leads? A funnel will give you the same benefits, save for the average order value boost. Not only will you streamline your process, but you will also have a higher opt-in rate. Convinced? Get funneling!