How to create a sales funnel step by step + examples
August 12, 2025
Meritxell Castro
Today, capturing our audience’s attention is a major and important challenge. It’s not enough to have a good product or service. The key is to make sure it reaches potential customers, that they know it, become interested, and eventually buy it. To achieve this, without a doubt, you need a strategy. And when we talk about strategy, knowing how to create a sales funnel will be vital to develop it. Start optimizing your efforts and maximize your sales!
What is a sales funnel?
Let’s start at the beginning: what do we mean by a marketing and sales funnel? A sales funnel, also known as a funnel or conversion funnel, is a visual representation of the journey a customer takes from discovering a product or service to making a purchase. It’s a tool that helps companies understand how to guide potential customers through the different stages of the sales process, identifying where conversion opportunities may be lost.
At the top, where the volume is highest, a large number of interested people enter. As they move through the different stages, the number decreases but the quality increases. Each stage of the funnel is designed to guide the user, nurturing them with relevant information and persuading them to take the next step, until they reach the final goal: conversion.
It’s not just a theoretical concept; it’s a strategic roadmap that allows you to:
Identify bottlenecks: Where are your potential customers “leaking” out?
Optimize the journey: What content or message works best at each stage?
Predict results: How many leads do you need at the top to achieve X sales?
Scale your business: Replicate a successful and predictable sales process.
These will be the pillars of any effective digital marketing and sales strategy.
Although the names may vary, the fundamental stages of a sales funnel in e-commerce remain constant.
1. TOFU (Top Of the Funnel) - Awareness / Attraction
Goal: Capture the attention of the widest possible audience that doesn’t yet know they have a problem or that you have the solution.
Customer actions: Discovers your brand, reads a blog, sees an ad, finds your website by chance.
Marketing strategies:
Content: Blog articles, social media posts, infographics, short videos, podcasts. The focus is educational, not direct selling.
SEO: Search engine optimization to appear when people look for general information.
Advertising: Brand awareness campaigns.
2. MOFU (Middle Of the Funnel) - Consideration / Interest
Goal: Nurture the leads captured in the TOFU stage, making them consider your solution as the ideal one. You must demonstrate your authority and value.
Customer actions: Downloads an ebook, subscribes to your newsletter, attends a webinar, reads a case study. Getting clicks in the funnel is key to ensuring success.
Email Marketing: Automated email sequences (lead nurturing) with valuable content.
Retargeting: Ads targeted to users who have already interacted with your brand.
3. BOFU (Bottom Of the Funnel) - Decision / Conversion
Goal: Convert the qualified lead into a customer. Convince them that your product/service is the best option. Customer actions: Requests a demo, asks for a free trial, adds to cart, completes the purchase.
Following all of the above, you may ask: how do I create a sales funnel for my company? Below are the steps you must follow to get the best results in your conversion funnel.
Define your ideal customer: Who are you targeting? What are their problems, needs, desires, objections, and where do they look for information? Without this, your funnel will be a shot in the dark.
Analyze their behavior: What steps would they take from discovering you to buying? Write down their questions and pain points at each stage.
Create content for each stage:
TOFU: Broad, informative, non-intrusive content. Blog posts, infographics.
MOFU: Content that educates about the solution to their problems, positioning your brand as an expert. Ebooks, webinars.
BOFU: Persuasive content that removes objections and motivates purchase. Demos, testimonials, offers.
Choose your distribution channels: Where is your audience? Google, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, email? Use the right channels to deliver content at each stage.
Define your “lead magnet”: In the MOFU stage, you need something valuable to offer in exchange for the user’s contact information (usually their email). An ebook, template, or free webinar.
Set up your email marketing system: Once you have the email, email marketing is your ally to nurture leads and move them through the funnel. Create automated sequences for each phase.
Create your Landing Pages: You’ll need optimized landing pages to capture leads (where you offer the lead magnet) and sales landing pages for the BOFU stage.
Measure, Analyze, and Optimize: The funnel shouldn’t be static. Use tools like Google Analytics or your CRM. Throughout the strategy, tracking results, identifying areas for improvement, conducting A/B tests, and adjusting actions and messages are key.
B2B Sales Funnel
In the B2B environment, the conversion funnel is similar but has some specific characteristics:
Longer sales cycle: Decisions tend to be more complex and involve more stakeholders. Unlike traditional e-commerce, the reflection period is longer and may involve several approval stages within each company. Because of this, the B2B sales funnel tends to be more extended over time.
Emphasis on relationships: The MOFU stage is crucial for building trust and authority, maximizing the B2B sales experience. Content such as whitepapers, detailed case studies, free consultations, and personalized demos are highly valued. You must become a reference in your industry.
LinkedIn as a key channel: Most companies use this social network as their showcase. It’s essential for TOFU and MOFU stages, along with SEO for business solution searches that drive B2B sales.
Example of a sales funnel
Among all the companies around us, it’s hard to highlight a single sales funnel as an example, but here we go!
Netflix
Netflix is a master at building a digital marketing sales funnel that turns users into recurring subscribers. It starts by capturing attention through an omnichannel strategy (influencers, YouTube, TikTok, etc.), as well as media presence and sponsored events. And of course, the famous “word of mouth.”
Its value proposition is clear: here’s your unlimited entertainment content, and you can try it free for 7 days.
With attention captured and the trial underway, they get users to experience the value they promise. Having a seamless user experience (sign-up, payment method, etc.) is a key differentiator.
Instagram Sales Funnel
Instagram, with its visual and fast-interaction nature, requires a specific approach for a social media sales funnel:
TOFU (Awareness):
Reels/Stories: Entertaining and educational content (e.g., “3 tips to improve your workplace environment”).
CTA: “Buy now (link in bio/product sticker),” “Get your free demo (link in bio).”
Loyalty:
Exclusive content: Reels or stories for customers only, surveys to improve product/service.
Community: Private groups, actively responding to comments and DMs.
Retargeting Ads: For upselling or cross-selling.
In short, building a sales funnel is a continuous process of learning and optimization. It’s not a magic formula, but rather understanding your audience, providing value at every stage, and measuring relentlessly. Implement these steps, and you’ll see how your marketing efforts turn into conversions and sustained growth for your business.
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