Sales funnel seen from below: how to plan to obtain B2B leads
Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2025 8:56 am
Getting B2B leads is one of the most important things in any business. But if we are not able to understand the number of prospects we need at each stage of the process, then we need to rethink our tactics and try to understand how to solve the problem.
Let's look at a strategy to push leads into the sales funnel , but through a peculiar analysis: examining each stage of the funnel in reverse, as if we were looking at it from below.
Why looking at the sales funnel from the bottom up helps us convert leads into B2B sales?
To quickly review, let's remember that a sales funnel is a methodology rcs data lebanon which a company determines specific strategies to execute in order to achieve a conversion (for example, close sales) according to the different stages. The analogy is made with a funnel, since, as a general rule, there are many B2B leads that enter the sales process, but only a few will make a purchase.
Now, the idea behind looking at the funnel from the bottom up is to apply a kind of reverse engineering , helping us to better understand how many leads we need for each stage (bottom, middle and top). By doing this anticipation, it is easier for marketers to establish consistent performance indicators .
Stages of the sales funnel seen from below
First of all, it is necessary to recognize the stages of the sales funnel as they would be traditionally understood:
Awareness.
Interest.
Assessment.
Decision (opportunity).
Closing sale.
The strategy to push leads into the sales funnel seen from the bottom up requires us to use some examples, so that we can better understand how we can take advantage of this type of strategy. That said, our first stage would be the closing of the sale, resulting in an analysis with the following structure:
Closing sale.
Decision (opportunity).
Assessment.
Interest.
Awareness.
Setting a clear goal is crucial to reverse engineering the sales funnel. Since the goal is the last step in a strategy, the obvious question we must ask ourselves is this: how many sales closures do we need to achieve to reach the quarterly, half-yearly or annual goal?
Let’s review this with an example: let’s say our B2B business’s quarterly goal is to sell $100,000,000. Since our service sells for $1,000,000, we need to close 100 sales; in other words, we need at least 100 leads to reach the sales closing stage (end of the funnel). So far, so simple.
Now, based on all the data collected in our past funnels, let's assume we arrive at the following conversion rates per stage (viewed from the top of the funnel):
Awareness – Decision = 50% (that is, of the 100% of leads that enter Awareness, only 50% reach Decision).
Decision – Evaluation = 50%
Evaluation – Interest = 20%
Interest – Awareness = 5%
Since we need to get 100 leads for the last stage, then we start by looking at the funnel from here and up:
Sales closing = 100 leads.
Decision = 2,000 leads (remember that only 5% of leads in the Interest stage make a purchase).
Evaluation = 10,000 leads.
Interest = 20,000 leads.
Awareness = 40,000 leads.
From this reverse analysis, we can come to the following conclusion: if 40,000 leads far exceeds our market potential, then it is necessary to look to new horizons and even rethink our service. Now, if achieving 40,000 leads for the first stage of the sales funnel is an absolutely tangible goal, then we are on the right track.
Let's look at a strategy to push leads into the sales funnel , but through a peculiar analysis: examining each stage of the funnel in reverse, as if we were looking at it from below.
Why looking at the sales funnel from the bottom up helps us convert leads into B2B sales?
To quickly review, let's remember that a sales funnel is a methodology rcs data lebanon which a company determines specific strategies to execute in order to achieve a conversion (for example, close sales) according to the different stages. The analogy is made with a funnel, since, as a general rule, there are many B2B leads that enter the sales process, but only a few will make a purchase.
Now, the idea behind looking at the funnel from the bottom up is to apply a kind of reverse engineering , helping us to better understand how many leads we need for each stage (bottom, middle and top). By doing this anticipation, it is easier for marketers to establish consistent performance indicators .
Stages of the sales funnel seen from below
First of all, it is necessary to recognize the stages of the sales funnel as they would be traditionally understood:
Awareness.
Interest.
Assessment.
Decision (opportunity).
Closing sale.
The strategy to push leads into the sales funnel seen from the bottom up requires us to use some examples, so that we can better understand how we can take advantage of this type of strategy. That said, our first stage would be the closing of the sale, resulting in an analysis with the following structure:
Closing sale.
Decision (opportunity).
Assessment.
Interest.
Awareness.
Setting a clear goal is crucial to reverse engineering the sales funnel. Since the goal is the last step in a strategy, the obvious question we must ask ourselves is this: how many sales closures do we need to achieve to reach the quarterly, half-yearly or annual goal?
Let’s review this with an example: let’s say our B2B business’s quarterly goal is to sell $100,000,000. Since our service sells for $1,000,000, we need to close 100 sales; in other words, we need at least 100 leads to reach the sales closing stage (end of the funnel). So far, so simple.
Now, based on all the data collected in our past funnels, let's assume we arrive at the following conversion rates per stage (viewed from the top of the funnel):
Awareness – Decision = 50% (that is, of the 100% of leads that enter Awareness, only 50% reach Decision).
Decision – Evaluation = 50%
Evaluation – Interest = 20%
Interest – Awareness = 5%
Since we need to get 100 leads for the last stage, then we start by looking at the funnel from here and up:
Sales closing = 100 leads.
Decision = 2,000 leads (remember that only 5% of leads in the Interest stage make a purchase).
Evaluation = 10,000 leads.
Interest = 20,000 leads.
Awareness = 40,000 leads.
From this reverse analysis, we can come to the following conclusion: if 40,000 leads far exceeds our market potential, then it is necessary to look to new horizons and even rethink our service. Now, if achieving 40,000 leads for the first stage of the sales funnel is an absolutely tangible goal, then we are on the right track.