5 steps to build a lead generation funnel and attract perfect buyers

From marketing funnels to sales funnels, there’s one thing that all B2B funnels tell us:

It’s not enough to chase more leads. Your goal is to find quality leads.

First of all, your marketing funnel helps you build brand awareness amongst your target audience and helps them recognize you as a thought leader and problem solver in their space.

From there, you use your sales funnel to scrutinize these leads more closely so you can see who’s really ready to buy.

Of course, these funnels don’t operate in isolation. They’re dependent on each other for their success - and that’s why getting your top-of-funnel processes right is so critical.

Let’s take a closer look at your lead generation funnel stages and how to ensure it feeds your pipeline with top quality leads.

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What’s the difference between a lead funnel and a lead generation funnel?

We know - there are so many funnels it can be hard to keep track of which one is responsible for what!

Generally speaking, your lead funnel is your overall funnel. It covers the entire customer journey, from first awareness to purchase and beyond. 

Your lead funnel includes both your marketing and sales funnels because one naturally feeds leads into the other.

Your lead generation funnel, on the other hand, focuses on the earliest stages of the buyer journey. 

The goal of the lead generation funnel is to turn brand new leads into qualified leads for your sales funnel. 

Essentially, it’s another way of describing your marketing funnel - or the very top of your overall lead funnel.

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What is a lead generation funnel?

A lead generation funnel is a structured process that guides potential customers from their very first interaction with your brand to becoming qualified leads. 

Each stage of the funnel is designed to nurture prospects and move them closer to becoming an active sales leads ready to enter the sales funnel. 

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Lead generation funnel stages

The main stages of the lead generation funnel include:

• Awareness - where leads are first made aware of your brand, for example through a piece of content.
• Interest - where you show the lead more content that resonates with their interests and pains so they recognize your authority.
• Desire - where leads become aware of your solutions and begin to recognize their potential value.
• Confirmation - where leads are interested in learning more about the solution with a strong view to buying.
• Conversion - where leads become sales-qualified - that is, where they’ve taken action to confirm their active interest in a potential purchase.

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5 steps to build a lead generation funnel

1. Find your target audience

‍Start by defining who your ideal customers are. Understand their pain points, needs, and where they spend their time online. This helps you tailor your messaging and choose the right platforms for your marketing efforts.

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2. Create engaging content

‍Develop valuable content that addresses the challenges and questions your audience has at each stage of the funnel. Blog posts, ebooks, webinars, and infographics can attract and educate potential leads. Think about creating a wide range of content that speaks to all your different buyer personas.

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3. Leverage lead magnets

‍Use something valuable in exchange for contact information! This could be a free guide, an exclusive webinar, or a discount code. Ensure the lead magnet is relevant and valuable to your audience.

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4. Use lead capture forms and CTAs

‍Place lead capture forms strategically on your website and landing pages. These forms should be simple and ask for minimal information to reduce friction.

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5. Nurture leads with email campaigns

‍Once you’ve captured leads, use email campaigns to nurture them. Provide more valuable content, case studies, and testimonials to build trust and move them closer to a purchase decision.

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Optimizing your lead generation funnel

It’s not enough to build your lead funnel. You need to monitor every lead, every conversion stage, and your overall lead flow to see whether you’re generating the quality and quantity of leads you need to hit your sales goals.

 Here are our 3 tips to keep make your funnel more effective over time:

• A/B test your content and CTAs: Experiment with different headlines, images, and calls-to-action to see what resonates best with your audience.
• Use automation tools: Leverage marketing automation tools to streamline your lead nurturing process. These tools can help you create personalized follow-ups on user behavior, such as adding leads to a nurturing flow after downloading an ebook.
• Analyze and refine: Regularly review your funnel’s performance and use metrics to quantify your lead generation success! This will help you identify drop-off points and areas where leads are not converting.

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Maintaining your top-of-funnel success

Key metrics to track

To get a feel for how your funnel performs over time, we recommend you track these metrics at least:

• Conversion rates: Measure the percentage of leads who become sales-qualified or actual customers. Remember to compare conversion rates between each stage of your funnel as well as your overall qualification rate.
• Lead quality: Assess the quality of your leads by tracking metrics like lead score, engagement level, and average time taken to convert.
• Cost Per Lead (CPL): Calculate how much it costs to acquire each lead. This helps you determine the ROI on things like ads, paid content placements, PR articles, and more.
• Lead Velocity: Track how quickly leads move through your funnel stages.

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Tools and techniques to support your lead qualification

• Data provider: The more accurate and nuanced your lead data, the more you can personalize and refine your engagement strategies. Tools like Amplemarket help you get a clear picture of each lead, their company, and their potential buying intent so that you can target them with tailor-made messaging.
• CRM system: Use a CRM system to manage and track all your interactions with leads. This ensures no lead falls through the cracks and helps you personalize follow-ups according to all the data you’ve gathered on them.
• Analytics tools: Tools like Google Analytics and HubSpot can provide insights into your marketing campaigns and highlight areas for improvement.
• Feedback loops: Establish feedback loops between your marketing and sales teams to understand which leads convert best and why. You can then use this information to refine your targeting and messaging to help deals close smoother and faster!

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Feeding a successful sales funnel

Your lead generation funnel is just the beginning. Once leads are in your funnel, it’s your job to focus on nurturing them through the buying process and helping as many high-quality prospects as possible to flow into your pipeline.

Remember, the secrets to a successful B2B lead generation funnel are the same as any other funnel: understand your audience, provide value at every stage, and always look for ways to improve the buyer experience!

Amplemarket helps you find and engage your best-fit prospects in record time thanks using sophisticated intelligence data and real-time lead insights. Sign up for a demo to learn more about how it can transform your lead generation!