Sales Funnel

Definition

The process from lead generation to closed deal, visualized as a funnel because prospects drop out at every stage. It's depressing how small the deal-closing percentage becomes.

Example Usage

Our sales funnel shows 1,000 prospects entering but only 50 closing, a 5% conversion that sales claims is 'industry standard.'

Origin

From sales process methodology, popularized by Elias St. Elmo Lewis in 1898

Fun Fact

The oldest sales model (AIDA: Awareness, Interest, Decision, Action) is still more useful than most modern frameworks.

Source: Sales Methodology

Related Terms

Intermediate

marketing mix

The combination of tactics and channels used to promote your product, traditionally reduced to the 'Four Ps' (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) by people who love oversimplifying complex systems. It's strategic planning that fits on a napkin.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Beginner

marketing funnel

A visualization of the customer journey from awareness to purchase, shaped like a funnel to represent how most prospects leak out at every stage. It's a diagram that makes your conversion problems look geometric and therefore somehow more acceptable.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

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cost per thousand

The cost to deliver 1,000 ad impressions, abbreviated as CPM where 'M' is the Roman numeral for 1,000 because marketing loves needlessly confusing acronyms. It's the pricing model that treats eyeballs as commodities.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Advanced

ghost ad

An advertisement placeholder that reserves space in a publication or website but intentionally runs blank or with minimal content, often used strategically to block competitors. It's passive-aggressive marketing at its finest.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Beginner

segments

In marketing, the practice of dividing your audience into smaller groups based on demographics, behavior, or psychographics so you can target them with laser precision. It's like organizing your contacts into friend groups, except way more invasive and profitable. The more segments you have, the more you can pretend you understand human behavior.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

Beginner

target

In business and marketing, the specific audience segment you're trying to reach, sell to, or manipulate into thinking they need your product. It's the demographic, psychographic, or behavioral group that your entire campaign is aimed at—ideally based on data, but often based on whoever the VP thinks buys stuff. Missing your target means wasted ad spend; hitting it means annoying the right people with your ads.

📣 Marketing / Advertising

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