Demystifying the gap between ideas and execution.
🧹 Housekeeping 🧹
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MIND THE GAP
You need marketing and sales funnels to build your business and brand, but you don't know how to do that.
You’re likely inundated with content telling you to create a marketing and sales funnel, followed by the pitch ‘we’ll make it for you for $2,500’. You can do it yourself, even if you’re not a marketing or digital marketing mastermind, and it won’t take weeks to create.
CLOSE THE GAP
Marketing and sales funnels are effective ways to attract your ideal customer or client, engage them, and provide a clear pathway for doing business with you.
Funnels guide people from “Who is this?” to “I’m ready to buy.”
You need a marketing and sales funnel. They do different jobs.
Most funnels fail because they skip steps, don’t match buyer behavior, or don’t lead to a clear offer.
By the end of this edition, {{First name | friend}}, you will be able to create your first funnel or fix the gaps in your existing one.
⏱️Reading time: 10 minutes
What the heck even is a funnel
The difference between marketing and sales funnels
Five core stages of a funnel
Build a funnel
Common mistakes and fixes
Start where you are
TL;DR
Before you go
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What the heck even is a funnel?
A funnel is a way to organize and guide a potential buyer through the process of getting to know you, trusting you, and eventually buying from you.
Top of Funnel (TOFU): “Who are you and what do you do?”
Middle of Funnel (MOFU): “Interesting. Can you solve my problem?”
Bottom of Funnel (BOFU): “I’m ready. Let’s do this.”
You’re creating a path people can walk down when they’re ready. There are different types of funnels with different purposes. Also, the funnel isn’t set in stone. There are variations of the funnel that may have three to six major milestones. Don’t worry about that. Focus on the experience you want your customer or client to have.
The difference between a marketing and sales funnel depends on your intentions
Although you may hear 'marketing' and 'sales funnel used interchangeably, they serve different purposes.
The marketing funnel builds awareness and generates interest.
The sales funnel converts that interest into action.
The handoff between the two is where most businesses drop the ball.
Marketing = attract, educate, engage
Sales = qualify, personalize, close
If you only have one or the other, you’re either:
Educating people who never buy (no sales funnel), or
Selling to people who aren’t ready (no marketing funnel)
And if you rely on referrals? That’s a leap, not a funnel.
Your funnel isn’t working because you didn’t create or build it correctly.
Here are some potential reasons you may not be seeing a return from your funnel:
❌ You send people straight from a LinkedIn post to a sales call.
❌ You ask someone to “book a discovery call” when they’ve never seen your face.
❌ You write a 20-page lead magnet, but you don’t follow up.
❌ You provide a webinar, but never talk to them again.
❌ You assume silence means “not interested.”
❌❌❌ When someone accepts your LinkedIn invitation, you immediately spam them with incessant five-paragraph messages about something they’re not interested in. No - they didn’t miss your message. You word-vomited in their inbox, and they don’t want to clean up the mess.
❗Funnels are for nurturing. Not nagging. Not ghosting. Not guessing.
An optimized funnel has five core stages.
The funnel framework is the same for a multi-billion-dollar company as it is for a solopreneur, consultant, coach, or professional services business. You can name the stages whatever you like. It’s the intent that matters.
1. Awareness: I’ve heard of you.
This is where your audience first sees your name, face, or brand. They’re not looking for a solution yet. You’re planting a seed.
💡 How to do it:
Thought leadership content
Social media posts
Podcast guest spots
Speaking engagements
Referrals and community shout-outs
✅ Your goal: Make them curious enough to click, follow, or remember your name.
2. Engagement: I’m paying attention.
They’ve seen your name more than once. It can take seven to ten interactions with your content before someone engages with it. Engagement is skimming your post, opening your newsletter, or lurking on your site.
💡 How to do it:
Consistent newsletters
Behind-the-scenes or process content
Case studies and testimonials
Lead magnets (but only if they’re helpful)
✅ Your goal: Build trust by demonstrating your thought process and actions.
3. Nurture: I’m considering you.
They know your offer. Now they’re deciding if you’re the one to help. People buy the destination, not the journey.
💡 How to do it:
Email sequences with stories and value
Webinars or workshops
Personalized follow-ups
Sharing relevant results or frameworks
✅ Your goal: Address objections and demonstrate transformation.
4. Conversion: I’m ready to talk.
They raise their hand. This is where your sales funnel comes into play. The sales funnel is not too different from the marketing funnel; each stage has a different intent based on your business model.
💡 How to do it:
Discovery calls
Consultations
Detailed proposal or scoped packages
Transparent pricing and contract process
✅ Your goal: Guide, don’t push. Make the decision easy.
5. Loyalty: I want to stay.
This is where repeat business, referrals, and brand champions are born.
💡 How to do it:
Post-sale check-ins
Surprise bonuses or insights
Client-only content
Asking for testimonials
✅ Your goal: Turn them into raving fans.
Build your funnel (no fancy software required).
You don’t need a fancy platform or automation software to start. You need clarity. Here’s how to build a simple funnel in four steps:
Step 1: Define Your Ideal Client Journey
Map out how someone finds you and becomes a client. Be specific. Use real people you’ve worked with. Ask yourself:
Where did they come from?
What did they need to believe before buying?
What content or conversation helped them say yes?
Where did you lose people along the way?
❗Your funnel should match how they buy, not just how you sell.
Step 2: Pick a Primary Path
Don’t build 10 funnels at once. Select one key offer and create a primary funnel tailored to that offer. For example:
A lead magnet → nurture emails → invite to discovery call
A social post → DMs → voice memo invite → sales call
A webinar → email follow-up → proposal
❗Keep it simple. You can layer and scale later.
Step 3: Create One Thing for Each Stage
❗Don’t overbuild. One great asset per stage can move people through with clarity. Use this as your checklist:
Funnel Stage | What to Create |
|---|---|
Awareness | LinkedIn posts, short videos, podcast episode |
Engagement | Email newsletter, carousel posts, lead magnet |
Nurture | Email series, webinar, case studies |
Conversion | Booking page, intake form, proposal template |
Loyalty | Feedback form, “next steps” offer, thank-you gift |
Step 4: Track and Tweak
Funnels are living systems, not one-time setups. Watch where people fall off:
Are people clicking but not booking? Fix your call to action.
Are people signing up but never replying? Rework your nurture sequence.
Are people ghosting after a call? Clarify your offer or tighten your follow-up.
❗Small fixes often make the most significant difference.
Common Funnel Mistakes (and Fixes)
🧱 Mistake: Too many asks, too early.
🚧 Fix: Match your ask to their awareness. Don’t propose marriage on the first date.
💤 Mistake: Boring or generic content.
🚧 Fix: Make your content personal and useful. Your funnel should sound like you.
📉 Mistake: Giving up after one email or one post.
🚧 Fix: Build a system that continues the conversation, without needing you to be “on” all the time.
📪 Mistake: Sending people to a landing page that doesn’t convert.
🚧 Fix: Test your pages. Ask a friend. Simplify the message. One CTA. No fluff.
🧩 Mistake: Treating all leads the same.
🚧 Fix: Segment your list or qualify leads before a call. Not every lead is a good fit.
You don’t need an expensive tech stack to get started
Start with what you already have and use some tools to help. Here are a few tools that make funnels easier, many have a free version:
Stage | Tool Options |
|---|---|
Awareness | LinkedIn, Instagram, Substack, YouTube |
Engagement | Beehiiv, ConvertKit, Notion, Canva |
Nurture | MailerLite, ActiveCampaign, Flodesk |
Conversion | Calendly, Typeform, Dubsado, Notion |
Loyalty | Airtable, Loom, ThankView, personalized emails |
💡 Note for Founders + Consultants💡
If you’re in B2B, especially in medtech, biotech, or services, your funnel looks different. Your awareness channel may be a key opinion leader (KOL). Your engagement stage may be a white paper. Your nurture may be a 6-month relationship before a pilot.
That’s okay. Don’t force a SaaS funnel onto a high-touch business.
Build a funnel that fits how your buyers behave, not how some online guru says they should.
THE GAP DĒMĬSTəFĪED
Funnels aren’t magical. They’re mechanical.
When they work, it’s because someone took the time to:
Map the customer journey
Offer real value at each stage
Make it easy to say yes
You don’t need more leads. You need more qualified, nurtured, and ready clients.
So, if your funnel isn’t working? Don’t throw it out. Demystify it. Rebuild it. Make it yours.
TL;DR - build marketing (education) and sales (conversation) funnels that best suit your ideal customer or client to start seeing success
What the heck even is a funnel: a funnel creates a path for your ideal customer or client to follow when they’re ready for the value you offer
The difference between marketing and sales funnels: a marketing funnel focuses on create awareness and building trust; a sales funnel converts interest into business
Five core stages of a funnel: while you can name the stages whatever you want there is awareness, engagement, nurture, conversion (sales funnel), and loyalty
Build a funnel: don’t pay someone hundreds or thousands of dollars to do it for you. Start with your ideal client in mind and your value proposition. Then, when you’re ready to scale, hire an agency or consultant to take it to the next level.
Common mistakes and fixes: you might be doing some of these.
Start where you are: you don’t need a crazy-expensive tech stack. Use what you already have.
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