# Sales funnel

A sales funnel is a model of the path from someone hearing about you to becoming a customer. Many start at the top, fewer reach the bottom.

Source: https://ibenta.no/en/glossary/sales-funnel
Publisher: Ibenta (https://ibenta.no)
Updated: 2026-09-27

---

The funnel is a picture of people dropping off along the way. At the top is everyone who sees you, for example in search or on social media. Further down are those who visit your website, then those who get in touch, and at the bottom those who buy. Each step has fewer people than the one before.

## Where you lose people

The funnel helps you see where you lose people. If you have many visits but few enquiries, the problem is on the website. If you have many enquiries but few sales, it lies in the follow-up or the offer. Then you know where effort pays off most, instead of doing a little of everything.

Different steps need different content. At the top, useful articles and visibility in search help. At the bottom, people need prices, references and a clear [CTA](/en/glossary/cta). The funnel is a simplified version of the [customer journey](/en/glossary/customer-journey), which is rarely that straight in real life.

## A worked example

Picture 2,000 visits a month, 40 enquiries and 10 sales. Then 2 percent of visits become [leads](/en/glossary/lead), and 25 percent of the leads become customers. Write down your own numbers for last month the same way. The step with the lowest share is often the best place to start.