A lead magnet, a few emails, and a sales pitch—this is how many think of a sales funnel. In practice, customer journeys are far more complex and involve dozens of non-linear touchpoints.
In this guide, we’ll explain how outbound sales funnels work, show you practical examples, and give you practical tips for building one that can scale.
What Is a Digital Sales Funnel?
A digital sales funnel is a visual map of the stages a potential customer passes through on their way to making a purchase. It’s usually guided by the aligned efforts of marketing and sales teams.
In simple terms, it’s the journey you’ve designed to move prospects toward a sale and, ideally, advocacy.
What Makes Up a Funnel?
As the name suggests, a sales funnel is, well… a funnel. That means it's wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, representing how potential buyers gradually drop off as they progress through the phases of your outreach.
A well-structured funnel helps you:
Drive predictable growth: You know what to expect at each stage and can forecast revenue more reliably.
Target the right people at the right time: You can tailor your outreach based on where prospects are in their journey.
Optimize your team’s efforts: You’ll focus sales and marketing efforts where they’ll have the most impact.
Avoid chasing random leads: You’re guiding qualified prospects through a structured, proven path to conversion.
Sales Funnel vs. Customer Journey
While existing within one framework, funnels and journeys aren’t the same.
In a B2B SaaS context, the funnel closely mirrors the buyer’s journey. Each stage of the funnel is built to align with key touchpoints a prospect is likely to have along the way.
For example, if users typically start their journey by searching on Google to understand their problem better, a SaaS brand might create blog content targeting those search terms to attract and guide them into the top of the funnel.
This approach continues throughout the funnel—each step is designed to anticipate where the customer is on their journey and offer the right kind of interaction.
So while the customer journey reflects their natural path from problem to solution, the funnel is your response to that path. It’s the set of intentional touchpoints you create to guide them forward at each step.
In other words, the journey is driven by the buyer’s behavior, and the funnel is how you meet them with the right message, content, or interaction at the right time.
How Digital Funnels Differ from Traditional Marketing Funnels
How are digital funnels distinct from traditional marketing funnels?
One word: tracking.
With digital funnels, you can track nearly every interaction—from ad clicks to email opens to demo requests. That level of visibility is hard to match with offline tactics.
You can count how many brochures you handed out at an event, but you’ll never know exactly how many led to a sale. You can ask, but the answer will contain little of the precision of digital analytics.
B2C vs. B2B Sales Funnels
What about the differences between B2B and B2C funnels?
B2C funnels are usually shorter and move faster. The buying decision often comes down to emotion, impulse, or a single pain point. You’re typically selling to one person who can decide on the spot—no approvals, no back and forth.
B2B funnels take longer and involve more steps. You’re not just convincing one person—you’re dealing with multiple stakeholders who, in their turn, are working through budgets and timelines.
Because of this, B2B funnels rely heavily on lead scoring, personalization, and ongoing touchpoints.
The 3 Core Stages of a Digital Sales Funnel
The way your sales funnel looks depends on how complex your sales cycle is. That said, there are always commonalities.
At a high level, most funnels can be broken down into three key stages:
Top of the funnel (TOFU), where your target audience is just becoming aware of a problem and starting to explore solutions.
Middle of the funnel (MOFU), where they’re actively comparing options and evaluating which solution fits best.
Bottom of the funnel (BOFU), where interest is high and the goal is to remove any final objections or friction before the sale.
Let’s look into each stage in more detail.
1. TOFU Tactics: Prospecting and Initial Outreach
Inbound marketing typically owns the top of the funnel, or the awareness stage, with sales stepping in closer to the bottom. They use online marketing tactics like social media marketing, paid advertising, content marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO) to build brand awareness and drive new audiences into the funnel.
But in outbound, sales is involved from the very start, and TOFU activity is all about prospecting and initial outreach.
With outbound prospecting, you start by zeroing in on companies and individuals that match your ideal customer profile (ICP)—the ones most likely to need what you're offering, even if they don’t know about it yet.
Use an Intent-Based Approach
An intent-based approach will likely provide the best results. Beyond standard firmographic filters like company size or job title, consider layering in intent data to sharpen your targeting.
Use the following intent signals to find leads that match your ICP:
Recent funding rounds
Rapid team growth
Tech stack changes
Job postings
Content engagement
Website activity
These signals reveal when a company might be entering a buying cycle even before they’ve interacted with your brand. It’s a smarter, more strategic way to fill the top of your funnel with prospects who are actually worth your reps’ time.
Activate Intent Tracking
Manually building an email list is time-consuming. Trying to layer in intent data on top of that? Nearly impossible unless you have the right tech.
It’s best to use a tool that will surface contacts that match your ICP and are showing intent signals by scouring the web.
For example, Artisan’s Watchtower feature monitors your website visitors and turns anonymous traffic into enriched lead profiles. Trained on your ICP, AI BDR Ava automatically identifies and prioritizes high-intent leads and engages them with personalized outreach.
Find the Right Channels for Outreach
Meet your ideal prospects where they already are through the following channels:
Email
LinkedIn
Phone calls
SMS or WhatsApp
The most effective outbound strategies often combine several of these touchpoints in a multi-channel sequence—warming up the lead without overwhelming them.
Often, sales automation tools that support lead discovery also assist you through outreach efforts. For example, Artisan combines automated email and LinkedIn sequences to help you engage prospects across multiple channels without lifting a finger.
2. MOFU Tactics: Nurturing & Evaluation
At this stage, you’re in touch with someone who might be a good fit (if not today, then sometime down the road).
Your goal is to give them a taste of your brand’s expertise and value without going full sales mode. This approach is also known as lead nurturing.
Qualify
This is something you should actually be doing throughout your funnel, not only at the MOFU stage.
Continuously qualify leads based on real-time behavior to avoid two things:
Over-nurturing leads who are already warm and ready to talk sales
Wasting time on leads who clearly aren’t interested and probably won’t convert
This is especially true if you're bringing in a lot of prospects. Real-time qualification and lead scoring help you figure out who’s actually worth your time and when to reach out. It's not enough to warm people up. You need to identify the best moment to pitch a sales convo.
One way to do that is by assigning points to different actions.
Here’s an example of a lead-scoring system:
+10 for opening a sequence email
+20 for downloading a guide
+30 for attending a webinar
+50 for viewing the pricing page
Whoever scores highest? That’s who you talk to first. Pretty straightforward.
Don’t Pitch Right Away
Use this stage to educate and spark curiosity instead of pushing your product.
Examples of curiosity-building tactics include:
Inviting leads to an upcoming webinar
Sharing a relevant case study or guide
Offering a no-strings-attached consultation or audit
Again, automation tools like Artisan, which offer powerful nurturing features, are your ally here. AI BDR Ava doesn’t just stop at TOFU outreach. She continues working behind the scenes to personalize mid-funnel outreach, build relationships with warm leads, and follow up automatically.
Use Retargeting
Not every lead will respond to your emails. In fact, most won’t. Cold email response rates hover around 5%, and even fewer leads make it all the way to checkout.
But what a waste it would be to drop perfectly good leads just because they didn’t reply to your first message. Many of them might still be a great fit; they’re just not ready yet.
You need a way to stay on top of their minds without exhausting them—and that’s exactly what retargeting is for.
Retargeting helps you stay visible to warm prospects who’ve visited your site or engaged with content but haven’t converted yet. Use paid search ads, social media ads (e.g., LinkedIn ads), or even custom email audiences to gently bring them back into the conversation.
3. BOFU Tactics: Decision & Conversion
By this stage, some of the leads you’ve engaged earlier are ready for a more direct sales approach.
This is where your efforts shift from educating and nurturing to closing the deal.
Seal the Deal
Use this stage to make the buying process as smooth and compelling as possible.
Here are the top strategies we use at Artisan to close deals:
Personalized demos tailored to the lead’s specific pain points
Custom pricing offers or limited-time incentives
Direct sales calls to answer remaining questions and handle objections
Strong, clear calls to action (CTAs) that guide leads toward conversion
Don’t Give Up on Tech
Continue using tools to streamline scheduling, follow-ups, and even proposal delivery. The more you automate, the smaller the chances you’ll miss a potential paying customer when they’re ready to convert.
Take scheduling, for example. Instead of going back and forth via email, just send over a calendar link. Tools like Calendly let leads pick a time that works, send reminders, and keep everything synced to your calendar. It saves time for both sides and makes it easier for someone to follow through when they’re ready.
Types of Digital Sales Funnels
Beyond outbound sales, funnels can take many forms. They can start at very different points and follow different paths. But they all aim for the same outcome: driving sales.
Here are the main types of digital funnels and what they’re best for.
Lead Magnet Funnel
Example: Blog → Guide Download → Email Nurture → Discovery Call
This funnel is best when you have a strong inbound digital marketing strategy that’s driving people to your website. It helps you turn that traffic into leads and then into loyal customers.
Webinar Funnel
Example: Ad → Registration → Live Webinar/Replay → Email Follow-up → Demo
This is a great option if you don’t have a blog or content engine but still want to build trust. You can use one-off events like webinars to educate, show credibility, and move people further down the funnel.
Product Launch Funnel
Example: Waitlist → Live Demo → Limited-Time Offer
This type is perfect for launching something new. This type of funnel helps you build buzz, test demand, and collect a list of interested customers before your launch goes live.
Tripwire Funnel
Example: Low-Cost Offer → Core Product → Upsell Sequence
This funnel is useful when you offer multiple pricing tiers. Start with a low-commitment offer to build momentum, then upsell those who see value and are ready for the next level.
Сommon Funnel Gaps (and How to Fix Them)
Building a solid funnel takes trial and error. So when things don’t go as planned early on, that’s normal. But it helps to know where to look.
Here are some of the most common “break-downs” across the funnel and how to fix them.
Drop-offs at TOFU
You’re putting in the work to prospect, but no one’s biting.
Usually, it comes down to three things:
You’re targeting the wrong people
Your messaging isn’t resonating
Or… no one’s actually seeing it
Here’s how to fix drop-offs at TOFU:
Revisit Your ICP and Layer in Intent Data
Your ICP might look great on paper, but if the companies or personas you’re reaching out to aren’t actually in-market or feeling the pain your product solves, your outreach won’t land.
Layer in intent data to identify companies showing signs they might be in-market—like recent funding, tech stack changes, or job openings related to your product.
A/B Test Your Messaging (and Your Approach)
Try different angles, tones, and formats. You can also experiment with content types, like webinars vs. free tools.
Just don’t test everything at once. Change one thing at a time and send it to a big enough group so you can tell what’s actually working.
Mix Your Channels
Most people are overwhelmed by cold messages, so showing up in more than one place helps build recognition. Try a LinkedIn connection request after the first email, or a soft touch like engaging with their posts before reaching out.
Mind the Timing
Try reaching out earlier in the week or at different times of day. You can also adjust the spacing between touches. Too frequent, and you’ll get ignored; too spread out, and you’ll be forgotten.
No Progression from MOFU
You’ve made contact, the lead opened your email campaign and even responded once.
Then…nothing.
This usually happens because:
You’re not following up consistently
What you’re sharing isn’t relevant or helpful
There’s no clear next step
Here’s how to fix no progression from MOFU:
Create a Follow-Up Rhythm
Most conversions take more (way more) than one touchpoint. Use automation tools and establish a steady cadence to stay consistent without becoming annoying.
Deliver Value at Every Touchpoint
Think about what someone in the evaluation phase would find useful. Try case studies, ROI breakdowns, competitor comparisons—anything that helps them move closer to a decision.
And Always Offer a Next Step
Even if it’s soft, give your lead something to do. After every interaction, ask if they want to book a quick call, check out a demo, or read a guide.
Lost Deals at BOFU
Some leads were ready to buy…but didn’t.
Here are the reasons this usually happens:
Weak or confusing CTAs
Long decision-making processes
No urgency to act now
Here’s how to fix lost deals at BOFU:
Make the Next Step Obvious
Use one strong, clear CTA, not three. Avoid generic lines like “Let me know what you think” and be direct. “Grab time on my calendar” and “Start your free trial” are good examples.
Remove Friction
Use tools like scheduling links, pre-filled forms, or click-to-sign proposals to cut down steps.
The less effort it takes to say “yes,” the better.
Add Urgency (Without Being Pushy)
Offer a limited-time bonus, highlight upcoming price changes, or show how much time leads are losing by waiting.
The Funnel Building Blocks You Need
A solid digital sales funnel is a system made up of strategic building blocks.
Strong Lead Magnets & Landing Pages
Goal: Attract and capture qualified leads.
An inbound funnel usually starts with a compelling lead magnet delivered through a clean, conversion-focused landing page.
But you don’t have to limit lead magnets to inbound.
In outbound funnels, you can use the same valuable content to warm up cold leads. Instead of a pitch, try opening your conversations with a useful guide or resource.
What makes a strong lead magnet?
Simplicity and specificity. Checklists, swipe files, templates, cheat sheets, or quick-win guides—not bloated eBooks or vague whitepapers.
To create a good landing page, follow these simple tips:
Keep it simple: No header menus, no distractions
Highlight the benefit: What outcome will the reader get?
Use one strong CTA: Don’t confuse with too many options
Add light social proof: A testimonial, user stat, or credibility booster (like “Used by 2,000+ founders”)
Email Sequences and Nurture Flows
Goal: Move leads from interest to conversion.
Next, you need an automated follow-up system that continues the conversation based on where they are in the funnel.
A good rule of thumb is to keep your initial sequence to 5–7 emails. But don’t be afraid to go beyond that—sometimes it takes as many as 11–15 to get a reply.
This Redditor has the right idea:
Make your outreach smarter with behavior-based logic:
If they click your CTA → move them to a higher-intent sequence.
If they ignore 3 or more emails → send a re-engagement nudge.
If they visit your pricing page → send a testimonial or a gentle reminder to try a free trial.
You can set up such rule-based sequences with tools like ActiveCampaign, HubSpot, and Mailmodo.
Retargeting, Social Proof & Trust Signals
Goal: Reduce friction and build trust.
Email gets you in front of your prospect, but whether they respond or not comes down to their judgment. That’s why your trust signals need to back up your outreach. Social proof, brand familiarity, and credibility cues all help tip the scale in your favor.
Your recipient is likely thinking something along the lines of “I’ve seen this brand before… and now they’re in my inbox. Let’s see what they’re about.”
Or maybe they open your email and click through to your site—that’s the moment your social proof (like testimonials, logos, and user-generated content) needs to kick in and reassure them you’re legit.
Here’s how you can bring your lead gen, outreach, and retargeting together in one funnel:
Viewed your pricing page? Show a testimonial ad.
Watched a webinar? Retarget with a free cheatsheet.
Opened your last email several times but hasn’t responded? Offer a discount.
And don’t forget to add the following trust signals to your website and landing pages:
Customer logos
Short testimonials with headshots
Video clips or user-generated content
Star ratings or third-party reviews (like G2, Capterra)
How to Quickly Build a Funnel from Scratch
Whether you're starting from zero or cleaning up a messy funnel, the foundational process always stays the same.
1. Define Your Buyer Personas
You need a very clear picture of who you’re actually trying to reach.
Start by answering these questions:
Who are your best-fit buyers?
Who are the decision-makers, influencers, and end users at your target organization?
What problems are they trying to solve?
How are they engaging with your content and ads?
What triggers their buying decisions? (This is where intent data will come in handy.)
Once you’ve answered these questions, plug the answers into your targeting filters.
Use them to build your ideal customer profile in your CRM or prospecting tool and go beyond the basics. Instead of just “Head of Sales at B2B SaaS,” layer in buying triggers (like funding events) and behavioral data (like recent content engagement).
2. Choose One to Two Channels per Stage
One of the biggest mistakes sales reps make is trying to be everywhere at once: LinkedIn, email, webinars, SEO, paid ads, TikTok.
Narrow it down. Focus on one to two channels per funnel stage so you can show up consistently.
Most importantly, avoid picking channels just because they’re “standard” for your industry—pick them based on where you know your buyers spend their time.
Let’s say your decision-makers are B2B marketing leaders in their mid-thirties. They’re experienced enough to lead a buying process but still skeptical of anything that feels too “salesy.”
They do research on their phones between meetings, talk to peers in Slack communities, rely on word-of-mouth, but they also don’t shy away from memes on Instagram, lengthy threads on X, and shorts on YouTube.
In this example, when you’re choosing your funnel channels, don’t just default to B2B = LinkedIn. Yes, LinkedIn might be where they work, but it’s not always where they engage.
The channels that feel less traditionally B2B (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube Shorts) might actually give you more white space to show up in unexpected, memorable ways, especially at the TOFU stage.
3. Create One Solid Funnel Path First
There are so many paths you can build, even in an outbound funnel. You can drive people into TOFU through cold emails, sales calls, account-based marketing, paid lead lists, content marketing, and more. And then there are all the ways of setting up MOFU and BOFU stages.
But you need to choose and stick to one path at the beginning.
You could drive people into TOFU through a referral loop, an email marketing campaign, a referral program, or cold calls, for example.
But if you try to build everything at once, it’ll be a mess. Start with one clear, simple path from discovery to conversion.
Like this one:
Cold email → Landing page → Lead magnet download → Nurture emails → Sales call → Close
Once that’s up and running, you can expand by adding new entry points, splitting by persona, experimenting with content formats, and so on.
4. Automate and Test
Once your funnel path is in place, don’t waste time doing everything manually.
Use tools to automate key parts of the process:
Email sequences
Lead scoring & qualification
CRM updates
Website visitor tracking
Meeting scheduling
For example, you can use your CRM to auto-assign leads based on score, or trigger a follow-up email when someone clicks a pricing link.
Then, test what’s actually working. Where are people dropping off? Which emails get replies? Which landing pages convert?
Look at the data, tweak one thing at a time, and give it enough time to see real results.
Often, an all-in-one platform will be the most efficient, cost-effective option. A tool like Artisan combines multiple features, including prospecting, lead research, message personalization, scoring, and follow-up.
Scaling the Funnel Without Scaling the Team
What works when you’re managing a few dozen leads quickly starts to fall apart when you’re handling hundreds.
Follow-ups get missed. Warm leads go cold. Your CRM turns into a mess. And hiring more SDRs to fix that isn’t always practical. It’s expensive, takes time, and still leaves room for things to go wrong.
Instead of adding five new reps just to manage lead generation and nurturing, you can set up a system that handles this automatically. AI BDR Ava identifies and prioritizes leads based on intent signals, enriches contact information, and sends highly personalized outreach—which is not only faster than manual prospecting but also much more accurate.
