Online sales and sales funnels these days are synonymous with "digital marketing".

When most folks hear of these terms they think of online funnels, online ads, Instagram ads, Facebook ads, click through rates, online lead generation and those sorts of things.

The idea behind online funnels is to create massive awareness and interest around your product or service.

From the awareness created, the goal is to keep funnelling people through "calls to action" and critical next steps which provide us cues as to who is merely curious, and those who have acute needs or problems that our product or service can solve.

The further down people move in the funnel, the more likely they are to have a "sales conversation" with an actual person who can "seal the deal" or "close the sale".

This final "sales conversation" doesn't have to be over the phone, infact most marketing practitioners would prefer to automate the whole process, or engage over email.

An example of this sales funnel would be to create content online like "20 reasons why a Google ChromeBook is greater than the latest Apple Air Book".

The goal of this kind of content is to get people interested who might be in the market for a new computer.

Anyone who clicks on the article link is providing positive cues that they're interested in the subject matter.

Anyone who from this page provides a valid email address to receive notifications on offers and promotions for laptop models is also providing evidence to us that they may be interested in buying a laptop anytime soon if the price is right.

Also anyone further in this subset who clicks on a link in one of the emails that says "click here to see how your current computer compares to the Lenovo XYZ 2023" might have "strong intent" and be ready to buy a computer now.

The final link in the email series could be a link to the website to "buy now" or a link to schedule a call with an attendant who will help them find the right computer for them.

That essentially is a sales funnel!

Online internet traffic is "funnelled" through specific steps to filter out the “curious” from those who are acutely interested and ready to take the next step.

Personal selling on the other hand is a collection of techniques and principles that help guide a business owner through having individual and tailored conversations with people "one on one" who are ready to make a buying decision.

Sales funnels and digital marketing brings everyone to the door or to the website. Personal selling helps you convert all that online or physical "traffic" into paying customers.

Which part is more important for business development?

They both are!

Each one serves its own function in its time, its place, and its own unique context.

Sales funnels and digital traffic are "one to many" to appeal to the masses while personal selling is "one on one" to appeal to the individual whom you're currently having a conversation with.. whether via phone, text, or video.

If you're interested in these sorts of debates, subscribe for free to the show SALES FOR THE NIGERIAN BUSINESS PERSON PODCAST on SPOTIFY/ GOOGLE/ APPLE ITUNES/ POCKET CASTS/ OVERCAST or any podcast player of your choice.

Remember also to connect with me on LinkedIn because I really love hearing from you guys. The name to search for in either app is TAVERSHIMA AYEDE. The name of the show is Sales for the Nigerian Business Person Podcast.

Don't bother looking for me on Instagram and TikTok because I hardly spend any time on them these days.

The old videos are still up though just in case you're curious.

I'll catch you guys in the next post.