If you run an online business, chances are you’re familiar with the concept of a sales funnel. This is the process that guides prospects through stages from awareness to purchase.
But what about the “shadow” sales funnel? This refers to what happens after prospects leave your main funnel – and it could seriously impact your revenue.
What is the Shadow Funnel?
Your primary sales funnel likely converts only a small percentage of visitors into buyers on the first pass. For example, an online course may convert 5% of webinar registrants into customers.
What happens to the other 95% who don’t purchase? Often, they will go do additional research before deciding. This typically involves searching for reviews, looking up the company or product, and trying to validate the offer.
This is the “shadow” sales funnel, and it remains unseen by most businesses. The problem is, if you don’t control what prospects find during this research stage, you risk losing their sale altogether.
How It Impacts Revenue
Imagine someone attends your webinar but doesn’t purchase right away. They Google your course name and find a negative review. They may decide your offering isn’t trustworthy and pass altogether.
On the other hand, if your shadow funnel nourishes prospects with social proof, customer success stories, demo videos, etc., they’ll gain the confidence to complete the purchase.
If you aren’t optimizing the shadow funnel, you could be leaking 30-50% of potential sales revenue. But apply the right strategy, and you can recapture a tremendous amount of lost buys.
Capturing the Shadow Funnel
So how do you take control of this hidden funnel? The solution is implementing a “funnel hub” on your website.
Unlike a normal website, a funnel hub is designed specifically to build trust and address customer concerns during their research phase. It acts as an extension of your primary funnel, guiding visitors back into the sales process.
A funnel hub allows you to control the messaging prospects see at this critical point. The result? More leads converted and revenue captured from what was previously a sales black hole.
Shedding light on the shadow funnel and optimizing it with a funnel hub could completely transform your business growth. Don’t let sales fall into the dark when there’s an opportunity to illuminate the entire path to purchase.
