Sales Funnel: Definition, Meaning & Guide for Indian Businesses

A sales funnel is the staged journey from awareness to purchase: visitor → lead → MQL → SQL → opportunity → customer. Drop-off is measured at each stage.

What is Sales Funnel?

Every business has a funnel even if it doesn't track one. The classic stages: Awareness (visitor sees your name), Interest (visits website), Consideration (downloads / signs up), Intent (asks for demo / pricing), Evaluation (POC), Purchase (becomes customer), Advocacy (refers others). Each stage has a measurable conversion rate. The 'leakiest' stage is your biggest opportunity. For Indian SMB SaaS, Visit → Signup typically has the biggest leak (95%+ drop). Funnel maps tell you WHERE to invest copy, design, support effort.