![\"Download](\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/53\/12501f7c-8e26-4e3c-9642-7afbe078156a.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nI was generating leads, but they were cold, scattered, and disengaged. My reply rates were low. My demos were rushed. My pipeline felt bloated with names that had no business being there. At the time, I thought I had a traffic problem. What I really had was a journey<\/em> problem.<\/p>\n That experience taught me something I\u2019ve never forgotten: a sales funnel isn\u2019t just a sequence. It\u2019s a story that the buyer walks through step by step. And if that story doesn\u2019t make sense, nothing moves.<\/p>\n Since then, I\u2019ve built customer journeys that do<\/em> work. These journeys have generated 335 meetings, closed $287K in a startup from scratch, and helped drive $40 million in enterprise deals across multiple continents and industries. Here\u2019s what it really takes to build a customer journey sales funnel that works \u2014 not just in theory, but in the trenches.<\/p>\n Table of Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n A customer journey funnel is the structured path your ideal buyer takes from problem-aware<\/strong> to solution-ready<\/strong>, guided by intentional, relevant, and timely sales and marketing touchpoints. It\u2019s not just about activity. It\u2019s about alignment<\/em>. Between your message and their moment. Between their pain and your solution.<\/p>\n Done right, you don\u2019t just have a funnel. You get a filter that separates interest from intent and awareness from action.<\/p>\n Over the past 17 years, I\u2019ve built these funnels from scratch. I\u2019ve over 656,000 emails, making 11,519 cold calls, booking 335 meetings, and closing over $406,000 in new business in startup environments alone. I\u2019ve also led multimillion-dollar sales cycles in enterprise, driving $40 million in revenue.<\/p>\n What I\u2019ve learned across every region is this: The best funnels don\u2019t push<\/em>. They guide<\/em>.<\/p>\n They anticipate objections. They layer credibility. They move buyers forward through a mix of logic and emotion, urgency and trust. A good funnel builds context. A great one builds momentum.<\/p>\n And the secret? It\u2019s never just about the tool you\u2019re using. It\u2019s about how every touchpoint speaks to a deeper moment in the buyer\u2019s world.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why I always approach funnels like a strategist, not just a seller. Whether I\u2019m mapping outreach for SaaS in North America or building a consultative sequence for real estate in LATAM, I don\u2019t start with \u201cWhat should we send?\u201d I start with \u201cWhat should the buyer feel<\/em> next?\u201d<\/p>\n Because that\u2019s how you turn a lead into a conversation.<\/p>\n A conversation into a commitment.<\/p>\n And a funnel into real revenue.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n A lot of teams think a customer journey funnel is just a marketing thing. It\u2019s not. When done right, it becomes a sales accelerator<\/strong>. It brings clarity, reduces wasted effort, and creates real movement in the pipeline.<\/p>\n In my experience, the impact isn\u2019t just visible in conversions. It shows up in morale, in consistency, and in confidence. Let me break it down.<\/p>\n In outbound sales, the line between motion and progress is blurry. Reps might be doing a lot \u2014 sending emails, making cold calls, booking meetings \u2014 but if those actions aren\u2019t tied to a clear journey, they\u2019re just noise.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve seen this firsthand. Earlier in my career, I was generating leads but losing deals in the middle of the funnel. Why? Because the buyer wasn\u2019t ready. My messaging didn\u2019t match their awareness stage.<\/p>\n When I shifted to a journey-first funnel, where each stage had a clear intent, I saw my conversion rate jump.<\/p>\n From 335 meetings booked, I turned 69.1% into SQLs. That didn\u2019t happen by chance. That happened because the funnel did the heavy lifting of alignment before the meeting ever took place.<\/p>\n And, that alignment reduced wasted energy. It gave me, and the teams I coach, a roadmap. Not just what<\/em> to do next but why<\/em>.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s be real: Personalization isn\u2019t about using the first name or referencing the company\u2019s LinkedIn post. It\u2019s about making sure the message matches the moment<\/em> the buyer is in.<\/p>\n With a strong funnel in place, reps stop guessing what to say. They start knowing<\/em> what the buyer needs at each step.<\/p>\n For example, in the Awareness stage, I use insights like recent funding rounds or job changes to spark curiosity. In the Evaluation stage, I share tailored case studies or objection-busting content.<\/p>\n Because I track every touchpoint, I\u2019ve been able to A\/B test what works. I\u2019ve seen how stage-specific messaging gets more engagement, more responses, and better meetings.<\/p>\n As sales strategist and author Aaron Ross once said, \u201cThe more predictable your system, the more scalable your results.\u201d<\/p>\n Funnels give you that system.<\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing worse than getting a \u201cyes\u201d on the phone \u2026 only for the prospect to ghost you. I\u2019ve been there.<\/p>\n But, here\u2019s what changed everything: When I used my funnel to educate before<\/em> the meeting, I saw my no-show rate drop under 18%.<\/p>\n Why? Because the prospect wasn\u2019t just booking. They were buying into<\/em> the journey. They had context. They knew what to expect. And, when people understand the next step, they\u2019re more likely to take it.<\/p>\n One thing I teach founders and SDRs I coach is this: If your funnel doesn\u2019t build momentum<\/em> between touchpoints, it\u2019s not a funnel. It\u2019s a leaky pipe.<\/p>\n When your journey is built right, each stage deepens the relationship. You go from \u201cjust another call\u201d to \u201cthis is part of something that makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n When I\u2019m onboarding a new rep or training a founder who\u2019s doing their own outreach, the first thing I look for is this: Do they have a customer journey they can follow, or are they winging it?<\/strong><\/p>\n Without a funnel, every rep invents their own process. That creates inconsistency. It\u2019s hard to scale. It\u2019s hard to coach. And, it makes performance unpredictable.<\/p>\n But with a funnel? Now we\u2019re speaking the same language.<\/p>\n I can say, \u201cHere\u2019s how we warm up cold accounts,\u201d or \u201cHere\u2019s the content you send after a demo.\u201d I can train new hires faster. I can spot drop-off points. I can plug leaks.<\/p>\n It\u2019s like giving someone a GPS instead of telling them to \u201chead north and figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, a study by CSO Insights<\/a> found that companies with a formalized sales process, including mapped buyer journeys, saw an 18% higher revenue growth rate than those without.<\/p>\n Structure wins. Every time.<\/p>\n This is the core of everything: we need to sell the way people want to buy, not the way we want to sell.<\/p>\n And buyers today? They\u2019re smarter. Busier. More skeptical. They don\u2019t want to be rushed. They want to be led.<\/p>\n Funnels respect that.<\/p>\n They allow sales teams to meet the buyer where they are, not where we wish they were.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve sold across five continents \u2014 from fast-paced SaaS in the U.S. to relationship-first business in Brazil, to enterprise deals in the Middle East. One thing remains true: the buyer\u2019s journey might look different on the surface, but the psychology underneath is always human.<\/p>\n When you build a funnel that\u2019s flexible enough to adapt but structured enough to scale, you\u2019re not just improving KPIs. You\u2019re building trust.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n I\u2019ve built funnels that generated 335 booked meetings and over $406K in revenue in early-stage companies. I\u2019ve also helped enterprise teams turn outdated processes into scalable journeys. Here\u2019s the truth: you don\u2019t need a fancy system to start.<\/p>\n You need a clear customer journey, a few key tools, and a commitment to thinking like the buyer<\/em>. Here\u2019s how I do it, step by step.<\/p>\n I start by asking: Where is my buyer right now in their decision process?<\/em><\/p>\n Most sales funnels fail because they assume the buyer is ready when they\u2019re actually just curious<\/em>. So, I built my journey around five stages:<\/p>\n By mapping the journey first, I make sure every email, call, and follow-up is tailored to the stage<\/em>, not just the persona<\/em>.<\/p>\n As Jill Rowley once said, \u201cIf you want to be interesting, be interested.\u201d<\/p>\n I apply that by asking smarter questions early, so I can learn where the buyer is and match my messaging to it.<\/p>\n Once I know the stage, I write messaging that meets the buyer there.<\/p>\n In Awareness, I don\u2019t pitch. I empathize. In Evaluation, I don\u2019t educate. I differentiate.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how I approach it:<\/p>\n A real funnel isn\u2019t a sequence. It\u2019s a system<\/em>. That means connecting touchpoints across channels. I use:<\/p>\n I don\u2019t rely on just one. I orchestrate them. And when I did this consistently across 656,150 emails and 11,519 cold calls, I saw higher reply rates, stronger discovery calls, and fewer no-shows (my no-show rate dropped under 18%).<\/p>\n\n
\n
What is a customer journey funnel?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Why Customer Journey Funnels Benefit Sales Teams<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"why](\"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/customer-journey-sales-funnel-2-20250723-2707976.webp\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n1. Funnels turn chaos into clarity.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2. Funnels improve personalization at scale.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
3. Funnels reduce no-shows and strengthen commitment.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
4. Funnels make onboarding and coaching easier.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
5. Funnels help you sell the way people buy.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
How to Build a Customer Journey Funnel<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"how](\"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/customer-journey-sales-funnel-3-20250723-4462773.webp\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\nStep 1: Map the stages of awareness.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
Step 2: Align messaging with each stage.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
I use frameworks like \u201cAssume the Close\u201d and \u201cMutual Action Plans.\u201d<\/li>\nStep 3: Connect channels into a seamless flow.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
![\"tips](\"http:\/\/nurseagence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/customer-journey-sales-funnel-4-20250723-2421462.webp\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n