21 Types of Sales Funnels (With Visual Examples)
Did you know there are multiple types of sales funnels to choose from? Some might have thought that all sales funnels are the same, but that’s not the case.
When marketing your business online you can choose between several types of funnels. From automated webinar funnels to application funnels and everything in between.
You need to recognize your business goals and decide what kind of actions you need your funnel to do.
The options are many, but what kind of funnel should you use? Keep reading to learn what type of sales funnel you should launch.
Disclaimer: This article may contain affiliate links where I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you decide to purchase a paid plan. For more information read my Disclosure.
What Are The Types of Sales Funnels?
Before we jump into the 21 sales funnel examples, you need to know the 3 core types of funnels. Each of the funnels listed below can be placed in one of these types of funnels.
Marketing funnels are divided into three main categories:
- Lead Funnels
- Byer Funnels
- Event Funnels
- Other Funnels
Each of these funnel types have different actions and goals.
Lead funnels are used to generate contact information such as email addresses, phone numbers etc. They’re simple funnels with the only intent to generate leads so you can grow your email list and connect with your future customers.
Byer funnels are traditional sales funnels used to generate sales online. These funnels have integrated shopping carts, One Click Upsells, Downsells and more features used to get your traffic to pay inside the funnel.
Event funnels are used to host webinars, workshops, automated webinars etc. These types of funnels are great to use if you’re going to promote your product to a larger audience at once.
We also have funnels that not really fit inside any of the categories above, they’re are placed inside other funnels. Example: Summit funnels and Storefront Funnels.
When you know what kind of funnel you need for your business, let’s move on. Here are the 21 types of funnels you can utilize to generate more leads, sales and fans.
1) Squeeze Page Funnel
- Type: Lead Funnel
- Pages: 2
- Time To Build: 30 Minutes
A Squeeze page Funnel consists of 2 pages and is used to give something for free in exchange for contact information such as an email address. On page one (the squeeze page), you hook your visitors with an attention-grabbing headline and get them to fill out the opt-in form. When they submit, they’re sent to page number two, the thank you page. On the Thank You page you deliver what you promised, then you have the option to send them to another funnel.
The only goal of a Squeeze page funnel is to get your visitors to give you their email addresses. To maximize the opt-in rate you should keep it very simple and create an interesting headline. There are no distractions on a Squeeze page because you want your visitors to enter their email addresses and submit the form without doing anything else.
2) Reverse Squeeze Page Funnel
- Type: Lead Funnel
- Pages: 2
- Time To Build: 30 Minutes
The Reverse Squeeze Page funnel is used to generate leads with the method ”give before you take”. It is very similar to a squeeze page funnel, but you’re giving value before your visitors opt-in.
On the first page of the Reverse Squeeze Page funnel you give your visitors something free and valuable. This could be a tutorial or a how-to guide etc. When you’ve given value, you can ask them to ”optin for more” information on the topic. After they’ve opted in, they’ll be taken to the Thank You page where you give them what you promised.
The opt-in rate of a reverse squeeze page funnel might be a bit lower than with a standard squeeze page funnel, but the leads you generate will be of higher quality.
3) Lead Magnet Funnel
- Type: Lead Funnel
- Pages: 2
- Time To Build: 30 Minutes
The Lead Magnet Funnel is very similar to the other lead funnels, except here you’re giving away a lead magnet in exchange for their email address. The lead magnet could be a free course, checklist, templates, swipe files etc. Anything that you can trade for an email address.
On the first page of the Lead Magnet funnel you pitch your visitors on the lead magnet you’re giving them for free. When they see the value you’re providing, they’ll optin on the page. After that, they’re sent to the Thank You page where you give them the lead magnet.
4) Bridge Funnel (Affiliate Funnel)
- Type: Lead Funnel
- Pages: 2
- Time To Build: 30 Minutes
A Bridge Funnel is often used by affiliate marketers to pre-sell their visitors before sending them to a sales page they don’t control. The goal of a bridge funnel is to collect email addresses and pre-sell affiliate products.
This funnel type is used to connect a person with a product. Here’s how it works. Your traffic lands on the opt-in page where you collect their email address. Then they are sent to the bridge page where you pre-sell your affiliate product and talk about the benefits of getting it. When you’re done pre-framing the affiliate product, your leads are sent to the sales page.
If you are an affiliate marketer looking to increase affiliate sales, then using a bridge funnel will help you get there.
5) Survey Funnel
- Type: Lead Funnel
- Pages: 1
- Time To Build: 15 Minutes
The goal of a Survey Funnel is to figure out who your visitors are, then send them to a buyer funnel with a sales message based on who they are. In the survey, you ask your visitors simple questions which they can select the right one for them. When the survey is done, you ask for their email address then send them to a new funnel.
The survey funnel has multiple benefits because you get to know your visitors, and each question answered is a new micro commitment made, which increases the chance of converting them into customers.
6) Application Funnel
- Type: Lead Funnel
- Pages: 3
- Time To Build: 45 Minutes
An Application funnel is used to generate super high-quality leads. This funnel can be used by agencies or companies selling high-end coaching or consulting. Potential clients must ”apply” to become a client. This ensures that you only work with serious people. The application funnel could also be used for other jobs.
7) Ask Campaign Funnel
- Type: Lead Funnel
- Pages: 2
- Time To Build: 30 Minutes
An Ask Campaign Funnel is used to find out what your customers really want. If you have an existing email list or following you could set up an ask campaign funnel and ask your following what problems they have and what they want. Then you could go and create a product that solves their problems and fulfill their desires.
Typically, the open-ended question is phrased, “What’s Your #1 Question/Challenge With XYZ?
This is a great way of learning what the people in your industry want from you. When you know that, you just need to create the desired product and sell it.
8) 2-Step Tripwire Funnel
- Type: Byer Funnel
- Pages: 4
- Time To Build: 1 Hour
The 2-step tripwire funnel is used to sell your low-ticket offers first, then upsell other products further down the funnel. A Tripwire is a low-ticket front-end product that is so irresistible people have to purchase it. It could be as cheap as $5-$7. After they put in their credit card, you can then upsell them your more expensive products through Order Form Bumps and One Click Upsells or Downsales.
This sales funnel gets its name from the two-step order process on the sales page. First, you ask your visitors to submit their contact information and shipping address. Then on the next page (step 2), they’re asked to enter their billing information. If they decide not to buy on step number 2, you still have their contact information.
The goal of this funnel is to breakeven on ad-spend, then ascend paying
customers to higher-ticket offers on the Thank You Page.
9) Video Sales Letter Funnel
- Type: Byer Funnel
- Pages: 4
- Time To Build: 1 Hour
A video sales letter funnel will use a video to sell your product or service. This has a potentially higher conversion rate because videos tend to sell better than written content.
The VSL funnel includes the order form on the sales page, where you also have the chance to add order bumps to increase cart value. After your customers have bought the product they’ll be sent to various pages where they are presented with new offers. The One-Click-Upsell and Downsell pages increase your profits so you could outspend your competitors on ads.
The sales funnel ends with an Offer Wall page where you promote related products.
10) Sales Letter Funnel
- Type: Byer Funnel
- Pages: 4
- Time To Build: 1 Hour
A Sales Letter Funnel uses a long-form sales letter to sell your product or service. This works well if you don’t have a video to use on your sales page.
The sales letter funnel is very similar to the VSL funnel, the only difference is that we don’t use a video on the sales page. Other than that, everything is pretty much the same. Your visitors enter the sales page and after they’ve purchased they’re sent to One-Click-Upsell and Downsell pages to increase the average cart value.
This funnel type could also be used with one of the lead funnels listed above.
11) Membership Funnel (Site)
- Type: Byer Funnel
- Pages: 4
- Time To Build: 1 Hour
The goal of a membership funnel is to sell people into membership sites, paid newsletters, digital courses, and more. You could use different methods to sell your membership site, for example using a VSL funnel or webinar funnel.
On the first page of the funnel, you could offer a free trial or tripwire, then upsell them further down the process. Your visitors are basically buying and unlocking content on your membership site. When they’ve gone through the funnel and landed on the Thank You page, you give them the chance to create their account on your membership site. Content unlocks based on the user’s specific purchases. Access to the membership site could be a one-time payment or a monthly fee, it’s all up to you.
12) Daily Deal Funnel
- Type: Byer Funel
- Pages: 2
- Time To Build: 30 Minutes
The Daily Deal funnel is a cool one. The goal of this funnel is to get new customers in the door with an irresistible offer. It’s like black Friday every week. You could take one of your products and quickly create an offer, and run it as an evergreen campaign to consistently drive new people into your business.
On the first page, you sell an irresistible offer, that could be a product or service of yours on discount or maybe something else. On the Thank You page you should encourage your customers to share the same deal with their friends.
13) Invisible Funnel
- Type: Event Funnel
- Pages: 3
- Time To Build: 45 Minutes
The goal of an Invisible Funnel is to give first and take after. You give a lot of free value upfront, and only charge if the customer liked what they received. Although it’s totally free to attend your training, your visitors register their seats after a Video Sales Letter on the first page by entering their billing information, even though no money is charged.
After the first page, they’ll be presented with more offers on the Upsell and Downsell pages. If your customers liked the free training they’re told to “do nothing, and your credit card will be billed in two days. If you didn’t like the training, just let me know and we won’t bill you at all.”
People will be glad to pay for the value you give them, so make sure you give them what they need (and want).
14) Webinar Funnel
- Type: Event Funnel
- Pages: 4
- Time To Build: 1 Hour
The goal of a Webinar Funnel is to close potential customers at a higher price point. Most webinars are at least 1 hour long, which gives you the time to address false beliefs among the customers, to pitch them on your offer.
Using a webinar funnel is a great way of closing your high-ticket offers, with a price around $250-$2,000, any higher than that and you might want to get on the phone to close the sale.
The webinar funnel is divided into two parts. During the first phase, you build curiosity and get people to register for the event with an email address. Here you could also include social proof to show that your message is working for others.
In the next phase, you’re hosting the webinar. Usually, live webinars are hosted on the 3rd service like Go-To-Webinar or Zoom. While your visitors watch the webinar or a replay, the window to buy your product starts to close, to create true scarcity and urgency.
15) Auto Webinar Funnel
- Type: Event Funnel
- Pages: 5
- Time To Build: 1.25 Hours
The goal of an Auto webinar Funnel is to automate the sales process and sell your high-ticket offers. After you’ve done a couple of live webinars and found out which of them had the highest conversion rate, you could take that webinar and create an auto webinar funnel. Upload the video to YouTube or Vimeo and embed it on a ”Webinar Broadcast Page”.
Auto webinars can play every hour of the day selling your products or service for you. It’s like having a salesman closing sales for you 24/7 without ever taking a break or asking for a promotion. Hope you see the power of an automated webinar funnel.
16) Product Launch Funnel
- Type: Event Funnel
- Pages: 4
- Time To Build: 1 Hour
The goal of a Product Launch Funnel is to let an entrepreneur build anticipation before a customer is allowed to buy the product.
It’s similar to Hollywood releasing a new movie and launching trailers etc. Small teasers and previews are usually sent to the customers a few days ahead of the launch to build interest in what’s to come.
This works extremely well when launching a new product. You could also do this without a previous customer base. One of the defining features of the product launch funnel is closing the cart after a few days. This makes your products more valuable and sought.
17) Hero Funnel
- Type: Other Funnels
- Pages: 2
- Time To Build: 30 Minutes
A Hero Funnel is used to promote the entrepreneur. It’s basically an about page dedicated to telling who you are and what you do.
In the hero funnel, you could get people to opt-in to your email list to learn more about what you do and follow you on social media. A great example of this type of funnel is Russell Brunson’s hero funnel.
Go and take a look at it to see what it should look like. It’s simply a page where you can let people know more about you, then redirect them to the funnels you want. You also want to include a call-to-action on this page, as on every other funnel.
It could be an opt-in form, contact form, or information about how people can work with you.
18) Homepage Funnel
- Type: Other Funnels
- Pages: 2
- Time To Build: 30 Minutes
The Home Page Funnels is the closest thing you come to having a website while using a funnel builder. But unlike a normal website, you could turn it into a lead funnel, to capture leads.
The first page tells the story of your business and invites the visitors to opt-in. You could write about the features your business provides and include some of your most popular products on the front page.
The home page funnel works like a website that redirects your visitors to the funnels you want them in. An example of a Hero Page Funnel is Clickfunnels Home Page.
19) Storefront Funnel
- Type: Other Funnels
- Pages: 1
- Time To Build: 15 Minutes
The Storefront funnel is similar to an eCommerce website, but it’s a lot more powerful. It’s a single page with all of your products on it.
When a visitor clicks on one of the products, they’re sent to a sales funnel selling that product and more related offers. You could combine the storefront funnel with all the other funnel types and redirect the traffic into webinar funnels, 2-step tripwire funnels, membership sites etc. The options are many.
20) Summit Funnel
- Type: Other Funnels
- Pages: 3
- Time To Build: 45 Minutes
The Summit Funnel works like putting together an online summit of interviews with authority figures in your industry. This is a great way of giving value and building recognition in your industry.
You let people register for the summit for free, and then potentially upsell them on the recordings or other products of yours. It’s a great way to build your list and increase your reach.
On the sales letter page, you pitch your visitors on the summit and include a short paragraph about each person. On the registration page, you could include an image of each person. The upsell would include offering the recordings of the event, and then on the Share Page, I’d get them to invite their friends to the event. An example of a Summit Funnel is the 30-day summit by Clickfunnels.
21) Live Demo Funnel
- Type: Other Funnels
- Pages: 2
- Time To Build: 30 Minutes
The goal of a Live Demo Funnel is to show your product by simply using it in front of your audience.
If you do the demo live, you have the chance to answer questions and concerns about the product. This is a great way of teaching people how to use your product and remind them where they can get it. You could also do a demo and upload the video to your Hero Page Funnel. An great example of the live demo funnel can be found at www.funnelfridays.com
What Do These Funnel Types Have In Common?
After studying the 21 funnel types above, you might have noticed that there are a few things that are repeating. No matter which funnel you choose, you’ll always collect email addresses. That’s because email marketing is one of the most important marketing platforms for businesses all over the world.
Another thing that’s worth talking about is that each sales funnel provides upsells, down sales and One-Time-Offers. That’s because these pages help the business increase the average cart value of each customer that goes through the funnel. This is a massively important factor if your business runs paid advertising.
The last thing I want to bring up is that many of the funnel types above are designed to integrate with each other. It’s all about finding out which funnel you could send your visitors to next because your business will be much more successful if you combine the right funnels. Example sending your traffic to a lead magnet funnel, then an auto webinar funnel, then to a video sales letter funnel etc.
You might also like: How To Get Free Templates of All The Funnel Types Above
Final Words
These funnels can be applied to your business to accelerate your growth. You won’t know the true power of a sales funnel unless you try it yourself. I highly recommend using Clickfunnels to build your sales funnels. It’s an all-in-one marketing tool that allows you to build all the funnel types listed above. Clickfunnels also has templates of each funnel type, that you can choose and use for free. If you want to become a true funnel hacker then sign up for the 14-day free trial at Clickfunnels here.