Setting up a sales funnel that operates efficiently on an ongoing basis is one of the primary goals of any business. When the sales funnel is running well, new customers are coming on board constantly to replace those who leave and supplement the recurring customers.

A funnel full of issues, by contrast, will result in lower sales, lower revenue, and a much more challenging time for the company. So, how can businesses avoid the pitfalls of a failing sales funnel?

Entrepreneur Corey Shader details five frequent sales funnel issues businesses face and how to resolve them.

1. Insufficient Traffic

For a sales funnel to work correctly, you have to have constant traffic feeding into it. When you have low incoming traffic, the sales funnel will eventually dry up.

Not enough traffic means you won't have as many leads, which means you won't have as many opportunities to close and convert them into customers. It's a common problem for businesses and one that takes a multi-pronged approach to fix.

If you're going the digital route, ensure you abide by SEO best practices for your website and social media pages. Collaborate with partners to promote your business and spend advertising dollars to drive traffic to your pages.

2. Too Much Traffic

The contrast to not enough traffic is too much traffic. It's true: If you have too much traffic to your website, it will be hard to weed through everything to navigate down the sales funnel.

If you have this issue, make sure that you are targeting the right people. You may be driving the wrong consumers to your site, which fills up your traffic but doesn't provide you with great opportunities to close.

3. Insufficient Leads

Some businesses have a ton of traffic but not enough valuable leads; this is a conversion problem.

If this is an issue you're facing, check whether your sales messages match up with your advertising and marketing messages. If they don't, your visitors aren't likely to convert into customers.

4. Too Many Leads

Likewise, having too many leads isn't a good thing either. It means you have plenty of potential consumers who might buy from you, but you aren't doing anything to convert them.

Often, businesses that face this issue had qualified leads at one point that are no longer useful.

In this instance, Corey Shader suggests initiating a nurturing campaign to weed out the viable leads with the old ones. This campaign will help you identify the genuine leads that you could convert.

5. Insufficient Deals

At the bottom of the funnel are the deals that you close after converting traffic into leads. If you are full of traffic and leads but low on sales, you have a conversion problem.

Ultimately, final sales are the only thing that matters. It's what drives your revenue and fuels your company. Without sales, you don't have a sustainable company.

If you have this issue, it's likely there's a problem somewhere in the sales process. Maybe you need to replace or re-train your sales staff. Perhaps your pricing is off compared to your competitors, or something's wrong with the product or service you offer.

About Corey Shader

Corey Shader is a self-made entrepreneur, consultant, investor, real estate developer, and founder of several companies, notably Insurance Pipeline. Operating primarily out of Ft. Lauderdale, Corey's endeavors span the nation, consulting for start-ups and sitting on the board of digital media and senior healthcare agencies. As a consultant, Corey helps young businesses develop sales funnels and maximize profitability. Shader takes pride in challenging others to push themselves to be their very best — he believes in constant self-improvement, inspiring others through sharing his own life experiences.