| name | sales-funnel-builder |
| description | Maps complete sales funnels with stages, conversion points, content, and optimization opportunities. Use when you need to design or audit your customer acquisition path. |
| allowed-tools | Read Write Glob |
| metadata | {"author":"matthewhitcham","version":"1.0"} |
Sales Funnel Builder
When to Use This Skill
Use this skill when you need to:
- Map a complete sales funnel from traffic source to purchase and beyond
- Identify conversion points, drop-off risks, and optimization opportunities
- Define the content and messaging needed at each funnel stage
- Design upsell, downsell, and retention paths after the initial purchase
DO NOT use this skill for individual landing pages, email sequences alone, or ad campaign planning. This is for mapping the entire funnel architecture.
Core Principle
A FUNNEL IS ONLY AS STRONG AS ITS WEAKEST STAGE — MAP EVERY STEP, MEASURE EVERY TRANSITION, AND FIX THE BIGGEST DROP-OFF FIRST.
Phase 1: Funnel Brief
Required Inputs
| Input | What to Ask | Default |
|---|
| Core offer | "What is the main product or service you're selling?" | No default — must be provided |
| Price point | "What does it cost?" | No default — must be provided |
| Traffic sources | "Where does your traffic come from? (organic, ads, social, referrals)" | Mixed organic and paid |
| Current funnel | "Do you have an existing funnel? What does it look like?" | No existing funnel |
| Lead magnet | "Do you have a free offer to capture emails?" | None — will recommend one |
| Upsells/downsells | "Do you have additional offers at different price points?" | None yet |
GATE: Confirm the funnel brief before designing the architecture.
Phase 2: Funnel Architecture
Funnel Stages
Map each stage with its purpose, content, and conversion goal:
## Funnel Map
**Stage 1: Awareness (Top of Funnel)**
- Traffic source → Content/Ad
- Goal: Capture attention and drive clicks
- Content: Blog posts, social content, ads
- Metric: Click-through rate
**Stage 2: Capture (Lead Generation)**
- Content/Ad → Lead Magnet Landing Page
- Goal: Convert visitors to leads
- Content: Landing page + lead magnet
- Metric: Opt-in rate (target: 25-40%)
**Stage 3: Nurture (Trust Building)**
- Lead Magnet → Email Sequence
- Goal: Build trust and demonstrate expertise
- Content: 5-7 nurture emails
- Metric: Email engagement rate
**Stage 4: Convert (Sale)**
- Email Sequence → Sales Page
- Goal: Purchase the core offer
- Content: Sales page, checkout page
- Metric: Sales conversion rate (target: 1-5%)
**Stage 5: Maximize (Post-Purchase)**
- Purchase → Order Bump + Upsell
- Goal: Increase average order value
- Content: Order bump, upsell page, downsell page
- Metric: AOV increase (target: 30-50% lift)
**Stage 6: Retain (Loyalty)**
- Purchase → Onboarding + Retention Emails
- Goal: Deliver value and create repeat buyers
- Content: Onboarding sequence, milestone emails
- Metric: Repeat purchase rate, refund rate
Conversion Flow Diagram
[Traffic] → [Landing Page] → [Thank You / Lead Magnet Delivery]
↓
[Nurture Email 1-5]
↓
[Sales Page]
↓ ↓
[Checkout] [Exit → Downsell]
↓
[Order Bump Offer]
↓
[Upsell Page]
↓ ↓
[Accept] [Downsell Page]
↓
[Thank You + Onboarding]
GATE: Present the funnel architecture for approval before detailing each stage.
Phase 3: Stage Details
For each stage, provide:
- Page/asset needed — what to build
- Copy direction — headline approach, key messaging
- Tech requirements — tools, integrations, tracking
- Benchmark metrics — what good looks like at this stage
- Optimization levers — what to test first if this stage underperforms
Funnel Math
## Projected Funnel Performance
1,000 visitors/month
× 30% opt-in rate = 300 leads
× 5% sales conversion = 15 sales
× $297 price = $4,455 revenue
× 40% take order bump ($47) = 6 bumps = $282
× 20% take upsell ($197) = 3 upsells = $591
Monthly revenue: $5,328
Revenue per lead: $17.76
Cost per lead breakeven: $17.76
Phase 4: Polish
1. Implementation Priority List
Rank funnel assets by build priority (what to create first, second, third).
2. Tech Stack Recommendations
Suggest tools for each funnel component based on the user's budget and technical ability.
3. Optimization Roadmap
After launch, prioritize optimization in this order:
- Fix the lowest-converting stage first
- Test headlines on landing pages (biggest impact)
- Optimize email sequence engagement
- Test upsell/downsell offers and pricing
Anti-Patterns
- Building the funnel bottom-up — start with the core offer and sales page, then work backward to traffic. Do not build a lead magnet for a product that does not exist yet.
- Too many steps before the sale — every additional step loses people. Keep the path as short as possible.
- No post-purchase path — the funnel does not end at checkout. Onboarding and retention are where lifetime value is built.
- Ignoring funnel math — if the numbers do not work on paper, they will not work in practice. Run the projections first.
- Optimizing traffic before fixing conversion — sending more traffic to a broken funnel wastes money.
Recovery
- No existing offer: Start with the offer first. Define what you sell before building the funnel around it.
- No lead magnet idea: Suggest 3 lead magnet concepts based on the core offer topic (checklist, template, mini-course).
- User overwhelmed by complexity: Recommend a minimum viable funnel: landing page → email sequence → sales page. Add upsells later.
- No traffic yet: Build the funnel first, then plan traffic acquisition. Organic content is the lowest-cost starting point.
- Multiple products, no clear funnel: Identify the lowest-priced entry product and build the funnel around that. Other products become upsells.
