What do you do when sales stop coming in the way that you want them to? Or when you’re looking at your funnel numbers and thinking, I know this could be converting better than it is? That moment of wondering how to diagnose the issue is something every business owner faces – whether you’re trying to get back to the sales volume you used to generate or figuring out how to keep conversion rates strong as your business grows.
This exact question was sent to me a while back: what’s your go-to fix when a funnel is technically working but not converting as well as it should be? In other words, traffic is flowing, leads are coming in, but conversions feel painfully slow or well below industry average.
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So let’s get into it, yeah? Here’s what in this episode:
- The awareness spectrum and how courting highly solution-aware humans changes your conversions drastically
- A simple lens for saturated markets: why buyers are taking longer, and what that means for your expectations and your strategy
- Why your fastest buyers are typically “unicorns,” and how to ethically attract more of them without leaning on manipulative triggers
- The quiet moneymaker that recovers impulse buys with or without discounting everything
- When to stop tweaking the sales page and start rebuilding intent upstream (lead source, lead magnet, and messaging)
- Internal vs. external marketing ecosystems and why many funnels stall after the first follow-up sequence
- The #1 thing that everything comes back to when attracting the highest quality leads
When Your Funnel Isn’t Doing Its Job
Before we even get into tactics, here’s the first truth – if your funnel isn’t converting, it isn’t actually working. A funnel at its core is nothing more than your sales process. It’s not countdown timers, tripwires, or bro-marketing gimmicks. It’s simply the series of steps that take someone from discovering you to buying from you:
- How do people find you?
- How do they become a lead?
- Where and how do they make a purchase?
- What touchpoints exist in between (emails, calls, checkout pages)?
That’s it. That’s all a funnel is – a visual map of your sales process. And if it’s not producing sales, then by definition, it’s broken.
But the important nuance here is that “not working” can mean two very different things:
- Conversions are happening, but they feel slow.
- Conversions are happening below what you’d expect compared to industry averages.
Those two problems are not the same, and they require different diagnoses. This is where context matters – what you sell, your price point, your sales mechanism, and your industry all shape how conversions should look. Without context, it’s impossible to give a one-size-fits-all prescription. But what we can do is break down the patterns, the math, and the strategies to figure out where your funnel may be falling short and what to do about it.
Understanding Funnel Performance
When you’re analyzing a funnel, it’s tempting to skip straight to tactics — swap an email subject line here, test a different CTA button there. But before making tweaks, it’s worth stepping back to define what we’re really talking about when we say funnel performance. Otherwise, you risk fixing the wrong thing and never addressing the actual problem.
What a Funnel Actually Means
Let’s clear something up: when people say my funnel is technically working but not converting as well as it should, what they’re really describing is a funnel that isn’t working. Period.
Because at the end of the day, the only job of a funnel is to generate sales. And if sales aren’t happening, your funnel isn’t doing its job.
A lot of entrepreneurs bristle at the word funnel because it feels like one of those overused, internet-marketing buzzwords. They picture complicated flowcharts, tripwires, countdown timers, or manipulative sales tactics. But strip all of that away and a funnel is just this: your sales process.
- How does someone first find you?
- How do they raise their hand as a lead?
- What steps happen between them showing interest and making a purchase?
- Do they hit a sales page? Book a sales call? Get an email sequence?
- What’s happening after — do they get follow-up offers, onboarding, or upsells?
All of those moving parts together form your funnel. It may be automated, or it may not. It may be intentional, or it may just be happening by default. But if it’s not resulting in sales, the funnel itself is broken.
Slow Conversions vs. Low Conversions
Now, let’s talk about the difference between slow conversions and low conversions, because they are not the same problem — even though they often get lumped together.
Slow conversions happen when people are moving through your funnel at a slower pace than you’d like. That doesn’t always mean something is wrong. In fact, depending on your industry, your price point, or even the sophistication of the market you’re selling to, slower sales cycles can be completely normal.
Low conversions, on the other hand, mean you’re converting at a rate that’s well below industry benchmarks. This is a red flag because it suggests something deeper is off — whether it’s your messaging, your offer positioning, your targeting, or the way you’re guiding leads through the process.
This distinction matters because the fix is different. A slow conversion cycle might require patience, nurturing, or building trust over a longer runway. Low conversions, though, usually point to a structural issue inside the funnel that needs diagnosis and repair.
Buyer Awareness and Unicorn Buyers
Before you can diagnose why a funnel isn’t converting, you need to understand who’s moving through it. Not all buyers are the same, and not every lead enters your funnel with the same level of readiness to purchase. This is where buyer awareness comes in — a spectrum that explains why some people buy quickly, others take months, and some never buy at all.
The Seven Buyer Types and the Unicorn Buyer
I’ve developed a framework with seven different buyer personas, each with their own patterns and motivations. While I won’t unpack all seven here, one is worth highlighting: the unicorn buyer. This is the rare person who makes fast, decisive moves. They already know they have a problem, they’re crystal clear on the type of solution they want, and they’re actively scanning for a product that fits.
The unicorn buyer is decisive, rare, and highly solution-aware. They’re the kind of person who sees the right offer, pulls out their credit card, and is ready to buy with minimal hesitation. If you’re only measuring your funnel’s success by whether or not you’re attracting unicorn buyers, you’ll think your funnel is broken — when in reality, unicorns make up only a tiny percentage of the market.
The Buyer Awareness Spectrum
To understand where the rest of your audience falls, it helps to map them on the spectrum of problem and solution awareness. This model, widely used in marketing, breaks buyers into categories ranging from “problem unaware” to “most aware.”
On one end of the spectrum are people who don’t even recognize they have a problem. On the other end are those who are fully aware of their problem, know what kind of solution they want, and just need to choose the right product. Most of your buyers fall somewhere in between — recognizing the issue but still figuring out which solution is best for them.
Why Solution Awareness Matters
Here’s where it gets practical: faster conversions happen when you target buyers with high solution awareness. These are the people who already know how they want to solve their problem and are looking for the best product match.
Think of it this way: if someone has diabetes but insists they don’t, you’ll never sell them a nutrition plan or medication because they don’t even acknowledge the problem. Once they admit they have diabetes (problem aware), they still have multiple paths to explore — medication, diet changes, exercise, or holistic approaches. Only when they’ve decided how they want to solve the problem do they become solution aware. At that point, they’re far closer to making a purchase, and your funnel will feel like it’s “working faster.”
The same logic applies across industries. Whether you’re selling non-slip shoes to restaurant workers or coaching programs to entrepreneurs, the speed of your conversions depends on how solution-aware your leads are when they enter your funnel.
Strategies for Faster Conversions
Once you understand buyer awareness, the next step is figuring out how to move people through your funnel more quickly — without leaning on manipulative tactics that create short-term wins but long-term damage. The truth is, not all “speed fixes” are created equal. Some are ethical and effective, while others just erode trust. Let’s look at the strategies that actually work.
Leveraging Activation Triggers Responsibly
Activation triggers are those small nudges that push people closer to a buying decision — things like limited-time offers, bonuses, or highlighting specific desires. They can work, but they need to be used carefully. Too much pressure tips over into manipulative sales tactics, and that’s not the kind of business most of us want to run.
Instead, focus on desire rather than fear. Speak to what people genuinely want, what excites them, and what solving their problem will make possible. Done well, this creates momentum in the buying process without creating resentment or buyer’s remorse.
Abandoned Cart Sequences for Low-Cost Products
If you’re in e-commerce or selling low-cost digital products, one of the fastest ways to boost conversions is implementing an abandoned cart sequence. Plenty of people start checkout but never finish. Sometimes they’re waiting for a coupon code, sometimes they get distracted, and sometimes they just need a reminder.
A simple three-email sequence can recover a surprising amount of revenue. Email one reminds them of what they left behind. Email two highlights the value of the product. Email three creates a final opportunity to complete the purchase. Whether you include a discount code or not is up to you, but the follow-up itself often makes the difference between a lost sale and a conversion.
Accepting Longer Sales Cycles for High-Ticket Offers
For higher-ticket offers — coaching programs, done-for-you services, premium courses — speed is rarely realistic. People need more time to consider the investment, get buy-in from others in their life or business, and decide they’re truly ready.
That doesn’t mean your funnel is broken. It means the sales cycle is naturally longer. The key here is nurturing: staying present with consistent communication, showing proof of results, and continuing to build trust. Over time, this compounds into conversions that feel effortless because the buyer has been primed for weeks or months before they ever say yes.
Diagnosing Below Industry Average Conversions
When your funnel feels like it’s dragging, the first question to ask is whether the problem is truly speed — or whether you’re actually converting at a rate that’s below industry benchmarks. These aren’t the same. Slow conversions can often be normal for your industry or price point. Below-average conversions, though, are a signal that something fundamental is off in your funnel.
Working Backwards from Sales Goals
The most effective way to assess whether your funnel is healthy is to reverse engineer your sales targets. Start with the outcome you want — revenue — and then work backwards through the funnel using what I call TLC: Traffic, Leads, and Conversions.
For example, if your sales page should convert at around 1–2% and your goal is 10 sales per month, you’ll need roughly 1,000 people visiting that page. If you’re selling via sales calls, industry averages show 30–50% close rates. That means five new clients per month might require 15–17 booked calls, which in turn might require hundreds of visitors to your call-booking page.
The point is: math doesn’t lie. By calculating what your funnel should be delivering at each stage, you can pinpoint where the breakdown is actually happening.
Examples of Conversion Math
Let’s break this down with two quick scenarios:
- Sales Page Example: You want 10 monthly sales of a $200 product. If the average sales page converts at 1%, you’ll need 1,000 visitors. At 2%, you’ll need 500. If you’re only driving 200 visitors a month, the issue isn’t your sales page — it’s traffic.
- Sales Call Example: You want 5 new clients for a $5,000 program. At a 30% close rate, that requires about 17 calls. If only 10% of people who hit your booking page actually book, then you’ll need 170 page views per month. If you’re only generating 40, the problem is again traffic, not the close rate.
These numbers aren’t just vanity metrics. They’re diagnostic tools. Without enough traffic and leads, you’ll never know whether your messaging, offer, or sales process is truly effective.
If the math checks out — you’re getting enough traffic and leads, but conversions are still lagging — the problem usually comes down to one of three areas:
- Messaging — Are you speaking directly to the right audience in language that resonates with their level of awareness?
- Offer — Is the transformation clear, compelling, and positioned in a way that makes sense compared to alternatives?
- Timing — Are you following up consistently enough to meet buyers where they are in the sales cycle, or are you cutting off nurture sequences too early?
This is where industry averages matter. If you’re hitting the traffic and lead benchmarks but still falling short on sales, it’s time to zoom in on what you’re saying, how you’re saying it, and how you’re guiding people through the buying decision.
Let’s go deeper into this!
How Messaging, Offers, and Buyer Intent Affect Conversions
When you’ve confirmed that traffic and leads are flowing but conversions still lag, the next place to look is at your messaging and how you’re positioning your offer. This is where buyer intent really comes into play. Because it doesn’t matter how many leads you generate — if they aren’t the right leads, or if the way you’re talking about your offer doesn’t match what they’re looking for, conversions will always feel disappointing.
Clarifying the Difference Between Product and Offer
One common point of confusion is mixing up your product with your offer. Your product is the thing you deliver — the coaching program, the software, the design package, or the physical item. Your offer, on the other hand, is how you frame and communicate that product. It’s the transformation, the promise, and the reason someone should care.
For example: two monthly coaching calls, Voxer access, and a resource library is a product. The transformation of scaling your business without burning out — that’s the offer. If your offer isn’t clear, your funnel will struggle no matter how solid the product is.
Lead Magnets That Attract High-Intent Buyers
This is where buyer intent makes or breaks your funnel. If your lead magnet attracts people who were never planning to buy, you’ve built a list of DIY browsers, not paying clients. For e-commerce, a coupon code is a simple high-intent magnet — most people don’t request a discount unless they’re at least considering a purchase.
For service providers, the difference is even sharper. A downloadable guide on “how to DIY your trademark” will attract people who want to do it themselves, not people who will hire you. A checklist on “what you need before hiring a trademark attorney” attracts people who already intend to buy. That one shift in framing can completely change the caliber of leads in your funnel.
Educational Examples That Speak to Awareness
The same principle applies to education-based lead magnets. Say you’re a nutritionist for perimenopausal women. A “family-friendly meal plan” is too broad — it could attract anyone. But “hormone-friendly meals to reduce hot flashes” speaks directly to the solution-aware audience you actually want to reach. The bonus detail — that the meals are also family-friendly — becomes a value add rather than the main hook.
High-intent, solution-aware lead magnets filter in the people most likely to buy. And when your list is filled with those kinds of leads, your funnel automatically feels smoother and more profitable because you’re no longer wasting time trying to nurture people who were never planning to pay in the first place.
Common Funnel Mistakes and Missed Opportunities That Kill Conversions
Even when the basics are in place — traffic, leads, and a solid offer — a lot of funnels underperform because of overlooked mistakes. These aren’t always dramatic breakdowns. More often, they’re quiet leaks in the process that slowly drain your conversion rate over time.
Underestimating the Power of Follow-Up
One of the biggest gaps I see is in follow-up. A business might have a strong lead magnet and a polished sales page, but if the nurture sequence ends after just a few emails, they’re leaving money on the table. Most buyers don’t convert instantly. They need reminders, reinforcement, and proof. If your internal marketing ecosystem (emails, retargeting, ongoing engagement) isn’t consistent, your funnel won’t live up to its potential.
Chasing Visibility Too Early
Another common mistake is focusing too heavily on broad visibility before nailing down conversions. Entrepreneurs often spend time convincing people why they should want a certain solution — like using Pinterest for lead generation — when those people aren’t even solution-aware yet. Early-stage businesses should prioritize speaking to buyers who already know what solution they want. Broader visibility campaigns make more sense once you’re established and have the resources to nurture people at every awareness level.
Ignoring Shifts in Visibility Channels
Funnels also falter when businesses rely too heavily on a single traffic source. If one channel dries up — whether it’s YouTube, Instagram, or paid ads — conversions can crash overnight. I’ve seen businesses lose tens of thousands in monthly revenue simply because one visibility channel stopped producing. The fix isn’t always reinventing the offer; sometimes it’s as simple as reactivating or diversifying the traffic source.
Conclusion: How to Fix a Funnel That Isn’t Converting
Diagnosing a funnel that isn’t converting comes down to clarity and context. First, recognize that if a funnel isn’t generating sales, it isn’t actually working — no matter how polished it looks on the surface. Then identify whether the issue is slow conversions (often normal for your market or price point) or below-average conversions (a sign something deeper is off).
From there, work backwards. Use the TLC framework — Traffic, Leads, Conversions — to pinpoint where the breakdown is happening. Do the math. If you don’t have enough traffic or leads, no amount of messaging tweaks will fix it. If you’re hitting the numbers but sales still lag, look at your offer positioning, your buyer intent, and whether your lead magnets are attracting people ready to buy.
Remember: the fastest conversions come from highly solution-aware leads — the unicorn buyers who already know what they want. But the bulk of your growth will come from nurturing the rest of the spectrum with clear messaging, consistent follow-up, and intentional visibility.
Funnels aren’t about tricks or hacks. They’re about understanding how people buy, meeting them at the right stage of awareness, and creating a sales process that guides them seamlessly toward a decision. When you diagnose your funnel through that lens, you’ll always know what to fix — and how to boost conversions without resorting to gimmicks.
