Process
B2B SaaS Sales Funnel
The stages a software buyer moves through from first contact to closed revenue, and the conversion rates between them.
What is a B2B SaaS sales funnel?
The funnel is the ordered set of stages a software deal passes through, with a measured conversion rate at each step. Its value is diagnostic: when revenue is short, the funnel tells you which stage is leaking.
A realistic outbound-sourced funnel
| Stage | Typical conversion to next stage |
|---|---|
| Targeted account contacted | 35 to 55 per cent accept the connection |
| Connected | 8 to 18 per cent reply |
| Replied | 25 to 40 per cent become a qualified conversation |
| Qualified conversation | 30 to 50 per cent become an opportunity |
| Opportunity | 20 to 35 per cent close |
Run those numbers and the shape of outbound becomes clear: it is a long-division problem, and small improvements at the top compound all the way down.
The common mistake
Teams optimise the last stage because it feels closest to money. In outbound-sourced pipeline, the first two stages carry far more leverage. Fixing targeting lifts every downstream number at once.
What to measure weekly
Conversations created, not messages sent. Everything else is an input.