The factory is the product; spot sales waste
"Waste is a crime, when there's people dyin' from hunger." - Nas
The original "funnel" was the conveyor belt on factory floors. You put raw material on the belt, workers (or robots) are responsible for turning that material into a product, and at the end of the belt, you'd have what customers wanted. In a factory, seeing when the conveyor belt is inefficient is straightforward because you'd see raw material on the floor. What goes in does not come out.
Sales funnels are similar. We acquire leads (raw material) and put them through a sales process (conveyor belt), with specialists responsible for different parts (some humans and some robots). The problem is, unlike the factory, it's much harder to know when the raw material is dropping off and hindering getting customers the experience they deserve.
Here is how to spot it:
Inbound --> Demo Held%. Not every inbound will buy, but most should take your call. If you are <60%, you are dropping due to an inbound cadence that is too passive.
Demo Held --> Contracting%. A customer's time is often worth more than their money. If you are sub <50% demo to down-funnel, you are dropping because you are not demonstrating value clearly and urgently.
Segment skewing. If you have reps selling deals, say 100 employees - 1000 employees, and one rep is closing 80% of their deals sub 200, and another rep 80% of their deals over 200, you are dropping based on rep preferences on what types of customers they want to work.
Product skewing. Same as above. If you are asking reps to sell multiple products, and you see certain reps winning more of one product and less of another, you are dropping based on skill and comfort gaps of those products.
High-sentiment losses. It's never a loss when a customer who doesn't want your product doesn't buy. When someone wants your product, and they say so on recorded calls, and then they don't convert, you are dropping based on the quality of service the customer receives.
Time-in-stage. If deals are moving down and getting stuck, you are dropping because the next steps aren't clearly defined.
Spotting and stopping waste is essential. Consider your machine, and build the oversight to know when outputs are deficient.