Sales Funnel vs Website: 7 Major Differences

Websites were once novel and unique. They were simple online destinations. Digital realms. Informational hubs. They were teeming with activity. This was long ago. Back then, the world was slowly coming online. And our print-filled world was shifting to a digital one. That pace quickened with the rise of mobile. And what once seemed like a slow and steady evolution has accelerated at breathtaking speed.

Over the years, websites evolved. They shifted from purely informational sources to interactive virtual destinations. Browser advances allowed websites to grow and mature. It led to major changes. Online shopping became a reality. The rise of Amazon. Shopify. Social media apps. Online gaming. And more. Today, an even newer era of AI and automation is dawning.

However, traditional websites lost their luster over time. Their sheen wore off. That’s because websites overwhelm us with choices. They flood our periphery with little focus or direction. There’s so much going on with websites. To the untrained eye, this seems like the norm. But it’s not. And over the years websites have weathered and aged. They’re no longer new or novel. They’re stodgy and old.

Today, entrepreneurs understand that websites are dead. They no longer drive the new economy. In its place? Sales funnels. These magical little machines are transforming the topography of online lead generation and sales. They’re ushering in the dawn of a new era of money-making and business growth. So why are sales funnels so important? And what are the major differences between a sales funnel vs a website?

Sales Funnel vs Website: What’s The Difference?

Sales funnels are far different than websites. They’re not the same. Not whatsoever. There are major differences between sales funnels and websites. Sure, most people know what a website is. After all they’ve been around for ages. But not everyone knows what a sales funnel is. So what’s the big difference between the two?

To explain the difference, let me paint a picture. Imagine this for a moment. You’re driving in the dark. It’s pitch black. You’re in an unknown area that you’ve never been to. And up ahead the road splits. There’s a fork. The signs are clear but they’re dimly lit. So you take the path on the right. Then, you come to another fork in the road. This time there are 3 directions you can go in. Which one do you take?

Eventually you get lost. You have no idea how to get to where you’re heading. Your phone won’t connect and your navigation won’t load. Eventually you decide to turn around and leave. It’s not worth your time. You’re overwhelmed and frustrated. Sound familiar? It’s the experience most of us have with websites. After all, they overwhelm you with choices. There’s no clear direction or path.

Sales funnels are different. They’re direct and to the point. There’s only one path on that road at night and it leads straight to your destination. No forks in the road. No turns or onramps. And no exits. It’s a straight shot. A direct flight. That’s a sales funnel. It has pure focus with one intended path and outcome for your visit. That’s it. And that’s the reason why sales funnels work so well.

1—Direction

If it hasn’t yet clicked, websites lack focus. They lack direction. When you look at a sales funnel compared to a website, the differences are as clear as day. The reason why sales funnels convert at 137% higher than websites on average is for this reason. When you visit a sales funnel there’s no confusion on what you’re there to do. There’s only one intended action.

It’s like being on a single flight that takes off from exactly where you live and lands exactly at the destination where you’re heading. You’re not changing planes or getting off. There’s no stopovers. And that’s important for many reasons. Why? Because human beings are easily overwhelmed. Especially when we’re presented with too many choices.

Thanks to real-time everything, we experience overwhelm easily. We’re not used to waiting for things. We want them now. Pronto. Immediately. We don’t want to wait or delay our gratification. After all, human focus is dwindling. And our attention spans are shorter than that of a goldfish. We want what we want and we want it now. That makes sense, right?

That’s why websites are dead. They lack direction. There’s no focus. You’re overwhelmed with choices and options. Where do you click? What do you do? You’re flooded with information and you eventually decide that it’s all too much. And just like driving on the dark road at night with too many forks you eventually decide to turn around and go back home.

2—Process

Sales funnels and websites are founded on two entirely different processes. Let me explain. Websites have many choices. There might be a place to sign up for a newsletter or even download a lead magnet. But there also might be a place to buy a product or schedule a service. And all of this exists on the same website.

Sales funnels go through an entirely different process that’s inherent to the nature of their existence. Sales funnels are designed to convert. But they’re also designed to increase the cart value (or average order value) of a customer. And that’s important today for many reasons. So much has changed recently with ad platforms and privacy regulations that it’s no longer feasible to send traffic to a website.

When you send traffic to a website (even an e-commerce site) you’re swimming upstream. There’s heavy competition. Ad costs are swelling and rushing like whitewater rapids. And retargeting is becoming increasingly difficult with time. You can’t just hope and pray that a conversion happens. You must instead trust the process of a sales funnel.

The process of a sales funnel is far different than a website. Websites rely on a singular interaction whereas sales funnels foster relationships over time. Sales funnels help build rapport with prospects. They infuse stories. Social proof. They rely on the age-old adage of problem-solving. And they incorporate irresistible offers at their very core.

3—Structure

Unlike websites that have many options, sales funnels are structured differently. Yes. Tey have focus. There’s a singular direction. But that’s not the entire story. Sales funnels incorporate important components such as one-click upsells and down-sells. This allows you to spend more money to acquire a customer because the cart value naturally increases.

Sales funnels are also structured to achieve different goals. For example, some sales funnels are designed to generate leads. They can be squeeze page funnels or even reverse squeeze page funnels. These typically revolve around a very powerful landing page and an offer for a lead magnet. A lead magnet is a valuable problem-solving goodie that you give away for free.

Other sales funnels are structured to accept applications for high-ticket services or premium products. They behave in a certain way geared for that function. Still other websites are designed as 2-step tripwires with offers so good that it’s hard to pass up. Tripwire funnels might have order bumps and self-liquidating offers.

Sales funnels exist for every scenario. And they’re uniquely structured to fulfill one purpose. They’re conversion-getting machines. No matter what business you’re in, you must have a sales funnel that revolves around a great offer. While there is a lot that goes into sales funnels, the right structure for the right scenario is a critical driver of conversions.

4—Results

It’s no secret that sales funnels drive results. That’s the reason why so many businesses are switching to them. Especially in today’s day and age where website conversions are declining even further. That makes sales funnels vital in business. That’s because they produce results. They generate leads. Make sales. Increase conversions. And much more.

When you compare sales funnels to websites the differences are overwhelming in terms of results. To the tune of 137% more in favor of sales funnels across the board. When it comes to lead generation, webinar sign ups, purchases, upsells, and everything else, sales funnels convert better. Always. They’re hands down the single most important tool in your sales arsenal.

The trouble? Most businesses don’t know what sales funnels are. They don’t have a sales funnel and don’t understand the results it can produce. But the proof is in the pudding. Many sales funnels make it into the Two Comma Club and the Two Comma Club X. That means that they made over $1 million in a single year from a single funnel, or $10 million in a single year from a single funnel, respectively.

Even more sales funnels make $25 million to $100 million in a year. And there’s a reason for that. Sales funnels deliver results. That’s because they’re singular in focus. There’s one path forward and one path only. You’re not faced with choices or options. There’s no overwhelm. You either move forward or not. That’s it. Plain and simple.

5—Revenue

One of the core components that makes sales funnels so much more viable than websites is the revenue generation model. When comparing a sales funnel with a website, funnels win every time. They generate far more revenue than websites. That’s because funnels offer a more direct approach to traffic, leads and sales. They can easily convert browsers into buyers.

Sales funnels generate far more revenue because they concentrate on acquiring the prospect and developing a relationship with that person. It’s not just a one-off transaction. That’s also why sales funnels can generate higher revenue numbers than websites. They’re also often used to sell products and services that cost substantially more money.

Sales funnels are also used in webinars. Webinar funnels are a big driver of revenue because webinars are designed to sell high-ticket digital products and services. Webinars are used to sell anything from online courses, to membership site access, to coaching, masterminds, and more. And you can implement a webinar funnel quickly.

Another type of sales funnel that drives revenue are application funnels. Application funnels are also used to sell things like coaching and masterminds. And sometimes they are combined with webinar funnels. Applications work great because they force the prospect to prove why they’re a good fit to work with you.

6—Offers

One core part of sales funnels are offers. And not just any kind of offer. We’re talking about mouth-watering, irresistible offers that are impossible to pass up. Websites might have landing pages but they often fail to incorporate offers the right way. And that’s another reason why there’s such a big difference between sales funnels and websites.

Sales funnels and offers go hand in hand. They’re fused together like white on rice. It’s no different. Offers are at the core of sales funnels because when it’s executed the right way an offer is the core of a sales funnel. There’s always an offer. It could be an offer to generate a lead or fill out an application. It could also be an offer to register for a webinar or purchase a tripwire product.

There’s always an offer. And the better you understand how to implement an irresistible offer, the more likely your sales funnel will succeed. Most sales funnels fail for one of three reasons. It’s either the offer, the copywriting, or the design. All three elements must be there. But the offer is the core of all of it. The better you execute on the offer the more likely your sales funnel will succeed.

To build an offer you must understand the customer and their problem implicitly. The offer must be positioned in a way that maximizes the likeliness of solving that problem. And the more you can convince the customer that you understand their problem and can solve it, the more likely they’ll buy. These concepts are at the very heart of a sales funnel.

7—Psychological

Psychological tactics in sales funnels refer to persuasion. Not deception. Yes, you do see websites attempting to use psychological tactics like urgency. For example, there could be a countdown to a sale that’s going on for a website. However, sales funnels bake these tactics into the entire experience implicitly. They’re part of what makes sales funnels convert so well.

The first psychological tactic is the Law of Consistency. People want to be consistent with their prior behavior. That’s why lead magnets are used to first generate a lead. It’s a matter of clicking and agreeing to give out your basic details that ultimately sets the stage for a sale later down the road. This also applies to survey funnels where people fill out surveys. The mere act of filling out surveys reinforces the Law of Consistency.

Other psychological tactics are often used in sales funnels as well. Urgency is one tactic. There’s often an impending deadline somewhere. This often happens in product launch funnels and other instances where an offer is shutting down. Urgency is an important driving factor of human behavior because we all want what we can’t have (or eventually can’t have).

Another tactic used in sales funnels is scarcity. Sales funnels usually put a cap on the number of people allowed in a webinar or who can sign up during an enrollment period for an online course. As long as it’s authentic scarcity, people will clamor to buy. These are just some of many of the reasons why sales funnels perform so much better than websites.

Are Sales Funnels Hard To Build?

Sales funnels used to be hard to build before the introduction of ClickFunnels. Back then it would cost thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars to put together a high-converting sales funnel. You needed developers and designers to work together. Systems needed integration. Payment platforms. Email providers. The works. That’s not the case anymore.

Today, sales funnels are easy to build. Thanks to our sales funnel builder you can build them in no time at all. You can use premade templates and a drag-and-drop editor to build sales funnels very quickly. It requires zero web development or coding skills. And you can often launch a sales funnel in a single afternoon as long as you understand the basic principles and components that drive successful funnels.

What Are The Stages Of A Sales Funnel?

Sales funnels have four primary stages. This is according to the AIDA marketing model that was coined by an advertising pioneer named, E. St. Elmo Lewis. In the AIDA model four primary stages exist. And these four stages dictate where a prospect currently is within a sales funnel.

If you think about it this way, the funnel looks very much like a physical funnel. It’s wide at the top and it’s narrow at the bottom. At the top is where traffic filters in from numerous sources. For traffic to show up there needs to be Awareness (A). They might see your post on social media, watch your video on YouTube, read a blog post, see an ad, or show up any other number of ways.

However, awareness is not enough. They need to show an Interest (I) in whatever it is that you’re saying. That’s the key. Interest makes them raise their hand. Awareness just gets them to show up. Interest means that they’re filling out a contact form, downloading a lead magnet, submitting an application, or something similar.

Desire (D) is created by communicating with that prospect through email marketing. This builds rapport and establishes a relationship. To do this you share stories, social proof, and show vulnerability. Often, the prospect is where you were when you first started your journey. So it becomes relatable to them. That’s where the true power of sales funnels shines.

The final stage is Action (A). That’s when they do the thing intended to be done. They purchase the product, sign up for the course, enroll in coaching, download a lead magnet, and so on. There are many intended actions. And the whole point of the funnel is to guide the prospect toward that intended action. When done the right way, it can set your sales ablaze like a wildfire. Yes, it’s that powerful.