Refine your view of the sales funnel

The sales funnel is an instrumental image for marketers and sales representatives trying to corral prospects and turn them into customers. Like many business frameworks, it's useful, but sometimes those who employ it need to take a step back and reevaluate if it's living up to its potential.

This three-part handbook can help sales teams that feel they have hit a rut -- or are approaching one -- rethink the sales funnel. Executive Editor Lauren Horwitz kicks things off with an explanation of the sales funnel and the common ways that marketers and sales reps misuse it. Then contributor Mary Brandel gets into how digital tools have made the buyer's journey less linear and more erratic. Brandel closes with a look at how predictive analytics is improving the way leads are identified and categorized.