Marketers and salespeople talk endlessly about the sales funnel, and with good reason. This model informs much of the way professionals approach and evaluate the effectiveness of particular campaigns and strategies. When approaching the sales funnel, the best place to start is at the top.

Objectives at the top
Attracting qualified, interested people to find out more about your brand is the first step in the sales process. If you’re not drawing people in, your inbound marketing efforts won’t work. To keep leads moving through your sales process and becoming clients it’s crucial to focus on the communications and content you develop for the top of the funnel!

Remember, the people you are targeting with this specialized type of content are those who are in a research phase. These are individuals who have a specific need, and they are looking for a company that provides the solution.

Consider the purpose of top-of-the-funnel content: It needs to hook as many people as possible and get them to express interest in your brand or company. The purpose is to entice interested parties to raise their hands and say, “I’d like to know more about your product or service.” In order to get the results you want, you need a clear strategy for developing this content.

Good top-of-the-funnel content
When you first meet someone, you don’t hand him/her your resume, do you? At the same time, a curt nod isn’t going to win anyone over to find out more about you. The same is true for your business. Great top-of-the-funnel content requires the perfect balance between being friendly and informative without appearing high-pressure or overbearing.

Since prospects are in research mode, offer well-written and informed pieces that will be valuable to readers. White papers about a new technology or thoughtful blogs about breaking news in your industry provide insights to prospective customers. For your company, perhaps a survey or tip sheet is a better option. If readers have a common problem, a case study might be helpful to demonstrate how you solved a similar challenge for another company.

Remember these tips when formulating your top-of-the-funnel content:

• A good place to start is the homepage of your website or newsletter.
• Anticipate the questions visitors to your site might have.
• Make offers broad to appeal to a wide variety of prospects.
• Concentrate on the needs of the reader, not your company.

The point of your top-of-the-funnel content is to start a conversation with prospects. Make sure you have content readily available to help them solve their problems and a reason to remember your company.