Sales funnel stages describe changes in buyer readiness. The labels vary, but the underlying job is to help the right prospect move from awareness toward action.
Awareness
The prospect discovers a problem, category, brand or offer. Content and traffic sources should create relevance, not force a purchase prematurely.
Interest
The visitor chooses to learn more. Good next steps make the value of continuing obvious.
Consideration
The prospect compares approaches, providers or products and develops questions about fit, proof, effort and price.
Decision
The buyer needs enough clarity to choose. This is where offers, comparisons, objections and commercial terms matter most.
Action
The user completes the intended conversion—purchase, booking, application, signup or another defined outcome.
After the conversion
Onboarding, delivery, support and retention are downstream parts of the customer journey even if they are not always drawn in the classic funnel.