Nurture Funnels vs. Sales Funnels: Why You’re Losing Clients Who Are Ready to Invest In Their Health
You’ve created the freebie. You’ve written the welcome sequence. You’re sending thoughtful, value-packed emails every week.
You’ve built a nurture funnel and you’ve probably done it well.
But here’s the truth most wellness entrepreneurs don’t hear often enough:
👉 Your nurture funnel isn’t built to sell.
And if that’s the only funnel you’ve built, you’re missing the clients who are already ready to say yes.
Let’s talk about the difference between nurture and sales funnels and why your business needs both (but not for the reasons you’ve been told).
🔄 They’re Not Two Phases of the Same Funnel—They’re Built for Different People
One of the biggest misconceptions in online marketing is that a nurture funnel eventually becomes a sales funnel.
But these two funnels are designed for very different client awareness levels and that means they have totally different jobs.
🌱 What Is a Nurture Funnel?
A nurture funnel typically starts with a freebie—a guide, checklist, quiz, meditation, or short training—offered in exchange for an email address. It continues with a welcome sequence and ongoing value-based content.
It’s written for problem-aware clients:
People who don’t yet know what the solution is or whether they’re even ready for one.
The goal of a nurture funnel?
Build trust, create connection and help clients become solution-aware over time.
✨ What nurture funnels do well:
Educate and inspire
Offer insight and possibility
Introduce your voice, vibe, and approach
⚠️ What nurture funnels don’t do:
Quickkly convert solution-aware leads who are actively seeking support
💼 What Is a Sales Funnel?
A sales funnel is built for a different client entirely: someone who already knows they want help and are looking for the right person to hire. These are solution-aware or even most-aware leads.
Sales funnels don’t start with problem-aware freebies.
They start with solution aware freebies. Ones that attract people who are empowered and seeking the right person to work with.
Most wellness pros are creating freebies and funnels for problem aware leads and expecting them to sell as effectively as a sales funnel would - despite the nurture funnel being designed for people who aren’t ready to work together yet.
The goal of a sales funnel?
Position your offer clearly, overcome objections and confidently invite the client to take action.
But crucially, doing all of this for people who don’t need a lightbulb moment of clarity and need to trust that your approach is the right choice.
Too many nurture funnels are trying to act as sales funnels when they’re ultimately attracting people who need to become solution aware before the positioning, objections and invitations will work consistently.
🔑 What sales funnels include:
Specific positioning and differentiation
Proof (testimonials, case studies, process breakdowns)
Urgency and clarity around next steps
🚧 Why Wellness Pros Get Stuck in the Nurture Funnel Loop
You care deeply. You want to help. You’ve been taught to lead with value.
And somewhere along the way, you absorbed the idea that nurture first, sell later is always the right move.
But your ideal clients don’t always need more nurturing. Some are already aware and already looking for someone who can guide them now.
And they don’t want to go through a nurture funnel that’s been created for people who are problem aware and doesn’t meet them where they’re at to find out if you’re the right fit for them.
🔁 What Happens When You Only Use Nurture Funnels
When you rely solely on nurture funnels:
You’re waiting for not ready clients to suddenly become ready, which may take years or may never happen at all
You miss the ones who are actively seeking help
You build ‘warm’ audiences but struggle to convert them
🧭 What Happens When You Build a Sales Funnel Too
When you also create a sales funnel designed for solution-aware leads, you start to:
Attract empowered clients who are already ready to invest
Convert traffic from podcasts, guest content, collaborations, or referrals
Position yourself clearly so “the right fit” clients can say yes quickly
🔄 Do Your Freebies Speak to Clients Who Aren’t Ready?
Most freebies are built for problem-aware clients who are still figuring things out. If your list is filled with people who never ask to work with you, your nurture funnel is doing its job, just not the job you need ie getting clients.
It’s time to build a sales funnel that meets your most aligned, solution-aware clients where they are.
✅ Ready to Shift Into Selling?
If you’ve been nurturing leads for months (or years!) and still aren’t seeing consistent sales, your funnel might be too focused on nurture and not enough on conversion.
Let’s change that.
👉 Book a Funnel Audit, (£297) and I’ll help you:
Identify whether you're speaking to problem-aware or solution-aware clients
Create messaging, a freebie and overall funnel to speak directly to empowered, ready-to-invest clients
