Why the Bowtie Funnel Beats the Traditional Funnel

No shade, the traditional funnel really did have a good run. It helped us make sense of a chaotic world where leads dropped in at the top and, if we were lucky, emerged as customers at the bottom. But that was before recurring revenue, customer advocacy, and post-sale relationships became non-negotiable for sustainable growth.

And while closing the deal is still important, as per the Science of Revenue Growth, what happens after is equally important too!

That’s exactly why the bowtie funnel has become such a powerful way to visualise data, offering a more accurate, modern framework that gives just as much weight to the post-sale customer journey as it does to the pre-sale. If you’re still clinging to the old linear funnel, it might be time for an upgrade.

The Decline of the Funnel Model

Limitations of the Funnel in a Modern Context

The funnel's biggest flaw? It ends too soon. The traditional sales methodologies are obsessed with lead generation and closing deals, but are completely blank on what happens after you win a customer.

Focus on acquisition over retention

Traditional funnels push all your resources toward the top, getting attention, sparking interest, and converting leads. That’s all good, but where’s the love for the people who already said yes?

Retention and growth from existing customers often drive the most sustainable revenue. If your current model doesn’t account for that, you're leaving money (and relationships) on the table.

Ignoring post-sale customer success

Once someone becomes a customer, the work doesn’t stop. In fact, that’s where it should really begin. But traditional funnels don’t reflect customer success, onboarding, or expansion. And let’s be honest, those are the areas where long-term value is actually created.

Why the Funnel No Longer Reflects the Customer Journey and Is, Well, Old News...

The buyer journey has evolved, and the funnel just can’t keep up.

Non-linear decision-making processes

Customers don’t follow a straight path. They bounce between channels, speak to peers, dig through reviews, and go dark before circling back. The funnel’s neat little stages can’t represent that complexity.

Rising importance of customer loyalty and advocacy

The real growth driver? Loyal customers who shout your name from the rooftops. In the funnel model, advocacy isn’t even on the radar. But in today’s world, it’s often the strongest marketing you’ve got.

What Is the Bowtie Funnel?

So, what makes the bowtie funnel different?

It visualises both sides of the customer journey, acquisition on the left, and retention/expansion on the right. In the diagram below, do you see the knot in the middle? That’s where the sale happens. But instead of stopping there, the journey continues, equally weighted.

Explanation of the bowtie shape and its significance

Think of the left side as the traditional pre-sale journey: awareness, interest, evaluation, and purchase. The right side? That’s post-sale: onboarding, product adoption, expansion, renewal, and advocacy.

The modern sales approach is all about acknowledging that closing a deal is just the midpoint, not the end.

Key focus areas: Acquisition, onboarding, expansion, and retention

The bowtie funnel also includes:

• Acquisition: Attracting and converting leads

• Onboarding: Ensuring new customers get value quickly

• Expansion: Upselling, cross-selling, and increasing product adoption

• Retention: Keeping customers happy, engaged, and renewing

• Advocacy: Turning customers into brand ambassadors

This model gives post-sale just as much strategic weight as pre-sale.

How the Bowtie Funnel Differs from the Traditional Funnel

Customer-centric vs. sales-centric

Traditional funnels are all about the seller, how you want the process to go. The bowtie funnel, on the other hand, is built around the customer experience. It doesn’t just track where someone is in your process, but how they’re experiencing value.

Revenue focus across the entire lifecycle

One-time sales are great, but recurring revenue is what builds empires. The bowtie model focuses on lifetime value by tracking and nurturing the entire customer lifecycle, not just the top of the funnel.

Benefits of Transitioning to the Bowtie Funnel

Strengthening Customer Relationships

A massive win of the bowtie funnel is that it forces you to stay invested in your customer relationships long after the initial sale in the customer sales journey funnel.

• You’ll improve customer retention and loyalty by focusing on onboarding, regular check-ins, and engagement.

• It helps you spot opportunities for upselling and cross-selling that actually make sense for the customer, because you’re paying attention.

Aligning Teams Across the Customer Lifecycle

Say goodbye to siloed departments that don’t talk to each other.

• The bowtie model gets sales, marketing, and customer success on the same page.

• What makes a really great data model is being able to create a unified view of the customer, making it easier to track progress, collaborate, and deliver value.

Driving Sustainable Revenue Growth

Forget chasing every new lead like your business depends on it (because it doesn’t, at least not only).

• You’ll shift focus to recurring revenue streams that build real stability.

• This is especially crucial for a SaaS business model and/or subscription-based, where post-sale engagement makes or breaks your margins.

Steps to Transition from Funnel to Bowtie Funnel

Here’s how to start rethinking your go-to-market strategy through the lens of the bowtie funnel:

Reassess Metrics and KPIs

Traditional metrics like lead volume and conversion rate are fine, but they don’t tell the whole story. You’ll also want to track:

• Customer retention rate

• Expansion and upsell revenue

• Net Revenue Retention (NRR)

• Time-to-value (TTV)

• Advocacy or referral rates

It's about identifying the worth your time metrics that give you a clearer picture of growth after the sale.

Realign Teams Around the Customer Lifecycle

Post-sale isn’t just for customer success anymore.

• Define cross-functional roles in onboarding, expansion, and renewal.

• Create shared goals across sales, marketing, and CS, because the journey doesn’t stop with the close.

Invest in Technology and Processes

Modern problems need modern tools.

• Use CRM and RevOps platforms that support full-lifecycle tracking (like HubSpot, Salesforce, etc.)

• Automate customer engagement and feedback loops—think onboarding emails, NPS surveys, renewal reminders, the works.

Traditional Funnel vs. Bowtie Funnel: A Quick Breakdown

Time to Rethink Your Revenue Strategy?

The bowtie funnel has undoubtedly become our team's go-to framework to visualise data, giving us the ability to analyse the gaps in the customer journey. Hence, giving us a great starting point to identify the problem and fix it - ergo, getting a step closer to sustainable revenue!

If you want to learn more about the bowtie funnel, or how you can apply it to your revenue strategy - we'd be happy to chat!