Five decisions every funnel inherits: a field guide to the unwritten ones
Free, five short chapters, about 20 minutes. Buyer, offer, message, qualifier, measure: see which of yours nobody wrote down before campaign six
It teaches. You finish knowing what your last campaign lacked. Examples are illustrative composites, and figures come from other markets.
- Your buyer, written so a colleague could sort leads with it
- Your offer in four lines: get, give, why now, next step
- A target and one named reviewer, agreed before the campaign launches
Campaign six is booked. Who is it for?
Leadership wants proof of return. Better copy, another tool or a new report can't say what success was
The campaign missed, so you fixed the copy
The numbers came in short. So the team rewrote the copy, swapped the creative and tried a new channel. The result barely moved. The rework cost time you didn't have, and each rerun made marketing look less sure of itself. No execution can pass a test nobody wrote down
A funnel nobody remembers deciding
You inherited the funnel, or it went up in a rush before a launch. Ask who the buyer was meant to be, or what the offer was, and nobody can show you a written answer. So every later call on what worked comes down to opinion
More tracking, and still no answer
Under pressure to prove value, 86.3% of marketers answer with stronger tracking (CMO Survey 2026, Duke, other markets). Tracking shows clicks, sign-ups and meetings. It cannot tell you which of those numbers was the goal, if nobody set one before launch
A number finance will not accept
62% of CMOs name proving return to finance as their biggest challenge (Marketing Dive 2026, other markets). Your report shows what happened. Without a buyer, offer and target written down first, there is nothing to trace that result back to. Your case stops there
Five chapters. One decision written down in each
Each chapter ends with one task for this week: something to write or check against your own funnel
Aim a funnel at everyone and nobody can judge it. Write your buyer in five lines, including who you leave out, so a colleague can sort leads with it
A guide or a month of posts is not an offer. Write four lines: what the buyer gets, what they give, why now, and the next step
Your message is one line: who it is for and what only you do for them. Put a rival's name in it. If it still holds, rewrite it
Marketing counts form fills. Sales counts conversations worth having. Write fit, need and timing before launch. Both teams sign it. Each lead meets it or misses it
Tracking shows clicks and meetings. It cannot say which number was the goal. Write the target, the review date and one named reviewer before launch
Your buyer, written in five lines
Aim a funnel at everyone and nobody can judge it. Write your buyer in five lines, including who you leave out, so a colleague can sort leads with it
Who it is for, and who can skip
Written for marketing heads at B2B software companies who own a pipeline number. If that is not you, skip it
Marketing heads at B2B software firms
You own a pipeline number, and doubt the last campaign failed on execution
Another campaign is on your desk, with a budget and a launch date. Before you spend again, see the five decisions it needs in writing: buyer, offer, message, qualifier and measure
Founders who also run marketing
You carry the pipeline number and the funnel, with nobody to ask
Each chapter ends with a task you can do this week, like writing your buyer on one page in five lines. You see what was never decided, without hiring anyone to find out
Not for: comparing marketing tools
The guide covers decisions you write down, not software you buy
It does not rank platforms or name a tool to buy. It is not a quick fix either. It helps you write down who a campaign is for and how it will be judged
Not for: teams with everything written
If all five decisions are already on paper, little here is new
If each decision is written, and sales has signed off the qualifier, the five chapters may still work as a quick check. But the guide was written for teams with gaps still to fill
The pressure to prove return, in numbers
Three published figures from other markets, each with its source, so you can check them yourself
The 62% comes from Marketing Dive 2026 research, via Kyle David Group. The 30% comes from Digital Bloom, citing DemandScience. The 86.3% comes from the CMO Survey 2026 (Duke, March 2026).
All three are global or other-market figures, and none is South African. Each counts what people said, not a result anyone measured. The worked examples in the guide are illustrative composites, not real companies.