Potential customers can leak out of your prospect funnel in numerous locations; plugging those holes is all about getting rid of the distractions.

On the consumer side, shoppers get distracted when there’s a question they can’t answer. “Will these slacks work with my brown shoes?” On the B2B side, those questions can sound like, “Is this software compatible with my accounting system?” The minute the question isn’t easily answered, your customer gets distracted, might be sold by someone else who can answer the question, or just gets busy, which elongates the sales cycle.

Smart marketers analyze the decision-making process of their prospects and work to plug those gaps. Innovative furniture retailer, Ikea, does it with augmented reality. Put the catalog in a place where you are considering a new piece of furniture, scan the catalog with the augmented reality app (see it in action: http://mashable.com/2013/08/06/ikea-augmented-reality/) on your mobile device, select the desired item, and the augmented reality feature projects the item into your home by layering it over a real-time view of your room, captured through your device’s camera. Voila! No more distractions.

So where are your prospects getting distracted?

“By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.”  Christopher Columbus