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Shorten the Sales Cycle

Guest post by: Linda Richardson

Article Overview: It seems as if your customers' number one goal is to lengthen it! The economy and an environment of heightened skepticism have doubled or even tripled the length of the sales cycle in many industries. So what can you do that is in your control to accelerate the close?

Shorten the Sales Cycle

Recently,in a webinar with a group of high-performing salespeople and technical specialists, a salesperson asked:

Salesperson: "My company's number one goal is to shorten the sales cycle. How can I do that?"

His question was timely and challenging. It seems as if your customers' number one goal is to lengthen it! The economy and an environment of heightened skepticism have doubled or even tripled the length of the sales cycle in many industries.

So what can you do that is in your control to accelerate the close?

1. Early on, qualify more diligently.

• Position every qualifying question from the perspective of
  
  meeting the customer's need. Find out:
• Budget - Has it been allocated? How much? Who
  
  controls it?
• Time Frame - What are the timelines to develop and
  
  implement? (In today's world, the two schedules can
  
  be very different.)
• Compelling Event - "Must do" dates are a blessing and the
  
  absence of one can signal a long decision cycle.
• Decision-making Process - Who will be involved in the
  
  decision - economic, technical, users, and other
  
  influencers? Clarify the buying process and steps.

2. Understand the BUSINESS need that your solution will address.

How will your solution help your customer achieve his/her

business objectives?

3. Develop a compelling Value Proposition to show ROI (ideally year

one or sooner).

4. Identify milestones of the sales process so you can measure

progress against them.

5. Set a call objective that is measurable for every meeting - face-

to-face or virtual. And debrief each meeting against the

objective.

6. Continue to check for change.

7. If things slow down, ask the hard qualifying questions again, but

start with the driving need - is it still a priority? Tactfully ask

questions to multiple customers.

8. Develop a coach! Almost nothing will help you win the deal and

know where things really stand than a well-placed coach.

9. Position your benefits and ask for the business.

10. Know when to put a deal on the back burner or no burner and

when to try to resuscitate it.

Linda Richardson is a New York Times Best Selling Author and founder of the Richardson Company, a leading Sales Training and performance improvement company.

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Article Tags: Linda Richardson, Sales Tips, Sales Training



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