Often, sales cycles take weeks, even months, to close. As a sales professional, you would like to shorten yours and improve the efficiency of your sales process. But while many sales are too complicated to be rushed, others run into unexpected delays or need more time to simmer. If you can shorten your sales cycle, you will be able to close more deals in a shorter amount of time. Here are some tips for accelerating your sales process.
Before your next call with a prospect, prepare your sales pitch by determining the main concern that the prospect has. Doing so will help you avoid addressing the needs of two different people, causing confusion and driving prospects away. You can also elicit the true concerns of your prospects through good probing questions. Some sales professionals break down these questions into categories and assign each question to a specific category.
Another way to shorten your sales cycle is to follow up with customers after their purchase. This could be as simple as sending a follow-up email or making a phone call. Getting in touch with customers after a purchase can show them that you care about their experience. This can help you gain new business and referrals. A satisfied customer is more likely to refer your business to their friends and family.
Before your salesperson can even consider moving forward with a lead, you need to make sure that they are the right person to close the deal. A lead that is not a decision-maker is not likely to engage with you. In order to accelerate the sales process, you need to identify decision-makers early on and nurture them. Earlier involvement will ensure that you close the deal. It will also improve the efficiency of the sales process.
Schedule your meetings in advance. Scheduling meetings can take half a day. Typically, a salesperson must schedule six meetings. Meetings will help you eliminate a significant chunk of this time. Integrated into your favorite calendar, Meetings will allow your prospects to easily view your availability and book a time that works for them. This will save time for your salesperson, and increase the likelihood of your meeting.
Track your leads. Keeping track of the number of leads your salespeople have generated in the last month is vital. Knowing how to track them can help you identify your weakest spots in your sales cycle. By automating the process, you will save valuable time for selling. Salespeople will spend more time interacting with prospects, instead of wasting it on administrative tasks. The longer their sales cycle, the longer the buying cycle will take.
Understand your sales process. A sales funnel is a representation of the sales process. This is a model of the entire customer journey, and its length and value are crucial for success. It helps you understand the different stages in the prospect’s journey and prioritize where to improve. This model can also help you optimize your sales process by identifying where the company should focus its efforts. If you want to increase sales velocity, use sales funnel models.