SALES PROCESS & CYCLES

Each company has it’s own way of doing things and that’s especially true for the way it sells it’s product or service.

Each company has its own way of doing things and that’s especially true for the way it sells its product or service. Your exact process for selling will determine how fast or slow a buyer will complete their transaction. The faster that sale is completed, the faster you can move onto the next sale. Remember it’s not only about the sale but the speed in which you sell it. For example, look back at your sales for the last 3 years. Let’s go back in time. What if you were able to have a shorter sales cycle, complete those transactions and move onto the next ones 3 times as fast? What if you completed all the sales your company made in the last 3 years by the end of that first year? Yes, your annual revenues would be triple. Of course, there are many other factors but this is just to demonstrate how a shorter sales cycle can increase your revenue.

Many sales cycles go on for more than a couple of months with B2B products or services so drastically reducing these cycles can dramatically grow your company. This should be a key performance area for every company with the goal of constantly shaving off months, weeks, days, even minutes off every cycle.

• Right People – Spend all your time, energy, and focus on the people that have the highest probability of making a purchase. The people should have B.A.N.T= Budge, Authority, Need, & Timing. If any one of these areas is not present then you must let marketing maintain the relationship and move on.
• Follow Up Systems In Place – There’s no need to go into too many statistics here but the majority of leads get wasted. According to Forrester Research, that number is 80%. By lack of follow up, you are missing out on sales. A bulk of those wasted sales were the ones which the prospect was ready to buy. These are the sales that you are looking for. Instead, these fast sales are missed leaving you with only the slow to respond prospects who aren’t ready to take action anytime soon.
• Lack of sales training – With the right training a good salesperson can create desire and excitement where the customer wants to buy NOW. Many organizations have a sales team with sub par skills. These people have to wait until the customer talks themselves into it or desperately need your solution. Teach your sales people how to effectively communicate the benefits that buying your product TODAY would bring over making that purchase tomorrow.
• Systems, policies, and procedures – This is where each company does things their own way. Sometimes those ways are great, many times there are better ways to systematically transition a buyer from prospect to customer. Many industries have standard ways of selling that product or service but here at MindStorm we deal with different industries, different companies, different countries, different people, and seen many great ways of doing things. We can give you a different perspective on your process and most likely can give you better solutions shaving time off your sales cycle.

If you feel that your sales cycle is longer than you’d like then have a conversation with one of our consultants free of charge. We can discuss your process in detail and most importantly discuss a better solution. Our conversations are complimentary and maybe we might be able to help over the phone. Give us a call before another day goes by of missed opportunities and delayed sales.