How to Shorten Your Sales Cycle and Reap the Benefits
When I convinced Hank to think about the benefits his business could reap from a shorter sales cycle, he couldn’t stop talking. But, he still thought it was impossible. I, on the other hand, was committed to helping Hank streamline and optimize his sales process. Did we succeed?
Transcript:
My clients take forever to make a decision. It’s impossible to shorten the sales cycle… Ever said that? Hank did, on one of our first conversations.
“Our current sales cycle is 18 months. We’re selling to medical device companies with established suppliers, there’s a high pain of change. There’s no way to shorten the sales cycle.”
In response, I asked, “But what if you could reduce it, what would be the benefits?”
“Impossible, but if it were possible…” and then he went on and talked about the advantages throughout the entire company, especially in inventory management, of a shortened sales process.
Both Hank and I accepted the challenge to streamline and optimize their sales process. We called it hardball – a step-by-step selling system leveraging Hank’s favorite game … baseball. Hardball’s features – tracking, follow-up, and accountability, kept the game moving, and each base represented a sales milestone.
- First base: Qualifying and learning the real issues.
- Second base: Identifying and quantifying the cost of pain.
- Third base: Closing and obtaining agreement on all points before the proposal.
- Home plate: Submitting the contract.
We did the impossible. We reduced his sales cycle to 6 months.
How would your company benefit if you could shorten your sales cycle?
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