"Let me think about it."
"I will think it over."
"Let me get back to you."
If you have spent any time in the field selling products, services, or ideas, you may agree that these words are often just as frustrating, if not more, as the word, "no."
Would you like to make sure that your prospects go through their buying process with you more quickly?
Below, I present 4 strategies to help you do exactly that.
"Our 'sales cycles' are short and efficient; our prospects make quick decisions."
How would you answer the above question for your sales team?
Do you sell or manage a team of salespeople? Consider the following statement:
"Our 'sales cycles' are short and efficient; our prospects make quick decisions."
Would you say that it's a true statement for you and your sales team? If you think it's only partially true, how much of it is true? 10%? 80%? 30%?
And the most important question: How would you fix this problem, once and for all?
There are four reasons why it takes too long for us to close a piece of business. These reasons are:
- Your company’s MESSAGE is not attracting your IDEAL prospects.
- Your selling process or method is not designed to address the emotional side of your prospects.
- You or your salespeople are not making it clear to their prospects that they are expected to make a decision at some point and that either NO or YES is okay.
- You are waiting too long to uncover pricing objections and “negotiating” in the end when you have lost all your power to negotiate.
4 Ways to Shorten Your Sales Cycle Length
There are four reasons why it takes too long for us to close a piece of business. There are four corresponding ways - paths - to fix this problem, once and for all.
1. Craft your company’s message to attract your ideal prospects.
If you are attracting the wrong prospects in the first place, you are wasting your time, energy and money.
How do you define an ideal prospect? Ask yourself the following questions:
- Whose problems am I solving? What kinds of businesses? What kinds of people? Business owners? Presidents? CFOs? CIO? VP’s of Sales?
- How important is it for these people to solve the particular problems my business addresses?
- Would they have the authority to spend the money on my products or services? Are they the final decision makers? Who else would get involved in making the final decision?
True of False?: "Our 'sales cycles' are short and efficient; our prospects make quick decisions."
2. Design your selling process or method to address the emotional side of your prospects.
People buy emotionally. They only justify their decisions intellectually.
How do you elicit an emotional response - a compelling reason to buy your products or services - in your sales process?
What kinds of questions do you ask? How do you make sure that as you bring out the emotions of your prospects, they work for you and not against you?
The best sales process is one that allows both parties--the salesperson and the buyer--to be their human selves. It allows them to feel and express the entire spectrum of human emotions.
3. Make it clear to your prospects that they are expected to make a decision at some point and that either NO or YES is okay.
This is what sets a peddler apart from a professional.
If you see yourself as a professional, your will make it a point to help your prospects come to a decision - whether for your products or services or against them.
If you approach selling this way, you will get the respect and trust you deserve from your prospects.
"If you see yourself as a professional, your will make it a point to help your prospects come to a decision - whether for your products or services or against them."
4. Uncover your prospects' pricing objections early in your selling process. (Don't wait till the end when you have lost all your power to negotiate.)
In a nutshell, if you are waiting for the pricing until after you have presented your solutions or the features and benefits of your products, you have waited too long.
By uncovering the prospect’s money tolerance before presenting, you will save yourselves a lot of time.
You will also be able to present more appropriate solutions within price range.
How do you make sure that you get necessary budget information from your prospects before presenting your solutions?
What questions could you ask them?
In Conclusion:
There are fours ways to build a relationship with your prospects that allow you to shorten your sales cycle length. These fours ways are:
- Craft your company’s message to attract your ideal prospects.
- Design your selling process or method to address the emotional side of your prospects.
- Make it clear to your prospects that they are expected to make a decision at some point and that either NO or YES is okay.
- Uncover your prospects' pricing objections early in your selling process. (Don't wait till the end when you have lost all your power to negotiate.)
Further Reading: books from Amazon
From Amazon: "Rejecting manipulative tactics and emphasizing "process," Strategic Selling presented the idea of selling as a joint venture and introduced the decade's most influential concept, Win-Win."
From Amazon: "You Can’t Teach a Kid to Ride a Bike at a Seminar, Second Edition retains David Sandler's classic, battle-tested advice on driving personal and organizational success by breaking the rules of conventional selling."