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5 Strategies to Shorten Your Sales Cycle and Sell More Now

5 Strategies to Shorten Your Sales Cycle and Sell More Now

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1.  Identify the decision-maker early in your sales process. How do you do that? You ask the question ,”Who along with you makes the decision to buy?” at your first sales call.   Don’t ask, “Are you the decision maker?” Why? A male is less likely to tell you “no.” You’re more likely to get a truthful answer if you assume there are others involved in the decision. Truthful answers help shorten your sales cycle.

2.  Prepare your questions to guide your prospect to understand he has a need, it’s an important one, and he has to act now. Question your prospect about areas that he could improve or might not be working the way he wants. When your prospect tells you those areas, he begins to experience some pain. Pain motivates. That’s what you want. An unmotivated prospect might say later in the sales process,  "I need to think about it.”

3. Have a plan to read your customer and customize your sales strategy. Reading your prospect means you are able to determine quickly whether your prospect is more assertive or less assertive. You can also determine who shows feelings or who is less likely to show feelings. These customers all buy differently. You have to be able to determine which customer is which. Then you adapt to them. Those sales people who can quickly assess who they are selling to are better able to quickly and strategically build rapport. Someone who builds trust and rapport quickly is able to sell more quickly.

4. Only present your product or service after you’ve uncovered three needs. If you present before you  uncover your prospect's problems, needs, or wants you risk hearing a prospect say, "I need to think about it." When prospects say they need to think about it, they’re not thinking about it. What this really means is that you have not persuaded them to buy. If prospects can’t see the need to buy from you then your sales cycle will be longer and may not ever close.

5. Get others to help you sell. Use the words of your existing customers to sell. You should be asking them about the results of your work. How have you helped them avoid a cost, reduce a cost, or increased their revenue? Have them put the results in writing. Using those testimonial letters will help you shorten your sales cycle. Why? When you say things about your performance you are less believable. You’re less believable because you have something to gain. You need credibility to sell. Credibility shortens your sales cycle. When you are less believable, your credibility decreases and your ability to persuade decreases.

Just pick one of these strategies and you will shorten your sales cycle and sell more now!

Profile: Maura Schreier-Fleming

Maura Schreier-Fleming is president of Best@Selling, a sales training and sales consulting company. She works with business and sales professionals to increase sales and earn larger profits. She is the author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results and Monday Morning Sales Tips. Maura focuses on sales strategies and tactics that lead to better sales results. Maura is a sales expert for WomenSalesPros. She is part of their group of top sales experts who inspire, educate, and develop salespeople and sales teams.She speaks internationally on influence, selling skills, and strategic selling at trade association and sales meetings, demonstrating how her principles can be applied to get results. She successfully worked for over 20 years in the male-dominated oil industry with two major corporations, beginning at Mobil Oil and ending at Chevron Corp. She was Mobil Oil’s first female lubrication engineer in the U.S. and was one of Chevron’s top five salespeople in the U.S. having sold over $9 million annually. Maura writes several columns to share her sales philosophies. She's been quoted in the New York Times, Selling Power, and Entrepreneur.