SELLING SOLUTIONS
Shorter Sales Cycles
You always need to have a ‘next step’
by: Tibor Shanto, Renbor Sales Solutions Inc.
M
y friend Barry, a professional driver, regularly drives
from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Long Beach,
Calif. — roughly 4,100 kilometers (2,542 miles). I have
done the same drive, so we often compare notes about restaurants, places of interest, etc. Interestingly, he tends to make the
drive in about 2.8 to three days, while it usually takes me 4.75
to 5.5 days. We both go to the same destination, covering the
same ground, driving within acceptable and safe speed limits.
If we each received $2,500 every time we arrived in Long
Beach, and another $2,500 every time we got back to Toronto,
Barry would collect $187,500 in a 225-day work year while I
would only collect $102,272 in the same period. The difference
is not what you would call chump change.
We see a similar phenomenon with many salespeople;
some close a sale in 16 weeks, while others close the same type
of deal in 12 weeks. Whatever other skills and abilities may be
at play, it is clear that with a shorter cycle, Mr. 12 Weeks will
sell more, earn more and probably last longer in his position
than Mr. 16 Weeks.
Shortening the sales cycle is one of the easiest and most efficient ways for an organization to increase sales and simultaneously reduce the cost of sales. But many people are just not
sure how to achieve this. Here are some suggestions.
First, salespeople need to know how long their sales cycle is
now. Most do not. We ask about the length of sales cycles and
hear things like: “It depends,” “It changes,” or “Well, you know,
it’s different in our business.” Well, really, it is not. A salesperson needs to deconstruct his (or her) sale, identify its basic
building blocks and truly understand what it should look like
and what efficiencies can be had.
There are a number of ways to affect the length of the sales
cycle. By far, the easiest to implement, with no technology required, is to always secure a “next step” with your prospects.
This may sound simple enough, but it is difficult to get reps
and managers to adopt this technique.
Group after group, we implore salespeople to always conclude meetings with a clear and mutually agreed-upon next
step that commits both the sales rep and the buyer to not only
a specific time, but to an action as well. More often than not,
however, this happens only partially, or does not happen at all.
Many reps do not pre-plan their desired outcome for a
meeting, which makes it difficult to get to the next step. In
selling, a “next step” is tangible evidence that someone is
working with you and is engaged in the buying process. It
cannot be a “gut feeling” that the person is interested in continuing the process with you; interest must be tangible, in the
form of a commitment to moving forward to the next step.
Next steps can take different forms — a face-to-face meeting, a call or forwarding documents. What these have in common is that they commit the prospect to meeting with you
to proactively move the process forward. And, yes, it involves
commitment on the prospect’s part. After all, he (or she)
should have some skin in the game as well.
This next step could be as simple as forwarding production
schedules, plans that may help you understand your prospect’s requirements, financial statements or setting up a conference call with the company’s technical team.
Action on the prospect’s time is key. If not, other than his
time, what commitment is he making? You, on the other hand,
go back to the office, engage company resources (pricing),
and invest your time coming up with something to present,
all without testing the commitment level of the other party.
Remember that even a small movement forward gets you that
much closer to closing; it need not be a quantum leap. But if
you do not secure a next step, have you advanced at all?
Meetings often end with the prospect saying: “Great. Sounds
interesting. I want to think it over and bring my team up to
www.officetechnologymag.com | M a r c h 2 0 1 2
speed. Call me sometime next week and
In most instances, when we deconwe’ll discuss further.”
struct a sale with one of our clients, we
There is more to
Worse, the rep often says: “I’ll call you
find one of the easiest things to help him
getting a next step
next week.” However, he does not provide
shorten his sales cycle is the insistence
than just asking for
a set time or action — nothing to demonthat anything in the pipeline must have a
one. It needs to be
strate engagement. Even with straight and
real and clear next step (as we define it).
planned so you can
honest intentions, you usually end up playLet’s face it, if you do not have a next
ing phone tag, and when you finally constep, what do you have? There are other
move the meeting to a
nect, you end up setting up a meeting a
ways to help teams shorten and tighten up
logical conclusion ...
week or two out. You can easily save a coutheir sales cycles, but next steps are one of
ple of weeks — even a month — by schedulthe easiest. n
ing the next meeting at the end of your current meeting.
Tibor Shanto is a recognized speaker and author of the
There is more to getting a next step than just asking for one.
award-winning book, “Shift!: Harness The Trigger Events That
It needs to be planned so you can move the meeting to a logical
Turn Prospects Into Customers.” A 20-year veteran of B2B sales,
conclusion and it needs to make sense to the prospect. As you
he has worked with leading companies such as Ricoh Canada,
execute your plan, you need to be cognizant of whether your
IKON Office Solutions, Pitney Bowes, ChevronTexaco and others,
primary next step will pan out. If not, you will need to revert
helping them better execute their new business
to your secondary next step (Yes, you have to plan that, too.)
acquisition plans. Shanto shows organizations
or other alternatives. This does not have to be a complicated
how to execute their strategies by using the right
and laborious process. Once you know the building blocks of combination of strategic and tactical execution of
your sale — which you uncovered during the deconstruction
the sales process. He can be reached at
process — the basics become easy to manage and plan. Then,
[email protected] or
it comes down to execution.
(416) 822-7781. Visit www.sellbetter.ca.
ww w. o f f i c e t e c h n o l o g y m a g. c o m | M a rch 2012