Almost all salespeople will agree that the shorter the selling cycle, the better. 

Because long selling cycles have two negative consequences:You’re less likely to be actively prospecting for new clients while you’re working on an existing opportunity. Consequently, your pipeline thins out, and if the deal you’re working on falls apart, you have fewer opportunities to fall back on. 

The longer you work on an opportunity, the more emotionally tied to it you become, and the more likely you are to make concessions (which typically eat into profits and your commission) to keep it “alive.”

For some salespeople, the amount of time it takes to secure an initial appointment with a prospect is excessive. For others, the amount of time spent defining and developing the opportunity is extreme. And for many, it’s the amount of time it takes to secure a decision after submitting a proposal of making a presentation that stretches the selling cycle beyond reasonable limits.

Here are five specific strategies to shorten your selling cycle:

– Don’t start the cycle unless there is a compelling reason to do so.
– Call at the top.
– Deal with potential roadblocks early in the process.
– Disqualify opportunities as soon as possible.
– Obtain firm commitments. 

If you start with the right people…for the right reasons, deal with potential problems in the early stages of the process, rigorously qualify opportunities, and ensure that you and your prospects are on the same page at each stage of the process, you’ll be able to complete the selling process in a shorter period of time…which in turn means more sale.

To learn more about these fives specific strategies register today for the upcoming classes, “Establishing and Maintaining Relationships” and “It Is All About Qualifying“, led by Sandler Training for the Larimer SBDC. The classes are $40 each or we are offering special pricing of both for $60.