Shorten Your Sales Cycle… Follow These Nine Simple Steps
The reason your sales cycle is so long is because you make it long.
Some of your prospects can and would buy from you at the first meeting.
Even if your solution is custom and costs multiple millions of dollars.
If they trusted you completely, they could tell you “yes” or “no” today.
People pick a heart surgeon for dangerous operations after 1 meeting.
Is your solution more complicated than heart surgery?
Probably not.
To build trust quickly and shorten your sales cycle, let your prospect know what to expect during your sales call. No surprises.
Just follow these simple steps:
Step 1: Ask how much time they set aside for the meeting.
Step 2: Ask what they were hoping you would talk about today to make this a good use of their time.
Step 3: Get permission to ask the questions you need to ask to see if they’ll be a fit for you. (e.g., what they like and what they don’t like about their current situation; what kind of budget they have if they wanted to switch; what their decision-making process typically is in situations like this).
Step 4: Get permission to tell them “no” if you figure out first they aren’t the right fit. (Remember, you aren’t right for everyone and don’t want some people as clients… especially people who aren’t ready to buy from you).
Step 5: Give them permission to tell you “no.” Let them know you won’t try and change their mind. If they aren’t sure they want to move forward, you will encourage them to tell you “no.”
Step 6: Ask them if they’ll be ok deciding “yes” if they’re completely comfortable with what you offer.
Step 7: Suggest what you should be deciding today is whether or not it makes sense to take some kind of step forward, then define it: sign a contract and get a deposit; pay for some kind of study; prospect can endorse your solution to the other decision makers, etc.
Step 8: Get agreement then about what you’re deciding at the end of the meeting.
Step 9: Remind your prospect that anything less than you both thinking it’s a great idea to move forward as you just discussed, you’ll call it a “no.”
Then start your sales call. No pressure. No trickery. No BS.
Wouldn’t you want to be treated that way if you were the prospect?
You want to build trust as quickly as possible with all of your prospects. To do that, let ’em know what to expect during the sales call, and call it a “no” as soon as either one of you isn’t sure about moving forward.
About the Author – Walker McKay is a sales coach and trainer based in Columbia, S.C., who focuses on giving entrepreneurs and founders the skills and confidence to lead and sales teams the tools to close better business faster and at higher margins. He can be reached by phone at 803.917.2817 or by email at walker@walkermckay.com.
