It is the period of time between the date the prospect became aware of the proposed solutions and the date he became a customer.
Example:
Company A was first approached on 10/04/2019.
Company A signed a contract on 07/10/2019.
The sales cycle in this case was 90 days.
What is the average sales cycle in prospecting?
It can vary from 5 days to 5 years. But you must aim for 90 days. And during those 90 days it is necessary that in the conversion you measure the progress and the small victories.
Winning customers is a process that is easy to measure in terms of performance, because its evolutionary nature is intrinsic.
The evolutionary macro stages are:
- First contact
- Opportunity Analysis
- Deepening
- Negotiation
- Closing
These five steps should last 90 days on average. This is salutary.
And the small victories in between should also be celebrated. Every time you reach a new stage, you are one step closer to closure.
For example:
You have contacted thirty companies. Nine of these asked to review your offer. Three of these nine asked for additional information in the form of a meeting or call.
Look at these numbers:
- 30
- 9
- 3
Let's get a good understanding of what they mean:
- 30 companies have become aware of its existence. Without that there is no business.
- 9 companies have shown some interest to the point of asking for your presentation material. Without a minimum of interest there is no business.
- 3 companies are considering hiring you. Without a contract there is no business.
And so on.
Prospecting is opening the sales cycle.
Sales cycle is the time elapsed until you close, and the intermediate steps are your small achievements.
If you doubt that this is really an achievement, try talking to a marketing director of a multinational company. Try to get him on the line to pass on your offer.
If it were easy, everyone would be successful in sales. The competition for decision-makers' time is too fierce, so those who have processes, volume, and of course a competitive offer win.
If you start your sales cycle and stall at the first stage, i.e. you can't make the first contact, you need to change your approach and also the number of attempts, up to 20 or more attempts to get the person on the other end of the line.
If you stall at the second stage, i.e. people receive your material and do not return, then you need to change your offer and also the volume of follows.
And so on.
The sales cycle is the time, the extra breath you need to close corporate deals.
Look forward, correct procedures, and move forward. Celebrate intermediate achievements.
This is not for everyone. But it is for you.
In the end, always, you have earned, deserve, and will deserve the customers you have had, have, and will have in your portfolio.
Today we will open the cycle with at least ten new companies, right?
