Shorten Your Sales Cycle So You Can Win More Clients, Faster!

By Coach Jeremy J. Ulmer

As a sales professional, entrepreneur or business owner, being able to effectively establish new client partnerships and increase sales results quickly is vitally important. When sales are going great it can be very exciting! When you have a great month you are filled with sales motivation!

But, after a while, things slow down and you hit a wall. You find yourself chasing after prospects and wondering why it is taking so long to convert prospects into clients.

You’re stumped!

You start exploring different techniques and try to find a solution. But, no matter what you try, the results are the same and the sales cycle is a much longer process than what you would like.

So where do you turn when you are stuck in sales quicksand and can’t get your prospects to move forward?

Here’s How You Can Shorten The Sales Cycle and Win More Clients, Increase Sales and Profits with 2 Simple Strategies:

1. Determine, Uncover & Clarify Challenges
If a prospect is not clear about their challenges and the impact of these challenges, this will greatly slow down the entire sales cycle. This is because the client does not yet believe their challenge is significant enough to take action, and guess what, because of this, they won’t take action! It is a waste of time for you to give information before understanding their needs, goals, challenges and problems. You are presenting a “solution” to someone who doesn’t believe they have a “problem.”

So, what do you do about this? Ask a lot of questions! Ask open ended questions. Get curious and don’t assume you understand their problem or challenge no matter how long you have been in the industry. Dig in and really find out what is going on, and ask follow up questions that focus in on the greater impact of their challenges. Uncover the impact of the current challenges on both the organization and the individuals or groups you are selling to. Your questions will help them understand and verbalize that they have a challenge or problem. Now you have the information you need to explain how you can help solve their challenge.

If you find yourself talking more than 20% of the time during your sales meetings with prospects, stop yourself, and ask a question!

2. Always Set A Clear Next Step
Have you ever heard this before? “Thanks for your time today, your product looks great and we will get back to you soon.” Yet, you never hear back, and end up having to chase, follow up, and make multiple calls, send multiple emails to no avail. That is not fun for you, nor is it fun for the prospective client.

How do you solve this?

Well, if you are a great salesperson or great sales minded business owner, you don’t need to chase. You don’t need to pressure. You don’t need to persuade. Really. You need to set up a clear next step, and if your prospect is not ready to take the next step, they will tell you, and you will determine if they are a serious prospect or not, on the spot.

Remember, give your prospects an option to say, “No.” When you do this, all the pressure is taken off of you, and more importantly off of your prospect. That way, they do not feel like they are being “sold,” nor do they feel any pressure from you. Many of the sales coaching programs and sales coaches still are teaching the same old techniques developed decades ago that involve pressure and persuading. You do not need to do that anymore and it does not work.

Simply set up the next step at the end of your meetings. The next step could be a follow-up face to face meeting or a scheduled phone call for example. However, make sure the next step is moving the sales cycle forward and has a scheduled date, time, and location.

Map out your sales cycle and know what steps need to take place. Here is an example of a 5 step sales cycle: 1. Initial appointment, qualification, discovery, 2. Agreement to conduct an in-depth analysis, 3. Demonstration of service or product, 4. Contract review meeting, 5. Signed agreement.

At the end of each meeting, you should be setting up the next meeting and next actions. Explain the next steps you both will need to take to start working together. Map it out for them and provide them with a simple document that explains the next steps with clear time lines. Ask them to commit to the next steps along the way. Guess what happens if you do this effectively? You don’t need to “close” or persuade, the sale will be made, faster, naturally, and more effectively.

I truly enjoy the art of sales and sharing sales tips to sales professionals, sales leaders, sales experts, and entrepreneurs just like you. I am lucky to be able to live and breath my sales approaches everyday for my own business, as well as witnessing my clients putting these techniques into action and reaping the rewards! These 2 steps will help you shorten your sales cycle and experience dramatically improved sales results. Don’t wait to make these changes, take action now, and make a commitment to yourself. Want more ideas, tips, coaching, and support to shorten your sales cycle? Contact me for a free coaching consultation or subscribe for free tips below.

About the Author:
Sales Coaching & Business Coaching Expert, Jeremy J. Ulmer, has helped hundreds of sales professionals, sales leaders, businesses and entrepreneurs overcome sales and business challenges to achieve breakthrough results. Jeremy has been ranked a #1 sales performer in the U.S. for 4 years at two Global Fortune 500 Companies, is the former Director of Sales at the #1 Outsourced Sales Company in the U.S., and is a Featured Presenter on Sales Skills and Entrepreneurship at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. If you are ready to dramatically increase your sales or business results then subscribe for your Free Tips or request a Free Coaching Consultation at: http://www.CoachWithJeremy.com or visit Coach Jeremy’s Programs.

“When prospecting via phone and the contact picks up, do you ask for their time? Or do you go into your spiel?”

This question was asked on Linkedin and below is my public answer:

This is a great question and there are many ways to approach this. Assuming this is a pure cold call and they are not expecting your call, the first thing I would recommend doing is put yourself in their shoes. What would you want to hear? How would you want to be treated? Start there and you might find your own answer…

Here are just some of the ways to approach it below, and the key is finding what works for you! If I were able to learn more about your particular style as well as objectives, we could create something more custom and authentic. That is what will work best for you. I also want to underline that it is important to know why you are calling in the first place. What is the purpose of every call you make?

Be clear on that before you make the call. For example, are you calling to set a meeting such as a phone meeting or an in person meeting? Are you calling to determine if there is a mutual fit? Are you calling to sell something on the spot? Make sure you know what you want to accomplish and your results will increase.

Here are some openings that may help you approach this from a few different perspectives:

1. “I know you were not expecting my call, so I will make this brief…”

2. “Hi John, my name is Sally with ABC Consulting. Did I catch you at a bad time?” (You are using a negative here on purpose. When are you going to catch someone at a good time? How might they respond to this question: “Yes, you did catch me at a bad time, but go ahead, quickly.” or “Yes, please call later.” or “Yes and please don’t call back.” Any of those responses are okay. You respected their time by asking the question.)

3. “Hi Jane, my name is Jim with ABC Consulting. We help businesses get in front of more qualified prospects and close more sales faster. Is that something you want for your business?” (This is a very direct approach on what you do, takes about 10 seconds to deliver, gets to the point, and doesn’t waste their time. Keep it simple.)

4. “Hi George, my name is Sarah with ABC Consulting, I help directors like you who are (struggling with or challenged with…or looking for ways to…etc…) would you like to set up a time to discuss this further to see if there might be a mutual fit/to see if we can help/to explore this further?” (Focus on their needs here, not yours, learn/listen.)

Sales people in general are often trained to simply deliver information, to give it the wow factor, to persuade, and to convince, that is an ‘old school’ approach that is not very effective. Shift your mindset. Focus your energy, listening and attention on to the prospect. All the bells and whistles don’t mean much to them, until they know you understand their challenges first. No one wants to be sold, they (might) want to buy.

You don’t need to persuade or push if you sell the way you would want to be sold to…from a place of authenticity and focus on what the prospect wants and needs. Ask questions and let the client be heard. If you can’t truly listen, you won’t be effective with your solutions, nor will you be effective in developing a relationship or partnership.

Again, these are just a few examples to get you started. There are 100’s of ways to approach this!

Are you ready to make a cold calling breakthrough and do you want to produce better cold calling results?  Contact me for a free consultation to learn more about how I can help you with my sales coaching and cold calling coaching programs.

I appear as a guest on the Cultural Fusion Experience Radio Show to discuss busines, sales, and so much more.  Music will play until ‘6:10′ when the interview begins. (You can fast forward)

Host: Yvette Dubel-Source artist & co-founder of Cultural Fusion-Art as Philosophy will be exploring issues related to creative expression and social/professional innovation. It invites you to use explorations of creative expression and the application of such to address the issues impacting your lives, as well as anything else that captures Yvette’s interest as an expression of the above plus concepts which have provided inspiration to “Cultural Fusion-Art as Philosophy”.

This broadcast is a part of the artist’s inquiry into Conceptual Process Art in Art as Philosophy. This show will offer an opportunity to learn about how this project is coming to understand Culture beyond ethnic, racial, or national origins. In addition audiences will be introduced to interesting ideas, enterprises and projects that are seeking to play a part in building a better world….more peace, more love, more abundance, more of the best of you.

There was a great question posted on Linkedin yesterday.  “What things do you refrain from saying to avoid sounding “salesy”?”  Below is my answer.  I will use the term “sales person” to describe anyone involved in using sales skills, i.e.-business owner, business leaders, sales reps, sales directors, etc.

I believe if you are your most authentic, natural, and genuine self, nothing “salesy” will come from your mouth.  The challenge is that many people think they need to be different, or act different, or say something different, than their natural self would say, to be a great sales person.

The prospective client picks up when you are not genuine, which, well frankly, doesn’t make the sales person very likeable and has instantly reduced the odds that this sales person will be opening up any new partnerships.

In addition, the sales person will feel uncomfortable in their own shoes while they are selling, because they are not being true to themselves.  I can’t remember where I read this, but an old book said, if you wouldn’t say it to your ‘grandma’ that way, don’t say it to a prospective client like that either.

Most sales training that people learn is originally from decades ago and has just been regurgitated over and over again and re-branded in a new name, or new book title, by a new author or trainer.

Things have changed, and most of the pressuring and convincing/persuading sales skills are a thing of the past.  The reality is, every individual is different, and if they can learn to create a sales style that honors who they are, and their personal values and strengths, well, sales can be enjoyable, fun, and, oh yeah, you’ll have the best results you have ever experienced.

Jeremy J. Ulmer, Sales Coach, Business Coach, Life Coach, Professional Coach, Executive Coach

This question was asked on linkedin.com. “At what point is it a good idea to stop attempted contact with someone who showed mild to moderate interest from your initial sales pitch? If they aren’t returning calls or emails, do you continue to attempt contact or is it best to let it go?” Below is my public answer.

It depends on each individual situation.  In some cases it will be best to let it go immediately and in others it will be best to have a clear follow up process.

Each situation needs to be evaluated.  I have witnessed sales professionals/business owners chase after opportunities way too long, and I have also helped them implement a highly professional follow up method to eventually do business with very large clients.

It is essential that your follow up process does not put the prospect on the defensive or cause any pressure at all.  In general, when someone is not responding to a voice mail or phone call after they showed mild to moderate interest, it means something may have changed.  Or it means they realized they showed some interest, but have a hard time saying, “No” and they don’t want to have to tell you, that they don’t want what you have to offer.

Hence, they (may) just choose to ignore the sales person, knowing eventually they will go away.  This sometimes is easier than saying, “No thanks, we have no interest in your product or service.” So, what can you do?

First, in your meeting or conference call where they showed mild to moderate interest, it is essential that the next meeting and next step is clearly covered. (Before you leave!)  Ensure it makes sense for your business and for their business goals most importantly.  Don’t leave the meeting without next action steps in place.  That will help prevent all of this.

Yet, if it is too late, and that step was missed or steps were canceled or there was a major delay…Here are some other ideas: Make it easy for them to say “No.” Let them know it is ok, ‘if you don’t want and need this, it is not for everyone.’ You can even tell them, “It is ok to say ‘no’ and that you don’t want this.”  Guess what happens when you do this? They respect you, and feel no pressure to say ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

You are not trying to push anything on them either way, you are just trying to find out if there is a mutual fit or not to do business.  You clearly explain that it may not be for them, and that is ok.  Make it easy for them to say, “No thanks,” and you will quickly filter out those prospects who are a good mutual fit, and those who are not.  You will then find yourself spending more time with those who may be a good fit, versus chasing those who are not a good fit.

So, to tie this back into your question, think about how you can implement this philosophy into your selling, your voice mails and emails when you get to this stage (If you failed to set next steps or the actions plans changed)

Example: “Mr. X, I know we spoke 3 weeks ago about your specific ‘marketing goals’ and how our ‘ABC Service’ can help you achieve them this quarter.  I have not heard back yet on the information we needed to finalize the program.  I just want to let you know, it is ok, if you are no longer interested or if you don’t need this service any more, but if you could kindly let me know, either way, I would greatly appreciatete it.  Thank you.” (This will take *under* 30 seconds to deliver, which is ideal for a Voice Mail)

(This is just an example, I help clients create their own msg, that is natural/authentic to who they are, and their situation)  You could also tie this messaging into an email.

The question of whether a high level of empathy for a sales professional was an advantage or a disadvantage was asked on linkedin.com.  Below is my public answer to this question.

This is a great and interesting question! It looks like most people so far are saying that empathy is essential for sales people, and I agree!  I will expand on the concept and how to develop it a little further as it may be of help for those who want to enhance it.

Empathy is defined by Wikipedia as: “the capacity to recognize or understand another’s state of mind or emotion. It is often characterized as the ability to “put oneself into another’s shoes” or in some way experience the outlook or emotions of another being within oneself.  Empathy does not necessarily imply compassion, or empathic concern because this capacity can be present in context of compassionate or cruel behavior.”

From this perspective on what empathy means, it is clear that it is critical for a sales person to have or to develop a high level of empathy to have great success.  Some people, as you mention, will naturally be more empathetic than others, yet luckily, this is something that can be developed for those who lack a high degree of empathy.

Daniel Goleman, one of the experts on emotional competencies/emotional intelligence, breaks down emotional intelligence into 4 key areas.  One of those areas is Social awareness — the ability to sense, understand, and react to others’ emotions while comprehending social networks.  I’d say empathy would significant part of this.

So, how does this apply to sales? Simple, put yourself in the client’s shoes. Put yourself into their perspective and view their business, your business, their goals, and the world from their perspective for a moment.  Think about how your approach is coming off now? Should you change it? What really is important to them? Maybe you think something is so important, and you are explaining on and on about it to them, but if you pause, use empathy, get curious, and place yourself into their perspective for a moment, and then brainstorm ideas or ask questions from that place, breakthroughs are possible. 

I find that if you use empathy, and from that place, ask great questions, you can really find out what is most important for your prospective clients or current clients. The great thing about emotional competencies such as empathy is that they can be developed and enhanced. 

For those who want to learn to be more empathetic, the first step is becoming more aware of what it is to be empathetic, and then to consciously choose to translate the awareness into actual actions and changes in behavior.  There is much more to it than this, but I wanted to give a tip for starters that can help people immediately.

Jeremy J. Ulmer, Professional Coach, Sales Coach, Executive Coach, Sales Mentor, Life Coach, Business Coach

SPIN Selling By Neil Rackham, Huthwaite, Inc. McGraw-Hill © 1988, 197 pages.

Buy This Book – SPIN Selling

This book is a classic sales book and I have provided my own summary below.

Below are the key points from this book – SPIN Selling Summary

“There’s no doubt about it, questions persuade more powerfully than any other form of verbal behavior. And this is not just in selling.”

(I would agree that powerful questions are key, but note that “persuasion” in the traditional sense is out-dated when it comes to selling effectively. Persuasion can put the prospect on the defensive and can make the sales person uncomfortable as well. Learn more about my Sales Coaching Programs)

The SPIN Sales Stages

Preliminaries: These are the way you introduce yourself and how you begin the conversation.

Example: “Hi John, nice to meet you. Thank you for your time today. I am here to understand more about your business, goals and challenges. To do this, I am going to ask you various questions today, sound good?”

Investigating: Uncovering needs and getting a better understanding of your prospects.

• Situation Questions: Data-gathering questions. “How long have you had your present equipment?” or “Could you tell me about your company’s growth plans?”
• Problem Questions: “Is this operation difficult to perform?” or “Are you worried about the quality you get from your old machine?”
• Implication Questions: “How will this problem affect your future profitability?” or “What effect does this reject rate have on customer satisfaction?”
• Need-payoff Questions: “Would it be useful to speed this operation by 10 percent?” or “If we could improve the quality of this operation, how would that help you?”

Demonstrating Capability: Features, Advantages and Benefits.

• Features: Describe facts and data. Example: “Because of… ABC Logistics Company’s own in-house customs brokers in 140 countries…”
• Advantages: Illustrate how products or services can be used to help the customer. Example: ”You can… expedite the clearance process…”
• Benefits: Show how services or products meet the needs expressed by the customer. Example: ”Which means… your shipments will arrive to their final destination faster, increasing your customers’ satisfaction.”

Obtaining Commitment (Instead of “Closing”)

• Give a great deal of attention to Investigating and Demonstrating Capability. Spend more time in the Investigating stage than any other stage. The prospect will become more clear on their needs will realize they need to buy on their own.
• Check that all concerns are covered and addressed. Example: “Well, I think that covers everything, Ms. Johnson. But before we go further, could I check whether there are any areas that you feel I should tell you more about?” Once the concerns are raised and addressed, commitment can happen.
• Summarize all the benefits before you try to get any commitment from the prospect.
• Propose a Commitment. Simply suggest a next step to take that will move the sale forward. The suggested next step is a realistic proposal that the customer will likely accept without feeling pressure. Example: “I suggest that the next step would be for you and your partner to come see a demonstration of this copier.”

“It’s not enough to go Barnes & Noble and read the books. Jeremy puts it all together in a package that transcends the information itself, and takes you to a place where you can see how it all pieces together. Moreover, he shows how it’s not just about information, but about how people feel, and he does it in a way you just can’t get from a book. Highly recommended.” -George, PhD, Director of Consulting

Would you like to take your sales results to the next level? Contact me for a free consultation.

Learn more about: Sales Coaching or check out the breakthrough Sales Workshop: Reprogram Your Sales Mind

Create your own selling style with Coach Jeremy! We will learn together what sales methods, techniques, and philosophies will work best for you, or your sales team, to sell in the most genuine and natural way. Persuasive and pressure selling is a thing of the past!  A selling style based on your values and strengths will maximize your results!

Read what my clients are saying.

Spin Selling Summary