How to Massively Shorten Your Sales Cycle

If you want to massively shorten your sales cycle, it’s relatively easy to do.

First, target your dream clients, the prospects for whom you can create breathtaking, earth shattering, jaw dropping value. You know the ones I mean. The ones who perceive massive value from what you do. The ones who have the exact challenges you resolve. The ones trying to get to the future that you provide.

Wasting time with prospects who don’t value what you do deprives you of the time you need to spend with your dream clients. Stick to your sweet spot, come Hell or high water.

Second, call your dream clients on the telephone. Don’t email them first. Don’t connect with them on Twitter. Don’t wait for marketing. Don’t wait for inbound. Don’t even hang out in a LinkedIn Group commenting on questions. Seriously, if you want to compress the sales cycle, start by compressing the time it takes you to get a meeting.

I asked a small group of salespeople to make phone calls for two hours today. They booked 22 appointments in that two hours. When time is of the essence, act like it.

Third, make sure that you create enough value in every interaction that you deserve the right to ask for the next commitment you need to move the process forward. Never leave a client interaction without obtaining the next commitment. The reason it takes longer to win deals is because salespeople make three calls to do what they might have done in one call.

Your sales process should outline those commitments. When you leave a meeting without a commitment, you have failed. And you’ve failed your dream client by taking longer to help them get better results.

There are no secrets here. These are the fundamentals. This is all blocking and tackling; three yards and cloud of dust.

If your sales cycle is longer than it needs to be (or if your pipeline is shallow), ask yourself which of these three fundamentals you aren’t practicing.