Common Issues That Lengthen Your Sales Cycle

At Acquirent, we understand that there is no one-size-fits-all sales approach. There are some key tenets of successful selling, but the needs of each industry and client are different and require their own tailored approaches.

One area where this is particularly salient is the sales cycle.

Knowing your prospect’s industry and business model will help you determine how long closing should take and ultimately how to optimize for a shorter sales cycle with future deals. But any smart salesperson knows that there’s always room for improvement, and it may surprise you how many elements in your own process could be lengthening your time to close. Below are three common factors that may be unnecessarily lengthening your sales cycle and holding up your cash flow:

• Your prospect is not adequately convinced that they have a pressing issue which needs solving by your product or service.
• You’re not aiming or calling high enough. Though you should always do your due diligence when qualifying leads to identify who will make the buying decision, it is much better to be referred down from a higher-level employee than to be foiled by a lower-level gatekeeper on your way up.
• Your process is not streamlined enough for you to move through it as quickly as you need to. If you’re using outdated technology or your client has to jump through too many hoops, it will take much longer to close and may even jeopardize your deal.

Businesses thinking of outsourcing sales in Evanston and Chicago should keep in mind that bringing in experienced sales professionals puts a trained eye on your sales cycle, and can help you optimize it to keep prospects moving through your pipeline. When you outsource, you may learn things about your process you never knew.

Join engaged sales professionals and leaders to get the latest sales tips.