Sales Cycling
Learn from experts on what it takes to optimize and improve your sales cycle
Separate from a sales process and methodology, a sales cycle is a series of events or phases that occur during the selling motion.
I’ve worked with and experienced the short, long, and everything in between.
Your particular sales cycle will undoubtedly be unique to your company and depend on a variety of factors including ACV, Product complexity, Target Market, Ideal Customer Profile, Buyer Persona, Competition, and more.
However, take a look at your average days to close across your team and I bet that too, will be different. Varying closing percentages and other factors across reps will mean your sales cycle can be optimized for the better.
In this week’s edition of Stretch Weekly -
Nick and Armand talk with Adam Ochart as they discuss optimal tactics to best work your way through the sales cycle.
Jason Lemkin shares his thoughts about coping with long sales cycles - especially as it pertains to larger deals in the enterprise space.
Plus a full plate of fresh snippets to share with your team to help optimize and improve your sales cycle.
THANKS for reading!!
-Grant
And lastly - as always, if you find this newsletter valuable- subscribe or share it with someone who might as well 👊.
STRETCH SHARES
How to Navigate Objections and More in The Sales Cycle
Reached back into the archives for this early episode of 30MPC as Nick and Armand talk with Adam Ochart as they discuss optimal tactics to work your way through the sales cycle.
What a great episode to send to your team as the guys talk about mirroring objections, discovery, demos, giving prospects perceived control, and specific tactics to help as you navigate the sales cycle.
Anaconda Squeeze: Pause, Mirror, Loaded Question
Proposing agendas and next steps to drive momentum forward
Level set on priorities and scale of the problem.
Best practices for a demo (get validation to explore their particular use case to dive deep, and then leave them wanting more)
Use a pulse check to gauge candid interest: “0 - I wouldn’t use this if it were free, 10 - I wish I had this 10 years ago” (love this). Then, put the ball in their court (intelligence around buying process)
Don’t overthink - just be present and be yourself.
Listen to the full episode HERE
How to Cope With Long Sales Cycles
While most of Jason Lemkin’s content is focused on founders, I find the sales-focused material especially intriguing for us leading sales teams. The lessons are just as powerful and pertinent.
This week Lemkin posted about coping with long sales cycles - especially as it pertains to larger deals in the enterprise space.
What can we learn as sales leaders?
You cannot force Fortune 500 companies to buy six and seven-figure deals in the same way SMBs buy. Embrace the slow.
Recruit seasoned Enterprise AEs that have been there before and can naturally shorten the sales cycle.
Learn how to accurately predict when these longer sales-cycle deals will close
Don’t fear the paid pilot. Don’t try and change the way Big Co’s buy.
STRETCH SNIPPETS
🗣 “Big buyers are less concerned with budgets” or “shorter calls lead to shorter sales cycles” are just a few myths Chorus debunked in this 4 Commons Sales Cycle Myths article.
🔥 Peter Chun offers his 8 surefire ways to shorten the enterprise sales cycle, including knowing when to spend more time and WHERE to dedicate more resources on the sale.
🤔 Jeb Blount and Victor Antonio say the internal sale (the sale after the sale) is often more challenging than the external sale (getting your prospect to sign the deal).
Listen as they walk you step-by-step through the behavioral and mindset shifts you must make in order to master the internal sale.
💁♂️ Todd Caponi shares his tips on removing the friction from your sales cycle.
1. Get the price out early and use it to disqualify. 2. Acknowledge and address competitors’ strengths and highlight where you match (and win). 3. Keep negotiation simple. Never negotiate price until you're selected as the preferred vendor. (Trade Value for $$)
🖐 Dan Martell gives us 5 strategic steps to shorten your sales cycles in Enterprise selling.
🧠 Mindset
Thanks for reading!
My hope is if you find this valuable, consider sharing it with friends (or signing up if you haven’t already).
— Grant 👋
About stretch vp: confessions, learnings, and insights from sales leaders in SaaS
Compiled and aggregated from a network of sales leaders in SaaS, Stretch VP showcases learnings, insights, and experiences as well as best practices to overcome common hurdles, obstacles, and setbacks in your quest for excellence as a sales leader in SaaS.
Are you a VP, Director, thought leader, or content producer in the SaaS space? We’d love to have you contribute. Just reply to this email and I’ll be in touch.
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