Why can’t I close sales faster?

With sales cycles getting longer, understanding the problems you are faced with will help you change the way you sell for faster sales.

1.  Your sales process is not aligned with your prospect’s buying process.   Most companies design their sales process on how they sell to the market without regard to how the market buys from them.  If you start to think as a buyer, you would be able to identify potential obstacles earlier in the sale and develop solutions around them.

2.  You do not follow your process.  When you do not follow all of the steps when building a model or replacing your brake pads?  What if pilots and surgeons ignored their processes and checklists?  Experts say that it takes 10,000 hours to master your profession, so until then you should probably follow the steps.

3.  You have not created a sense of urgency by discussing “risk” with the buyer.  The best question you can ask if you feel an objection to your solution: “What is the cost of not doing this?”  If you can you’re your prospect that the rewards outweigh the risks, you will help them say “yes” faster.

What steps should you take to correct these problems?

1.  Define how your customer buys.  If you ask “What would you like to see from me to help you make your decision”, you will save a lot of time trying to figure out what they want.

2.  Have a goal for each and every sales call.   When you understand all of the stages a prospect goes through in their buying process, you can identify milestones that need to be met for the prospect to reach the next stage.  What needs to happen in your next call or meeting to make that happen to keep the sale moving?

3.  Talk about rewards with your prospects. Companies are always concerned with committing funds to something that is not necessarily tangible.  Help your prospect understand the opportunity costs of not saying “yes”.

By aligning the way you sell to the way your prospects buy, following a repeatable process, and helping the prospect see the rewards of saying yes, you will close sales faster.