Why do so many deals take so long to close? And what part do salespeople themselves play in dragging out the sales cycle? It’s hard enough just to get business out there. If salespeople make the process take longer than it should, that’s a serious problem.
Sure, on occasion some external factors are beyond the sales rep’s control. But salespeople can control a lot of the sales cycle by being meticulous about how they approach their work. Sloppiness slows things down.
Can sales training programs and sales coaching help with this problem? Of course. In fact, if your sales training courses aren’t resulting in a faster sales cycle, you’re using the wrong sales training—and teaching the wrong sales skills.
For instance, when sales training and sales coaching are based on the Action Selling ® system, and salespeople come to understand the system on a deep level and use it with precision, they don’t just win more business, they win it faster.
What is it about the system, exactly, that allows reps to get deals done in less time and with fewer meetings? Here is the precise answer: All of it. You must use all of Action Selling ® and you must use it in every interaction with every customer.
What part of a great sales training system speeds up the sales cycle? All of it.
It starts with Act 1: Your Plan to Win. This is where you set your Commitment Objective, prepare your Questions Plan, and create a vision for how the sale will advance.
Setting the right Commitment Objectives is a critical sales skill. Because a truly professional sales call always starts with a Commitment Objective, it ends far more often with a commitment gained.
Your Questions Plan (developing one is another critical sales skill) will include queries in all of the right categories to keep the process moving forward: questions to uncover Best Value Needs and others to uncover issues that will determine your sales strategy. That includes involving all of the right decision-makers in your sales process.
Reps who have the benefit of sales training programs and sales coaching based on the Action Selling ® system think through the process. They play a different game than their competitors. They have a recipe for success that others don’t have. You can bake a cake faster with a recipe than by throwing ingredients in a bowl and hoping for the best.
When you use a great sales system with precision, you leave nothing to chance. Your time and the customer’s time will be used far more productively. You’ll sell to the right people and do it with fewer meetings. You’ll get more business moving through your pipeline, and it will flow more quickly.
So can sales training courses and sales coaching speed up your sales cycle? They can if they are based on the right system.
For information about how to improve sales skills and make sales training pay huge dividends, contact Action Selling ® at (800) 232-3485.