Have you ever wondered about chasing a single lead forever that turns out to be a cold deal?
In demand generation, when we start chasing leads, many of us feel that the sales cycle is likely to be a marathon race, where you are putting in efforts but still the results are not satisfactory.
As there are many steps involved with unclear information or unqualified leads, that drags out your sales process.
This will affect your ROI (return on investment), and it will be a waste of resources as well as your marketing and sales team’s time.
As we are talking about the sales cycle, what is the sales cycle, and what role does it play in demand generation? So, let’s learn about it.
What is a sales cycle?
The sales cycle is the process or steps involved from stage 1 of the lead’s first interaction journey after appointment generation to the final stage of closing the deal.
The sales cycle is very important for any business because it gives a proper structure from the first interaction to converting them into buyers.
This sales cycle is a great tool to know how much time we have taken or how much we have used to convert leads into buyers.
The sales cycle involves a step-by-step process, and below we have mentioned them:
1. Lead Profiling.
2. Knowing their Pain Points.
3. Give Appropriate Solutions.
4. Close Follow-ups.
5. Guarantee the Outcome.
6. Final Sales Closure.
This sales cycle is of two types — one is a longer sales cycle, and the other is a shorter sales cycle.
Let’s talk about longer sales cycles, which means the journey of a lead from profiling to conversion is lengthy over time, as it is due to pricing and other factors, and this process is followed by B2B businesses.
Whereas a shorter sales cycle is defined as the shortest time taken from the profiling of a lead to the final conversion stage, and this process is followed by B2C & D2C.
Longer Sales Cycles vs. Shorter Sales Cycles:
The longer sales cycle is used for B2B businesses due to the complex nature of the transaction.
Whereas the length of the sales cycle can vary depending on the market and type of customer.
B2B business sales involve high-value leads, multiple decision-makers, and longer negotiation phases.
Companies usually invest significant resources, so it requires a thorough evaluation of the product or service’s ROI.
Apart from this, B2B business needs time from the decision-makers to give authority or approval, from several weeks to even months or more.
On the other hand, a shorter sales cycle is used in B2C (business to consumer) and D2C (direct to consumer).
In this process, the decision-making process is primarily in the hands of individual consumers or small businesses. And the purchases of products or services are lower value, and it’s less complex.
In this, the businesses must focus on fast lead acquisition, personalization, and creating a seamless buying experience.
Why Shortening the Sales Cycle is Needed?
In the busier world, the business and client don’t want the sales cycle to be longer for a period of time, because it can be a real drain.
If the sales cycle is longer, then it stretches your resources and slows down growth, leaving your team chasing those leads who are not ready to convert.
Even for buyers who really want to become buyers, this will draw away their interest, making them look for other options.
This shows when the sales cycle is longer, it impacts your business and clients. If you have faced this issue, then you’re not alone.
Many of them don’t know how it impacts your business offering; here we have listed a few of them:
1. Low-Quality Leads
2. Poor Lead Nurturing
3. Sales & Marketing Misalignment
4. Lack of Urgency from Prospects
5. Too Many Decision-Makers
Benefits of Shortening the Sales Cycle:
We know that time kills deals in this competitive world.
The longer it takes to close the deal, the more chances a prospect will lose interest and become a cold lead.
So, a shortened sales cycle always keeps momentum high, making sales more predictable and improving your growth rate.
Also, in this fast-paced world, speed matters the most, and it becomes important to be a little fast to turn the highly qualified lead into buyers. There are many benefits of this, which are listed below:
1. Better Resource Efficiency
2. Improve Forecasting
3. High Morale
4. Faster revenue and more
So, from this article, we came to know how important the sales cycle is and why one should always try to shorten one’s sales cycle.
By implementing strategies such as focusing on prospects’ real needs and urgency, using email sequences to know their pain points, and giving approximate solutions to them by creating a sense of urgency.
One can keep on following the prospects with new offers or deals and by simplifying the buyer’s journey.
If you’re serious about shortening your sales cycle and looking for a firm that is perfect. Choose ResoluteB2B; we create such strategies that will shorten your sales cycle by improving your lead quality. For any queries or information, do contact us at info@b2bresolute.com/ kireeti@b2bresolute.com.
