Shortening the sales cycle is the most effective way to increase revenue without adding costs or resources.  

According to veteran sales consultant Bob Apollo, the key to systematically shortening average sales cycles lies in working smart, not hard.

Apollo offers these three keys to shortening the sales cycle while taking an additional burden off of the average rep’s shoulders:

1. Never rush the qualifying stage. Most experts would argue this is the most crucial stage in the process, as it ensures salespeople are dealing with a prospect who has a specific need, buying authority and money in the budget to buy. Help salespeople by having an intern or admin pre-qualify as many leads as possible.
2. Focus on the prospect’s buying process, not yours. The reason a lot of deals take longer than usual to close is that the salesperson is more concerned about dictating what the next step is, rather than understanding how the prospect’s company does business.
3. Measure velocity at every stage. A recent TSA Group found that the longer each stage in the process takes, the less likely a salesperson is to eventually close the deal.

Source: “3 proven ways to shorten your average sales cycle,” by Bob Apollo, The Customer Collective, 3/8/12.

Tags: Bob Apollo, qualifying, shorten the sales cycle