Tools You Need To Win At Long Sales Cycles

Who, would sign up for a job that entails long sales cycles of 12+ months if there were not great rewards for doing so?  Not merely financial but esteem, and personal growth and development. However, while you are in the midst of working on sales deals that could take 12+ months or longer are you hungry for some TIPS to keep you going?

If so, here are 7 TIPS to you need to win at long sales cycles:

1.) Determination- stay determined. Celebrate each milestone/small win it will help make the end result (closing the deal) even greater.

2.) Passion-be passionate about the work/job you are doing.  You are working with a prospective customer to help them reach their desired result, plan, project etc.

3.) Patience-not easily learned or implemented. Patience is may be the hardest part of having a job in sales with a long sales cycle.  When I was in sales our average sales cycle was 18 months+ depending on the size of the public sector customer.

4.) Research-continue to research your prospective customer.  Make cold calls and write sales letters that talk to the prospective customer’s challenges, successes, and their competitors.

 5.) Refinement- don’t stop refining your message.  You should continue to refine your message until it resonates with what the customer needs.  There is an “old saying in Strategic marketing” that someone has to hear the message you intend for them to understand seven times before they understand it.

6.) A coach/mentor-relationship building.  This is not an easy task and many of us know it. Finding a coach/mentor takes the dreaded word “time”. How do you do it? Network, be friendly, and talk to prospective customers at events.  Attend conferences and events and be personable. Be yourself. When someone sees these traits they become open to wanting to get to know you. As we all know relationships take time to build, however, in the end if done right, you will haveTRUST.  Trust means everything.  You must connect with your prospective customer on a personal level.

7.) Sales is not only about, writing the best sales letters, cold calling, relationship building or being the best of the best.  Yes, of course all these specifics matter collectively.  Yet, in addition to this, sales is about seeing the reality of a situation thru your prospective customer’s eyes and getting them to understand that you know what their next challenge is and that you have the “GREATER solution” to help them tackle it head on.  You have to take the time to immerse yourself into their business, know their business better than they do, and they will respect that and you.

Want more?  Find it in Habits of Successful Career Nomads

Have any TIPS you want to share?