Definition, Stages and Strategies
Sales Cycle Management is not just a fancy title for a salesperson’s job description. This is a guideline for salespeople and a valuable tool for managers who want to improve their sales team’s productivity, and decrease their costs. This comprehensive guide provides a detailed overview of the entire sales cycle, from initial contact to closing. This comprehensive resource provides a detailed description of each step as well as the essential information required to manage them all, so sales can be maximized.
It is becoming more common for companies to buy contracts over the traditional way. This makes it crucial to understand how to manage the sales process, particularly when it comes closing deals.
The management of the sales cycle is the process of planning, executing, and analysing the sales process in order to sell product or service effectively. This is critical to the success of both the sales team as well as the company. It must be constantly improved to maximize sales.
Before we move on to sales cycle management, let’s first look at the sales cycle and its stages.
What is a sales cycle and how does it work?
The sales cycle describes the steps in the sales process. It begins when a sales representative meets a potential client and ends when that transaction is closed. A sales cycle simply means the journey a potential customer takes from the moment they express an interest in a product to the time when they make a purchase.
Why is this important?
For the following reasons, understanding your sales cycle is critical to your performance:
- It helps you keep track of all sales and the steps taken by each salesperson.
- This allows you to gain insight into your sales operations, and evaluate their performance.
- If necessary, you can modify or enhance the sales process.
- What are the Seven Steps of the Sales Process?
- Here are the phases of the sales cycle. Be aware of the context where you will be using them throughout your sales cycle.
Prospecting is the first step.
This involves locating potential customers interested in your product/service. This is the basis of every sales process. Prospecting is the process by which qualified prospects are identified and are ready to purchase the advertised product.
Prospecting starts with creating an Ideal Customer Profile. An ICP describes the ideal customer for a company’s product or service. It is a tool that aids in gathering critical information, such as client requirements, and focuses on marketing and sales teams.
Prospecting for new clients is not the only job of sales representatives. Qualifying them is also a part of their job. Prospecting can often involve raising awareness among potential consumers. This can be done by salespeople using social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, blogs and podcasts to promote their product or services.
Get ready
The second stage in the sales cycle is preparation. This involves gathering information about the client and conducting research to create a pitch that is persuasive.
Salespeople must get to know the needs, wants, and expectations of their prospects. They also need to have background information such as their education and profession.
This knowledge will help you create the perfect sales presentation to convince your prospect of the value of any product or services you offer.
Make a plan
This is where your first impressions will be made. This is where sales staff meet clients, whether in person, via video conferencing, or via email. Sales representatives are asked to introduce themselves, then begin building a rapport with prospects by having small conversations, asking questions and engaging in other conversational techniques.
Present
During the presentation stage, sales teams should demonstrate how their product/service directly meets the prospect’s needs. It is important to tailor the presentation to address prospects’ pain points and offer a solution.
Sales teams might use Keynote or PowerPoint presentations to make their points more clear. They may also use interactive sessions where the prospect can try the product. Cross-selling and upselling are common during this stage.
How to deal with objections
Your customers may have questions or reservations before buying your products. It’s normal for customers to need additional information before making a decision. These concerns should be used by good salespeople to get to know the prospect and adjust their pitch accordingly.