Sales managers gripe about long sales cycles and sales guys point to
long sales cycles causing sales attainment misses. I had a sales
manager that told the sales team to find projects. And this is good
advice.

Prospects, like ice cream, come in 186 different
flavors. One type, fire hot, sizzles when called, just ready and raring
to go. And another prospect, icey voice answering his phone, needs to
defrost. It is important, for the selling organization, to read the thermometer and sell to the reading.

All sales guys that can
put words together to form a coherent sentence, can close hot leads.
The skill is defrosting the frosty prospects to buying
ready. Time is taken, during the nurturing period, with autoresponders,
periodic calls, value added information pieces to chip away at the prospect. The time comes when the
prospect enters a sales cycle or is tossed. Use tools to nurture leads
to buying ready, and keep them in the mix for at least 12 months. 

Insert project ready leads into the sales process which may be demo, quote,
negotiation, win or lose. The cycle, like a road map, is laid out prior
to journey start. The prospect and sales person, shoulder to shoulder,
craft the time frame, the key areas of businesss need to visit. the
important landmarks to check off, and the final destination. The road
map, or sales cycle, should mold to the prospect's buying history, and
include key vendor baselines. Successful cycles burn in the sales
process and then the baselines or sales stages are vetted. 

Now,
prospect and vendor, agree to the trip plan. Solution Selling by
Bosworth gave sales guys the process letter. The letter, including the
steps and baselines, is sent to the prospect and his feedback is
recorded. This letter, attached to the opportunity in CRM or sales
management software, provides strong sales management data. The import
of the letter, aggreement to the plan, is powerful.

After all,
sales pros know time is money, and their time is valuable. The
prospect's time is valuable too. And the plan respects that both
parties agree to engage and agree to the process. At each stage, a no
go, or go decision is made. To continue or to stop the sales cycle. Transparent sales steps, expectations beforehand, save time and cost for both the vendor and the prospect.