INDUSTRY INSIGHTS YOUR PEERS ARE READING
Teaser: If you believe the hype around studies that say customers feel they are through 60 percent (or more) of the buying cycle before engaging a salesperson, you could be giving your salespeople the wrong content for the wrong conversation. Issue Date: 2014-11-01. MORE
Sales Training Article: Electronic Starts to Buying Cycles By John Holland, Chief Content Officer, CustomerCentric Selling® - The Sales Training Company This article is a continuation from last week's article , as part of the IIWII ("It Is What It Is") series. MORE
Interestingly, in recent years even vendors and suppliers have increased in importance in the buying cycle because of the way buyers are now networked. We’ve dug into the buying cycle but there is so much that can be learned from the pre-buy cycle. MORE
Reciting a list of features to buyers who don't fully understand them, nor know if they're needed is a barbaric way to try to start buying cycles at any level. Sales Tips: Avoid Death by Presentation By John Holland, Chief Content Officer, CustomerCentric Selling®. MORE
Buyers Get Smarter Through The Buying Cycle. But the buying process is very dynamic. The gap continues to widen as we focus on where they were in their buying process, not where they are and where they are going. Buyers get smarter through their buying cycle. MORE
Article Corporate Strategy Marketing Strategy Sales Strategy csm customer buying cycle customer success customer success - timing of a CSM customer success leader customer success manager Customer Success Professionals customer value early engagement introduction introduction to csm Professional Services sales campaign sales process timingIn our customer success engagements, the timing of when to introduce the Customer Success Manager (CSM) is one of the most common questions. MORE
Duncan: The buying process has changed dramatically in the last decade and today as much as 70% of the buying cycle happens before a prospect ever reaches out to a vendor. Welcome to our biweekly blog feature. MORE
Buying cycles have expanded more than measurably. Other sources confirm this trend in lengthening buy cycles. Many working on old timeframes and presumed related work-flows, get frustrated as the cycles stretch. By Tibor Shanto. MORE
What if you could shorten the sales cycle, easily? One common topic that comes up in conversation with sales leaders is how to shorten their sales cycles. At first glance it seems logical, shorter cycles seem to offer a number of benefits, but it’s not always as it seems. MORE
If your offerings are $50K or higher, be prepared when following up to talk with people that: Don’t have the authority to buy. Long sales cycles. There are several advantages of making proactive attempts to start buying cycles: You can start at levels that have the authority to create budget. If there’s little chance of a buying decision, buyers won’t waste their (or your) time. This approach aligns with the way senior executives want to buy. MORE
It’s that time of year again, there are lots of posts around the popular research that indicates, “Customers aren’t engaging sales until they are, 57, 70, 90 (depending on the research you read) through their buying cycle.” Or perhaps they want to, perhaps it’s easier just to become RFP fodder, churning out responses to customers who have figured out what they need through the 57, 70, 90% of the buying process. MORE
Instead, their buyer was engaging with sales later in their buying cycle. The frontline of the buying cycle is research and information gathering. Companies that live in the second half of the sales cycle will increasingly find themselves in a competitive battleground. MORE
B2B buyers research solutions months before buying. According to Salesforce, 94% of B2B buyers conduct online research at some point in the buying process. Marketing now owns a much bigger piece of the lead-to-revenue cycle.”. MORE
Enterprises typically have very long buying cycles. Understand the buying cycle of the enterprise you're selling into. Have a clear vision of their buying journey. You ask the prospect: "What is it going to take for you guys to buy? MORE
Senior executives are not equally engaged throughout the buying cycle. In general, they are involved early and late and delegate most decisions in middle part of the buying cycle to others. Selling to the C-Suite. Selling to the c-level ? MORE
Sales Training Article: Agreed Upon Buying Cycles By John Holland, Chief Content Officer, CustomerCentric Selling® - The Sales Training Company As mentioned in my last blog article , “no decision” is a common outcome of buying cycles that sellers participate in. MORE
Sales Tips: How to Accelerate Sales and Buying Cycles. Sellers push so hard buyers decide not to buy. sales tips selling tips sales technique sales tip selling technique sales cycles buying cycles MORE
Sales enablement alignment to the customers buying cycle is required. Misalignment can result in missing the buying cycle completely. Timing and preparation for new product releases is everything. Your 2014 number requires net new revenue from new product launches. MORE
It is not uncommon today for decision makers to avoid talking with a salesperson early in the sales cycle thinking, somewhat erroneously, that they are able to diagnose their own needs and to then seek and find the best solutions through their own investigation. MORE
Teaser: There are three value conversation “moments of truth” in every buying cycle that you must excel at. But they are also integrated in a way that a salesperson must master in order to move seamlessly between them as the customer buying cycle dictates. MORE
By understanding their urgency you will know more about their buying cycle. Typically you would offer moving forward earlier in their buying cycle – sometimes you are re-offering. Sales Tips and Strategies to Grow Revenues. About. Consulting. Training. Press. Speaking. MORE
How often have you read that prospects and customers are coming into the traditional buying cycle, as much as 70% up the curve? More tomorrow … General Buying Cycles Sales Cycles Transactional Selling Yes, it is true, customers and prospects are still marching, but they are no longer marching to our drum – by “our” I mean us sellers. They have wrestled the drum away from us and they are now organizing their own marches. MORE
Without that depth of knowledge, you sound just like any other vendor, trying to persuade your prospect to buy from you rather than someone else. 2) Where are you currently in the buying cycle? MORE
The buying environment is becoming increasingly complex. But have you considered how a generational shift in your prospects’ demographics might impact the buying environment as well? Want more information on how Millenials are impacting the buying cycle? MORE
Most sellers have no clue how long their sales cycle is. As I have shared before when you ask sellers how long their cycle is, most respond “depends.” And sadly they are encouraged to continue to travel blind by many of the idiot pundits who tell things like sales cycles and numbers don’t matter. And while different team members will have different length of the cycle, I can now take steps to change it to improve outcomes and working smarter. MORE
Sales Tips: How to Begin Buying Cycles with Pain vs. Goals. One of the fundamental concepts of CustomerCentric Selling® is that buying cycles begin when Key Players share goals or admit problems they’re willing to spend money to achieve or address. Once a goal has been shared (or a problem admitted) a buying cycle has begun. By John Holland, Chief Content Officer, CustomerCentric Selling® - The Sales Training Company. MORE
Article Marketing Strategy account management analyze bottom of funnel business development buy buyer data buyer's journey buyers buying buying cycle Chief Marketing Officer CMO CMOs collect creative ideas cycle insights kpi leader leverage Marketing MCL MQL opportunity Q4 Randall LaVeau report right data sale sales sales leader tactic tactics team top of funnel touchpoints MORE
Too often, we think of the customer’s buying process as something that, once we understand it, is fairly structured and defined. I think there is a different view of the buying cycle, one that is more “squishy.” Do the customers really know how to buy? MORE
But the reality in a buy/sale cycle is the exact opposite. But in how many times have they actually done this, this case how many times have they gone through a buying cycle? For a 20-deal rep, closing 1 of 3, we’re looking at 60 cycles started, five a month. MORE
Sales Tips: 2 Factors That Determine the Length of Buying Cycles. By John Holland, Chief Content Officer, CustomerCentric Selling® - The Sales Training Company. Sales Training sales tips selling tips sales training workshop sales training workshops sales process sales methodology sales training company improve sales performance sales training success sales approach sales training approach selling process sales technique sales tip selling technique sales performance selling approac MORE
You can, by using every stage in the buy cycle to your advantage. What is the Buy Cycle? Here’s how you can incorporate full-circle sales at each stage in the buy cycle. Before a customer buys from you, she has to know you exist. MORE
Often hot leads are really buying companies that have already been sold by another vendor. They’ve indicated they have a short buying cycle and they’re eager to talk, but what these buyers may be doing is validating a decision already made. MORE
Experience: What processes does the customer go through when they are in the buying cycle? Here’s a question to get you thinking: What do you need to do today, tomorrow and next week that would have the biggest impact on your business growth? MORE
Long buying cycles and increasingly complex sales mean most of today’s presentation or demonstration ends don’t end in a signed contract. [link]. But they do ensure the sales process moves forward – IF – the buyer can remember them! In this audio you’ll learn how to make sure that your message is remembered after you walk out the door – and not confused with that of your competition? You need to make your presentation sticky. MORE
Sales Training Article: The Foundation of Buying Cycles. As a practical matter it means buying cycles do not begin until a buyer has shared a goal (or a problem) they are willing to spend money to achieve (or address). Does this mean a buying cycle has begun? MORE
And on and on the cycle goes. The right Marketing Methodology can enable you to break this cycle. These markets have natural buying cycles. Sometimes they are because of product life cycle, or evolving technology. Most of the time, though, leads aren’t ready to buy. MORE
The modern buyer is drastically different and the buying cycle has changed significantly as well. Who is the “right” sales talent in today’s business environment? As buyer expectations and demands shift, sales professionals must master new sales methodologies such as social selling and digital selling in order to keep up. Sales Management MORE
They’ve indicated they have a short buying cycle and they’re eager to talk, but what these buyers may be doing is validating a decision already made. A longer-term lead may lack urgency, but it makes up for it by giving your team a very real chance to form relationships with decision makers, and in fact define and manage the buying process (including designing the RFP). Leads at every stage of the buying cycle are essential for a healthy pipeline. MORE
Truth is, many companies buy solutions that have never been budgeted. Watch today''s PowerMinute to learn how to establish a meaningful lead definition that matches today’s buy cycle. If you are using BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeframe) to define a sales-ready lead, it’s time to STOP! BANT is an outdated methodology responsible for more lost opportunities than your CEO and CFO care to hear. Because the value of the solution has not yet been realized by the buyer. MORE
It is essential that all frontline sales professionals fully understand both the value and importance of rigorous objective qualification, not just at the front end but right the way through the sales cycle. At the very highest selling levels i.e. strategic “big-ticket” selling and marketing, clearly the sales cycle is much more protracted, complex, and typically moves through four stages i.e. Rigorous opportunity assessment. MORE
Teaser: By the time a customer engages a salesperson, they’re 60 percent of the way through their buying cycle and have done most of their research online. Issue Date: 2013-11-23. Author: Michael Harris. MORE
Buying Cycle Related Topics Partners in Excellence
SEPTEMBER 4, 2013
Too often, we think of the customer’s buying process as something that, once we understand it, is fairly structured and defined. I think there is a different view of the buying cycle, one that is more “squishy.” Do the customers really know how to buy?
The Pipeline
OCTOBER 23, 2014
You can, by using every stage in the buy cycle to your advantage. What is the Buy Cycle? Here’s how you can incorporate full-circle sales at each stage in the buy cycle. Before a customer buys from you, she has to know you exist.
Partners in Excellence
JANUARY 19, 2015
Buyers Get Smarter Through The Buying Cycle. But the buying process is very dynamic. The gap continues to widen as we focus on where they were in their buying process, not where they are and where they are going. Buyers get smarter through their buying cycle.
Customer Centric Selling
JUNE 26, 2014
Sales Tips: How to Accelerate Sales and Buying Cycles. Sellers push so hard buyers decide not to buy. sales tips selling tips sales technique sales tip selling technique sales cycles buying cycles
Openview
SEPTEMBER 19, 2017
The buying environment is becoming increasingly complex. But have you considered how a generational shift in your prospects’ demographics might impact the buying environment as well? Want more information on how Millenials are impacting the buying cycle?
Customer Centric Selling
JANUARY 19, 2018
Sales Tips: 2 Factors That Determine the Length of Buying Cycles. By John Holland, Chief Content Officer, CustomerCentric Selling® - The Sales Training Company. Sales Training sales tips selling tips sales training workshop sales training workshops sales process sales methodology sales training company improve sales performance sales training success sales approach sales training approach selling process sales technique sales tip selling technique sales performance selling approac
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Customer Centric Selling
AUGUST 7, 2013
Sales Training Article: The Foundation of Buying Cycles. As a practical matter it means buying cycles do not begin until a buyer has shared a goal (or a problem) they are willing to spend money to achieve (or address). Does this mean a buying cycle has begun?
Customer Centric Selling
NOVEMBER 5, 2014
Sales Tips: How to Begin Buying Cycles with Pain vs. Goals. One of the fundamental concepts of CustomerCentric Selling® is that buying cycles begin when Key Players share goals or admit problems they’re willing to spend money to achieve or address. Once a goal has been shared (or a problem admitted) a buying cycle has begun. By John Holland, Chief Content Officer, CustomerCentric Selling® - The Sales Training Company.
Partners in Excellence
JANUARY 25, 2015
It’s that time of year again, there are lots of posts around the popular research that indicates, “Customers aren’t engaging sales until they are, 57, 70, 90 (depending on the research you read) through their buying cycle.” Or perhaps they want to, perhaps it’s easier just to become RFP fodder, churning out responses to customers who have figured out what they need through the 57, 70, 90% of the buying process.
Customer Centric Selling
MARCH 20, 2013
Sales Training Article: Electronic Starts to Buying Cycles By John Holland, Chief Content Officer, CustomerCentric Selling® - The Sales Training Company This article is a continuation from last week's article , as part of the IIWII ("It Is What It Is") series.
Customer Centric Selling
APRIL 24, 2013
Sales Training Article: Agreed Upon Buying Cycles By John Holland, Chief Content Officer, CustomerCentric Selling® - The Sales Training Company As mentioned in my last blog article , “no decision” is a common outcome of buying cycles that sellers participate in.
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Sales Benchmark Index
FEBRUARY 1, 2018
Article Corporate Strategy Marketing Strategy Sales Strategy csm customer buying cycle customer success customer success - timing of a CSM customer success leader customer success manager Customer Success Professionals customer value early engagement introduction introduction to csm Professional Services sales campaign sales process timingIn our customer success engagements, the timing of when to introduce the Customer Success Manager (CSM) is one of the most common questions.
Sales Benchmark Index
OCTOBER 5, 2018
Article Marketing Strategy account management analyze bottom of funnel business development buy buyer data buyer's journey buyers buying buying cycle Chief Marketing Officer CMO CMOs collect creative ideas cycle insights kpi leader leverage Marketing MCL MQL opportunity Q4 Randall LaVeau report right data sale sales sales leader tactic tactics team top of funnel touchpoints
Jonathan Farrington
OCTOBER 6, 2014
It is essential that all frontline sales professionals fully understand both the value and importance of rigorous objective qualification, not just at the front end but right the way through the sales cycle. At the very highest selling levels i.e. strategic “big-ticket” selling and marketing, clearly the sales cycle is much more protracted, complex, and typically moves through four stages i.e. Rigorous opportunity assessment.
The Pipeline
SEPTEMBER 11, 2018
Most sellers have no clue how long their sales cycle is. As I have shared before when you ask sellers how long their cycle is, most respond “depends.” And sadly they are encouraged to continue to travel blind by many of the idiot pundits who tell things like sales cycles and numbers don’t matter. And while different team members will have different length of the cycle, I can now take steps to change it to improve outcomes and working smarter.
Smart Selling Tools
JUNE 3, 2014
Duncan: The buying process has changed dramatically in the last decade and today as much as 70% of the buying cycle happens before a prospect ever reaches out to a vendor. Welcome to our biweekly blog feature.
Sales Benchmark Index
MARCH 16, 2014
Sales enablement alignment to the customers buying cycle is required. Misalignment can result in missing the buying cycle completely. Timing and preparation for new product releases is everything. Your 2014 number requires net new revenue from new product launches.
Jonathan Farrington
FEBRUARY 2, 2014
How often have you read that prospects and customers are coming into the traditional buying cycle, as much as 70% up the curve? More tomorrow … General Buying Cycles Sales Cycles Transactional Selling Yes, it is true, customers and prospects are still marching, but they are no longer marching to our drum – by “our” I mean us sellers. They have wrestled the drum away from us and they are now organizing their own marches.
Sales and Marketing Management
DECEMBER 10, 2015
Teaser: There are three value conversation “moments of truth” in every buying cycle that you must excel at. But they are also integrated in a way that a salesperson must master in order to move seamlessly between them as the customer buying cycle dictates.
The Pipeline
MARCH 7, 2019
Buying cycles have expanded more than measurably. Other sources confirm this trend in lengthening buy cycles. Many working on old timeframes and presumed related work-flows, get frustrated as the cycles stretch. By Tibor Shanto.
SalesforLife
APRIL 13, 2018
The modern buyer is drastically different and the buying cycle has changed significantly as well. Who is the “right” sales talent in today’s business environment? As buyer expectations and demands shift, sales professionals must master new sales methodologies such as social selling and digital selling in order to keep up. Sales Management
Sales and Marketing Management
NOVEMBER 22, 2013
Teaser: By the time a customer engages a salesperson, they’re 60 percent of the way through their buying cycle and have done most of their research online. Issue Date: 2013-11-23. Author: Michael Harris.
Sales Training Connection
OCTOBER 28, 2013
Senior executives are not equally engaged throughout the buying cycle. In general, they are involved early and late and delegate most decisions in middle part of the buying cycle to others. Selling to the C-Suite. Selling to the c-level ?
Pointclear
AUGUST 16, 2018
Often hot leads are really buying companies that have already been sold by another vendor. They’ve indicated they have a short buying cycle and they’re eager to talk, but what these buyers may be doing is validating a decision already made.
Close.io
AUGUST 6, 2018
Enterprises typically have very long buying cycles. Understand the buying cycle of the enterprise you're selling into. Have a clear vision of their buying journey. You ask the prospect: "What is it going to take for you guys to buy?
The Pipeline
DECEMBER 18, 2018
But the reality in a buy/sale cycle is the exact opposite. But in how many times have they actually done this, this case how many times have they gone through a buying cycle? For a 20-deal rep, closing 1 of 3, we’re looking at 60 cycles started, five a month.
Sales and Marketing Management
NOVEMBER 4, 2014
Teaser: If you believe the hype around studies that say customers feel they are through 60 percent (or more) of the buying cycle before engaging a salesperson, you could be giving your salespeople the wrong content for the wrong conversation. Issue Date: 2014-11-01.
Sales Benchmark Index
AUGUST 25, 2013
Instead, their buyer was engaging with sales later in their buying cycle. The frontline of the buying cycle is research and information gathering. Companies that live in the second half of the sales cycle will increasingly find themselves in a competitive battleground.
MTD Sales Training
NOVEMBER 25, 2018
Without that depth of knowledge, you sound just like any other vendor, trying to persuade your prospect to buy from you rather than someone else. 2) Where are you currently in the buying cycle?
Pointclear
AUGUST 9, 2016
They’ve indicated they have a short buying cycle and they’re eager to talk, but what these buyers may be doing is validating a decision already made. A longer-term lead may lack urgency, but it makes up for it by giving your team a very real chance to form relationships with decision makers, and in fact define and manage the buying process (including designing the RFP). Leads at every stage of the buying cycle are essential for a healthy pipeline.
Performance Sales and Training
SEPTEMBER 4, 2017
Long buying cycles and increasingly complex sales mean most of today’s presentation or demonstration ends don’t end in a signed contract. [link]. But they do ensure the sales process moves forward – IF – the buyer can remember them! In this audio you’ll learn how to make sure that your message is remembered after you walk out the door – and not confused with that of your competition? You need to make your presentation sticky.
Customer Centric Selling
MARCH 15, 2017
Reciting a list of features to buyers who don't fully understand them, nor know if they're needed is a barbaric way to try to start buying cycles at any level. Sales Tips: Avoid Death by Presentation By John Holland, Chief Content Officer, CustomerCentric Selling®.
Sales Benchmark Index
FEBRUARY 16, 2013
And on and on the cycle goes. The right Marketing Methodology can enable you to break this cycle. These markets have natural buying cycles. Sometimes they are because of product life cycle, or evolving technology. Most of the time, though, leads aren’t ready to buy.
Pointclear
MAY 7, 2013
Interestingly, in recent years even vendors and suppliers have increased in importance in the buying cycle because of the way buyers are now networked. We’ve dug into the buying cycle but there is so much that can be learned from the pre-buy cycle.
Score More Sales
JANUARY 31, 2012
By understanding their urgency you will know more about their buying cycle. Typically you would offer moving forward earlier in their buying cycle – sometimes you are re-offering. Sales Tips and Strategies to Grow Revenues. About. Consulting. Training. Press. Speaking.
MTD Sales Training
NOVEMBER 5, 2018
Experience: What processes does the customer go through when they are in the buying cycle? Here’s a question to get you thinking: What do you need to do today, tomorrow and next week that would have the biggest impact on your business growth?
DiscoverOrg Sales
DECEMBER 18, 2017
B2B buyers research solutions months before buying. According to Salesforce, 94% of B2B buyers conduct online research at some point in the buying process. Marketing now owns a much bigger piece of the lead-to-revenue cycle.”.
The Pipeline
JANUARY 10, 2017
What if you could shorten the sales cycle, easily? One common topic that comes up in conversation with sales leaders is how to shorten their sales cycles. At first glance it seems logical, shorter cycles seem to offer a number of benefits, but it’s not always as it seems.
Pointclear
OCTOBER 8, 2013
Truth is, many companies buy solutions that have never been budgeted. Watch today''s PowerMinute to learn how to establish a meaningful lead definition that matches today’s buy cycle. If you are using BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeframe) to define a sales-ready lead, it’s time to STOP! BANT is an outdated methodology responsible for more lost opportunities than your CEO and CFO care to hear. Because the value of the solution has not yet been realized by the buyer.
Sales and Marketing Management
AUGUST 14, 2017
If your offerings are $50K or higher, be prepared when following up to talk with people that: Don’t have the authority to buy. Long sales cycles. There are several advantages of making proactive attempts to start buying cycles: You can start at levels that have the authority to create budget. If there’s little chance of a buying decision, buyers won’t waste their (or your) time. This approach aligns with the way senior executives want to buy.
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