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
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
The sales cycle is decreasing - the buying cycle is taking over. Take a read of Mark’s discussion on how the selling cycle and buying cycle are changing … Salespeople love to tell me how in today’s environment they can’t get customers to make a decision. 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
They trust the authentic testimony of someone who’s “been there, done that, and thrived,” which is why more companies are incorporating customer advocacy into every stage of the buying cycle. The ability to search customer advocate testimonials and content to help drive sales cycles. MORE
Contrary to some current misconceptions, B2B buyers are not in fact conducting much of the buying cycle unaided by sellers, evaluating solutions on their own, and only reaching out to suppliers in the late stages of their process. They need to add value when no one is buying. 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
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
For example, if someone that can’t buy asks for a demonstration, sellers can ask: “You indicated that Janet would be involved in approving this initiative. Shorter buying cycles will often result. Sales Tips: Maintaining Contact with Decision Makers. 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
When going through buying cycles with prospects, sellers are careful to ensure they gain access to Key Players that will be involved in making buying decisions. After buying decisions are made, most of the contact with the account will be with middle to lower levels. MORE
Another big change driving tech adoption is the balance of power shifting to the buyer who is now in control of the buying cycle, making it more complex from the seller’s perspective. MORE
Early in a buy cycle these needs are less fully developed and lack specificity. As the buy cycle evolves, the prospect acquires knowledge about their needs and also about possible solutions to mitigate the pain associated with those needs. Complex problems, solutions or products; complicated pricing and competitive markets all elevate the need for establishing prospect confidence early in the transaction and maintaining it throughout the buy cycle and beyond. MORE
With the rise of more committees, there are more people involved in making buying decisions, sellers are engaged later in the buying cycle, and, increasingly a lot of the selling is going on when you not there. Internal Champion. 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
Buyers enjoy many advantages in that they decide if they’ll talk with sellers, can stop buying cycles for any reason, decide whether to spend the money and pick which vendor they’ll do business with. During buying cycles sellers can be viewed more as peers than subordinates. 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
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
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
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
Too often, we get to the end of a buying cycle and pricing becomes the issue. Early in their buying process, we have to help the customer understand and quantify the consequences of doing nothing. We have to continue to build on this, reinforcing it and helping the customer internalize it through the buying process. The deal stalls, the customer may discuss a competitor’s lower price, they are looking for concessions. 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
Shorter sales cycles. The later in buying cycles ugly conversations take place the better for sellers. By John Holland, Chief Content Officer, CustomerCentric Selling®. 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
It starts with the question, “Is reducing the time between customer meetings the only way to compress the sales cycle?” ” This focuses on what we call wall/calendar time (look at the clock or calendar on the wall, reduce time between meetings–shorten sales cycle). 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
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
In the sales reps’ defense it is well to remember that in complex B2B sales a lot is going on and it is going on over an extended buying cycle with many players and lots of twists and turns. Sales Strategy. MORE
Complex buying process. In major accounts the buying process is complex. There are a lot of players involved, the buying process is long, consensus is often lacking and there are a lot of tricky situations to be handled. Internal Champions. MORE
Senior executives are not equally engaged throughout the buying cycle. They are involved early and late and tend to delegate the middle of the buying process to others. Selling to C-Suite Puzzle. In major accounts sales success at the C-level is a “do or die” proposition. MORE
It’s created based on the readiness of your prospect to buy, and is tailored to keep the salesperson top-of-mind without being overwhelming. Ignoring the buying cycle. Don’t mistake your sales cycle for your customer’s buying cycle. What is Call Cadence? 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?
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
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 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 ?
Sales and Marketing
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.
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 Training Connection
DECEMBER 14, 2016
Senior executives are not equally engaged throughout the buying cycle. They are involved early and late and tend to delegate the middle of the buying process to others. Selling to C-Suite Puzzle. In major accounts sales success at the C-level is a “do or die” proposition.
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.”.
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.
Partners in Excellence
APRIL 10, 2018
Too often, we get to the end of a buying cycle and pricing becomes the issue. Early in their buying process, we have to help the customer understand and quantify the consequences of doing nothing. We have to continue to build on this, reinforcing it and helping the customer internalize it through the buying process. The deal stalls, the customer may discuss a competitor’s lower price, they are looking for concessions.
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.
Smart Selling Tools
FEBRUARY 27, 2018
They trust the authentic testimony of someone who’s “been there, done that, and thrived,” which is why more companies are incorporating customer advocacy into every stage of the buying cycle. The ability to search customer advocate testimonials and content to help drive sales cycles.
Customer Centric Selling
MARCH 16, 2016
Buyers enjoy many advantages in that they decide if they’ll talk with sellers, can stop buying cycles for any reason, decide whether to spend the money and pick which vendor they’ll do business with. During buying cycles sellers can be viewed more as peers than subordinates.
Sales and Marketing
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
JULY 13, 2016
In the sales reps’ defense it is well to remember that in complex B2B sales a lot is going on and it is going on over an extended buying cycle with many players and lots of twists and turns. Sales Strategy.
Customer Centric Selling
JANUARY 2, 2014
When going through buying cycles with prospects, sellers are careful to ensure they gain access to Key Players that will be involved in making buying decisions. After buying decisions are made, most of the contact with the account will be with middle to lower levels.
Customer Centric Selling
APRIL 9, 2018
Shorter sales cycles. The later in buying cycles ugly conversations take place the better for sellers. By John Holland, Chief Content Officer, CustomerCentric Selling®.
Partners in Excellence
JUNE 13, 2017
It starts with the question, “Is reducing the time between customer meetings the only way to compress the sales cycle?” ” This focuses on what we call wall/calendar time (look at the clock or calendar on the wall, reduce time between meetings–shorten sales cycle).
Altify
MAY 21, 2018
Contrary to some current misconceptions, B2B buyers are not in fact conducting much of the buying cycle unaided by sellers, evaluating solutions on their own, and only reaching out to suppliers in the late stages of their process. They need to add value when no one is buying.
Sales Training Connection
MAY 27, 2015
Complex buying process. In major accounts the buying process is complex. There are a lot of players involved, the buying process is long, consensus is often lacking and there are a lot of tricky situations to be handled. Internal Champions.
Cincom Smart Selling
OCTOBER 12, 2017
Early in a buy cycle these needs are less fully developed and lack specificity. As the buy cycle evolves, the prospect acquires knowledge about their needs and also about possible solutions to mitigate the pain associated with those needs. Complex problems, solutions or products; complicated pricing and competitive markets all elevate the need for establishing prospect confidence early in the transaction and maintaining it throughout the buy cycle and beyond.
Sales Training Connection
AUGUST 18, 2014
With the rise of more committees, there are more people involved in making buying decisions, sellers are engaged later in the buying cycle, and, increasingly a lot of the selling is going on when you not there. Internal Champion.
Hubspot Sales
APRIL 3, 2018
It’s created based on the readiness of your prospect to buy, and is tailored to keep the salesperson top-of-mind without being overwhelming. Ignoring the buying cycle. Don’t mistake your sales cycle for your customer’s buying cycle. What is Call Cadence?
Sales Training Connection
OCTOBER 24, 2011
The sales cycle is decreasing - the buying cycle is taking over. Take a read of Mark’s discussion on how the selling cycle and buying cycle are changing … Salespeople love to tell me how in today’s environment they can’t get customers to make a decision.
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.
DiscoverOrg Sales
NOVEMBER 17, 2016
Another big change driving tech adoption is the balance of power shifting to the buyer who is now in control of the buying cycle, making it more complex from the seller’s perspective.
Customer Centric Selling
JANUARY 11, 2017
For example, if someone that can’t buy asks for a demonstration, sellers can ask: “You indicated that Janet would be involved in approving this initiative. Shorter buying cycles will often result. Sales Tips: Maintaining Contact with Decision Makers.
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