The Pipeline

JUNE 25, 2019

In Good times and bad, the one thing most sales professionals try to do is shorten the length of their sales cycle. They believe that shorter sales cycles bring several benefits, some indeed materialize, most do not. The complete opposite of what it should be, we need to focus on buying cycles to shorten sales cycles. It seems everyone has ideas on how to shorten sales cycles, wanting to go beyond the limits my experience only, I took the question out to others.

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Buying Cycle Sales Cycle Buyer ACT 197

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. Our job as sales professionals becomes aligning our selling process with the customer’s buying process, moving through the process in a disciplined manner. I think there is a different view of the buying cycle, one that is more “squishy.” I think this picture represents a lot of what I see in B2B buying cycles.

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Buying Cycle Compensation Engineering Education 99

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 By John Holland, Chief Content Officer, CustomerCentric Selling® - The Sales Training Company. Image courtesy of ddpavumba at FreeDigitalPhotos.net. As a general rule, sellers push to get orders earlier than buyers are ready to make decisions.

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Buying Cycle Discount Energy Incentives 64

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. By not offering more during this stage in the buy cycle, you lose a tremendous opportunity. Sooner or later, your customer will want to buy more. The Pipeline Guest Post - Megan Totka.

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Buying Cycle Loyalty Social Media Small Business 240

Speaker: Achinta Mitra, Founder and President, Tiecas Inc.

It's the plight of an industrial marketer: over the course of a 12-18 month long buying cycle, you make contact with a whole host of influencers who read your content, who may or may not actually work in purchasing. By the time the RFQ comes in, the original project might be completely different. and your initial point of contact may be long gone! Meanwhile, the purchase somehow takes place, and Sales claims all the glory. How is a marketer supposed to make the business case for better content marketing? Join Achinta Mitra, Founder and President of Tiecas, Inc, as he explains how, despite the long, grueling buying cycle, you can prove the ROI of your content marketing. and win (or keep!) buy-in from your higher-ups.

Buying Cycle

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. If we’re really good, creating the value we should and facilitating their buying process, we are right beside them as they make their buying journey. Buyers get smarter through their buying cycle.

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Buying Cycle Buyer Proposal Relationals 98

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.

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Buying Cycle Revenue Training Research 73

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? Today’s B2B buying committees are growing more diverse as Millennials take their seats alongside Generation X and Baby Boomers. Read on to learn what they uncovered and the implications a generational shift has on the B2B buying process.

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Buying Cycle B2C Demographics B2B 73

Smart Selling Tools

JULY 17, 2012

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. And that, all too often, is at the end of the buying cycle. You can win even when prospects engage with you late in the buying process if you play by these rules.

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Buying Cycle Prospecting Buyer Vendor 99

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? At this point or somewhat later, quantification of the magnitude of the revenue loss can be done, but until the seller got the issue clarified, a buying cycle had not begun.

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Buying Cycle Positioning Buyer Training 48

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. A recent study by Marketing Leadership Research concluded that buyers on average are 57% of the way through buying cycles before contacting vendors.

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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. A major issue for both seller and buyer, however, is figuring out where they are in the buying process. Agreeing to the plan is a commitment by the buying committee.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Buying Cycle Campaigns Customer Strategy 217

Sales Benchmark Index

JULY 22, 2019

Market-leading companies develop and execute on strategies that are aligned to their customers expressed and unexpressed needs. This is often captured in a Customer Journey Map. While this tool is frequently used to prioritize operational improvement efforts, to deliver on.

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Customer Buying Cycle Analysis Leads 163

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

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Funnel Buying Cycle Buyer Revenue 172

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.

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Buying Cycle Retail Trends Travel 168

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. Executive Interviews Buying Cycle Duncan Lennox Qstream Reinforcing Sales Knowledge sales behaviors selling skills Welcome to our biweekly blog feature. Every two weeks, I interview an executive from a top sales and marketing solutions company.

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Pharmaceuticals Decision Maker Revenue Retention 52

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.

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Industry Buying Cycle Buyer Prospecting 33

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. There are three value conversation “moments of truth” in every buying cycle that you must excel at. Issue Date: 2015-12-11.

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Sales Cycle Buying Cycle Conversion Customer 163

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. A poor launch will waste R & D dollars. Lack of sales enablement will cause you to miss the number. CMO Resources CMO New Product Sales Enablement Sales Readiness

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Buying Cycle Revenue Resources Customer 223

SalesforLife

MARCH 30, 2019

Today’s modern buyer is drastically different than buyers of the past, and the buying cycle has also changed significantly. Turning potential prospects into customers is no longer easy for salespeople. The modern buyer is being transformed. What can salespeople do to adapt to these changing times? Social Selling modern buyer

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Buying Cycle Prospecting Customer Buyer 92

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. 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.

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Buying Cycle Research Customer Sales 167

Accent Technologies

AUGUST 1, 2019

We all know that content plays an important part in the B2B buying cycle, but how do you know what content is moving things along and what’s falling flat? The answer is you need a scalable and methodical approach to measuring content performance. more…

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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. A recent survey of more than 700 B2B marketers and salespeople revealed a clear disconnect between where salespeople feel the most pressure in the sales cycle, and how well their companies prepare them to face these tough messaging moments.

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Buying Cycle Survey Study Sales Cycle 210

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

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Buying Cycle Sales Methodology Social Selling Sales Talent 62

Jonathan Farrington

APRIL 17, 2019

It would be very easy to be seduced into believing that in today’s selling environment the need to rigorously qualify every opportunity at the front end of the sales/buying cycle […]. General Sales Qualification

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Buying Cycle Opportunity Sales 32

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. The early part of the buying cycle warrants senior executive attention because the overall priority and strategy for the project is defined. Selling to the C-Suite. Selling to the c-level ?

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Buying Cycle Referrals Competition Conversion 94

The Pipeline

MARCH 7, 2019

Buying cycles have expanded more than measurably. Other sources confirm this trend in lengthening buy cycles. So, when buyers tell you that they have earmark four months for a decision based on the last time they made the purchase, say four or five years ago; current buying team members may not have even gone through a buying cycle before, and behave differently than their predecessors. By Tibor Shanto.

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Buying Cycle Commission Buyer Education 192

Zoominfo

DECEMBER 28, 2020

You’re armed with your prospect’s buying signals, right? What are customer buying signals? By definition, buying signals are the actions potential customers take that indicate they’re close to making a purchase. How to spot buying signals.

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Closing GoldMine Demographics Buyer 194

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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Gatekeeper Buying Cycle Inbound Sales Cycle 206

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. 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).

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Leads Buying Cycle Insurance Insurance 109

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.

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Leads Buying Cycle Insurance Insurance 138

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 prospect will then answer something along these lines: "Well, we'll have to get approval from this department, and that, and get buy-in from this stakeholder.".

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Sales Cycle Closing Buying Cycle How To 92

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.

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Buying Cycle Competition Buyer Sales Process 57

Sales and Marketing Management

JUNE 27, 2019

Companies like Amazon and Netflix have become experts at using data on the sales side to make inferences about what products or movies a customer might buy or watch, and then using those same analytics on the marketing side to push the right offer or recommendation to the customer at the right time. Predicting consumer trends for goods with short buying cycles.

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Marketing Analytics Data Consumer 223

Zoominfo

SEPTEMBER 3, 2020

Shorter sales cycles – Sales cycles are already long for B2B organizations, and automated emails serve as a virtual sales rep to nurture them. Automated emails encourage leads to move from the product research phase into the buying cycle.

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Prospecting Campaigns How To Lead Nurturing 218

The Pipeline

MAY 28, 2019

This provides a couple of specific ways sellers can use the time to improve buying and selling. How much time is this buy going to suck out of my life and days over the next three months?” Studies show that buyers are finding that the buying cycle is taking twice as long as they anticipated. Which means they will have allocated a certain amount of time to buying. You can add value and deliver insights based on your experience in similar cycles.

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Buying Cycle Buyer Maximizer Opportunity 244

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. In 2011, the Sales Executive Council reported the average B2B buyer engaged with a vendor 57% of the way through their buying cycle. Companies that live in the second half of the sales cycle will increasingly find themselves in a competitive battleground.

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Collateral Buying Cycle Software Software 249