One of the most powerful approaches you can use to understand the market better is a sales cycle analysis. Gaining a strong appreciation for the good, the bad, and the ugly news about your market positioning in relationship to your competition is not always easy and if there is bad news it is typically difficult to hear. However, not knowing where you stand is at best dangerous and it could prove fatal.
Sales cycle analysis is about understanding why you do or do not get on the short list of your prospects (or stay on the short list of you customers) and what will facilitate or impede your progress toward becoming a preferred supplier, which is of course the position we obviously all want to be in.
If knowledge is power than sale cycle knowledge is royalty. It tells you where to focus your messaging and your product or service development efforts. In addition, the information has a high competitive intelligence quotient. If you learn about your company’s strengths and weaknesses, you can gain a tactical advantage. Learning where you are strong and weak in relationship to competitors is a strategic advantage. Studies of sales cycles, almost by definition, provide competitive insights; it is not enough to know if you are on the short list, you need to know who is on it with you.
There is certainly more than one approach to achieving insight into the sales cycle dynamics of customers and prospects and we won’t try to explore all the options here. However, it is worth stating that a commitment to understanding these dynamics is not a one shot effort. If you and your company are serious about sales and the factors that are or will hinder or propel your sales, you would be well served by tracking sales cycle metrics at least annually.
Part of the attraction offered by sales cycle analysis is the ability to explore the reasons customers and prospects abandon your brand as they move through the buying decision process. For example, you may learn that “being preferred” by a specific buyer is not enough to make the sale, but it is not your fault. Some company policies funnel sales only to approved suppliers. Although the person you are talking with likes your brand, when the time comes to buy he or she simply cannot purchase from your company without risking dismissal.
Do you give up? No you find out exactly what you have to do to get on the approved supplier list and make it happen! However, if you do not know that this is the problem than you cannot take the appropriate action.
For better or worse, markets continue to evolve quickly. A very good way to stay close to the action is to track market activity systematically. Creating a baseline and measuring off that starting point is an essential component of the process. Any sailor who races will tell you a good clean start at the line is imperative if you want to win the race.
In addition, you can structure sales cycle studies to help maximize your reach tactics. How to best reach your audience is a function of understanding how they search for information and more precisely how customers and prospects search for information at each stage of the buying process. Moreover, the new reach equation must now include social networking and social media. To ignore these fast growing marketing and sales opportunities would be foolish and certainly hinder your total sales effort.
Combining information on brand and product positioning with a continually updated view of reach dynamics is a powerful tool in the hands of a savvy marketing professional. So, what are you waiting for?
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Sales,
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