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The Startup Sales Cycle
The document discusses the differences in sales cycles between big companies and startups, highlighting that startups face longer sales processes due to their lack of established credibility. It outlines the steps involved in each sales cycle, emphasizing the importance of addressing customer concerns and fostering relationships with decision-makers. Ultimately, it suggests that understanding and tackling objections early can help reduce the length of the sales cycle.
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The Startup Sales Cycle
- 1. the startup salescycle
- 2. selling is nevereasy, even when you’re a big companyand when you’re a startup, it’s even harder
- 3. that means thatmaking your first sale will take a long time – longer than you think
- 4. before we begin,we must ask a questionwhat is a sales cycle?
- 5. a sales cycleis the total amount of time it takes from when you first open dialogue with a potential customer to when you finally close the sale
- 6.
- 7. big companies haveserious advantages & tools when they sell to new or existing customers
- 8. the customer mayalready be familiar with the company’s products & service (this includes quality and performance)
- 9. the customer mayhave existing software from the big company that can do even more when combined with the new software
- 10. the big companymay offer APIs and support that makes integration into existing systems easy
- 11. the big companymay have relationships with more of the customer’s decision makers who can have an impact on the sale
- 12. does this meanthe big company’s sales cycle will be fast and short?no
- 13. here‘s how longit takes for a big company to make their sale:1) it starts when the first contact is made
- 14. 2) then, aninitial set of calls & meetings take place for deal qualification, needs analysis and proposal creationthis takes two to four weeks
- 15. 3) the proposalis submitted for review by the customer** this is when the customer starts to think:what budgets pay for this?
- 16. what is requiredbeyond money?
- 17. can we buildthis ourselves?
- 18. what other vendorsshould we call?this takes one to four weeks
- 19. 4) if theproposal is accepted, implementation begins**this requires the customer’s time too for IT assistance & user trainingthis takes two to four weeks
- 20. 5) the pilotbeginsthis takes one to six months
- 21. 6) the pilotends, and the evaluation of the pilot’s performance beginsthis takes two to four weeks
- 22. 7) if thepilot was determined to be a success, the purchase must then be approved by all decision makersthis takes two to four weeks
- 23. 8) after athree to twelve month long cycle, the big company has made a sale
- 24.
- 25. it includes everythingwe saw for the big company… but it takes even longer
- 26. startups are unknown,so the customer worries about this more than price or features** that means you need to address this with customer testimonials & case studies before the sale – these take time to acquire & develop
- 27. startups make ITangry, because the software is often poorly documented, buggy and hard to integrate into existing systems*i am IT cat* that means you need to figure out how to make IT’s life easier – this may delay or alter your release cycle
- 28. startups don’t understandthe internal politics at the customer to know whose support they need to make the sale** let’s explore this more by looking at the three sets of decision makers at each customer
- 29. customer decision maker#1: the person who will ultimately use the product or service“I want to know why this will let me do a better job – without having to do any extra work!”
- 30. customer decision maker#1: the person who will ultimately use the product or serviceGet her on your side by showing her how: It solves one of her biggest problems
- 31. It willmake her look better to her boss
- 32. It will notadd more work to her job
- 33. You have gottenbuy-in from her co-workers
- 34. You arecommitted to awesome customer servicecustomer decision maker #2: the person who will ultimately pay for the product or service“I want to know why this is essential for the company – and if it will help us make more money.”
- 35. customer decision maker#2: the person who will ultimately pay for the product or serviceGet him on your side by showing him how:You have delivered ROI for past customers
- 36. You are abetter value than similar products
- 37. You won’t costmore than you say you will
- 38. You are essentialfor the users’ work (and they have vouched for that fact)“What? More new software to support?”“I’ve already entered 3 new vendors into our database today!”“This is totally going to get in the way of this game of Solitaire!”“ButI want to be home for dinner by 6!”customer decision maker(s) #3: the lazy people who won’t use or pay for the product, but whose lives may be (even mildly) affected
- 39. Get them onyour side by showing them:You’ll do as much of the work as possible so they don’t have to
- 40. You’ll doas much of the work as possible so they don’t have to
- 41. You’ll doas much of the work as possible so they don’t have tocustomer decision maker(s) #3: the lazy people who won’t use or pay for the product, but whose lives may be (even mildly) affected
- 42. once you haveaddressed your product’s reliability, its IT impact, and how it affects the lives of the three decision makers…only then does your sales cycle become shorter like the big company.
- 43. what is thesingle most important thing you can do to shorten the cycle?be aware of all decision makers, uncover their objections, and address their objections as early as possible!
- 44. one last thought:a sale is ultimately the result of great relationshipsthe quickest sales occur when the customer is already in your network, or you’ve been introduced to them by someone they already know and trust
- 45. thanks for joiningus for this presentation……now join us for the easiest way to give and get great introductions for shorter sales cycles: SalesTiesalestie.com@salestieinfo@salestie.com