How can you create a sense of urgency in your sales funnel?

Prioritise compelling reasons to act along this order: 1. COI: Costs of Inaction, $ per time unit lost ?? why to act, now 2. FOMU: Fear of messing up, getting help to deliver on a make or break KPI 3. Shine: Helping somebody getting promoted quickly or similar 4. ROI: Return on investment based on a future scenario 5. FOMO: Fear of missing out, SaaS buying trigger 2012-2022, not anymore 6. Nice to have: “People buy what they want, not what they need” -> see 3. 7. Anything else: Well, forget it, at least for 25k+ deals

To create a sense of urgency in a sales team: 1. Time-Limited Promotions: Offer limited-time discounts or promotions to encourage quick decision-making. 2. Scarcity: Highlight limited availability of products or services to spur immediate action. 3. Deadline-driven Goals: Set clear, time-sensitive sales targets and incentives. 4. Competitive Pressure: Share competitor activity or market trends to emphasize the need to act fast. 5. Customer Stories: Share success stories of customers who benefited from quick decisions. 6. Sales Contests: Organize contests with rewards for meeting or exceeding targets within a set timeframe. 7. Urgent Communication: Use assertive language in sales pitches and emails, emphasizing the immediate benefits.

What is keeping your prospect awake at night? This the THE question you need to answer. And then see if what you can offer can solve this problem. It is not always as easy as it seems. When I sold software testing solutions, on a trip I visited a prospect that was a stock exchange and another one in Automotive. The stock exchange did not really care about software quality as much as AVAILABILITY. The Automotive prospect did not "immediately" care about code quality - just if they could put a checkmark somewhere in their to-do list for standard compliance (ISO 26262). In both cases our tools fit. But in order to be successful, you would need to introduce your solutions in two very different ways, matching what really mattered TO THEM.

This is key, buyers will purchase your solution if it helps them achieve their goals or metrics. This is why discovery is so important, you need to understand what drives your buyer's area, org, team, etc. If you can understand what their main goals are and help them achieve it... you are almost there.

Practically speaking, this is what it means: 1. Any presentation and demo you do need to be customized by industry. People buy from people they trust, and "talking the talk" of the industry is key to getting that trust. 2. Don't talk to prospect, ENGAGE with them in a conversation. Even after customizing your approach, you still want to gauge whether you did your job right. Is this of any interest to them? Is there something you are missing? 3. ALWAYS treat your prospects as bright individuals. Do not use words that seem to suggest that not opting in your solutions would be stupid. Prospects HATE to be manipulated. If you doubt what I am saying, just imagine how you feel when someone else tries to do it to you.

Clarify that you only have limited capacity to provide a world-class service level (this also counts for Mid-Market/Enterprise SaaS) to a carefully selected set of customers/clients, because ensuring a 3-10x ROI to all customers is paramount for you.

Again there are a lot of reps outside offering: End of Q offer End of month offer End of week offer. This is not what scarcity means, you need to generate urgency but helping you buyer understand what are the consequences of not solving their challenges urgently.

I can't agree with Santiago more. Any beta salesperson can throw words like "time-limited" offer repeatedly. Albeit you can at times use it to give a deal a last push, if you are basing your sales strategy on these types of tactics you are simply denaturing your price list. At worst, you give a cheap veneer to your product. As I said earlier, customers are smart. They are also jaded by salespeople using these types of "tactics". Instead, how about building value and momentum by indicating how your solution is UNIQUE? And that it UNIQUELY fits their NEEDS? Our clients are under pressure. There is no shortage of challenges they must face ASAP. If your solution solves these pressing challenges, they have a built-in urgency to act.

There are a few reasons why success stories are a great way to enhance your presentation. First, who doesn't like a good story to make something that feels a bit theoretical (benefits, ROI calculations, etc) eminently practical? Second, most people are risk-averse. They don't want to be the guinea pigs. If others in the industry are using your solutions successfully, that lowers the threshold to get to a yes. Third, a properly crafted success story also gives you credibility in specific industries. And credibility is key to build trust. And trust is the first currency you must use in order to conduct business. Getting the actual currency transferred to your company only comes afterwards.

In my experience leveraging social proof has been fundamental to close important deals. Buyers are currently asking for more recommendations nowadays, so identify if you have connections or previous champions in your prospect's org. This could be a shortcut.

This call to action is also a great way to keep your sales funnel clean. At the end of a meeting, you should discuss where you and your prospect want to go from there. When you get the prospect to commit future time to advancing that deal, it shows that they are serious, and it helps ensure the deal keeps its momentum. But what happens when the prospect waffles? When they don't really want to commit? In sales, hope springs eternal, but you also must be realistic. Ask yourself: have you done what you needed to do in order to properly pursue that account? If the answer is yes, then ask if this is a real prospect or a mirage. As painful as it is, the right conditions may not be there for a deal to happen. ==> Out of the funnel!

Data shows that having a clearly defined next step and call to action will increase your win rate. This will increase the commitment level of your prospect when there is a next step to cover.

I recommend Sales Reps should qualify the “Why Buy” and “Why Now” during the discovery phase. Always align your solution with customers Business Outcome and then educate the customer on Cost of Inaction or Cost of Delay Transparency on offer validity and upcoming price change should be communicated well in advance and not just to Rush the deal closure as that can create mis-trust. Lastly with so much information available online and via the CXO watsapp groups there is nothing hidden from customers, better to be authentic, genuine and build long lasting relationship based on Trust and Honesty.

I don't support exclusivity or price pressure tactics, it's more ethical to help customers understand the timely value proposition and potential costs of inaction. Make clear how your solution addresses current pain points and goals they likely have. Explain why acting now can maximize ROI, savings, or efficiency versus delaying. The focus should be educating customers transparently on the timely, economic value you provide. If they understand the money and opportunity loss by delaying, they can rationally assess the reasons to take advantage of your solution now rather than later. Still, the choice remains theirs, not a pressure tactic.