Coaching to the Need of Accelerating Sales

We hear sales leaders all the time say things such as:

• "You have to have a sense of urgency"
• "You need to be on the phone more"
• "You need to find time to prospect more"
• "You have to get back to people quickly"
• "We need to shorten the sales cycle"

How does somebody go about doing this when there's only so many hours in the day? One of the most fundamental things I think we can do for lack a better description is to find those little nuances and tricks that can shorten the sales cycle and the time required to do so. Here are a few resources and tools you can utilize to shorten the sales cycle:

1. The 7:59 AM and 5:01 PM Call: one of our clients in Chicago tested this. Wee literally had people call before and after the traditional workday hours. We experienced an uptick in connections and actual live people answering the phone versus voicemail. We also found that people were a lot more relaxed as they were not in the midst of a hectic day; therefore, people were more relaxed and willing to have conversations.
2. PhoneBurner: this tool is an innovative software application that allows you to take out the mundane things associated with phone calling. It can literally help you make hundred to 200 calls in less than two hours and can accelerate any company's prospecting program: the software application also allows you to leave pre-developed voicemails and emails when somebody's voicemail system picks up. After the voicemail was heard a caller can simply push a button leave the voicemail that was pre-developed and send the pre-written email immediately. The amazing thing is the next phone call is now being made without having to pick up the phone. This accelerates a person's ability to prospect instantly!For More Info: Phone Burner Information
3. Vista Print: one of the best on-demand print services you can use is Vista print. We literally will print very targeted brochures to just prospecting calls and not even our products. We literally will send people a one-page set of reasons why people should receive a phone call. We literally market to the reception of an introductory call. This is allowed us to use a little humor but also prep people for the actual phone call. For More Information: www.VistaPrint.com
4. Mimeo: this company out of New York is a great on-demand print company but it's different than Vista print. This allows you to send training materials or manuals from their site directly to your customer or prospect. One method is to literally send a sample of what somebody might get if they attend an event you may be facilitating. It's a preemptive strike to get people interested in short the prospecting timeframe. For More Information: www.Mimeo.com
5. Handwritten Notes: one of the simplest ways to shorten the sales process specifically to prospecting is to send a handwritten note before you actually make a phone call. One might argue this is time-consuming but so was 100 phone calls filled with 97 being voicemail. We have found not only our experience but clients literally will have 1 to 2 people out of every 10 who received a handwritten note to be more receptive to a phone call in and potentially meeting for a first appointment.

We need to be created to shorten the sales cycle and this requires us to coach people to be creative. The objective of this blog post was to provide resources that can facilitate the shortening of the sales cycle but prompt sales teams to be more creative in their approach. I hope it has helped!