Cracking the Sales Paradox: How to Achieve Deal Velocity in B2B Sales

"We are lagging behind our sales targets. We really need to push hard in this last quarter to meet targets. We need a short and focused workshop to get my salespeople to close more deals in the next quarter!"

These were the customer's requirements. Unfortunately, there's little anyone can do to expedite their sales process at this late stage. In B2B sales, selling is not merely making a great presentation and closing the sale on the first contact. Rather, the B2B sales cycle encompasses various stages of selling before a deal can be made. We condense these stages into four main stages in our Sales-Map sales proficiency assessment.

Understanding the Sales Cycle

At the core of effective B2B selling lies a well-structured cycle. Here are the four key stages that form the foundation of successful B2B sales:

Stage 1: Prospecting/Preparing: This initial stage involves identifying and qualifying potential customers. It also consists of the preparation that salespeople need before seeing the customer. It's the groundwork for all that follows.

Stage 2: Engaging and Meeting Customers: Here, sales professionals take steps to understand each potential customer's desired outcomes, what key initiatives they are planning, and present a solution that will help them reach their goals.

Stage 3: Follow-through: B2B purchasing is a multi-stage process involving multiple stakeholders. Salespeople must identify the various gatekeepers, champions, and decision-makers and then work their way to secure a buying decision.

Stage 4: Negotiating/Closing: This is the final stage, during which terms are negotiated, agreed upon, and finalized.

In B2B selling, this sales cycle can take weeks or months, sometimes more than a year. While there's often pressure to move through them quickly, rushing may not get you anywhere.

Based on the data collected and analyzed through our Sales Map assessment, we have concrete evidence of how each of the first three stages of your sales cycle directly impacts the last stage.

Reaping What You Sow in Sales

How you prospect for the right customer can impact how you engage, follow through, and negotiate with your customers. If you qualify the right kinds of customers and start well in your initial selling stage, you have a higher chance of a smoother progression in the other stages.

Higher correlations exist between how you engage and follow through with customers on your final sales outcomes. As such, merely trying to "fix" the negotiation stage to close more sales in the last quarter of the year would be futile if your salespeople had not done well in the earlier stages of the sales cycle. Conversely, had they had been well in the earlier stages, you would probably have smaller performance gaps in the last quarter.

Stage1 Stage2 Stage3 Stage4

Stage1 1.000 . 504 .514 .553

Stage2 .504 1.000 .627 .670

Stage3 .514 .627 1.000 .714

Stage4 .553 .670 .714 1.000

Some sales teams then resort to slashing prices to meet targets at the last minute. While some customers will be willing to buy due to lower prices, most B2B customers choose to go with their desired vendor at this late stage of their purchasing process. While price is important to customers, it is not the only factor that matters to them. Hence, not only is giving significant discounts an ineffective way to generate sales, but it also destroys your brand and positioning in your market. You will have a much harder time trying to revert to your original pricing and maintain a reasonable profit margin.

The Velocity Challenge

So what happens if you are in a challenging situation where you need to close more deals to meet your targets at the last minute?

One way is to go through with customers the things you might have done better in Stages 2 and 3: understanding what outcomes customers want, providing and describing a suitable solution, and following through with key stakeholders. Review your team's sales activities and identify areas that might have missed some critical interactions with customers. More importantly, choose which customers you want to focus on in this race against time, and stop trying to chase after deals you have much lower chances of winning. When you have more time, those can be reactivated in the next quarter or financial year.

Usually, deal velocity, or how quickly you can win the sale, is largely defined by when the customer is ready to buy; salespeople can speed up the process if they qualify the right customers, capture the customers' critical desired outcomes, and follow through well with Champions and Economic Buyers. Focusing on Stages 2 and 3 might give your sales team more advantages to win sales at the last minute than merely focusing on the Negotiating Stage.

When all else fails, use your final quarter to launch yourself better into the next financial year by doing a great Stage 1. This may not be the news that most sales leaders or senior managers want to hear. If targets are not met, many people might lose their jobs or not get their bonuses. However, one cannot undo the mistakes that were made in the past. We can only seek ways to come back stronger.

The Role of Sales Managers

Sales managers play a crucial role in achieving good deal velocity. Here are some specific strategies for managers:

1. Cultivate a Culture of Urgency and Excellence. Set clear goals and deadlines. Reward your team for meeting deadlines and solving customer problems quickly. Encourage them to be honest about any challenges they face and provide due psychological safety for them to do so.
2. Invest in Continuous Learning. Constantly sharpen your team's sales skills and business acumen. Conduct regular training and coaching sessions on efficient techniques for all four sales cycle stages. Foster a culture of knowledge sharing where everyone learns from each other's wins and mistakes. Never stop learning. Stay ahead of the curve by observing industry trends and new sales methodologies. In a VUCA world, standing still is going backward.
3. Streamline Internal Processes. Regularly audit your sales process, ruthlessly eliminating steps that don't add value. Align your sales team with other departments, fostering a culture of collaboration and efficiency. Standardize where it makes sense, but never at the expense of personalization.
4. Provide Clear Guidance and targeted coaching: Set crystal-clear expectations here. Work with each team member individually, figure out where they are struggling, and co-create solutions. Regular check-ins and adjust strategies accordingly to maintain the right balance.

Responsibilities of Salespeople

Salespeople are on the front lines of this balancing act. Here are critical areas for the salesperson to focus on:

1. Prioritize Opportunities. Establish a system to rank leads by their worth and potential. Devote our greatest efforts to the most promising targets, the deals on the brink of success. Regularly examine our pipeline, ensuring our resources align with our strategic objectives. Concentrate time, resources, and energy on qualified opportunities to ensure getting the deal
2. Leverage Technology Effectively. Technology is the key to unlocking the sales team's true potential. Embrace the power of automation to schedule follow-ups and customer engagements. Free the salesperson's mind from mundane tasks. Let AI be the guide to illuminate the path to high-value prospects. Through data analytics, sales teams gain clarity, optimizing their sales funnel scientifically.
3. Embrace Continuous Improvement: Identify your weaknesses in each sales cycle stage and relentlessly seek to strengthen them.
4. Be customer-centric: Forget about the quota; focus on the customer. Sales isn't about pushing products; it's about partnering with customers to achieve their goals. By truly understanding their challenges and offering innovative solutions, you'll close more deals and build lasting relationships.

Conclusion:

Successful sales are not merely about closing deals quickly; they are built on solid customer relationships and a commitment to helping clients achieve their outcomes. By avoiding the trap of prioritizing speed over substance, effective salespeople focus on each stage of the sales process and invest time to understand and follow through with their customers.

By prioritizing customer success, salespeople can transform transactions into partnerships. Continuous learning, strategically leveraging technology, and maintaining a customer-centric approach are essential for long-term success. By adhering to these principles, sales professionals can achieve their short-term goals and cultivate a sustainable business that thrives in the long run.

What strategies have you found effective in balancing speed and quality in your sales process? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. Let's learn from each other and elevate our sales practices together.

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