Mastering the New B2B Sales Cycle
According to the 2023 GTM Survey run by Tomasz Tunguz of Theory Ventures, the average start-up saw a 24% increase in the sales cycle from early 2022 to 2023, with an average 60-day sales cycle now taking 75 days. This survey confirms what a number of other polls and data say about sales cycles lengthening dramatically in recent years.
With this said, companies should plan on materially longer sales cycles into 2023, which means increasing the top of the funnel to achieve greater pipeline-to-quota coverage ratios.
Here's how you can start building a successful pipeline right now!
Understanding Pipeline Ratios
Pipeline-to-quota coverage ratio is a metric that helps companies determine whether they have enough potential revenue in their sales pipeline to meet their sales quotas.
For instance, a pipeline coverage ratio of 3:1 means that there is three times as much revenue in the pipeline as the sales quota. This ratio can be a helpful indicator of whether there are sufficient opportunities in the pipeline to achieve the sales target—especially as sales cycles lengthen.
Many sales managers use a common rule-of-thumb of 3:1 to 5:1 for coverage ratios. It may be necessary to extend whatever “normal” pipeline coverage ratios were in place in, say, 2021 to the reality of 2023. Striving for the high end of 5:1 is a good idea right now.
Filling Your Sales Pipeline
Ideally, outbound lead generation strategies should be a natural go-to for improving pipeline coverage ratios. Prioritizing lead generation through list, intent, or inbound-led outbound offers the reward of high-quality opportunities filling your sales pipeline.
Read More: Taking Pipeline Lead Prioritization to the Next Level
To combat longer sales cycles, it’s important to be strategic about your go-to-market activities. Talk to CIENCE about improving your pipeline ratios today!
Before You Go
Check out our favorite content this week to get your sales and marketing juices flowing:
Blog of the Month
The Ultimate Growth Handbook: Strategies and Tools for Scaling Your B2B Business
This handbook provides strategies and tools for B2B organizations to achieve exponential growth and long-term success in today's competitive business landscape. The post emphasizes the importance of data-driven decision-making, automating and streamlining processes, leveraging AI and LLM technologies, fostering a culture of continuous learning, and focusing on collaboration and communication.
Podcast of the Month
Enterprise Sales Development with Derrick Williams
In this podcast, we had the opportunity to speak with seasoned sales consultant, Derrick Williams at 3Link Consulting, to talk about the importance of timing in sales, and how reaching out to prospects at the right moment can be the difference between a successful sale and a missed opportunity.
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