"Why can’t you close more deals?”
“Because our sales cycle is so long.”
“So what are you going to do about that?”
Here are four ideas:
1- Limit pilots, trials and evaluations to 15 days
The length should match the complexity of your product, and the employee/revenue size of your prospects. For example, major banks will need more than 30 days to test your complex on-premise solution. But an SMB should be able to test your hosted mobile app in less than 30 days.
2- Limit to 15 days with a 15 day extension
This is a good compromise if a prospect explains the need for a full 30 days. You can ask for a day-14, calendared status conference, to ensure you get their feedback and supply any needed support before the 30 days expires. If there are issues or concerns, you don’t want your first follow-up conversation to occur on day 30.
3-Conditional POs
For smaller prospects and lower-priced offerings, consider offering the opportunity to buy it now with a 30-day return privilege. There won’t be anything to physically return in most situations, so effectively it means you won’t invoice them until day 31 (assuming they “accept” your solution). It’s a way to address the perceived risk, while avoiding the added layer and documentation involved in pilots.
4-Success Criteria
For more complex solutions and larger ticket sales, you should know what specific functions are going to be tested, and what will be judged a success. Otherwise, you may be asked for extensions to test “just one more thing.” Make a detailed list and get their (digital) signature on it. You won’t know where you’ve been, or where you’re going, without this kind of roadmap.
