You can give your prospects a deadline. You can add extra pressure at the end of the month. You can follow up every other day to get an update. You can create a sales process that clearly outlines each sales stage and says a deal should close within XX days or months.
You have complete control over the sales process you deploy, but little control over the timing of the close.
A pushy sales process, one that focuses on the needs of the seller, has more control. Apply high-pressure sales tactics, lower the price in the last week of the month, and you can incrementally improve alignment of your process with timing of new deals.
But those deals, and that process, tend to burn out quickly. Relationships and sales that are completed on a basis of trust operate on the buyer’s calendar, not yours. I know this reality can be frustrating, and isn’t easy to communicate via a spreadsheet or sales pipeline report, but it’s the reality of trust-based selling.
A good sales process is about systematizing how you sell, helping you scale a consistent sales strategy, and learning from and improving how you go about selling. But that doesn’t inherently make deals close faster.
Trust-based selling may not be the fastest path to sales, but it’s surely the best way to generate longer, more profitable customer relationships.
