5 Ways to Shorten Your Deal Cycle in Mid-Market Sales

The shorter your deal cycle, the more deals you can turn and the faster your business can grow. You shouldn’t be cranking through deals impersonally and trying to just run the numbers up, of course, because today’s audiences in both B2B and B2C markets want that personal connection. Fortunately, there are endless resources out there offering sales tips and insight to help anyone improve. Picking out the best could prove to be a bit more challenging, but we’ve got a great start for you right here. 

In the list below, we’ll look at five great ways to shorten deal cycles when you’re dealing with mid-market sales. It’s different here than with SMBs or enterprise businesses, so you have to consider the unique needs of this market. You will, of course, notice some similarities in the tips offered because they’re kind of all-purpose tips that can deliver for just about anyone. 

Some companies have spent years trying to perfect the deal cycle without realizing that a few quick changes could make a big impact. If you want to improve your sales deals and streamline mid-market operations, here are a few good tips and considerations to know. 

1. Uncover the prospect’s afflictions and needs immediately 

Although you can do some general research ahead of time, you may not know the exact needs and pain points of your leads until you are speaking with them. If that’s the case, make sure that you get that information right away. Not only will it help you guide your way through the conversation, but it will show that you care because you’re insistent on knowing what you can do to help them.

This also helps you establish a personal connection on a different level than you would with a solo business owner. It’s a bit more professional but still personable, and it takes into account that there may be other people and departments involved in the issues at hand. 

2. Know who the key decision-maker (KDM) is ahead of time 

When you’re calling mid-market clients, you really need to know who you’re looking to speak to. You’ll get a lot further with a name and an intention than just calling and asking to speak to “whomever handles [insert product/service].” For starters, some mid-market businesses rely on auto-attendants and if you aren’t sure who you’re trying to reach, you may not be able to get them on the line. 

More importantly, you’re going to create a much better impression if you call like you know exactly who you’re looking for and how you can help them. Don’t call with a line like “our product could save your business a lot of money.” Instead, personalize it and say something like “Hey, Dave, just wanted to see how you’d feel about saving $500 on [product/service] this year.”

3. Automate the tedious and repetitive work 

There’s a lot to do with lead generation and deals in the mid-market arena. You have a lot on your plate and if you’re going to get anywhere, you need to take advantage of automation and AI. There are tools available today to help you automate all kinds of tasks and ensure that you get things done quickly and efficiently. You can automate things like scheduling, email campaigns, and so much more. 

Another choice with automation is to outsource the work and hire a team for your sales outreach. Using both will be a cost-effective way to get a lot done with a lot fewer expenses on your end. Plus, you won’t need a whole team of employees and you’ll get the outsourced solutions at a fraction of the cost. 

4. Eliminate cold leads first and fast 

Eliminating the cold leads might seem like a no-brainer. Others might prefer to just work their lists and discard the cold leads as they go. However, if you can go through and get rid of all the cold leads by making some quick calls and judgments, you will see just how much faster your deals go when they’re good because you’re not also wasting time on dead-end leads. 

This is another task that you can hand off the work to a team like Smith.ai. We’ll take care of eliminating cold leads so that you don’t have to eat up your sales team’s time, or even if you don’t have the people for the job. Once you’ve got the list down to warm leads, you’ll be able to deliver a more focused solution and shorten the cycle by requiring less time to convince them to convert. 

5. Plan for objections and have answers ready

Perhaps the best way to shorten the back-and-forth (and make sure you look good) is to research potential objections and questions that people might have while they’re talking to you or learning about your product or service. If you take the time to think like your audience, you might even be able to come up with a lot of these on your own. Even if you do have to research, take the time to do it. That way, whenever they have a question or concern, you’re ready with an answer or rebuttal to help them along. 

This is also going to bolster your reputation and show that you care about your audience because you took the time to do the research and knew what was coming so that they didn’t have to worry about a thing. 

Another way to streamline deals and improve your sales team is to partner with Smith.ai 

Well, we said five tips but here’s a freebie: streamline your deals and shorten the entire journey by partnering with the dedicated virtual receptionists at Smith.ai. We can come in with the assistance to handle everything from outreach campaigns and outbound sales and support to appointment scheduling, lead intake, and even things like payment collection and after-hours answering for 24/7 solutions. 

Plus, we’ll work with you to create a strategy to handle it all, no matter what you need. From simple admin assistance to handling all of your outreach, communications, and more, we’ve got you covered. 

To learn more, schedule a consultation to discuss how the 24/7 virtual receptionists at Smith.ai can improve your sales cycles and more. You will also find us at hello@smith.ai or (650) 727-6484.