Get the latest sales tips delivered to your inbox.
Sign up for the Salesblazer Highlights newsletter to get the latest sales news, insights, and best practices selected just for you.
Why is a sales cycle important?
A well-defined sales cycle has two key benefits. First, it helps reps take the right actions at the right times, delivering helpful information and resources to prospects when they need them most. This advances the deal to close. Second, having set stages for every sale removes ambiguity and indecision about what step to take next, allowing reps to focus on building relationships.
“When you’ve really got the stages in the right order in your sales cycle down, it frees you up to be connected with your prospect in the moment,” said Elyse ArcherOpens in a new window, CEO and founder of She Sells.
Without a sales cycle in place, reps run the danger of overwhelming prospects with too much information all at once. Can you imagine getting an email from a sales rep with a pile of links — for a demo, a datasheet, a product guide, and a pricing list? No thanks.
A sales cycle stops reps from playing all their cards at the same afghanistan phone number list time, and guides them to build the relationship one small step at a time. Instead of sending that big scary email, a sales rep following the sales cycle might do this: Reach out to a target prospect on LinkedIn, mention a mutual contact to build trust, and ask the prospect to chat over coffee to understand their business better. When they meet, the rep listens intently and asks thoughtful questions to understand the prospect’s pains and goals. This builds the kind of relationship that can’t be forced with a shortcut. That’s the kind of relationship that ends in a sale.
Two Salesblazers in blue sweatshirts, smiling and standing next to Salesforce mascot Zig the Zebra.
Join the Salesblazer community.
Learn new skills, connect with peers, and grow your career with thousands of sales professionals from around the world.
What are the 7 stages of the sales cycle?
The sales cycle has seven stages, from customer research to close. While the stages in the cycle may vary slightly depending on your industry, the essential framework is the same. The key is following your cycle stages in order, using best practices in each stage to ensure deals move quickly to close.