“When you position yourself as an expert in your space, prospects come to you,” Archer said. “That means you can cut down on outreach, dramatically shortening the sales cycle.” This worked so well for Archer that shortly after she started her sales coaching business, she had a steady stream of inbound clients reaching out for help.
To build a brand, start with a list of the questions your target customers would have about your product, and answer those questions publicly – in LinkedIn posts, YouTube videos, podcasts, or blog posts. This builds authority and sets you up as a thought leader. Prospects will see your content, reach out for more information, and hopefully convert to customers.
“I make a list of 52 questions my ideal customers would have, related to the solution I provide,” Archer said. “Then once a week, I go on social media and answer one question. That’s a year’s worth of content mapped out for you, and you can answer those questions in 20 minutes.”
2. Identify easy-win prospects from previous sales cycles
Knowing your target audience is a critical first step to successful prospecting, but you can take it a step further. Examine your sales over the past year to see which prospects sailed quickly and easily from early conversations to close. What qualities, needs, or interests do they share? Did seasonality, budget, or market conditions create a afghanistan phone number list sense of urgency? When you can identify these shared characteristics, you can target them in future prospecting and move new deals more quickly to close.
3. Maintain good mental health so engaging is easy
What does mental health have to do with optimizing your sales cycle? Everything — because if you don’t take care of yourself first, then improving your sales cycle — including the discipline to push through the steps above and the presence to engage with prospects — won’t matter. You’ll stall out.
I learned this the hard way back in 2017, when I hit $5 million in sales and was the top seller at Salesforce. My sales had never been better, but my mental health had never been worse. That was the moment when I learned that I had to fix myself before I could enjoy the success from my sales. I prioritized self-case for the first time in my life, and what I learned is that I could be happy no matter how much or how little I sold.
Over half (63%) of sellers say they struggle with mental health, according to the State of Mental Health in Sales ReportOpens in a new window. If you’re one of them, know that you’re not alone. Read my tips for improving mental health in sales.