The Top 10 Sales Cycle Challenges Today. (2024)

I ran a LinkedIn poll last year asking which part of the sales cycle is the most challenging for salespeople right now.

The clear outcome was this:

Or, put another way:

I said this in a client meeting the other day and saw a lot of heads nodding. So, don't worry. If you agree with the statement above, you are not alone. Sales engagement is tough to get right, right now.

Be overly zealous and your prospect will evaporate like dry ice in hot water. Be too soft and another seller might snatch the deal from you. Clearly, there is a "Goldilocks Sales Approach" with juuust the right mix.

So, two topical questions right now are:

and

The Answers Revealed

The following research results are based on the detailed responses by more than two hundred B2B sales leaders.

They all took thisFree Sales Assessmentonline to discover how they're performing at every stage of the modern sales cycle.

To protect their reputations, there are no names given, but you will see the exact data to help you out with fresh insights and perhaps even some new inspiration on how to grow and accelerate your sales.

But that's not all.

You also have the opportunity to take this test yourself. Discover how you compare and what you can do to improve.

For now, here are the Research Results:

1. Do You Have A Clear Brand Promise?

This question is not about your logo design or your corporate colour scheme. It is about humans buying with their head AND with their heart. In fact, people often make a buying decision with their heart first, and then try to justify it with logic afterwards. Just think how you heart ruled your head when you last bought a car or a pair of shiny shoes.

In sales emotions matter. So, it is important that we send out a very clear message to our prospects about how we treat our customers, right from the very first time they come in contact with us.

So ask yourself:

How have respondents have answered this question?

• Nearly half said this could do with more work
• Just over 40% said they have this firmly under control
• Almost 13% confessed that this is still missing from their business

2. Well-defined Products And Services: Are Yours?

This item is about how clear your customers are about exactly what it is that you're selling.

Why?

Because it is surprising how many sales organizations are having trouble describing their products or services to their prospects. It may be super obvious to us as salespeople what we are selling. But that doesn't mean your prospects are equally clear.

Here is how respondents have answered this question:

• Just over half said they have this firmly under control
• A very small number of businesses said it is still missing altogether
• But a whopping 44% said that they could do better!

3. A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) And Killer Business Introduction (KBI): How Are Yours?

This one is probably the most critical point here.

So, let's talk about value propositions.

Your value proposition must be more than a mere motherhood statement, such as: "We really care". Instead, it needs to be hugely credible and it must easily distinguish your business from that of your competitors, and you need to be able to back your statements up with evidence.

The next question is:How do we convey that difference at the first point of contact with a new Prospect?

Importantly, how can we express it in just one introductory sentence that makes them sit up and take notice? How can we intrigue and engage them, right from our very first interaction?

Here is something my clients learn:

How to create a Lean Forward Moment, i.e. the very point at which they respond to our introduction by literally leaning forward and asking:"Tell me more about that"?

So, ask yourself this:How unique are our USP and our value proposition? Do we have a Killer Introduction Line (KIL) that creates a "lean-forward moment" for our prospects?

Here is how respondents have answered this question:

• Almost a quarter claimed they have this firmly under control
• Nearly 60% (!) confessed that more work is needed here (wow!)
• And more than 17% said they don't have a value proposition!

This often creates a huge top-of-the funnel problem resulting in insufficient sales leads and poor conversion rates.

4. A Clear Understanding WHO Our Ideal Customers Are

This is a strange one.

Logically, you would think that if you are in business then you'd have a very clear idea on which people you should sell to, right?

After all, there is little point in engaging with the wrong kind of prospects. You are better off engaging with the right kind instead. Right?

At a minimum you'd want to know who they are in terms of their industry sector, the size of their business, their geographic location, their job title, their challenges, their opportunities, their ambitions and motivations, etc, right?

Here is how respondents have answered this question:

• Not surprisingly, more than half claimed to have this firmly under control
• But a whopping 40% said it needs more work
• Just a small minority said their ideal customer definition is still missing in their business

5. The Knowledge of WHERE To Find Our Ideal Prospects

This should be pretty straight forward. Right?

I mean, once you know WHO your ideal Buyers are, you should also know WHERE they hang out. Makes sense, doesn't it?

Here is how respondents have answered this question:

• Surprisingly, fewer than 40% told us that they have this firmly under control
• Just over 13% said it is still missing in their business
• But almost half of all respondents said this needs more work

This often results in wasted lead generation effort and low-quality sales leads.

6. The Understanding Of HOW To Access And Engage Our Ideal Prospects Effectively: How Well Do You Do This?

Once you know WHO your ideal customers are, and WHERE you can find them, the question turns to HOW to engage them in a meaningful way that draws them into a sales conversation.

Here is how respondents have answered this question:

• Almost an equal numbers of respondents said they either had this firmly under control, or that it is still missing in their business
• Butmore than two-thirdssaid it needs more work

Ineffective prospect engagement leads to missed revenue opportunities and to no-decision deals. It kills your pipeline, wastes your sales leads, and creates an army of unimpressed prospects that become even harder to engage next time around.

7. The Skills To Fend Off Our Competitors

Let's say you successfully engaged with a prospect. You are in the running to win the deal. However, very rarely will you be the only seller in such a race. Instead, you will most likely have to fend off any number of competitors.

Here is how respondents have answered this question:

• Just over 17% said they don't know how to fend off competitors
• Well more than one-quarter said they have this firmly under control
• And well more than half confessed that this needs more work

This typically results in too many lost deals that should have been won, in unpredictable forecasting, and in messy pipelines.

8. How to Leverage our Proposal Process to Close More Deals

In most complex or high value b2b sales situations the buyer will ask you to submit a formal proposal.

How do you handle this situation as a seller?

Do you get excited, and write and send your proposal out asap? Or is there a better, smarter way?

Yes, theproposal contentis important. I.e. we need to ensure that our proposals cover off exactly what the buyer needs. But then, we can also usehowwe submit our proposals to maximize our chances of success.

Here is how respondents have answered this question:

• Fewer than one-third said they have this under control
• More than 13% told us they don't know how to do this
• And well over half said this is still incomplete in their business

Knowing how to gain an unfair advantage by understanding how to effectively leverage the sales proposal process is hugely valuable.

9. A Superior Pre, During and Post-purchase Customer Experience

Of course, most businesses understand just how mission-critical the customer experience is to the success of a business at every step of the way. But do we really know how well, or how poorly, we are doing in that regard?

Here is how respondents have answered this question:

• 13% said customer experience is still missing in their business
• Only two-thirds claim they have this firmly under control
• While more than 56% said that CX needs more work

Is it a matter of corporate culture?

Is it a matter of leadership?

Are the wrong KPIs and metrics driving this behaviour?

What needs fixing?

10. The ability to keep Customers loyal, to win their Repeat Business and to turn them into Advocates for us.

The experience our customers have with us does not end with a transaction.

In fact, their post-sale experience is critical, insofar as it will determine whether they will choose to come back to do more business with us, or not.

Will your customers rave about you, or will they rant? Is their experience a pleasant one that will make them recommend you to their friends and colleagues?

Or is it one that will more likely make them warn people off doing business with you?

Here is how respondents have answered this question:

• More than half of all respondents confessed this still needs more work in their business
• A small number said this is still missing in their business
• And a whopping 41% claimed to have this firmly under control

This seems quite a large number to me.

It reminds me of a survey that was done a few years ago by IBM and Lee Resources:

80% of surveyed CEOs stated that they believed their organization provided a superior customer experience.

But only 8% of their customers agreed.

Did these Survey Results Surprise You?

Would you like to see how you and your organization fare in comparison to the above results?

Conclusion

While all ten points above are important, in my personal opinion, it is Point #3 and Point #6 are critical to the success of any sales team.

Why?

Because every sales survey you look at these days says the same thing: The hardest part of the sales cycle is now not to close a deal, but to gain traction and engagement with a prospect in the first place. It is getting harder to reach your ideal customers.

Unless you can engage your ideal prospect into a meaningful sales conversation you will have a hard time advancing and closing a sale.

Plus, the fascinating thing for me is that Points #3 and #6 are closely linked t each other, yet many salespeople don't treat them with equal attention.

Further, I am always intrigued when someone claims that they have Point #3 fully under control, yet say that Point #6 is giving them trouble.

Digging deeper usually helps unearth the disconnect: Without a great USP, a value proposition, or a killer introduction line, you will find it difficult to engage your ideal customers and prospects and to advance the sale.

Please share this article with your network. :-)

About The Author

Peter Strohkorb is the Founder and Principal atPeter Strohkorb Sales Advisory, showing sales and business leaders how they can accelerate their sales.

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