{"id":10533,"date":"2016-12-15T14:12:59","date_gmt":"2016-12-15T14:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandler.dsstaging2.com\/case-study\/are-you-too-busy-close-sales\/"},"modified":"2022-10-24T22:26:30","modified_gmt":"2022-10-24T22:26:30","slug":"are-you-too-busy-close-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandler.com\/blog\/are-you-too-busy-close-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Too Busy to Close Sales?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Having a big pipeline of \u201cprospects\u201d is typically seen as desirable.  The more prospects you put into the pipeline, the more will eventually emerge as customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least that\u2019s the theory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the theory is partially true.  Some of the people you put in the pipeline will become customers.  The question is, \u201cHow many will be customers and how long will it take for them to materialize from the other end of the pipe?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many salespeople, it\u2019s not unusual (in fact, it\u2019s most likely) to take more than twice as long to close-out the opportunities they don\u2019t win than it does to close the opportunities they do win.  If on average, for instance, it takes a salesperson 60 days to develop and close an opportunity, he or she may spend 150 days before \u201cgiving up\u201d and abandoning an opportunity that has become stalled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking so long to close-out the non-winning opportunity wouldn\u2019t be so bad if the salesperson invested little time and energy during the extended pursuit.  But that\u2019s typically not the case.  There is the time invested \u201cfollowing up\u201d\u2014in whatever form that takes; the time spent recording the mandatory follow-up information in the company CRM application; the time taken up reporting on the \u201cprogress\u201d with the opportunity during the weekly sales team meetings; and the time and energy invested by other company personnel who participate in the development process\u2014technical, production, and financial people, for instance.  There is a lot of time and effort \u201cinvested\u201d in an endeavor for which there is no return!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do salespeople cling to opportunities that drag on or become stalled?  Part of it is culture.  In many organizations, a packed pipeline is considered a sign of success\u2014tangible evidence that the salesperson is \u201cworking.\u201d  The association may not be accurate, but it exists nonetheless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some salespeople hang on to an opportunity too long out of fear that they won\u2019t be able to find another opportunity with which to replace it.  They possess a scarcity mentality\u2014a notion that there are not enough good opportunities to go around.  They believe that in order for one person to win, another must lose.  Therefore, if they let go of an opportunity, someone else will capitalize on it and win, and they will have lost.  So, they hang on to stalled opportunities just a little longer\u2026and then a little longer after that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine how much easier (and more productive) it would be if each opportunity was stamped with an expiration date\u2014[Close by 11\/16\/2012].  If the sale isn\u2019t closed by the expiration date, you would be required to remove the expired opportunity from the pipeline and replace it with another.  No \u201copportunity\u201d would be allowed to loiter in the pipeline forever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While prospective opportunities don\u2019t come stamped with an expiration date, you can assign \u201csell-by\u201d dates to opportunities based on the average length of your selling cycle.  If the sale isn\u2019t closed by that date, you would have to present compelling evidence to your sales manager that the opportunity deserves a continuing place in the pipeline, or else it\u2019s removed.  The ultimate goal is for you to invest less time \u201cmanaging\u201d your pipeline and more time identifying new opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the easiest way to avoid wasting time with questionable opportunities is to be more selective about which ones you allow to enter the pipeline in the first place.  A stringent \u201cpre-pipeline\u201d screening may be appropriate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a bare minimum, the screening would require that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n