Do you wish you could turn more leads into paying customers faster? You’re in the right place!
Unfortunately, slow sales cycles are common in the B2B world. In fact, buyers are becoming more and more selective with how they spend both their money and time.
No wonder it takes an average of 27 touchpoints and 102 days to close a B2B deal! Luckily, though, you can speed up your B2B sales cycle.
And don’t worry: you won’t sacrifice the quality of your customer interactions. On the contrary, you’ll improve it!
So, here’s what you should implement.
1. Qualify your B2B leads properly
It’s key to pre-qualifying your leads before you speak to them 1:1! Otherwise, you could waste MONTHS talking to people who are never going to become customers.
And let’s say you pay your salespeople £20/hour. If they spend 15 hours a week talking to wrong-fit prospects, it’s costing your company +£15,000 a year.
Instead, when you pre-qualify your leads, you’ll save plenty of time, energy and money. Then, by focusing on people who are more likely to become customers, you’ll obviously increase your conversion rate, too.
So, how can you pre-qualify your B2B leads?
- Get clear on your criteria – What does “a qualified lead” mean to you? This will really depend on your type of business and audience. The BANT framework can be a helpful starting point, though: Budget (can they afford your product or service?), Authority (have they got enough power to influence or approve a purchasing decision?), Need (are they experiencing a problem you can solve through your product or service?) and Time frame (does their ideal buying timeline match yours?)
- Pre-qualify your leads with a quiz – Are you still relying on a static and outdated lead magnet (like a PDF or checklist)? When you swap it for a strategic quiz, you’ll get to stand out and qualify your leads automatically! Sure, most of your questions must be valuable and engaging for your audience (if you want them to complete it). Still, 10% of your quiz can focus on tactical ones like “What’s your budget for X?” or “Have you worked with [type of business] before?” Then, you get to nurture the right-fit leads in a more personalised way. That’s one of the reasons why, while traditional lead magnets only convert at 3-10%, quizzes reach a 30-50% rate!
- Implement lead scoring – Use a CRM or lead generation tool to assign points to each of them, and segment them based on their level of commitment. You can then nurture those leads accordingly and focus on those who are more likely to become paying customers
Pre-qualify your B2B leads for FREE with a ScoreApp quiz
2. Leverage technology and automation
Most B2B sales cycles are already long as it is. If you try to do everything manually?
Not only is there a higher risk of human error (like forgetting to follow up): you’d make things even harder and more time-consuming for yourself and your team!
Instead:
- Use a CRM – With a customer relationship management system, you’ll keep track of all your interactions in one place. Phew, you can finally close all those mental tabs!
- Harness automation and AI tools – Automate the most repetitive lead generation tasks to speed up your B2B sales cycle. And with AI-powered tools? You can save even more time… while taking your personalisation and user behaviour insights to the next level! For example, with ScoreApp, you can automate an ENTIRE lead generation quiz funnel. It’ll pre-qualify and segment your participants, nurture them with different email sequences and invite the right-fit prospects on a sales call (when they’re ready)
Automate your lead generation funnel with a FREE ScoreApp quiz
3. Make the most of sales enablement content
Do your salespeople hear the same questions and objections over and over again? Then, save them time and boost your conversions with sales enablement content.
These are resources that can prime your prospects for a sale while helping your team close more deals. Think of blog posts that tackle common misconceptions, case studies that build trust and comparison articles that simplify your prospects’ choices.
- Send the right sales enablement content to your prospects – Do this through different automated email sequences for each group (for example, after segmenting them with your ScoreApp quiz). You’ll get to answer their most pressing questions and doubts before speaking to them 1:1
- Create a content library – Have you trained your sales team properly so that they know how to address potential questions and objections effectively? Great! Now, it’s time to organise all your sales enablement content and give it to them, too. That way, your sales team will build trust and sell more easily by sharing the right resources with each prospect, from product sheets to FAQs and case studies. You can then save even more time with a quiz that creates a quick and personalised onboarding experience
Automate your sales enablement content with a FREE ScoreApp quiz
4. Streamline your sales process
When you perfect your sales process, you shorten your B2B sales cycle and make things easier for your teams. So, a win-win!
- Simplify your steps – Review your sales process regularly: identify and eliminate all the unnecessary steps and friction points that are delaying your B2B sales cycle
- Align your marketing and sales teams – They should always work together! Otherwise, even when the former generates lots of leads, the latter will end up starting from scratch (= longer and less effective sales cycle). For example, your marketing team can get more people to see and take your ScoreApp quiz. Then, your sales team will only speak to those who’ve already been nurtured and pre-qualified. They’ll also get to look at their quiz results to deliver a more personalised approach and overall sales experience
Streamline your sales process with a FREE ScoreApp quiz
5. Focus on customer pain points and needs
As seen before, B2B buyers are really conscious and selective. They don’t want to spend HOURS talking to salespeople who keep pushing their products!
Instead, they want to know how you can solve their pain points and meet their needs. That’s why personalisation leads to a 20% increase in sales.
So, start using it to speed up your B2B sales cycle and close more deals:
- Adopt a consultative selling approach – Go from selling to problem-solving! Ditch cookie-cutter scripts and solutions, and focus on understanding each prospect’s challenges and needs. That way, you can always recommend the best solution for them
- Understand your prospects with a quiz – What better way to identify their problems and goals than by asking them questions? With a ScoreApp quiz, it’s a breeze to uncover each participant’s situation and make personalised suggestions
- Customise your solutions – Personalise your communication, presentations and proposals. You want to highlight how your product or service will benefit that specific customer, emphasising its value and ROI. Once again, that’s where a strategic quiz comes in handy
Uncover your customers’ needs and pain points with a FREE ScoreApp quiz
6. Improve your communication and follow-ups
In the B2B world, 80% of sales require 5 follow-ups.
So, if you can’t stay on top of them, that’s probably why your B2B sales cycle is too long and… not enough people become customers in the end. So, start focusing on:
- Responsive communication – Quick and clear communication can save you PLENTY of time. So, be prompt with your responses and follow-ups, and consider using automation tools whenever possible
- Personalised interactions – As seen before, personalisation can skyrocket your conversion rate. So, make sure you’re always speaking to the right individual and focusing on their problem, needs and goals. You must also take any other important factors into account too, like their industry, role and company size. Once again, this couldn’t be easier once you’ve identified all of them through a ScoreApp quiz!
Personalise your communication and follow-ups with a FREE ScoreApp quiz
7. Use social proof and case studies throughout your B2B sales cycle
Taking someone from lead to paying customer? It’s easier (and quicker) if they actually TRUST your brand.
And one of the best ways of building trust? Easy: showing them how you already helped someone who used to be in their same situation!
- Leverage testimonials and case studies – To build trust and credibility, introduce this early in your B2B sales cycle (and especially before you actually speak to someone 1:1). With a ScoreApp quiz funnel, you can include relevant testimonials and case studies in your automated email sequences
- Reference similar clients – Even better: focus on social proof from customers who were in a similar situation as the one you’re talking to right now. This could be because they were in the same industry or had a similar company size or budget. Either way, it’ll make your new prospects think: “If it worked for them, it can work for me, too!”
Share social proof throughout your B2B sales cycle with a FREE ScoreApp quiz funnel
8. Conduct effective demos and trials
Once you get someone to try your product for free, you can close your B2B sales cycle faster or… ruin all your previous efforts!
The latter tends to be the case if your free trials are confusing and directionless or your demos just aren’t valuable for your prospects.
So, don’t run that risk! Instead:
- Focus on value – Stop boring your prospects with a list of features! Lead with how your product will solve their problem and benefit them, really demonstrating its ROI and value. How? Refer to their ScoreApp quiz results to focus on what matters the most to them! You can also create resources (like blog posts and video tutorials) to help your prospects get the most out of their trials
- Set clear objectives – What does success look like for your demos and trials? What’s your ideal conversion rate? Once you’re clear on this, start monitoring it. You should also follow up with every prospect to gather feedback (so that you can then address their concerns and improve your overall process)
Personalise your demos and trials with a FREE ScoreApp quiz
9. Negotiate and close efficiently
The moment of truth has come!
Luckily, you can speed up your B2B sales cycle even further with a strong sales call (the kind that ends with a loud “YES!”) or follow-ups.
- Prepare for objections – Make sure EVERYONE in your sales team is on the same page and knows how to deal with common concerns and excuses. As you now know, sharing sales-enablement content before and during the actual call can boost your chances of success, too!
- Keep it personal – Reference each prospect’s situation. That’s one of the many reasons why quizzes can help you close more sales calls! Your sales team will get to start from this prospect’s quiz answers and focus on what they’re actually struggling with the most (as well as their personal preferences and dislikes)
- Be clear on the next steps – Don’t leave anything to chance! If someone isn’t ready to take action right now, you must know when to follow up next, who is responsible for what and so on. Keep that momentum going!
Close more B2B sales calls with a FREE ScoreApp Quiz
Speed up and streamline your B2B sales cycle with a ScoreApp quiz funnel
You don’t have to settle for a long and complicated process!
If you want your B2B sales cycle to be shorter and more successful than the industry average? You must do what average B2B companies don’t do.
So, streamline your sales cycle and personalise all your interactions with a quiz funnel!
With ScoreApp, you can automate EVERYTHING: from segmenting your leads to nurturing them with relevant sales-enablement content and inviting them on sales calls as soon as they’re ready.
Start speeding up your B2B sales cycle and closing more deals: create your FREE ScoreApp quiz funnel today.
