In today’s sales environment, it’s more important than ever to keep opportunities moving swiftly and efficiently through the pipeline. Shortening your sales cycle can not only help you hit your goals faster, but also bring in more revenue at a quicker pace.

Want some strategies to streamline the process? Keep reading this issue of PromoPro Daily, where we highlight a post from Dan Shewan, a senior content manager at ZoomInfo, a software and data company. In his post, he shares some guidance from Ryan Hart, a principal product manager at ZoomInfo, on some top techniques to reduce sales cycles.

1. Use more social proof. You may have some persuasive sales reps on your team, but even they can’t match a positive word from a pleased client. Shewan says you can’t top genuine recommendations from satisfied customers. Let your happiest customers sell for you whenever possible by inviting them to share their experiences.

2. Explain pricing at the right stage. No one wants to waste time on unqualified leads. If a prospect doesn’t have the budget for your products and services, it’s best to move on to prospects who are a better fit for your solution. Hart recommends assessing each potential buyer’s budget, authority, need and timeline. Laying out pricing at an appropriate stage relatively early in the process can help reduce the amount of time spent on leads who simply aren’t qualified for your solution.

3. Showcase your products as soon as possible. Want to show your promo ideas or new arrivals? Aim to have that conversation early. This can give you a leg up on the competition. Shewan says you should aim to show the prospect how your solution can solve prospects’ problems in a real-world scenario and help them see themselves winning as a result of using your products.

4. Uncover objections early on. You may not want to address any potential pitfalls or challenges of going with your solution, but Shewan says it’s best to bring these up during the discovery phase. If you try to gloss over any weaknesses, you can do more harm than good. Remember that you don’t have to win every deal. When you can uncover objections early in this process, you can give everyone the best outcome.

5. Always document next steps. This is one of the best ways to keep deals moving forward. It may sound like organizational overkill, Shewan says, but every stage of the sales conversation needs clearly documented next steps. Everyone should know what’s due and by when. This helps sales reps keep track of multiple deals and helps keep deals moving forward.

6. Don’t upsell too early. You may want to try to maximize deal value early, but according to Hart, it’s better to use incremental closes to secure the business first. If you try to do too much upfront, the deal can get so big that it’s at risk of not getting done at all.

There will always be ups and downs in a sales cycle. With so many variables in each sale, it’s never fully predicable. However, there are some ways you can speed up the process. Try the strategies above to shorten your deal cycles and quicken your deal flow.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers

Source: Dan Shewan is a senior content manager at ZoomInfo, a software and data company.