Reducing Selling Cycles

It's been over a year since I started working with SafeToLoad, and our efforts are beginning to bear fruit. I've set up a sales cycle day counter, and without fail, the numbers are between 220 and 340 days from the moment I made contact with the prospect. Nothing seems to break through this glass ceiling. Our clients are players in the oil and gas industry, so they are typically large organizations.

I apply the following strategies:

• Understanding clients: Our clients are petroleum product distributors, and we help them manage their operational logistics risks and reduce costs. One point I've considered is the difference in client expectations to make the right service offer. There's no point in trying to sell as many features as possible when the client doesn't need them. It's a waste of time and effort on a proposal. B2B customers don't pay for features they don't need.
• Qualifying prospects: I make sure that prospects are genuinely interested in the service. In other words, don't waste time with prospects who have no intention of buying and are generally just looking to fill their schedules or get trained. My solution is simple: nothing is free. A client must go through the purchasing department even for a thousand euros. If they don't want to pay, it's not because they don't have the funds, but because they don't want to go through the purchasing department. This doesn't directly reduce sales cycles, but not wasting time on dead-end prospects frees up time and energy to focus on good prospects.
• Shortening the decision-making process: This is a complex point. For me, it's essential to quickly contact the people who will make the final decisions. Not because they're the ones to convince, but to make sure they're aware of the projects. Sometimes, project initiators use the supplier to build their case and then present it to decision-makers. Again, this helps avoid surprises but doesn't reduce the sales cycle. However, once a decision-maker is looped in, I've noticed that things move faster!
• Improving communication: This takes time and helps. The faster the interlocutors "integrate the product," the sooner they can present the product's advantages to decision-makers.
• Using technology: Small tools like Calendly can help speed up the decision-making process. A promptly organized Teams conference can save a few days. I also like to schedule recurring meetings as soon as a proof of concept is launched.

Despite all this, the sales cycles remain long, which can be frustrating at times.

One piece of advice often given is to better segment customers and identify those who could sign as quickly as possible. Smaller organizations are often quicker than larger ones. But again, this doesn't solve the problem!

In conclusion, I've found strategies to eliminate uninterested prospects, identify those who can move faster, but when it comes to reducing the cycle with a specific prospect, it's more complicated.

What is your experience?