A compliance software company identified a powerful trigger: publicly disclosed "material weaknesses." Targeting these companies created immense urgency, as they were under regulatory pressure to act. This hyper-targeted approach led to a deal closing in three months, slashing the typical six-to-nine-month sales cycle.
Related Insights
Guest Bob Kosics presents a simplified qualification framework focusing on three critical questions to determine if a deal will close on schedule: Why is the customer buying at all? Why are they buying from you specifically? And why must they buy right now?
Two clear red flags indicate a deal is at risk: relying on a single contact and having a close date not tied to a specific buyer deadline. To de-risk a deal, sales reps must engage multiple stakeholders (multi-threading) and anchor the timeline to the buyer's critical business needs.
Don't just solve the problem a customer tells you about. Research their public strategic objectives for the year and identify where they are failing. Frame your solution as the critical tool to close that specific, high-level performance gap, creating urgency and executive buy-in.
Instead of pursuing large companies, elite sellers identify and focus on key business events, like mergers or new market entries, that create an urgent need for their product. This strategy shifts focus from account size to the probability of a timely need, leading to more efficient prospecting.
To avoid stalled deals, continuously test the prospect's engagement. If a stakeholder consistently fails to meet small commitments—like providing requested information on time—it is a strong indicator that the deal is not a priority for them and is at high risk of stalling.
To identify which events actually drive business, analyze your last 5-20 closed-won deals. Look for recurring, time-bound triggers that you didn't create. This data-driven approach provides clarity on where to focus your efforts, revealing the organic drivers behind your biggest successes.
Counterintuitively, selling high-value solutions to wealthy individuals or large companies often involves less friction. Affluent buyers with significant pain points focus on the value of the solution and have the budget, simplifying the sales cycle.
Challenging the myth of slow government procurement, the Department of Energy completed an eight-figure software deal with a brand new vendor in just five weeks. This speed was possible because the vendor presented a strong ROI and a solution to an urgent, high-level problem, proving that bureaucracy can move fast for clear priorities.
Briq accelerates enterprise sales by focusing on a small, specific pain point and securing an initial payment, however small. This 'land and expand' approach, centered on tangible micro-value, builds commitment and opens the door for larger deals, collapsing sales cycles.
