A 3-Hour-and-15-Minute Sales Process Just as important as sales cycle length is how many hours of selling time per rep does each sales cycle require? How can they be much more efficient and effective, in order to handle more deals with higher close rates? Reps tend to waste a LOT of time chasing early and stalled deals (“Hi Bob, just checking in to see if anything’s changed yet over there. It hasn’t? OK, I’ll call you again in two weeks…”) Also, Bob here in the example might be someone without much power or influence, and no matter how long the rep persists, nothing’s ever going to happen. My “3-Hour-and-15-Minute” Sales Process is a big help in the early stages of a sales cycle to qualify it, get access to decision makers and build a common vision. It’s also very simple. I developed it when I began doing sales consulting, to minimize the amount of time both parties needed to figure out whether or not we should work together, and when. The objectives of this process are to qualify or disqualify early, gain access to the multiple people in a deal that have power, and begin creating a common vision with the prospect. There are three steps that add up to three hours and fifteen minutes of total time invested to get to the point that both parties know there’s a good fit and when is the right time to engage (even if that is not today). Step 1: (15 Minutes) First Contact: “Is This A Waste Of Time?” Imagine you are referred to someone, or get a response from a prospect and have a first chat with them. You can take fifteen minutes with them to figure out whether or not it’s a waste of time to speak further. Frankly, everyone’s so busy and overwhelmed these days that they appreciate being told what to do, so that they don’t have to think. In this first call, start setting expectations right away. Lay out your process for the prospect in the best way to mutually figure out the fit, and position it in a way that benefits them.