You’re spending too much time in the discovery phase

[Shishirgano9]

Key customer stakeholders engaged when needed. Next steps were agreed on and adhered to. Mutual close plans were tight. Could the negative results have been caused by poor execution or lack of persistence on the part of the rep in some cases? Absolutely. However, in almost all instances, the sales reps admitted to hanging on to deals they ended up losing for longer than they should have in the face of evidence that they should have given up long before.



This means that if your sales motion is chile cell phone number list consistent, you’re engaging in the right behaviors, but stillof a given sales cycle, it could be a clear signal that you’re better off focusing your attention on better-fit opportunities. This is especially true when selling during times of uncertainty where your limited bandwidth is best spent with higher probability customers. While it might be tempting to cast the net wide and reel in every opportunity.



Paradoxically, it’s better to narrow your team’s focus and go forensic, not far and wide. Look at your historical sales data, team performance, and really internalize which types of customers can get the most value from your solution during times like these. Then, double down on them (and yes, to the exclusion of others). Related video: Stop Wasting Time on Bad Fit Customers! After I had this very discussion with a client who provides network infrastructure software to managed IT service providers, one of their sales reps decided to embark on a ruthless pipeline cleanup.