Our impatience in developing leads can cost us money. Recent research has shown that most sales professionals take a short view of the leads in their pipeline and it’s costing them sales. The results of that research appear below.

The 6 Month Window
The average sales cycle is three to four months in length. Your mileage will vary depending on your industry. According to research results, 25% of leads that ultimately purchase, do so within 6 months. That jives fairly closely with the average sales cycle. However, this means 75% of the remaining leads that purchase, do so beyond 6 months. Seventy-five percent is significant.

The 6 to 18 Month Window
Half of all leads that eventually buy from us do so in the 6 to 18 month time frame, according to the study. That statistic tells us essentially two things: (1) We must keep our funnel full because of the large percentage of leads (50%) that buy from us 6 to 18 months after our initial contact with them, and (2) If we want to increase our close ratio, we need to expect, and prepare for, much longer sales cycles.

The 18 Plus Month Window
For most sales professionals who have sales managers breathing down their necks, 18 months is the same as 18 years. But the numbers indicate that 25% of the leads that purchase from us do so after 18 months. We can’t ignore a quarter of our potential future business.

4 Sales Tips For Managing Your Pipeline Today

1. I hate to bring this up, but it’s a reality. These figures are from research done before the current recession. As a result, prepare yourself for these numbers to be conservative.
2. No one can manage a large funnel without good record keeping. This is especially true when we realize how long we have to court leads and how many leads we must keep track of.
3. Review the new business you’ve landed over the last two years. See how your sales cycle time frames match up with the numbers above. See which kinds of leads had the highest close ratios with the shortest sales cycles. Use this information as you implement a new personal business development campaign.
4. Finally, and in summary, don’t be too quick to discard prospects that look promising but aren’t moving as quickly as you would like.

If your sales manager doesn’t have the patience to wait for you to develop the prospects in your pipeline, have him or her give me a call. I’ll set ‘em straight.

©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

Related posts:

1. 3 Sales Tips For Managing The Right Of First Refusal
2. Sales Tips: What is Cycle Prospecting or Perpetual Prospecting?
3. Why “Needy Ears” Will Kill Your Prospecting Mojo

Tags: Prospecting, prospects, recession, sales advice

We'd like to hear your feedback on this post - feel free to comment below!