What Is a Sales Cycle? And How to Use It More Effectively

A sales cycle describes a repeatable sales process. Salespeople can use it to help them close more sales and make more profit. These highly flexible models can include whatever stages or time frames you want. A well-defined sales cycle can help you become a more productive and efficient salesperson, shortening the length of the sales cycles, generating more leads, and making more sales overall. 

Read more: What Is a Sales Pipeline and How Do You Build a Successful One?

What is a sales cycle?

A sales cycle is the culmination of each step of the sales process, from generating a new lead to following up after the sale is complete. The number of steps in a sales cycle varies from model to model. One popular sales cycle model calls on a seven-step process, although some variations will reduce that to five or four. 

Why is it important to have a well-defined sales cycle?

The goal of a sales cycle is to increase productivity by starting with better leads, shortening the time it takes to close a sale, and sometimes directly automating sales tasks. Explore some of the benefits of tracking your sales cycle: 

• Tracking your sales cycle gives you a measurable data set. Keeping statistics on your sales cycle will help you understand what works and what you might improve. 

• Stay focused on your sales activities. A sales cycle helps you track what you need to do next and allows you to replicate processes. It reduces the time to plan each sale individually and replaces it with one clear course of action. 

• Break down your process and find ways to improve. Each stage of the sales cycle allows you to examine your process for improvements and measure your success.  

• Find better-quality leads earlier in the sales cycle. By filtering out people who aren’t likely to make a purchase, you can shorten your sales cycle and spend more time talking with people who might. 

• Make it easier to train incoming sales reps. Developing a well-defined sales cycle gives you clear instructions to pass on to a trainee salesperson. 

Typical sales cycle stages

Identifying and defining the stages in your sales cycle is essential for effectively managing your pipeline, allocating resources, and improving your overall sales performance.

Take a closer look at a standard sales cycle model with the following seven stages:

1. Generate leads

Generating leads is the first step and plays an essential role. It helps create interest in the product or service and encourages potential customers to provide their contact information or express interest in learning more. Generating leads involves various sales activities, including marketing campaigns and events. The higher quality leads you can develop to start with, the less time you’ll spend filtering out unqualified leads later in the sales cycle. 

Read more: Sales Forecasting: A Guide to Grow Your Business

2. Connect 

In the second stage of the sales process, you will connect with the leads you generate in your sales activities. Connecting with customers at this stage means establishing communication and opening the door to more of a relationship. You might set up a time for a more in-depth meeting down the road or send helpful or relevant information that might interest them. 

3. Qualify 

Qualifying leads means making sure they are likely to make a purchase. For example, it’s essential to make sure they show interest, that the product or service you’re offering is relevant to them and in their price range, and that they are the person who is in charge of making this purchase. If the office manager can only make purchasing decisions, setting up a sales meeting with their assistant won't be as worthwhile. 

4. Present

Presenting is the “sales” part of the sales cycle. You will explain what you are selling and how it will improve your potential customer’s life or career. If you’ve successfully pre-qualified leads, you should be presenting to someone who will benefit from your product or service. 

5. Manage objections

Managing objections involves handling customer questions and pushback. Sales would be a much easier if customers always had a reason to say yes. However, in many cases, potential customers hesitate for one reason or another. For example, they might think the product is too expensive. Managing that objection might look like explaining how the product pays for itself in the long run because of the added value it brings. 

6. Close the sale

The closing stage is critical in the sales cycle because it involves finalizing the sale and getting the customer to commit to the deal. You can use different closing techniques, such as creating urgency by offering a discount for a limited time or acting as though the customer has already agreed to make the purchase. The key to closing a sale is to know your customers and determine what type of closing technique will motivate them to respond.  

7. Follow up

The follow-up stage aims to build a strong relationship with the customer, demonstrate ongoing value, and potentially generate additional sales or referrals. By staying in touch with the customer and addressing their needs and concerns, the salesperson can create a positive customer experience and build loyalty for the brand.

Read more: Inside Sales vs. Outside Sales: How Are They Different?

Tips for using a sales cycle more effectively

Each stage of the sales cycle allows you to hone in on what activities are working and what you could improve to shorten the sales cycle and close more deals. These tips may help you get more out of your sales cycle planning:

• Spend more time selling. The more time you can spend directly selling to your customers, the more deals you’re likely to close. Outsource or automate work like researching market trends, scheduling appointments, and sending follow-up emails to free up more time in your day for sales activities and presentations. 

• Get your foot in the door. The first time you connect with a new lead, you might miss a chance to give them your entire sales presentation. By asking for a smaller commitment, such as a phone number or signing up for a newsletter, you can get your foot in the door to have a bigger conversation down the road. 

• Address objections early. The more customers know about your product before you present it, the fewer objections they’ll have. The fewer objections a customer has, the higher the likelihood they’ll commit to the sale. For example, post a frequently asked questions page on your website to handle common objections. Use a pricing page to help customers understand how much the product or service will cost to avoid making sales appointments with people who ultimately won’t be able to afford it. 

• Work in tandem with your marketing team. A marketing team develops the advertising that drives leads, feeding your sales funnel. By working closely with your marketing team, you can generate higher-quality leads and use automated software to collect and track where prospects come from. 

Next steps

Following a sales cycle can help you turn leads into sales. It's a flexible model that practically anyone in sales can use and tailor to suit their unique needs and those of the organization for which they work.  

To learn more about how to get the most out of your sales cycle, consider earning a Professional Certificate on Coursera. For example, the Salesforce Sales Development Representative Professional Certificate is a beginner-level program that covers topics like sales development, interviewing with confidence, navigating professional relationships, and more. Completing this course can help you build the skills you need to become a sales rep.