If the sales cycle with your company seems to be getting longer and longer, that may indicate a lack of content production on your part. Without solid, regular content, people can’t get to know and trust you until they’ve had direct conversations with you. While those conversations are essential in every case, if you can lead up to them with content to show your expertise, those conversations can become faster and more effective.
I shared last year how we ended up as a client of Blumer CPAs, and it was due to this very thing. They produced excellent content over the years, we learned to trust and respect them to a strong degree, and then our “first” conversation felt like talking with an old friend.
In his excellent new book “Secret Tradecraft of Elite Advisors“, author David C. Baker explains it like this (pulling from his friend Blair Enns):
“Investing in the sale” is a term Blair Enns uses, and it refers to a long, drawn-out sales process punctuated by long proposals, maybe some free analysis, multiple meetings, etc. Here’s the thing, too. If you have not been publishing insight or talking about your process in substantive ways, your clients have a legitimate right to demand all that investment in the sale from you.
If people start their relationship with you cold, they still need to build all of that trust. Rather than starting halfway down the road, you’re starting at square one. Not only does this lead to a longer sales cycle, it can lead to other companies gaining an equal advantage.
In the case of Blumer CPAs, by the time we decided to talk with them they were the only choice for us to consider. We weren’t comparing them to other firms at that point, because they had proven they knew their stuff and we were anxious to learn more.
It takes effort to produce steady high-quality content, but you get two big wins from it:
- First, as shared above, it can help drive more business your way.
- Second, as is the core purpose of this blog, it can help you better understand key concepts yourself.
Share your insights, grow your knowledge, and work to make the sales process even easier.
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