When I was in my twenties, I had a job opportunity that I was genuinely excited about. The first interview went well, and I was told to expect a second meeting with the General Manager in the next couple of days. I heard back 3 days later, and a second interview was booked for a week’s time. Then a day before the meeting, it was postponed and yet again they promised to follow up. A further 2 weeks passed by without any contact, and by then I had accepted another role. A month later, they finally reached out keen to reschedule, but by then I had moved on.
The ‘start stop’ nature of the recruitment process was very frustrating and as a result my excitement and interest in the role had faded, and I was happy with my new choice of an entirely different position and company.
Every important business process has its own rhythm and none more so than sales. Each sales process has a clear beginning, a clear ending (hopefully resulting in an order!) and in between there should be a deliberate and natural rhythm that guides the customer or prospect through the process and to the best outcome.
The ‘sales rhythm’ in your business will be determined by what you are selling and the type of business that is buying. If you fail to establish the right rhythm at the start of the sales process, or you allow that rhythm to be disrupted or stalled, then a successful sales outcome will become less and less likely.
I have been in sales long enough to know that time kills all deals. I have also been around long enough to know that a longer sales cycle can be due to the changing priorities of the purchaser and often because there is a lack of product fit. However, I strongly believe that a key reason for a longer sales cycle is the failure to establish or maintain sales rhythm, which is often due to a lack of skills or poor execution by the salesperson.
According to the Mood of the Sales Leader report (2025 Edition) published last week only 39% of companies grew their revenue in 2024 which is down from 54% in 2023 and 66% in 2022. That is a very significant decline on recent years and certainly a reflection of the very challenging economy in both NZ and Australia. I am certain however that a major contributor to those businesses who missed their sales growth targets were salespeople who failed to create a rhythm to their sales process and sales cycle.
For decades it is common for the Pareto Principle to feature in sales teams or commonly referred to as the 80/20 rule, whereby 80% of the revenue is typically delivered by 20% of your best salespeople. This seemed to change last year. In 2024, 90% of revenue was delivered by the top 10% of your salespeople. The top 10% of salespeople understand how to establish a rhythm to their selling, and they know the importance of building and maintaining momentum throughout the sales process.
We also noted that over 50% of sales leaders highlighted that during 2024 the length of the sales cycle increased (the time it takes to close a sale) however things get even more interesting when you see the stats on the companies that reported either revenue decline or revenue growth. In companies where their revenue declined, 70% noted an increase in their sales cycle, and of those whose revenue increased only 40% noted an increase in sales cycle.
My guess is that those companies who achieved growth found a way to adapt their sales rhythm to the tough economic times and still achieve impressive growth.
For 2025 it will be critical that companies are heavily invested in their sales process and cycle. To do this you need to relook at how you are engaging with your clients. As a salesperson are you controlling the sales process or are you allowing the customer to dictate the terms?
If you are controlling the sales process, that means you are doing the work before you engage, you are quickly creating trust and credibility, and you are also creating excitement and expectation for the product or solution you are selling. You are highlighting the return on investment and sharing stories about other case studies and reference sites that have worked well. An effective sales rhythm comes from setting objectives before and at the end of each meeting and ensuring that you are moving the opportunity along at a good pace. Not too fast and not too slow. Managing each sales opportunity should be like using a metronome!
