How to Shorten Patient Engagement Sales Cycles

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The Patient Engagement and Education sales cycle could take anywhere from a couple weeks, to months, to a few years. From the sales experts we talk with in the market, eight months is the standard timeframe. According to a report by Demand Gen, sales cycles are now much longer because there are more B2B decision makers in the market. Buyers are also investing more time in researching before they buy, which means there is less explaining on the sales person’s side, but the same length of sales cycle. Here are some great ways to reduce the Patient Engagement and Education sales cycle:

Align your information and content with the Buyer’s Journey

Your leads go through various phases of the Buyer’s Journey. Because of this, you should be sure that your sales content is lined up with their corresponding phase in the journey. This will make it easier to inform them, move them onto the next phase, and then hopefully convert them into pleased customers. Awareness phase: At the beginning of the sales cycle, your leads are not fully sure what they need. This is called the “Awareness phase” of the buyer’s journey where potential customers try to find what issues they have that need to be resolved and what goals they have. For that reason, before scheduling a sales meeting, make sure to give the prospect information that resolves their concerns. This can be anything from content on your site like blogs or infographics, to premium content like ebooks or whitepapers. As you help your leads recognize their issues, you can determine whether your Patient Engagement and Education services or products are a good fit. Doing so will help you keep your priorities straight and allow you to focus on ideal leads. Consideration phase: At this phase, leads understand their issues and have made the decision to solve them. They are taking into consideration various options for addressing their troubles. You need to supply content that you develop yourself as an authority in the market and describe various options for your prospect’s needs. Whitepaper, webinars, case studies, and overviews would be a great way to persuade potential customers to purchase from you and not your competitors. Make sure that your content in the consideration phase doesn’t give information on your Patient Engagement and Education firm’s options yet. Your content should focus on informing your leads and directing them to how to solve their issues. An example of consideration phases content is Buzz Sumo’s professional webinar collection where leads can get recommendations, techniques, and pointers from various content marketing experts. Decision phase: At this phase, your leads have made the decision which approach they need to fulfill their needs. They are contrasting the benefits and drawbacks of different deals from different Patient Engagement and Education businesses and trying to decide which to pick. Content should include trial videos, comparison charts, trials, and product summaries. Other excellent ways of leveraging content in this phase are industry-specific case studies, blog write-ups that contrast and compare your Patient Engagement and Education services’, and also online calculators that help your Patient Engagement and Education potential customers compute ROI of your services.

Take advantage of email automation systems to inform leads

According to a Salesforce State of Marketing record (2017), 67% of the marketing and sales leaders use automation software applications. It also says that over the next two years, another 21% intend to start using an automation system. You can reduce your sales cycle by automating your processes. For example, instead of manually releasing social media blog posts and Lead Nurturing Emails, you can use software apps to do that automatically. The content shared in your automated emails and social media posts will help nurture your leads and make it easier to convert them to customers. Automating your sales initiatives will not only reduce your sales cycle, but will reduce your cost per leads. Automation also frees up time and lets you concentrate on other important responsibilities of a busy sales rep.

Offer ways to request prices, then show value

Prospects will want to know the prices of your services quickly. If your Patient Engagement and Education software application or equipment is widely known or competitively valued, you can include a ‘Request a Quote’ button on your website. This could help you begin a discussion to find out their specific needs (before providing the “price”), to then give an appropriate value. This helps you be more receptive to engaged leads in the Decision phase of their Buyer’s Journey and minimize your sales cycle.

Follow up your content with telephone calls to assist potential customers./h3> Blogs, social media posts, whitepapers, case studies, and reports are all great ways to stay engaged and move your leads throughout the sales cycle. However, as a busy sales representative, you want to reduce the sales cycle, and connecting with your potential customers via telephone could help you do that. Calls can help you develop a better relationship with your potential customers. They also give you the chance to react to any questions or concerns in real time. A report by The Marketing Donut discloses that 80% of sales need five more calls after the first meeting. The objective of your call should not just be for sales, though. Use them to inform the prospect on the value of your offer. This means that the call can be helpful in any phase of the Buyer’s Journey.

The big takeaways

Patient Engagement and Education sales cycles could be very long, and it’s important to reduce the cycle for each and every prospect on your list. The tips above are all part of the Inbound Sales Methodology, and will help you plan your strategies throughout your sales process in a way that will make both you and your leads feel represented and attended to throughout the sales cycle. It can be hard to do all of this alone. Responsify partners with Patient Engagement and Education sales and business development pros to offer strategy, support, and assistance in executing these tasks. By collaborating, we help marketing and sales teams purposefully bring in brand-new website visitors, convert them to qualified leads, and speed up the sales process. We’ve helped lots of gifted salespeople weave the Inbound Methodology right into their complex sales process. Don’t hesitate to schedule your free strategy session to help you examine your methods and get free tips and advice on how to reduce your sales cycle!