B2B Sales and Closing Times, are much longer than most prospects and clients think. It takes a great deal of time and care to close an opportunity from start to finish. My standard answer is that in B2B enterprise sales it always takes 6 to 18 months to close anything and then don’t expect it to be a huge deal at the beginning. Oftentimes it could be a pilot in one store or division. It is from there that trust is built, the business case made and larger sales made.
One of the challenges I find many startups have is that they expect sales to close really quickly. We have had many prospects approach us for help and there revenue numbers and closing ratios are off. One prospect thought it would be reasonable to close $2 million in sales in 6 months and their sales in the current year were only a few hundred thousand and they did not have a funnel. So all we could say is that it that number is unrealistic and we can’t help meet that number in that timeframe.
To illustrate the length of time it takes to close a new deal, I have provided a few examples below as I think real-life stories are more telling than just a few paragraphs of text.
With OurResearch we are focussing our efforts on selling a solution they have built called OpenAlex. OpenAlex is the largest, open, scientific knowledge graph in the world. We help sell this to startups, industrial and tech companies as well and post-secondary and government institutions. For this client, when doing an analysis of closing times, it takes approximately 9 to 18 months to close a deal. Oftentimes this also includes a short trial to the solution for 1 to 3 months.
Nelcos, the exclusive distributor of Hyundai’s architectural film, closing times can range from 12 to 24 months. For one large retailer in Canada, the process took 22 months and over 40 touches. For another, a billion dollar healthcare provider in the US, the sales process has taken over 9 months and that included securing a pilot. The larger projects now after 12 months are still being worked on.
For Borrum, a provider of Canadian made microgeneration wind turbines, the sales process to both individuals and to resellers has proven to take at least 6 months at least. From the reseller aspect, this 6 month period is simply to get them interested in a meeting and then having enough interest in adding the turbines to their portfolio. It does not include the sale of a turbine to an end customer.
Good luck with your sales efforts. Happy Hunting!
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