How to Close Deals Faster

Long sales cycles kill momentum, increase costs, and risk losing deals to competitors.

The best salespeople don't just close more deals—they close them faster.

This guide covers proven strategies to accelerate your sales cycle without sacrificing deal quality or being pushy.

Why Deals Stall

Understanding what slows deals down helps you prevent it.

Common Causes of Slow Sales Cycles

1. Poor qualification

• Talking to non-decision makers
• Missing stakeholders in process
• Unclear budget or timeline
• No real pain or urgency

2. Process friction

• Too many steps
• Unclear next actions
• Waiting on information
• Multiple approval layers

3. Lack of urgency

• No deadline or consequence
• Status quo seems acceptable
• Other priorities more pressing
• Cost of problem unclear

4. Internal selling required

• Multiple stakeholders to convince
• No champion driving process
• Political obstacles
• Competing priorities internally

The Velocity Framework

1. Qualify Harder, Earlier

BANT Framework:

• Budget: Can they afford it?
• Authority: Are you talking to the decision maker?
• Need: Do they have the problem?
• Timeline: When will they decide?

Advanced Qualification:

• What happens if they don't solve this?
• Who else needs to be involved in the decision?
• What's the approval process?
• Have they bought similar solutions before?
• What would make this not happen?

Red flags to disqualify:

• "I need to think about it" (no clear timeline)
• "I'll talk to my team" (no authority)
• "Send me a proposal" (no engagement)
• Can't articulate the cost of the problem

2. Create and Reinforce Urgency

External deadlines:

• Industry deadlines (tax year, compliance)
• Seasonal factors (busy season approaching)
• Competitive threats (competitors moving faster)

Internal deadlines:

• Budget cycles (end of quarter/year)
• Upcoming initiatives that depend on this
• Team changes (new hire needs this in place)

Cost of delay:

• Quantify what waiting costs per month
• Show opportunity cost clearly
• Make inaction painful

Create scarcity (ethically):

• Limited implementation slots
• Pricing increases coming
• Bonus offer expires
• First-mover advantages

3. Simplify the Process

Reduce steps:

• Combine discovery + demo into one call
• Send proposal during call, not after
• Get verbal commitment before formal proposal
• Use e-signatures for contracts
• Automate approval workflows

Remove friction:

• Make decision criteria clear upfront
• Provide all information proactively
• Answer questions before they're asked
• Template objection responses
• Offer month-to-month (reduce commitment)

Streamline communication:

• Use shared Slack channels
• Weekly check-ins (not waiting weeks)
• Decision documents they can share internally
• Clear next steps after every interaction

Stage-by-Stage Acceleration

Discovery Stage

Accelerators:

• Send pre-call questionnaire
• Prepare demo for their use case
• Bring pricing to first call
• Identify all stakeholders immediately

Questions to ask:

• "Who else should be on this call?"
• "What's your ideal timeline for implementing this?"
• "What would prevent you from moving forward?"
• "Have you allocated budget for this?"

Red flags:

• Vague answers to timeline questions
• Can't quantify the problem
• Unclear decision process
• No sense of urgency

Demo/Presentation Stage

Before the demo:

• Confirm attendees include decision makers
• Send agenda with expected outcomes
• Get agreement on next steps if demo goes well
• Prepare custom demo for their use case

During the demo:

• Focus only on relevant features
• Show outcomes, not features
• Get verbal reactions and objections
• Address concerns immediately
• Ask for the sale at the end

After the demo:

• Send proposal same day
• Book follow-up before ending call
• Provide ROI calculator customized for them
• Share customer testimonials from similar companies

Don't:

• Show every feature
• Schedule another demo
• Send proposal "in a few days"
• End without clear next steps

Proposal Stage

Speed up proposals:

• Have templates ready
• Present during call, don't email
• Focus on outcomes, not features
• Include clear next steps and timeline
• Add expiration date (creates urgency)

Elements to include:

• Problem statement (in their words)
• Proposed solution
• Expected outcomes (quantified)
• Pricing (clear and simple)
• Implementation timeline
• Next steps and decision timeline

Interactive proposal presentation:

"Let me walk you through this proposal now, and we can adjust anything that doesn't fit.

[Walk through each section]

Does this address what you need? What questions do you have? Assuming this looks good, what's the next step on your end?"

Negotiation Stage

Accelerate negotiations:

• Anticipate objections and address upfront
• Have discount authority ready
• Offer payment terms that help (quarterly, annual)
• Bundle services to increase value perception
• Set deadline for special terms

Common objections and quick responses:

"Price is too high" → "Let's look at ROI. If this saves you [X]/month, it pays for itself in [Y] months."

"Need more time" → "What specifically do you need time to evaluate? Let's address that now."

"Need to compare" → "Smart to compare. What specific criteria are you evaluating? I can show how we stack up."

Closing Stage

Accelerate closes:

• Use assumptive language ("when we start" not "if")
• Offer to start implementation planning
• Provide onboarding timeline
• Send contract same day as verbal yes
• Use e-signature tools
• Follow up daily on contract review

Closing questions:

"Based on our conversation, it seems like this is a good fit. What questions are left before we move forward?"

"If I can [handle final objection], are you <a href="/blog/automate-workflows-start" class="underline decoration-2 decoration-cyan-400 underline-offset-4 hover:text-cyan-300">ready to</a> get started?"

"Let's get this scheduled. I have implementation slots available starting [date]. Should we book that?"

Advanced Tactics

The Pilot Offer

Reduce commitment to speed up decision.

Framework:

"I understand this is a significant decision. What if we started with a 30-day pilot focused on [specific outcome]?

Low commitment, fast results, and you can decide about expanding after you see the value."

Benefits:

• Lowers perceived risk
• Faster decision
• Proof of concept
• Foot in the door

The Executive Alignment Call

Involve your executive with theirs to speed things up.

When to use:

• Deals over $50k
• Multiple stakeholders
• Stalled at decision stage
• Need executive buy-in

Format:

"It sounds like this could be valuable, but there are a lot of moving parts. What if we set up a brief call with [your VP/CEO] and [their decision maker] to align on vision and timeline? Often helps move things forward quickly."

The Business Case Builder

Do the internal selling work for them.

Provide:

• ROI calculator with their numbers
• One-page executive summary
• Comparison spreadsheet
• Risk analysis
• Implementation timeline
• Reference calls from similar customers

Positioning:

"I know you need to present this internally. Let me put together a business case document you can use with [stakeholders]. What information would be most valuable for them?"

The Champion Development

Turn contacts into internal champions.

How to create champions:

• Make them look good to their boss
• Provide resources they can share
• Give them wins (quick results)
• Arm them with information
• Stay closely connected

Champion questions:

"How can I help you make this case internally?"
"Who do we need to win over?"
"What concerns will [stakeholder] have?"
"What would make you a hero if this works?"

The Mutual Action Plan

Create shared timeline with prospect.

Template:

OUR SIDE | DEADLINE | THEIR SIDE
Send proposal | Jan 15 | Internal review
Answer questions | Jan 17 | Present to team
Contract ready | Jan 20 | Legal review
Implementation team | Jan 22 | Sign contract
Kickoff call | Jan 25 | Kickoff attendance

Benefits:

• Creates accountability on both sides
• Makes timeline explicit
• Identifies potential delays early
• Demonstrates partnership

Metrics to Accelerate

Track These Metrics

Sales velocity:

Sales Velocity = (# Deals × Average Deal Size × [Win Rate](/resources/calculators/win-rate)) / [Sales Cycle Length](/resources/calculators/sales-cycle-length)

By stage:

• Time in discovery
• Time in demo/presentation
• Time in proposal
• Time in negotiation
• Time in legal/procurement

Identify bottlenecks:

• Which stage takes longest?
• Where do deals most often stall?
• What causes delays?
• Who/what creates friction?

Optimize Based on Data

If discovery is slow:

• Better pre-call qualification
• More targeted discovery questions
• Faster scheduling

If proposal stage is slow:

• Present proposals live
• Use templates
• Reduce proposal complexity

If closing is slow:

• Simplify contracts
• Add urgency mechanisms
• Improve objection handling

Common Mistakes That Slow Deals

Mistake 1: Over-Nurturing

Scheduling too many calls and meetings.

Fix: Combine steps. Discovery + demo + proposal in two calls maximum.

Mistake 2: Not Creating Urgency

Letting prospects control timeline without deadlines.

Fix: Add time-sensitive elements (pricing, implementation slots, offers).

Mistake 3: Poor Multi-Threading

Only connecting with one person.

Fix: Involve multiple stakeholders from first call.

Mistake 4: Waiting to Send Proposals

"I'll send that over in a few days."

Fix: Present proposals live or send same day.

Mistake 5: No Clear Next Steps

Ending calls with vague "let me know what you think."

Fix: Book next meeting before ending current one.

Mistake 6: Not Involving Legal/Procurement Early

Surprises at contract stage.

Fix: Ask about approval process in discovery. Involve early.

Mistake 7: Being Too Accommodating

"Whenever works for you" leads to delays.

Fix: Propose specific times. Create structure.

When Fast Isn't Better

Don't Rush If:

1. It's complex enterprise sale

• Multiple stakeholders require time
• Significant change management needed
• Long approval processes standard

2. They're not ready

• Pushing creates resistance
• No budget allocated yet
• Wrong time of year for them

3. It damages relationship

• Coming across as pushy
• Ignoring their process
• Creating unnecessary pressure

Balance Speed with Quality

Fast AND good:

• Efficient process
• Clear communication
• Proactive problem-solving
• Respectful urgency

Fast but bad:

• Pushy tactics
• Skipping qualification
• Closing bad-fit customers
• Ignoring red flags

The Bottom Line

Close deals faster by:

1. Qualify ruthlessly - Only pursue winnable deals
2. Create urgency - Make delay painful
3. Simplify process - Remove friction at every step
4. Multi-thread - Engage all stakeholders early
5. Drive momentum - Book next steps immediately
6. Build champions - Help them sell internally
7. Track metrics - Identify and fix bottlenecks

The best time to close a deal is as soon as the prospect is ready and qualified. Every extra day increases risk of losing the deal.

Focus on velocity without being pushy. Respect their process while eliminating unnecessary delays. The result: more deals, closed faster, with better relationships.