But crazy as it might seem shortening sales cycles isn’t as impossible as it might first appear. And by the end of this blog you’ll know exactly how easy it is to do just that.

Want to know the fastest and easiest way to reduce sales cycles?

Trigger Events.

Trigger events are very powerful things and are happening all around you without, for the most part, you noticing them. Until you put on your plasma TV or mp3 then you hear about how one bank has merged with another (again) or some big executive has just been fired for dirty dealings (again) or if you’re into gadgets you hear about the next big product launch that’s just about to happen. Remember the new iphone launch and how big that was?

Well all these happenings are trigger events. All these events impact the world around them. They don’t happen in ivory towers where no-one is affected. Everyone is in one way or another.

But for the company in question they suddenly find themselves in a state of flux and the domino effects are huge. Behind the scenes everyone is running around, like headless chickens, and no-one seems to know what the other is doing. Because what was set in place before is suddenly futile and has to be thrown out for a new solution. They also find themselves having to comply with new legislation laws that need to be put in place as quickly as possible to stay operational and new products must bring in the big bucks or someone is going to be in trouble… big trouble.

So what do trigger events have to do with you? A lot actually. If you are willing to put yourself in front of a trigger event it could explode your profit margins sky high! Why?

Because these trigger events open up opportunities for your solution… product or service.

And contrary to what companies big and small would have you believe they don’t have it all together. The major changes you hear about are merely basic outlines to get them through the next couple of weeks or months.

And a sharp, foresighted businessman knows this and uses it to his own advantage.

He understands that trigger events break open what is otherwise a tough outer corporate shell exposing its soft underbelly revealing many weak spots. And while that wound is open (because it’s not open for long) he quickly pounces and arranges a meeting full in the knowledge that his service or product or solution will bring the vital help that that wounded company vitally needs.

So to make sure you’re in front of the next trigger event in your industry here’s four tips to help you.

Tip #1: Put on your detective hat and dig out the clues that create triggers in the first place

Read their annual and financial reports read their website again. Read the trade publications in their niche to see what’s going on with companies similar to your clients. Ask yourself why do my clients make the decisions they do and what causes them to react in that way. Or alternatively you could go and ask them. Find out the internal and external factors that drive them to a trigger event. Then once you’ve done that…

Tip #2: Put your alert system on autopilot

Google Alerts or Yahoo Alerts are great free tools you can use to keep you in the loop of the next trigger event. They’re online notification services are free to use so use them! Once you’ve set up an account all you have to do is put in a keyword or keyword phrase that is relevant.

For example a keyword phrase could be “FDA approval” or “product launch + company name” or “merger + company name” or “human capital + company name”. Build a list of all the keywords and keyword phrases that reflect the inner and outer influences that affect your customers and put them all on alert.

Having set up alerts myself I was amazed at how fast Google came back to me with an enormous amount of information. What will be immediately apparent to you is that some of the information won’t be relevant but persevere with it and the relevant information you want will rise to the surface.

Just imagine a company on your list writes a press release or appears in the web press or a blog and you receive it that very same morning in your alert list. You could be on that phone making an appointment quicker than lightening and certainly well before your competitors will know what’s going on, you’ll be in there offering your expertise and making that all important deal.

But how you approach your client at this time is crucial. For pity’s sake don’t dive in by banging on about the features and benefits of your service. Your customer is in a middle of a crisis and the last thing he wants to hear is a product pushing peddler on the line. Because that is how he will see you and slam the phone down. No…

Say something that will mean something to him … show him that you care about his predicament and that you feel his pain. Then share how you helped someone just like him who was in a similar crisis and how you would like an opportunity to come and meet with him and discuss together how you could help him out of his. You see the difference?

You could craft an email in just the same way or a letter. The key is gently does it … show him you care by explaining that you’d like an opportunity to cover his back and how you plan to do that quickly, easily and without fuss. I promise you he’ll be happy to meet with you.

If you want to take your trigger campaign to the next level use services like True Advantage, iLantern or Inside View. These paid services will help you take your research to a deeper level in a big way.

Tip #3: Why not keep tabs on other firms who have the same problems or goals?

Now that you’ve got the feel of the events that are triggered in your customers lives and have gone in there to help them out why not focus on other companies who will be going through the same problems as the one you’ve just helped?

For example: if you’ve just helped a customer implement a TOI package or LMS program. Or helped your client get through the baby boom crisis with relative ease. By training up their new staff at warp like speed. Or found the right caliber of new people they needed in a hurry. Then you can easily use this knowledge as leverage to get your foot in the door of other clients on your list that are going through the exact same problems, much faster, then you would if you took the more traditional route.

You see, what you have to understand is… companies love hearing how you’ve helped one company solve a problem that they themselves are experiencing. Because they know you can go in there and solve it for them.

The key to remember here is: if you have a very large client list you can’t target everyone at once. The best thing to do is go after your big fish or two and monitor them first. Then expand your monitoring program bit by bit once you’re in a position to go in on the back of the new experience you now have.

And finally tip number four

Why not get a networking group together!

Nothing travels faster than word of mouth so why not use it to your advantage? Here’s how.

If there are new accounts you’d like to land what you can do is find others who want to land the same client but who offer different services to yours … but who want to meet the same people as you do.

Then plan to meet once a month to find out “what’s happening” in specific accounts. Discuss any future trigger events or any other relevant information that could create opportunities for your group. But beware be careful what you say. You don’t want to reveal private information that could harm your customers or your relationship with them.

To summarize:

The key to success here is to become like a detective/journalist and do as they do… go dig up every tiny detail you can to find out when the next trigger event will be. By taking a deeper interest in your client’s lives and welfare it will pay dividends for you in the end. And when that trigger event does appear, approach your client gently and with respect; expressing in ways that will resonate with him. And finally, don’t come across like a product pushing peddler and the deal will be yours.

And there’s another thing…

If you can go into a company going through a trigger event and keep a calm cool head, provide answers to their many problems and solve them… it’s going to place you in a very powerful position indeed. Not many service providers want that kind of pressure.

They want easy problems within their power to handle, problems they’ve seen before. But if you’re willing to be different, by showing you can handle very delicate situations. As trigger events are with respect and professionalism then you’ll earn a huge amount of kudos. And become the market leader. Who will attract new clients and win the respect of your peers.