Shortening the sales cycle from 45 to 19 days in the IT industry
For a Gdansk software house, we reorganized the quoting process. We introduced follow-up automation and value-based negotiation training. The time from first contact to contract signing dropped by more than half.
Gdansk software house SoftWave Solutions struggled with offers waiting months for a decision. Baltic Growth Partners entered the company to clear the blocked sales funnel. Results matter, not promises, so we focused on hard automation and changing team habits.
The challenge
In October 2023, the company had 14 open processes that hadn't moved forward for over 60 days. Salespeople wasted time writing 20-page offers that no one read to the end. The average time from first inquiry to contract signature was 45 days. This caused holes in the budget and uncertainty regarding programmer staffing in subsequent quarters. The company owner, Mr. Mariusz, saw that potential customers were escaping to competition that responded faster and more specifically.
Our approach
We work on hard numbers, so we started with an audit of 184 historical leads from the last 12 months. It turned out that 73% of customers stopped responding after receiving the first quote because there was no follow-up system. Our team of three consultants spent 12 days in the client's office observing the salespeople's work. We organize sales from scratch, so we discarded old offer templates and introduced a budget qualification system during the first phone call.
The solution
We implemented a new reporting system in CRM that mandates customer contact every 48 hours. We prepared short, 3-page offer templates focused exclusively on customer profits and deadlines. We trained the 6-person sales team in fact-based negotiations rather than discounts. Additionally, we launched 4 automatic email scenarios for customers who stopped answering the phone. Every salesperson received clear guidelines: no more free consultations lasting over 15 minutes without budget confirmation.
Results
Within four months, we transformed how the company acquires contracts. Sales became predictable, and salespeople recovered an average of 6 hours per week for real conversations instead of writing unnecessary documents.
Timeline
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November 2023Audit of 184 historical sales processes and CRM analysis.
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December 2023Implementation of 4 automatic follow-up scenarios.
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January 2024Negotiation workshops for a team of 6 salespeople.
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February 2024Result analysis and optimization of new offer templates.
"Before Baltic Growth Partners, our offers landed in a black hole. Now we sell faster and without fluff. A 19-day cycle is a result in the IT industry we previously only dreamed of."