Slash Your Sales Cycle: Run Product Evaluation and Contracting Side-by-Side

In B2B sales, we're always looking for ways to accelerate the sales cycle without compromising the quality of the deal. I've seen the stakes firsthand in a B2B SaaS company I joined, where high five-figure and low six-figure deals were typical. We faced long, inconsistent deal timelines with a young product and brand. Prospects often loved the software after a demo, yet they'd request a proof of concept (POC) to reduce perceived risks.  

To move deals forward, our sales team ran numerous POCs. But things didn't go as well as we'd hoped. POCs often dragged on, tying up resources such as solution architects and customer success managers, who invested significant time without always seeing the deal close. Even after a POC succeeded, deals would stall or break down over pricing, Master Service Agreement (MSA) terms, or other commercial issues.  

My experience highlighted a common problem in B2B software sales: the risks of a linear sales process. Here's how we approached the issue and ultimately arrived at a better solution.  

The Drawbacks of a Linear Sales Process

Our initial sales process was entirely linear, which led to frequent stalls. Here's how it looked:  

1. Discovery Call  

2. Demo and Continued Discovery  

3. Technical Evaluation — This often involved launching a POC without clear alignment on objectives, timelines, or resource commitments. Sales reps hoped the POC would establish us as the preferred vendor.  

4. Security Review — The buyer's security team conducted a security audit.  

5. Proposal and Negotiation — Commercial terms were proposed, and the buyer's procurement and executive teams reviewed them.  

6. Legal Review — The buyer's legal team would review and redline the MSA.  

7. Signatures and Close  

Each step had to be completed before moving on to the next. The problem with this process was clear: it stretched out timelines, created resource drains, and left us without visibility into potential deal-stoppers until late in the game.  

Some of the biggest risks we encountered with this approach included:  

• Resource Strain: Every POC demanded resources from our team. This was a costly misallocation if the buyer didn't have genuine purchase intent. We learned that POCs should be reserved for highly qualified buyers ready to purchase if the product meets their requirements.  

• Uncertain Buyer Intent: Sometimes, prospects request a POC without any real urgency to purchase simply to evaluate products in the market. This leads to dead-end POCs and wasted resources.  

• Late-Stage Obstacles: The linear process meant we often didn't uncover decision-making hurdles, like pricing objections or lengthy legal review processes until the POC was finished. Key decision-makers on the buyer's side were sometimes unaware of their organization's buying process.  

• Ambiguity in POC Success: Without well-defined criteria and an exit plan, POCs risk failing to meet buyer expectations. This could drag out timelines and erode buyer confidence.  

Over time, we realized that by adapting our sales approach to run parallel processes, we could save time and resources and, most importantly, close deals faster.  

The Power of a Duo-Track Sales Process

To shorten the sales cycle and create more predictable outcomes, we shifted from a linear approach to a duo-track sales process, where product evaluation and commercial negotiations occur simultaneously. Research shows that B2B teams using streamlined, multi-threaded approaches (engaging all stakeholders early in the sales cycle) see a 42% higher close rate on deals.  

Here's what that looked like:  

1. Discovery Call  

2. Demo and Continued Qualification  

3. Define POC Criteria and Commercial Expectations — Before beginning a POC, both parties agree on clear success criteria, a timeline, and resource requirements. We ensure the buyer accepts the initial proposal, pricing, and MSA terms to align both teams on the commercial front.  

4. Mutual NDA — Confidentiality is established to enable open information exchange during the POC.  

The POC and commercial work proceed in parallel, as follows:  

Track 1: Product Evaluation (POC)

The POC starts with a structured plan with clear objectives, a set timeline, and success criteria. We hold brief weekly workshops to keep the buyer's team and our own aligned, answer questions, and confirm that the POC is meeting objectives. This ensures that both sides are clear on whether the product satisfies the buyer's needs by the end of the POC.  

Track 2: Commercial Alignment

While the POC progresses, the buyer's security team can conduct its review, and the buyer's legal team can work through our MSA and data processing agreements. This track also involves the buyer's procurement team negotiating terms in parallel with the technical evaluation, meaning we're addressing potential blockers as they come up.  

With both tracks advancing in parallel, the deal is primed to close as soon as the POC wraps up. When the buyer has validated the product's value, most of the commercial and legal work is also complete. This duo-track process has proven faster, more efficient, and less prone to stalling than the traditional linear approach.  

Hello

POC Template to Try

If you want to run a tight and incredibly professional POC process, I recommend creating a short deck for each prospect with just four slides (excluding cover and agenda slides).

Slide 1—Customer Objectives: This is the slide where you mirror back to the prospect what you've heard from previous calls. Try to keep it no more than three or four objectives. Your write-up should demonstrate that you've carefully listened to the prospect(s) and understood their pain, major challenges, why they are seeking your solution, and desired outcomes.  

For instance, compliance managers seeking GRC software generally want to use software to (1) implement specific compliance frameworks, (2) improve collaboration with stakeholders before an audit, and (3) improve risk tracking and mitigation.

Slide 2—This slide outlines the commercial steps for both parties to complete prior to starting the POC. It should include items such as having an MNDA in place to ensure confidentiality, executive alignment on strategic objectives, initial agreement on the proposal, pricing structure, and MSA, and an outline mutual success plan (with timeline, procurement, legal, and approvers).  

Slide 3—This slide outlines the POC Success Criteria. These should be based on your understanding of what the prospect absolutely needs to validate/test out in your product to make a confident purchase decision. This is about creating a minimal viable list of product features; don't allow a prospective client to test every feature, as it will unnecessarily increase the time and resources needed to complete the POC. You should also develop a simple scoring rubric to collect feedback from the POC participants covering the tested feature areas.  

Slide 4 – Outline the schedule of the specific POC workshops. This could be a simple table:

Last Thoughts‍

Switching from a linear to a parallel approach transforms the sales process by allowing you to address multiple deal elements simultaneously. By aligning objectives, timelines, and mutual requirements upfront, sales reps can minimize wasted time, streamline resource allocation, and accelerate deal velocity. Running POCs and commercial negotiations simultaneously keeps momentum. It ensures that every step brings the buyer closer to a confident decision, ultimately shortening the sales cycle and improving close rates.