# Sales cycle

Concept · [Business and metrics](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/business)

Also called: sales process, sales cycle length, deal cycle

The steps and time from a first [conversation](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/session) with a prospect to a signed deal. Larger customers usually take longer.

**For example:** Selling to a school district takes about nine months from the first meeting to a signed contract, so the [founder](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/founder) plans cash around that.

## Connects to (8)

- [Sales funnel](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/sales-funnel): The stages people move through from first hearing about a product to buying it.
- [CRM](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/crm): Customer relationship management.
- [Go-to-market](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/go-to-market): Your plan for reaching customers and getting them to buy: who you go after first, where you find them and how you sell.
- [Cash flow](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/cash-flow): The timing of money coming into and going out of a business.
- [Request for proposal](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/request-for-proposal): A document a buyer, often a government or large company, publishes to invite vendors to bid on a project.
- [Win rate](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/win-rate): The share of deals or bids you pursue that you actually win.
- [Sales engineer](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/sales-engineer): A technical expert on a sales team who explains how a product works, answers technical questions and shows it can fit a customer's systems.
- [EdTech](https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/edtech): Education technology: software and devices for teaching and learning, and the market of companies that build them.

Map view: https://ecosystem.samcarlton.com/sales-cycle