How long should a sales conversation be?
About 30 minutes for most service-based offers. Enough to understand, reflect, present, and decide.
For most founders selling services in the $5K to $50K range, aim for 30 minutes. That's enough time to understand the prospect's situation, reflect the problem back, present a clear bridge, and ask for a next step.
The four stages break down roughly like this: 15 minutes to understand their world, 5 minutes to mirror the problem back, 5 minutes to present the solution, and 5 minutes to discuss next steps. If you're running over 45 minutes regularly, you're probably over-explaining your process instead of letting the buyer's problem drive the conversation.
Discovery calls with enterprise clients or complex engagements might run 45 to 60 minutes, but even those should have a clear structure. A conversation without a structure becomes a friendly chat that ends with "let's circle back" instead of a decision.
The sales conversation framework covers the full structure, including how to keep the conversation on track when it starts to drift.