No More Cold Calling

OCTOBER 2, 2014

Yes, technology lets us do many things better and faster, but for some tasks, the old-school ways still work best, especially in sales. When it comes to communicating with clients and prospects, there’s simply no gadget, gizmo, or. Associations Enterprise Sales Management Salespeople Small Business'

Cold Calling 286

Cold Calling Small Business Small Business Enterprise 286

No More Cold Calling

JULY 29, 2014

So when and where is the best time to make a sales pitch? Save it for when your prospects genuinely like and trust you, because strangers on social media couldn’t care less. Sales is still about people buying from people. To increase sales effectiveness, we must make connections that matter. Your mother was right.

Social Selling 272

Social Selling Social Media Webinar Metrics Media 272

Understanding the Sales Force

AUGUST 11, 2014

Regardless of the type of reaction, when panicked, salespeople tend to lose control of the sales call while their prospects become less comfortable with the idea of doing business with them. There are some sales management lessons here too.

Coaching 283

Coaching Engineering Exact Sales Management 283

No More Cold Calling

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

We might not have known the exact answer, but we knew an incorrect answer when we saw one. Don’t waste your prospects’ time with demos or put them to sleep with PowerPoint slides. Associations Enterprise Sales Management Salespeople Small Business' We knew—just by looking—that 1,000 X 1,000 is not 2,000 or 10,000.

Decision Maker 292

Decision Maker Cold Calling Small Business Small Business 292

No More Cold Calling

OCTOBER 9, 2014

Imagine the richer sales conversations he could have had. We Should Be Smarter Than Our Buyers Salespeople must do exacting research. It’s our job as smart, strategic sales pros to deliver value—real value—and we can only do that if we’ve invested time in researching our prospects. Because Buyer 2.0 So Seller 2.0

Cold Calling 280

Cold Calling Call-back Small Business Small Business 280

Hubspot Sales

APRIL 3, 2020

It’s no secret that salespeople often fail as sales managers. Nonetheless, many of the best reps within an organization often end up in management positions. Whether you’re actively seeking a role as a manager or have already gotten a promotion, you should understand the most difficult aspects of the transition.

Sales Management 131

Sales Management Hiring Promotion Coaching 131

No More Cold Calling

JULY 14, 2015

No one had time to prospect, because they couldn’t keep up with the business coming in every day. The problem was that sales management had their heads in the sand. Leadership and Management—You Can’t Have One without the Other There’s an important distinction between sales management and sales leadership.

Sales Management 120

Sales Management Hiring Referrals Conference 120

SBI Growth

NOVEMBER 23, 2012

It gets great reviews from C-Level executives, marketers and even sales managers. But how does Content Marketing help the Sales Rep? Today’s post outlines the benefits of Content Marketing from the Sales Rep’s perspective. I had a recent conversation with a Sales Rep named Seth. This is the Problem.

Marketing 300

Marketing Sales Qualified Lead Face-to-face Buyer 300

No More Cold Calling

MAY 27, 2014

One way to ensure you can respond quickly when prospects and clients need you is to stop taking on customers who aren’t worth your time. Associations Enterprise Sales Management Salespeople Small Business' Every buyer isn’t your customer. Comment Here.

Buyer 277

Buyer Cold Calling Social Media Small Business 277

Understanding the Sales Force

APRIL 21, 2014

But these benchmarks are flawed - for several reasons: What you consider a top performer in your organization may be very different from an actual top performer in the general sales population, so sometimes they are looking at the wrong people! Group 1 is your control group and receives no more help than they received previously.

Hiring 261

Hiring Groups Exact Face-to-face 261

No More Cold Calling

OCTOBER 24, 2013

But while referrals are our biggest competitive differentiator, most companies have only a hit-and-miss process for referral prospecting. So sales teams miss out on the most powerful business-development tool that exists. Associations Enterprise Sales Management Small Business' Comment Here.

Sales Process 266

Sales Process Referrals Small Business Small Business 266

No More Cold Calling

MAY 13, 2014

Share a story about a time when a meaningful conversation with a prospect helped you seal the deal. Associations Enterprise Sales Management Salespeople Small Business' In other words, they want to hear our thoughts on their businesses, industries, and challenges. And they expect us to put some actual thought into it.

Twitter 250

Twitter Referrals Cold Calling Small Business 250

criteria for success

MARCH 2, 2022

There are many aspects to sales development. And all great sales managers know that when it comes to sales development, opportunities for growth are endless. When we talk to sales managers about sales development, we tend to get some similar questions: Where is the best place to start? Where to Start.

Sales Management 104

Sales Management Insurance Insurance Policies 104

No More Cold Calling

AUGUST 1, 2019

The problem is with typical sales metrics. If sales managers hold their people accountable for the number of phone calls they make, emails they send, and invitations and InMails on LinkedIn, that’s how they’ll prospect. The trust the prospect has for the referral source is transferred to the salesperson.

Referrals 289

Referrals System Cold Calling Social Media 289

Hubspot Sales

JANUARY 12, 2021

Here, we'll review some common sales coaching challenges, go over how to approach them, and identify the key qualities of reps that are flat-out uncoachable. One of the most common, contentious issues sales managers run into with sales reps is lack of motivation. How to Handle Coaching Challenges.

Coaching 141

Coaching Sales Management Sage Policies 141

The Pipeline

AUGUST 14, 2013

I see this in all aspects of sales, those who just make ten calls to ten sequential names on a list, and call it prospecting; versus those who initiate contact and engagement with ten 10 prequalified, researched, planned and targeted viable potential buyers, using all the tools available to them, from traditional to social and everything between.

Scale 293

Scale Forecasting Call-back Account 293

Hubspot Sales

JANUARY 14, 2025

Trust a Sales Champion Ultimately, a sales champion isnt just a stellar deal-closer for your sales team. Theyre someone who takes initiative, inspires their fellow salespeople, and drives revenue growth through an innovative approach to prospecting and selling. Sales champions take crushing it to a whole new level.

Data 111

Data Hubspot Negotiation B2B 111

SalesFuel

MAY 6, 2024

Not all prospects will be easy to deal with, and you’ll encounter many types of difficult prospects. As HubSpot’s Jay Fuchs notes, “difficult prospects are a fact of sales life.” But even the most difficult prospects can be worked with to reach a deal. Efforts to work with these prospects require patience.

Prospecting 115

Prospecting How To Hiring Cancellation 115

Mr. Inside Sales

MARCH 2, 2024

I’ve helped sales managers and business owners interview hundreds of potential sales reps over the years, and I’ve identified 3 top mistakes that virtually eliminate sales candidates on the spot! Too many sales reps like to talk. ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS! Less is more.

Hiring 241

Hiring Face-to-face Gatekeeper Decision Maker 241

Gong.io

JANUARY 31, 2022

While the exact list depends on who you ask, the following (alphabetized) traits are all critical for a sales manager: Able to coach, analytical, available, confident, empathetic, good listener, innovative, leads by example, loyal, motivating, passionate, positive attitude, serves vs. dictates, strategic vision, strong communicator, and thoughtful.

Software 118

Software Software Sales Management Sales Forecasts 118

No More Cold Calling

NOVEMBER 21, 2013

The only way to keep your pipeline full of HOT, qualified leads is to prospect through referrals. To learn all about the role of technology and referrals in sales, get your copy of my new book: Pick Up the Damn Phone!: When prospects come to us, they have problems that need to be solved—pain that needs addressing.

Sales Qualified Lead 263

Sales Qualified Lead Lead Rank Lead Scoring Marketing Qualified Lead 263

Mr. Inside Sales

APRIL 16, 2021

This quote sums up my management philosophy: A leader isn’t afraid of jumping into the trenches and showing their team exactly how to succeed in their job. In sales, this means leading by example. What’s interesting in my training these days is that there are a good number of sales managers who resist this idea.

How To 195

How To Face-to-face Gatekeeper Decision Maker 195

Zoominfo

MAY 17, 2018

In fact, less than half of all forecasted sales opportunities actually result in a sales win. Just under a third result in a competitive loss, and nearly a quarter result in the prospect deciding to do “nothing” ( source ). Needless to say, this paints a less-than-promising picture of sales forecast accuracy.

Sales Forecasts 232

Sales Forecasts Forecasting Pipeline Scale 232

DiscoverOrg Sales

MARCH 5, 2019

And this is exactly what the new Salesforce sales rep did. Management changes are one the most obvious but least utilized inflection points in your sales strategy arsenal. Read it: How to Time Your Sales Outreach with Opportunity Data. Your c-suite prospect with the brand-new job came from somewhere.

Hiring 218

Hiring Decision Maker How To SalesForce 218

Zoominfo

MAY 13, 2018

What we’re about to say is going to contradict every point we’ve made thus far—but hear us out: Stress can be beneficial for sales people. There’s no way around it, stress drives activity and sales managers know this. Look into prospecting tools. So how do you do this correctly? Get the resources you need. Communicate.

Hiring 258

Hiring Sales Qualified Lead Lead Scoring Lead Rank 258

No More Cold Calling

JANUARY 5, 2017

No salesperson should ever have to cold call to generate sales leads. It’s an ineffective prospecting strategy and a nuisance to buyers, most of whom ignore cold calls. Current clients at a prospect company are the best source of new business within their organizations. Stop Fooling Yourself—Your Prospecting Is Cold.

Cold Calling 222

Cold Calling Account Decision Maker Referrals 222

criteria for success

JULY 15, 2021

As sales managers, we’ve all been told we need to coach our teams. At CFS, we believe that to be an elite sales manager, you need to learn how to coach people where they are. At CFS, we believe that to be an elite sales manager, you need to learn how to coach people where they are. State of Emergency.

Coaching 98

Coaching Sales Management Pipeline Sales Qualified Lead 98

Zoominfo

APRIL 2, 2018

Every sales manager wants their team to be successful– but sometimes, that’s easier said than done. Sales reps face a number of obstacles that can keep them from their goals and it’s your job as their manager to help them overcome these challenges. Provide your team with access to direct dial phone numbers.

Sales Qualified Lead 207

Sales Qualified Lead Penetration B2B Face-to-face 207

Janek Performance Group

DECEMBER 24, 2024

This can range from traditional selling skills, such as tips on prospecting, engagement, negotiation, etc., to customer service and account management. Require Management Participation In addition to believing in the training, sales managers need to be participants.

Training 118

Training Hiring How To Retention 118

MTD Sales Training

OCTOBER 26, 2018

We found that low morale was, in fact, the RESULT of everything else going on, rather than being the CAUSE of the decrease in sales. The sales manager had seen the situation and had concluded the problem lay in the lack of drive from the sales team , when really the issue was further upstream.

Proposal 218

Proposal Face-to-face Motivation Analysis 218

SBI Growth

DECEMBER 17, 2013

For example, with a RIF rumor, Sales Reps may cozy up to top accounts – to make sure they can count on them at the competitor. Some may even start to spread the internal rumors externally to customers and prospects. Almost the exact opposite of number 1. Pipelines may magically grow to show “better performance”.

Majestic 302

Majestic How To Channels Territories 302

No More Cold Calling

AUGUST 14, 2019

As I reflected on my career in sales and sales management, I realized my best business had come from referrals. I did my “feet on the street” research and interviewed sales leaders and salespeople. Prospects trust us. It’s changed how we prospect, but it hasn’t changed how deals get done. But I had to ask.).

Referrals 291

Referrals Cold Calling Survey Scale 291

Hubspot Sales

AUGUST 12, 2020

That’s because inbound sales transforms selling to match today’s empowered buyer -- so sales reps can sell the way people buy. What is inbound sales? Inbound sales is a personalized, helpful, modern sales methodology. Here's how to understand the difference between inbound and outbound sales.

Inbound 140

Inbound Top of Funnel Outsourcing Services Hiring 140

Hubspot Sales

DECEMBER 8, 2022

One of my first customer visits as a young sales manager was in support of a salesperson — with a client I hadn't met before. It taught me some key lessons I still apply today — shedding light on five of the main traps several sales managers fall into. 5 Traps to Avoid as a Sales Manager.

Sales Management 98

Sales Management Negotiation Meeting Sales 98

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 27, 2024

Also, be sure to check out my blog posts from earlier this year: Sales Managers: Get Your Head Out of Your Spreadsheets “Message to Management: Your job is to get the rocks out of the road for your salespeople so they can do what they were hired to do—sell!” More importantly, what can sales leaders do to improve these numbers?

Referrals 156

Referrals Cold Calling Social Media Sales Qualified Lead 156

Zoominfo

JUNE 24, 2019

In fact, for the last few decades, only about 50% of sales reps have achieved quota ( source ). For many sales managers, the solution to this issue lies within artificial intelligence—or AI. CustomerCentric Selling® is annually named to Training Industry’s list of Top Sales Training Companies.

Forecasting 272

Forecasting B2B CRM Quota 272

Mr. Inside Sales

JANUARY 6, 2020

How good (or bad) does your sales team sound when prospecting over the phone? On Friday, (Jan 3 rd ), I received a sales call that went like this: Me: “Good morning, Mike Brooks here, how can I help you?”. In this day and age, with all the voice recording technology, the sales training and scripting, the A.I. What gives?

Face-to-face 157

Face-to-face Inside Sales Gatekeeper Decision Maker 157