The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 22, 2022

Quota attainment remains under 60%, closed forecasted deals aren’t much better. Even before you identify specific prospects, we need to understand why they would interact with us. Given that about 90% of your addressable market is not “In” the Market, you need to think outside the “product”. By Tibor Shanto.

Objections 351

Objections Forecasting Quota Buyer 351

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 15, 2021

Every sales leader says their #1 prospecting challenge is getting leads in the pipe. Despite the fact that most companies have marketing automation solutions, targeted outreach by SDRs, and intense social media strategies, account execs are still missing quota en masse. None of us stands out during prospecting. That’s a fact.

Lead Gen 397

Lead Gen Sales Qualified Lead Marketing Qualified Lead Leads 397

Zoominfo

AUGUST 31, 2020

Disruption and uncertainty are inevitable in these times, which is why a solid go-to-market plan is critical to address the unique stage and goals of any given company. ZoomInfo has identified four areas — or quadrants — that together create a framework for a successful go-to-market approach: Build loyalty. Market expansion.

Ideal Customer Profile 264

Ideal Customer Profile Lead Rank Marketing Loyalty 264

Hubspot Sales

JULY 9, 2021

When it comes to sales, numbers are key, but they don't always give you a comprehensive picture of your org's performance and potential — particularly in the context of forecasting. There's no denying that numbers are a crucial part of any sales forecast — you should never try to put one together without them. Consultancy.

Forecasting 122

Forecasting Outsourcing Services Survey Sales Forecasts 122

Sales and Marketing Management

MAY 10, 2020

While our sales teams at WhiteHat Security have always been distributed, communicating with customers and prospects exclusively over the phone or video is a new challenge. When presenting to a client over the phone, the prospect may not be fully focused, and there’s not a foolproof way of knowing. Shifting Messaging .

Face-to-face 302

Face-to-face Hiring Lead Scoring Lead Rank 302

Hubspot Sales

NOVEMBER 29, 2022

Today, 57% of sales reps inaccurately forecast their pipeline, according to data from Chorus. To reduce the probability of such inaccuracies, sales forecasting software has become an indispensable part of the professional sales kit. Benefits of Sales Forecasting Software. The 12 Best Sales Forecasting Software.

Sales Forecasts 124

Sales Forecasts Forecasting Software Software 124

Hubspot Sales

DECEMBER 4, 2023

If you’re a business owner like me, you’re probably familiar with the terms demand forecasting and sales forecasting. Not to mention, figuring out the difference between demand forecasting vs sales forecasting can be tricky too. Demand Forecasting — What is it? But as with all things, it’s not always that simple.

Forecasting 103

Forecasting Sales Forecasts Hiring Retail 103

Zoominfo

JANUARY 15, 2021

If you’re a sales manager, you’ve maybe been in the sales forecasting hot seat — of presenting numbers that look different from your prediction. It’s time to take control of the process and find your forecasting sweet spot. What Is Sales Forecasting? Now is the perfect time to get your forecasting in top shape.

Sales Forecasts 130

Sales Forecasts Forecasting Hiring Pivotal 130

Zoominfo

DECEMBER 11, 2024

Weve witnessed sellers become their best, most efficient selves and seen marketers fully realize their TAM and identify messaging that really drives leads. We believe these innovations will continue to revolutionize how teams identify opportunities, engage prospects, and close deals. Real-time signals are the secret sauce.

Intent Signal 130

Intent Signal Prospecting Intent Decision Maker 130

Gong.io

MARCH 15, 2022

Sales forecasting isn’t revolutionary — it’s been around since the dawn of time. Forecasting relies on opinions … subjective percentages tied to “what we think” will happen. Take a single deal: A sales rep who is overly aggressive may have a different looking forecast compared to a rep who is more conservative.

Sales Forecasts 127

Sales Forecasts Forecasting Call-back Decision Maker 127

The Pipeline

JULY 14, 2014

For those who can’t survive through referrals only, or whose target market is not as active on social media, especially for business, (a large number of SMB’s) the phone remains a vital component of their prospecting effort/success. To improve your prospecting results, give them the happy ending right up front. Tibor Shanto .

Cold Calling 308

Cold Calling Social Media Call-back Exercises 308

Zoominfo

OCTOBER 24, 2024

Reaching the right prospects at the right moment is often the difference between closing a deal and coming in second. Improved Forecasting : AI-powered algorithms analyze historical data and market trends to deliver more accurate sales forecasts, enabling better strategic planning.

Software 211

Software Software Tools Hubspot 211

Sales Hacker

JULY 28, 2021

After spending many quarters creating sales forecasts, you should have the process down and deliver precision accuracy. Unfortunately, sales forecasting is not that straightforward. In fact, 60% of forecasted deals don’t close, leading to uncomfortable conversations about budgets and with investors. What is sales forecasting?

Sales Forecasts 122

Sales Forecasts Forecasting Tools Oracle 122

Zoominfo

JULY 12, 2021

Business leaders depend on the conversations that sales reps are having with prospects to grow their pipeline and stoke their go-to-market engine. Most notably, 83 percent of B2B leaders believe switching to digital omnichannel buying environments proved effective for reaching prospects and securing new business. Sales teams.

Face-to-face 264

Face-to-face Intent Data GoldMine Lead Scoring 264

Zoominfo

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

The integrations help revenue teams develop stronger prospect and customer relationships, make better decisions, and win more business. For example, reps can watch for keywords in conversations that historically indicate a prospect is more likely to buy, while sales managers can better coach their teams by reviewing call trends.

Data 52

Data Scale SalesForce Forecasting 52

Sales 2.0

MAY 30, 2023

Collective[i] provides the most comprehensive solution on the market for companies seeking to optimize revenue using AI, connections, and collaboration. Those professional salespeople want to spend their time upskilling and not spending their time doing data entry and filling out forecasts.”

Face-to-face 312

Face-to-face CRM Forecasting Cold Calling 312

Zoominfo

AUGUST 27, 2020

With a focus on getting ahead of competitors, reps are assigned target prospects without overlapping each other. Greater adaptability: One of the main reasons territory maps are built is to maximize company visibility to sales prospects. What is Sales Territory Mapping? So let’s say you want to target larger enterprises in the US.

Territories 264

Territories Outside Sales Field Sales Segment 264

No More Cold Calling

AUGUST 22, 2024

Leadership can’t count on accurate forecasts when pipelines are unqualified. Without high-quality prospects, your team can’t close enough deals to meet revenue targets. Inconsistent Sales Forecasting: With an unpredictable pipeline, accurate forecasting becomes impossible. Marketing is not the answer. Big problem!

Referrals 177

Referrals Sales Qualified Lead Hiring Face-to-face 177

Zoominfo

JUNE 24, 2019

We recently discussed AI in the following post: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on B2B Marketing. At the time, one of the primary motivations for a CRM purchase was the promise of an increased pipeline, visibility, and control, which many believed would lead to more accurate revenue forecasts. Keep reading. The problem?

Forecasting 272

Forecasting B2B CRM Quota 272

SBI Growth

OCTOBER 3, 2013

As noted by my colleague Vince Koehler, Marketing has adopted new capabilities. These capabilities force Marketing to transition to new metrics for determining effectiveness. They are all leading indicators that can help you forecast success in 2014. It''s about 3% on marketing sourced leads. That’s a 5x bump.

Top of Funnel 326

Top of Funnel Sales Qualified Lead Ideal Customer Profile Referrals 326

The Pipeline

AUGUST 24, 2020

I have a lot of empathy for pundits in a subjective undefined area of practice, like prospecting for example. A great example of this Greek-like tragedy, is the never-ending debate about the best day to make prospecting calls? Many will tell you that their data has pinpointed the best day and time to make prospecting calls.

Call-back 290

Call-back Pipeline Face-to-face Cold Calling 290

Zoominfo

OCTOBER 23, 2019

31% of marketing, creative, and IT professionals worldwide plan to invest in AI technology in the next 12 months ( source ). 31% of marketing, creative, and IT professionals worldwide plan to invest in AI technology in the next 12 months ( source ). billion in 2021, according to market research firm IDC ( source ).

B2B 247

B2B Telecommunications Forecasting Scale 247

Zoominfo

NOVEMBER 1, 2024

Personalization, precision and performance are the keys to modern B2B marketing. And account-based marketing software is what helps your team nail all three with perfection. Account-based marketing (ABM) is not a new discipline, but the tools that help fuel successful ABM are constantly evolving.

Account Based Marketing 130

Account Based Marketing Account Software Software 130

Zoominfo

JUNE 15, 2022

Profiling prospective customers is vital to ensuring that a marketing campaign is targeting the right people with the right message. Marketers can attract and retain prospective customers more effectively. Profiling prospective customers also enables sales and marketing teams to predict larger problems before they arise.

Ideal Customer Profile 130

Ideal Customer Profile Marketing Customer Demand Generation Agencies 130

No More Cold Calling

AUGUST 30, 2018

Unless your prospect knows who you are and expects to hear from you, you might as well step into a freezer. Reps fool themselves into believing that they’re not sending cold emails or making cold calls because they’ve researched their prospects and sent emails with catchy subject lines about why buyers should talk to them.

Referrals 258

Referrals Cold Calling Social Media Lead Generation 258

Hubspot Sales

DECEMBER 9, 2020

Poorly-managed pipelines are an entirely different story, as they may affect deal closure and make it challenging to create accurate sales forecasts. Sales trainer Mark Hunter thinks he knows why — poor prospecting. “We We wind up with prospects in our pipeline that aren’t prospects,” Hunter said. They’re merely suspects.

Prospecting 138

Prospecting Ideal Customer Profile Decision Maker Sales Qualified Lead 138

The Pipeline

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

The basic gist was a Reader’s Digest version of the message they would deliver live to a prospect on the phone. If something works once out of ten times, there is hope, and where there is hope, you will find forecasts. (Or Or is it where there are forecasts we find hope?) As will a salesperson, in the form of voicemail.

Call-back 319

Call-back Forecasting Face-to-face Buyer 319

Mindtickle

NOVEMBER 14, 2022

But after collecting and analyzing sales pipeline data, revenue leaders still struggle to accurately forecast sales. It forecasts how many deals you’ll close in real time. It has two key components: deal intelligence and forecast intelligence. That, in turn, helps sales leaders forecast sales more accurately.

Forecasting 96

Forecasting Revenue Quota Lead Scoring 96

The Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

“Lead Scoring” systems seem to work, according to a study by The Aberdeen Group, which found that a well-configured lead scoring tool could increase lead-to-prospect conversion rates by up to 19%. So why can’t we apply these lead scoring concepts and techniques to opportunities and increase our prospect-to-customer conversion rates?

Lead Scoring 49

Lead Scoring Lead Rank Sales Qualified Lead Face-to-face 49

Zoominfo

FEBRUARY 28, 2018

And for good reason—your CRM manages customer and prospect data and contains valuable information regarding customer behavior and buying habits. Thanks to the internet, companies are far more connected to their prospects and customers. Predictive analytics: Predictive analytics use data to forecast future sales results.

B2B 225

B2B Social Media CRM Social Selling 225

Zoominfo

JUNE 25, 2021

Number of emails sent helps companies understand the number of prospects discovered per number of emails sent. It also helps assess prospect interest in messages sent by your team. and appointments made with prospects. Closing the largest deals sometimes isn’t enough; consider costs that influence prospecting and retention.

Sales Qualified Lead 227

Sales Qualified Lead Top of Funnel B2B Lead Rank 227

The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 4, 2020

In a piece I posted on July 19, 2011 , I questioned another mainstream piece forecasting a dramatic decline in B2B sellers and the nature of their role. The forecast was that much of the day to day functions would be replaced by automation. On the surface, the predictions may have been wrong, more sellers than ever.

Revenue 370

Revenue Top of Funnel Sales Qualified Lead Lead Rank 370

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 26, 2018

More than 10 years ago, a marketing agency told me most sellers cave on price before prospects even ask for a discount. That sure messes up our forecasts, commissions, and company profits, and it lengthens our sales process. Price isn’t an issue with referral business. Sadly, that behavior continues in sales negotiations today.

Negotiation 237

Negotiation Referrals Lead Qualification Discount 237

Sales and Marketing Management

FEBRUARY 19, 2018

Next time you prospect a company, add a board member. He can torpedo the account, the opportunity, and pull it off the forecast. When you're at work, prospect incessantly. Tony’s most recent book is “Combo Prospecting.” Ruffling feathers? Do you think you can hunt for new business and win without stepping on any toes?

Call-back 329

Call-back Negotiation Decision Maker Sales Qualified Lead 329

Sales and Marketing Management

MAY 31, 2020

Reevaluate Quotas to Fit the Changing Market . Businesses should look for ways to easily re-allocate quotas, based on factors such as how your customers and prospects are impacted by changes in the market. . Is top sales talent at risk of leaving if they can’t earn commissions? . Adapt Compensation Plans to Reflect Reality.

Motivation 194

Motivation Compensation Commission Incentives 194

Zoominfo

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Traditionally, marketing plans layout these steps, but we need to dig a little deeper. This is where a go-to-market (GTM) strategy comes in. What is a Go-to-Market Strategy? Evaluating the resources used on customers (old and new) within marketing and product development teams will help with overall GTM execution.

Ideal Customer Profile 147

Ideal Customer Profile Strategy Top of Funnel Buyer Persona 147

Vengreso

MARCH 2, 2021

Prospecting to generate sales leads is one of the most important jobs of the modern sales professional. In fact, if you ask any sales leader what their teams struggle with the most (and I have), they would say it’s prospecting, especially now that virtual selling is the norm. And this is what this prospecting guide is all about.

Pipeline 145

Pipeline Prospecting Ideal Customer Profile Sales Qualified Lead 145