Mr. Inside Sales

AUGUST 7, 2020

This week, I listened to a closing call from one of their reps, and here is how the prospect opened the call: Prospect: “Let me just tell you upfront that we’re looking at a lot of different options right now of which yours is just one…”. Then: “And also, I’m not the decision maker on this, I’m just an influencer.

Prospecting 199

Prospecting Decision Maker Face-to-face Gatekeeper 199

Mr. Inside Sales

DECEMBER 12, 2020

In case you missed this, I received the following email last week: Dear Mike: The people have spoken and your article, “3 Keys to Dealing with Difficult Prospects,” has won 2nd place in our 2020 Sales Pro Central MVP Awards Social Selling category!” Then: “And also, I’m not the decision maker on this, I’m just an influencer.

Decision Maker 291

Decision Maker Face-to-face Call-back Gatekeeper 291

Janek Performance Group

FEBRUARY 16, 2022

Without question, gatekeeper is the most intimidating designation in sales. While they may or may not have influence, they are always important. Often, if the gatekeeper doesn’t like you, you’re not meeting the VIP you need, let alone presenting a pitch. Here are five keys to advance past a gatekeeper: No Funny Business.

Gatekeeper 116

Gatekeeper Decision Maker Influencer ACT 116

Mr. Inside Sales

MARCH 17, 2023

So many sales reps are anxious when they speak with a prospect. And, if they are an influencer collecting information, then: “What is the timeline of the (decision maker) to put something like this to work for them?” And, to qualify the influencer: “How do you get involved in the decision process?”

Decision Maker 261

Decision Maker Face-to-face Gatekeeper Licensing 261

MTD Sales Training

OCTOBER 5, 2018

Have you ever had that feeling when you’re talking to a prospect that the person isn’t who they say they are? The person may, though, be a key influencer in the process, so you will want them to feel they have confidence in your approach and so build up trust. 3) Use the gatekeeper screen to get further information.

Decision Maker 242

Decision Maker Gatekeeper Face-to-face Influencer 242

Hubspot Sales

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Sales development representatives and gatekeepers. only to get stopped by a gatekeeper. Gatekeepers — who are typically executive assistants, receptionists, or office managers — are the people who stand between you and the decision-maker with whom you're hoping to make a sale. How to Get Past the Gatekeeper When Cold Calling.

Gatekeeper 133

Gatekeeper Decision Maker How To Cold Calling 133

Hubspot Sales

APRIL 2, 2021

Some are influencers that speak to the decision-makers and convince them to go in either direction, while others hold the final say on decisions. However, the prospect of not knowing who you will be selling to can be nerve-wracking. The Gatekeeper. Enter gatekeeper marketing. The Influencer.

Decision Maker 122

Decision Maker Influencer Gatekeeper How To 122

Mr. Inside Sales

OCTOBER 19, 2015

One of the biggest mistakes many inside sales reps make is pitching the gatekeeper. To start with, the gatekeeper is just that – someone whose job it is to screen salespeople from getting through to the decision maker. Again, they are gatekeepers – not decision makers. So, what to do? In this case it’s O.K.

Gatekeeper 120

Gatekeeper Decision Maker Sales Qualified Lead Call-back 120

MTD Sales Training

JULY 9, 2019

Of course, the world doesn’t work that way, and there will be prospects and customers who will reject your advances and avoid you at all costs. Calling a dozen times doesn’t change the underlying dynamic that is causing your prospect not to see you. 4) DON’T judge the prospect because of their unwillingness to see you.

Gatekeeper 276

Gatekeeper Decision Maker Call-back Up-Sell 276

Mr. Inside Sales

JULY 13, 2018

Avoid Rejection While Prospecting with this One Technique. Discover sales training with best tips, rebuttal techniques and responses on how to go about handling and overcoming most common objections in phone cold call prospecting. Before I give you this sales prospecting technique, let me tell you how you’ll use it.

Cold Calling 143

Cold Calling Objections Sales Qualified Lead Prospecting 143

Sales 2.0

OCTOBER 7, 2024

The economic buyer The users The gatekeepers The coach I described these four types of people and gave you some tips on how to find the fourth type of person a “coach”. If you don’t know about someone that is involved in influencing your deal, you have no way of selling them. Brainstorm an action item to remove each “red flag”.

Gatekeeper 195

Gatekeeper Maximizer Coaching Buyer 195

Sales and Marketing Management

FEBRUARY 26, 2018

They’re off-the-charts busy, bombarded with sales messages, and gatekeepers keep them well insulated. In a recent RAIN Group Center for Sales Research report , we asked buyers how they prefer to be contacted by sellers and what influences their decision to connect with some sellers and not others. Gatekeepers are a different story.

Sales Meeting 185

Sales Meeting Meeting Gatekeeper ROI 185

No More Cold Calling

JANUARY 25, 2011

For more on why a real introduction—a referral—makes all the difference, read: “ How to Bypass the Gatekeeper ”. You convert sales prospects to clients more than 50 percent of the time. My definition of a cold call: You call a person who does not know you and is not expecting your call. (For Compare cold calling to referral sales.

Cold Calling 247

Cold Calling InsideView Referrals Social Media 247

Mr. Inside Sales

MARCH 25, 2021

Skill level of the sales rep is the most important thing; however, there are other variables like the type of lead—inbound versus outbound; the territory; existing client or new prospect; the marketing and/or branding of the company, etc., are just a few of the other factors that influence sales. They make more prospecting calls.

Face-to-face 178

Face-to-face Gatekeeper Licensing Decision Maker 178

No More Cold Calling

JULY 26, 2018

It’s sales prospecting techniques that are messed up. Right Prospect, Wrong Person. As a result, they breeze right past the gatekeeper. They get in early—often before prospects even know they have a need. Cold leads won’t get your team to quota. Closing is never the problem. They get referrals.

Pipeline 184

Pipeline Closing Decision Maker Referrals 184

Hubspot Sales

OCTOBER 5, 2017

In this growing sales landscape, we’ll outline the various processes and key strategies for prospecting -- the phase of selling that often consumes the most time and energy (and is the most crucial to get right). What Is Prospecting? What's the difference between leads and prospects? Sales Prospecting Techniques.

Prospecting 145

Prospecting Tools Top of Funnel Lead Scoring 145

No More Cold Calling

MAY 28, 2017

Referral selling is my brand, my mantra—you know, the sort of thing you look up before reaching out to prospects. Tim Hughes, one of the world’s top social selling influencers, recently interviewed me on this very topic. Colleagues and friends—that’s the end goal of social selling and a smart way to start prospecting.

Referrals 136

Referrals Gatekeeper Social Media Cold Calling 136

DiscoverOrg Sales

FEBRUARY 6, 2019

The org chart shows who your prospect is within an organization, and which other stakeholders you should include in your outreach. DiscoverOrg’s signature org charts look like this: These are my 5 favorite ways to use org charts: For inbound leads, to determine the sphere of influence. Strategic post-event follow-up.

Decision Maker 29

Decision Maker Video Outbound Influencer 29

Mr. Inside Sales

JUNE 25, 2021

You get the same brush offs when prospecting, the same objections when closing, the same ghosting when following up. When prospecting, has a decision maker or influencer or office manager ever told you: “Just email me some information.”

Face-to-face 184

Face-to-face Decision Maker Objections Gatekeeper 184

Zoominfo

MAY 21, 2020

They’re a critical part of personalized prospecting and account-based strategy. Great sales emails typically reflect a deep understanding of who the prospect is and what they care about. So forget your product features and brush off the benefits, because you’re going to connect with your prospect on a (virtually) human level.

Examples 264

Examples Account Based Marketing Decision Maker Ideal Customer Profile 264

Sales and Marketing Management

JUNE 26, 2017

How can marketing further support the sales process if the decision-makers and influencers are unknown/anonymous web visitors? To effectively do this, marketers must create web programs that detect web visitors who are prospects currently in the pipeline. You can’t risk serving them a generic experience.

Pipeline 185

Pipeline Case Study Decision Maker Ideal Customer Profile 185

DiscoverOrg Sales

APRIL 25, 2017

It should reduce time spent prospecting; offer sales development reps (SDRs) an opportunity for smart expansion into new markets; let sales reps identify the 3% of any industry’s target accounts that are active buyers … and a whole lot more. Sales intelligence includes a depth of information that is both accurate and predictive.

Account Based Marketing 241

Account Based Marketing Case Study Data Campaigns 241

Zoominfo

NOVEMBER 9, 2020

The traditional sales funnel is a stage-based approach to turning prospective leads into buyers. This goes for everything from tactical approaches to business development research to the underlying characteristics that make said prospects qualified enough to engage in the first place. What Tools Do People Use for Sales Funnels?

Top of Funnel 246

Top of Funnel Funnel Sales Qualified Lead Data 246

Pipeliner

AUGUST 18, 2018

Most of us aren’t lucky enough to have a gatekeeper. What is a gatekeeper in sales? A gatekeeper (at the risk of using an outdated term) is the person designated to keep a protective barrier or ‘screen’ around important or ultra-busy people. There are 3 reasons why gatekeepers still rock: They are paid to answer their phone.

Gatekeeper 61

Gatekeeper Social Media Guarantee Territories 61

Sales and Marketing Management

SEPTEMBER 4, 2018

Often, the differentiator may come down to the sales rep, whose product knowledge, experience and ability to solve the customer’s problem end up being the deciding factor in turning a prospect into a customer. Are you speaking to decision makers or gatekeepers or influencers? Do you know what to do when you encounter them?

Hiring 222

Hiring Decision Maker Ideal Customer Profile Sales Qualified Lead 222

The Pipeline

JULY 20, 2015

Words impact not only what your prospects hear and their reactions to them, but almost as important is the effect they have on you as the seller. In most instances the prospect says “not really”, the sellers asks “when is a good time?” Prospect offers up a random time, and the rest is just painful.

Gatekeeper 120

Gatekeeper Decision Maker Up-Sell Objections 120

DiscoverOrg Sales

NOVEMBER 27, 2018

They’re a critical part of personalized prospecting and account-based strategy. Great sales emails typically reflect a deep understanding of who the prospect is and what they care about. Effective cold email outreach means find something your prospect values – and something you have in common. It’s time to get personal.

Examples 220

Examples Account Based Marketing Decision Maker Account 220

Pipeliner

APRIL 17, 2018

It read, “How to handle gatekeepers and reach decision-makers.”. Some of the very questionable advice offered was: Get around a gatekeeper by calling the company’s sales department or accounts department (or another location or division) and asking them to transfer you directly to your prospect. Insinuate a false deadline. (“Bob

Gatekeeper 53

Gatekeeper Decision Maker ACT Influencer 53

eGrabber

APRIL 9, 2025

They may not have final approval, but they can influence the decision. Mixing these methods helps you build a clear profile of your prospects and makes your sales outreach more effective. Some common challenges include: Gatekeepers: Receptionists or assistants may block your calls. Their backing helps speed up the process.

Decision Maker 52

Decision Maker Ideal Customer Profile B2B Account Based Marketing 52

Hubspot Sales

DECEMBER 4, 2017

Your prospect can sense when you sound bored or uninterested and will be less willing to open up. Don’t rush your prospect through the conversation, because you never know when a tangent might lead to valuable insights that will help you close. Be firm in guiding the conversation, but allow enough time for the prospect to share openly.

Prospecting 112

Prospecting Face-to-face Call-back Course 112

MarketJoy

APRIL 17, 2018

It is also about understanding the difference between decision makers, gate-keepers, and influencers. How to Identify Sales Prospects. Getting intel on who genuinely makes the purchasing decisions in a company is the holy grail of prospecting, and sometimes means working with – or through – the other categories. Gatekeeper.

Decision Maker 45

Decision Maker Influencer Ideal Customer Profile Gatekeeper 45

RAIN Group

FEBRUARY 13, 2019

Gatekeepers are tough. This article was originally published on the Sales Enablement Society. Sellers often complain that it's impossible to get through to buyers. Buyers are busy. Calls go to voicemail. Email goes to junk. The list goes on. While getting through certainly isn't easy, sellers who work at it do get through.

Buyer 73

Buyer Influencer Gatekeeper Sales Enablement 73

Anthony Cole Training

APRIL 15, 2011

centers of influence (1). Prospecting (25). qualifying prospects (13). qualifying sales prospects (10). sales prospecting (34). I came back to the office and began calling on my list of prospects for the week and I bombed the first three. Click here to see Tony Cole "LIVE" on Business Beat! Alltop.com.

Hiring 169

Hiring Ideal Customer Profile Sales Qualified Lead Webinar Metrics 169

Janek Performance Group

DECEMBER 20, 2023

Prospecting is one of the most fundamental sales skills. However, as the sales environment shifts, sellers must update how they prospect. Last July, we hosted the webinar, Mastering the Art of Prospecting: Key Strategies for Success. Here, we examined the fundamental principles of modern prospecting.

Ideal Customer Profile 62

Ideal Customer Profile Prospecting Gatekeeper Webinar Metrics 62

Sales Training Advice

JUNE 10, 2013

Ten years ago, most sales people had no idea just how vital the Internet would become to prospecting. If you’re avoiding digital prospecting techniques, you’re missing a fantastic opportunity to: - Expand your prospecting reach. Connect with prospects on LinkedIn. Join groups where your prospects are.

Prospecting 70

Prospecting Strategy Cold Calling Social Media 70

CloserIQ

APRIL 16, 2019

Whether you’re new to sales or an experienced sales leader, prospecting is integral to your current success and your future career growth trajectory. A prospecting plan that’s strategic and worked consistently improves the quality and quantity of leads in your pipeline. Prioritize Key Prospects and Clients. Gatekeepers.

Pipeline 63

Pipeline Prospecting Decision Maker Networking 63

SalesFuel

OCTOBER 2, 2024

Stakeholder mapping involves identifying each person involved in a prospect’s buying process. Sellers determine the influence each member has, and how they impact decision-making. Gatekeepers : They have direct access to decision makers and influencers. Stakeholder mapping: What is it?

Sales Process 95

Sales Process Decision Maker Hiring Gatekeeper 95