The Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

No need to go to the gutter right away, there is a lot to be said for words in sales before we have to go blue. As long as companies fill their sales people’s heads with more “Product Knowledge” than business skills, the challenge will persist. Vendors overemphasize selection criteria that aren’t important to buyers.

Vendor 255

Vendor Discount Insurance Insurance 255

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 15, 2017

I have been in B2B sales so long that I’ve probably forgotten more deals than I remember. It was 20 years ago, when I was working as an account-based sales rep , and I lost the biggest deal of my career. We were one of 12 vendors under active consideration. Spent time in Europe where the existing vendor was headquartered.

Account 257

Account Referrals Sales Qualified Lead Lead Generation 257

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 15, 2021

Every sales leader says their #1 prospecting challenge is getting leads in the pipe. Considering half of the deals that are forecasted to close don’t, and customer retention has decreased as seller attrition increases, sales teams are facing yet another frustrating year if something doesn’t change. Try this instead.

Lead Gen 397

Lead Gen Sales Qualified Lead Leads Marketing Qualified Lead 397

Zoominfo

DECEMBER 28, 2020

They’re customers’ verbal buying signals—the cues your sales agent homes in on when talking to a prospect. And they’re online buying signals—the data trail—that prospective buyers leave as they research solutions online. Your marketing and sales teams need both. All of these signals show optimal conditions for a sale.

Lead Rank 309

Lead Rank Intent Data Closing Buyer Intent 309

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 26, 2021

If you have a big-deal prospect or client, you’d better jump on a plane, catch a train, or take a road trip as soon as possible. I wrote that in 2013, back when virtual sales meetings weren’t the only option. The Problem with Virtual Sales Meetings. B2B sales reps have asked me that question repeatedly over the past year.

Sales Meeting 287

Sales Meeting Meeting Referrals Face-to-face 287

Sales and Marketing Management

JANUARY 20, 2020

Or worse, could you lose your sales job altogether? You could be vulnerable if you’re not sharpening your sales skills and honing the tactics that will help you succeed in 2020. Forrester analyst Andy Hoar didn’t mince words when he spoke at the 2015 Forrester Sales Enablement Forum. Adapt to the Digital Business Environment.

Sales Goal 312

Sales Goal Meeting Trade Show Ideal Customer Profile 312

DiscoverOrg Sales

AUGUST 7, 2018

Your prospects are out there right now, hunting for a solution to a problem you can solve. But they’re not asking for help from your sales team. 47% of buyers viewed 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep. Unfortunately, sales does not reward second or third place. Demand Gen Report, 2016).

Intent Data 313

Intent Data Intent Data Lead Rank 313

Zoominfo

APRIL 23, 2020

But long, complicated sales cycles need more than just names and numbers. Marketing and sales intelligence data is dynamic, which is to say frequently and continuously refreshed. But a lot of marketing, sales, and recruiting professionals don’t know how much data has changed over the past few years! JUST KIDDING.

Ideal Customer Profile 189

Ideal Customer Profile Prospecting Intent Data Trade Show 189

No More Cold Calling

DECEMBER 29, 2020

Your referral network is your net worth in sales. How can smart, experienced sales reps let their customer relationships wither? But not all sales teams make those investments. Far too many sales organizations are so focused on bringing in new business that they neglect their current customers.

Referrals 432

Referrals Customer Social Media Revelation 432

Mr. Inside Sales

JANUARY 19, 2024

I don’t know why sales reps still have trouble handing this typical blow off. I know it makes sense to have several vendors you can check pricing and availability with, and having another supplier in your back pocket is only going to help you, right?” [Get ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS!

Face-to-face 273

Face-to-face Gatekeeper How To Licensing 273

The Pipeline

AUGUST 31, 2021

While the calendar may not agree, Labor Day, from a sales standpoint, is the end of Summer. Closing business and prospecting to ensure you avoid the January lull with a pipeline that propel you to success. The best way to approach is to take your cues from your prospects, buyers and clients. By Tibor Shanto.

Harvest 360

Harvest Referrals Call-back Video 360

The Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 25, 2017

In most instances or conversation this misuse (or abuse) of the two may not matter or have tangible consequences, but in sales, well, they do. These are not bad, but are usually product or vendor centric. This is where sellers make the mistake of only focusing on risks they perceive prospects may focus on while comparing providers.

Vendor 272

Vendor Buyer Travel Objections 272

Sales 2.0

NOVEMBER 22, 2019

How would you do if you and your clients (and prospects) were on the Newlywed game? What do you look for in a vendor? Who gets involved in choosing a new vendor? It’s going to help a lot to know the answers to these type of Newlywed Game questions about your clients–and hence your prospects. How are you measured?

Vendor 307

Vendor Face-to-face Tools Prospecting 307

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 25, 2020

Are you looking for your B2B sales leads in all the wrong places? Is your sales team searching too many faces, looking for traces of prospects, instead of narrowing the search to recruit only your ideal clients? There’s a better way, but it takes guts and conviction from every sales leader. Your conversation shifts.

Lead Generation 409

Lead Generation B2B Lead Rank Lead Scoring 409

No More Cold Calling

OCTOBER 1, 2020

I used to think it was just sales newbies who struggled with referral reluctance. I wondered about those in non-traditional sales roles like customer success, CPAs, attorneys, architects, engineers, and consultants—who are now being asked to sell. Sales Leadership Is Missing It Big (and Here’s the Proof). Why would they?

Referrals 373

Referrals Cold Calling Sales Qualified Lead Call-back 373

Zoominfo

AUGUST 2, 2020

B2B data is enterprise-focused information used to improve sales and marketing campaigns. Fit data helps marketers score and segment prospects into personas suitable to be in your customer base. Opportunity data helps identify favorable conditions for a company to act on when prospecting. What is B2B Data? Opportunity Data.

B2B 245

B2B Data Vendor Intent Data 245

Zoominfo

JANUARY 27, 2023

Sales prospecting is arguably the most critical part of a sales professional’s workflow. Sales prospecting is a foundational element for a revenue team — it’s the practice of identifying and connecting with potential customers to initiate the sales cycle. What is Sales Prospecting?

Ideal Customer Profile 130

Ideal Customer Profile Prospecting Intent Data Buyer Persona 130

DiscoverOrg Sales

MAY 24, 2017

When DiscoverOrg hosted a Meet-Up event, “Overcoming Roadblocks When Selling Enterprise IT,” we expected insights into how successful sales people identify and access key decision makers at targeted accounts. But how do you use this data to make an informed, relevant sales pitch? Don’t make a discovery sales call to the CIO.

Account Based Marketing 264

Account Based Marketing Decision Maker Referrals Vendor 264

The Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 18, 2017

No matter how one slices it, sales is a game of change. If you are the incumbent, the best way to avoid a client to change vendors, is to continuously introduce change in how your product helps the client achieve their objectives. At its core, it is about first changing how the buyer/prospect views their reality.

Vendor 250

Vendor Objections Buyer Influencer 250

Sales and Marketing Management

FEBRUARY 12, 2020

Marketing and sales have switched to account-based everything, which crystallizes focus on the customer. Revenue teams – Companies will move beyond simply aligning sales and marketing toward revenue teams? super teams that include customer success in the same organization as sales, marketing and operations.

Trends 289

Trends Ideal Customer Profile InsideView Customer 289

Zoominfo

DECEMBER 15, 2020

Which means things shaking up in the B2B world — holiday emails are being blasted, sales deals are being closed, and 2021 recruitment strategies are finishing up. And to get there, you have to ramp up your visibility and engagement with your best sales, marketing, and recruiting teams. Read more: Cold Call Sales Voicemail Scripts.

B2B 237

B2B Trade Show Intent Data Buyer Intent 237

Zoominfo

FEBRUARY 12, 2021

B2B social selling is an important and viable channel for B2B marketers and sales professionals. B2B professionals are using social media in the same way that B2C consumers are using it: they’re doing research, educating themselves, and establishing relationships with vendors who can help them. What is B2B Social Selling?

Social Selling 263

Social Selling B2B Social Media Top of Funnel 263

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 9, 2019

Successful sales professionals understand that technology is a must-have business tool. But very few understand how to incorporate technology into their prospecting strategy. Consider this: Despite the ever-growing treasure trove of new sales technology, sales is actually harder than it used to be. Don’t believe me?

Sales Qualified Lead 269

Sales Qualified Lead B2B Lead Rank Lead Scoring 269

The Pipeline

JUNE 4, 2019

Not a popular refrain among sales types, which may explain why nearly half of B2B reps will miss quota this year. In a world obsessed with ‘big,’ even more so than sales success, make it small may seem counter-intuitive. While I am not working with sales teams, I am buying. I Wanna Believe.

Discount 268

Discount Vendor Quota Buyer 268

No More Cold Calling

DECEMBER 7, 2018

When I interviewed Wes, senior vice president of sales for a well-known marketing automation company, I expected to hear all about the advantages of using his technology. Instead, he talked about the power of relationships for sales. He chose the vendor his friend recommended. Boy, was I wrong! It’s who you know.”.

Referrals 310

Referrals How To Cold Calling Lead Generation 310

Understanding the Sales Force

JANUARY 22, 2024

That exact same thing happens to salespeople on their sales calls. They’re having a great conversation, the prospect needs what you have, there is money available, you’re with the decision maker, and you start making some assumptions about how good this opportunity looks. What did you miss?

Closing 227

Closing Proposal Discount Decision Maker 227

No More Cold Calling

FEBRUARY 15, 2018

At most companies, the sales process is a balancing act that doesn’t always work so well. Layered on top of these activities are a myriad of sales enablement and social selling tools—all of which are intended to help salespeople with effective prospecting and, in turn, generating qualified sales leads. in my Referral I.Q.

Gatekeeper 306

Gatekeeper Webinar Metrics Sales Qualified Lead Decision Maker 306

Understanding the Sales Force

JUNE 12, 2023

Isn’t that a great analogy for what happens when you miss, or skip a crucial step in the sales process? Your prospects and customers use a similar process for choosing who to buy from. Things like collect five proposals, narrow the field to three, meet with the vendors, have them present, make a selection.

Prospecting 156

Prospecting Vendor Proposal Sales Process 156

Mr. Inside Sales

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

Based on how successful my last blog was on handling the objection: “We’ve Already Got a Vendor for That,” I thought I’d give you another proven response to help you overcome the objections and resistance you get daily. Then remain completely quiet and let your prospect tell you what the REAL objection is!] And most do!

Face-to-face 224

Face-to-face Gatekeeper How To Licensing 224

Sales and Marketing Management

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

Author: Giuseppe D’Angelo Inside sales have never been hotter, and the sales field is experiencing considerable change. Much of this is due to the technology that is beginning to drive the sales process much the way it has driven marketing for the past several years. Increasing demand for skilled inside sales reps.

Inside Sales 209

Inside Sales Trends Outsourcing Services Face-to-face 209

The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 4, 2020

Last week I saw a piece on LinkedIn, that questioned the accuracy of predictions about the future of B2B sales and selling made in the past decade. The piece pointed to a prediction by Forrester around 2015 about the size and nature of B2B sales in 2020. Is sales is making the most of their newfound time and resources?”

Revenue 370

Revenue Top of Funnel Sales Qualified Lead Lead Rank 370

Zoominfo

MAY 13, 2019

Although B2B data certainly isn’t the most exciting sales topic– it happens to be one of the most important. Without it, your sales team wouldn’t be able to identify, target, and connect with their target prospects and companies. Do I need to work with a provider at all? Lets, jump into it! What is a B2B data provider?

Data 199

Data Vendor B2B Policies 199

Mr. Inside Sales

JUNE 7, 2024

Questions while qualifying: Closed ended: “Do you ever use an outside vendor?” Assumptive: “How often do you use outside vendors?” Closing the sale: Closed ended: “Do you have any questions?” ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS! Assumptive: “Hi, can you connect me with __ please?” (or or just—“Hi, __ please.”)

Selling Skills 224

Selling Skills Gatekeeper Face-to-face Licensing 224

Sales and Marketing Management

JUNE 22, 2020

An original promise of SaaS was that it would take the pain away from internal IT personnel and transfer it instead to the technology vendor, which specializes in the thankless job of establishing the optimal hosting environment and maintaining the software for many clients at once. Managing the technology, however, is just the first hurdle.

B2B 207

B2B Customer Vendor Enterprise 207