Cold calling is undoubtedly challenging. You must master an array of skills like a natural sounding tone and sales script. You need to learn objection responses, develop product knowledge, and learn proper pre-call research. All of this adds up in a way that makes 48% of business-to-business salespeople afraid of making cold calls. It takes […]
Who doesn’t want to schedule more meetings from their cold calls? Your performance on cold calls can be the difference between hitting your goals or falling short of your target. You can work as best you can to get past the gatekeeper and perfect your pitch, but one of the best advice for a successful […]
In B2B sales, selling into the C suite can be one of the most challenging, and the most rewarding strategies. Time with the C-level executives can result in a massive deal, but making and maintaining contact with them is incredibly difficult. You are constantly stopped by gatekeepers, calls go unanswered, and messages are never returned. […]
It happens to everyone, yet it seems to come without warning. You can be hitting goal after goal, crushing quota every quarter, then it suddenly seems to stop. The road gets bumpy, you lose speed, and everything seems a little bit harder. Maybe this was brought on by a recent change in companies, change in […]
Do you wish you had more time each month to hit your targets? Most Sales Development Reps (SDRs) would agree that time is one of their biggest challenges. According to Ralph Barsi, two of the five barriers that block reps from hitting sales quotas are lack of focus and inactivity. It’s not surprising with the […]
In their 2018 buyer preferences study, CSO Insights found that salespeople ranked ninth out of the top ten ways buyers prefer to solve their business problems. “Vendor salespeople” placed below websites, peers, social networking groups, and web searches. In fact, only 23 percent of buyers named salespeople as one of their top three resources. This […]
Just because a lead has been qualified, it doesn’t mean they are going to become a customer. Although it varies by industry, research has shown that only 20-30% of sales qualified leads (SQLs) close. That means that there are many prospects that fall out of the funnel during your sales process. It’s just as well, […]
It’s not uncommon for star sales reps to be promoted or otherwise move into sales management. Unfortunately, top salespeople aren’t necessarily the best sales managers. The sales manager is a critical role, and you must select the right person for it. If the wrong individual is chosen, there may be significant costs to your organization. […]
What is a lead qualification framework and why is it important? We all have to make decisions. Some of these are easier than others. When it comes time to make a decision, whether it’s what shirt to purchase, if we should go to that expensive restaurant, if we should splurge on a new TV, or […]
How effective is your sales coaching? When is the last time you asked yourself this question? It goes without saying, sales coaching is important. Sales coaching differs from sales training in that it is the continuous reinforcement of skills to improve performance over time. If you aren’t sales coaching at all, we’ve covered in depth […]
There are many methods of communication in a sales rep’s toolkit. There are emails, texts, LinkedIn messages, and more, but nothing works quite like a phone call. Phone conversations the best way to engage with a prospect and elicit immediate results. Emails, texts, and so on are far too easily put-off, saved for later, ignored, […]
There’s an ongoing debate about whether or not cold calling is dead. Regardless of what you’ve read or heard elsewhere, the truth is cold calling is alive and well. A recent study revealed that 71% of buyers want to hear from sellers when looking for new ideas to improve their business. In the same study, […]