Sales Prospecting Perspectives

Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you a post from Evan O'Toole, a Business Development Representative and social media team member at AG Salesworks.

The power of face-to-face interaction in sales should never be undermined. The experience gained while speaking with prospects on a one-to-one basis can be crucial in the skill development of inside sales reps, who will eventually strive to close deals. Getting in-person experience early on is invaluable.

Let’s face it: Not every cold call campaign is created equal. Data integrity and relevance vary with each purchased list, and these new lists are far from free. In a sales world that’s becoming more social, it’s more important to target and personalize your messages to prospects, setting yourself apart from the rest and refusing to provide "another sales pitch." Below are 4 ways to quickly find and engage more relevant contacts, building a warmer pipeline for prospecting. 

With a family background in sales, it’s no wonder I love competition, organization, and numbers. I like that every month your slate is wiped clean and you have another 30 days to crush your numbers. But not only is sales a month-to-month game; it's also quarterly and yearly. The cycle in which we work in inside sales is organized and allows you to plan your time accordingly.

Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you a post from Patrice Morrison, a Business Development Representative at AG Salesworks. 

I’ve seen inside sales described using many analogies. But my favorite analogy by far is the comparison to the popular series, The Hunger Games. These books and movies focus on a woman who has to fight to the death in order to survive The Hunger Games, a twisted competition in which children ages 12 - 18 are forced to particpate, created by central officials to deter rebellion. Now you may be thinking: “How in the world could you see any similarities between the sales world and the dystopian world described by Suzanne Collins?” Even though they’re not shooting bows and arrows at jabberjays like Katniss Everdeen, inside sales reps actually share many qualities with Hunger Games tributes. Here are four:

Some folks would describe me as a bit of a hippy in my office. I'm fairly laid back and try to remain as even-keeled as possible. My disposition could have much to do with the amount of times I was hit in the head throughout my younger years... but I guess I have to roll with it. 

A word I have seen pop all over the business blogsphere these days is “gamification.” Gamification in the workplace in the simplest of definitions is making a game out of employees' day-to-day activities. In the various articles I have read on the topic, the opinions seem to be split on the overall effectiveness of gamification.  Farhad Manjoo of The Wall Street Journal feels that it has the “potential for stifling creativity and flexibility in the workplace, and the growing sensation of being watched, and measured, in everything we do.”  Others believe that creating a game out of an everyday work task increases competition and therefore productivity.  Now I can’t speak for the larger companies (the AMEXes, IBMs and Googles of the world) who leverage a gamification strategy to increase productivity, but I can say that at AG we like to keep it simple and effective.  I’ll share with you an example.

Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt of a chapter from our recently published eBook, The Ultimate Inside Sales Prospecting and Management Success eBook. If you're interested in reading the 35-page handbook, click the link above.  

There are 5 important categories to measure from a reporting standpoint to ensure top performance from your inside sales team. The goal is to push your reps to excel in all 5 categories to guarantee their optimal success. The most important categories to pay close attention to are:

With only one full week left before the holidays are upon us, it's important to ramp up your sales efforts to meet quotas for quarter 4. This week, we've curated articles about how sales and marketing can succeed in this final quarter. The reward? Spending time at home with the family during the holiday season. 

Here are some of our favorite articles from this week. Remember, we share around 10 articles a day on our Twitter as well. 

“I am giving my notice. I am going to be a nurse instead.” This was a real quote from a recent BDR at our company a week into the job. No joke! This isn’t the first time something like this has happened either. It is actually quite common when it comes to this line of work for someone to back out of the job, and I’m sure many inside sales managers reading this have some similar stories when it comes to these scenarios.

Good afternoon Sales Prospecting Perspectives Readers! We hope you had a great Friday. With the holidays just around the corner, sales reps are calling prospects left and right hoping to reserve a place in their prospect's 2014 budget. We’re excited about Thanksgiving and Christmas, as evident by this Instagram picture. Starbucks holidays cups are here! It’s been a festive few days in the office, and we even celebrated the Red Sox win, a little late, with some cupcakes via Liberty Mutual Insurance. Today we’re rearing for another successful call day!