Sales Prospecting Perspectives

Last Monday, January 6, was apparently the most depressing day of the year. I heard this on the radio as I was driving to work, trying to shake off the cobwebs from the holiday layoff.  It makes sense: I got used to the idea of kicking back, eating everything in sight, and spending some extra quality time with the family. Sure, I think many of us get used to the idea of living like a retiree. Unfortunately I'm about 20-30 years away from that... depending on how well the ole' 401K decides to perform.

Man, time goes by fast.  I know this phenomenon is talked about, written about and perhaps thought about ad nauseum, but I feel compelled every year around this time to mention it.  Mostly because as I get older (I turned 50 in November), I realize how limited our time is and I have always been a “live life to the fullest” kind of guy.  Now, as I am a bit older and have the great fortune of a beautiful family, my health, and a thriving company, I feel very thankful.  I am focused on enjoying my life, and doing the right thing both in business and in my personal life.

Happy holidays, Sales Prospecting Perspectives readers. It's back to work at AG, as inside sales reps and managers plan for Quarter 1. Sales and marketing professionals should start off the New Year on a high note. Our advice? In these last few days, inside sales reps should continue to call, but should also review the year's progress. How much have you changed as a sales professional? What about your messaging is different now, and why? Inside sales managers, have you come up with ideas to motivate your team this past year, and what are the results? Does gamification influence your leadership style? It's important to reflect on 2013 before we move in to 2014, and then adapt our sales strategies accordingly. Below, Sam gives some good advice for how to end the year strong as well. 

Ah yes, it’s that time of year again. Lines at the mall are out the door, parking lots are jammed, and calories don’t matter (right?). With the holiday season comes the end of the fiscal year for the majority of companies. And for inside sales reps here at AG, it can be a stressful time, as they try to pass qualified leads while prospects are taking vacation time to spend with their family. We can use this time to plan for the New Year while also nurturing accounts and catching prospects live. Last week, Craig gave some tips from a director’s point of view, and this week I’m giving some tips from a sales rep standpoint.

It's the last Friday before Christmas, and the office is full of holiday cheer. But it's still important that sales reps' pipelines are in the clear. Sales managers should motivate their sales team in these last few days before the holidays dawn near. So take a gander at these sales and marketing articles we've curated for you to revere.

Let’s face it: As of today, we have four "real" business days left in quarter. Sure, if you happen to be in the office next week, you may be lucky enough to get your target prospect on the phone since they may have only a few meetings going on during the holiday week. Problem is, most of us I assume want to be with our families, and there is a good chance your prospect wants that as well. Since we all have aggressive goals, I think we all need to get in the mindset that next week doesn't exist and the month/quarter end is Friday. 

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. 

It's that time of year again.  The time of year when the AG Team never ceases to amaze with its holiday cheer.  

We once again had a wonderfully mistake filled holiday party.  Tomorrow we'll be having an employee driven Holiday Pot Luck for lunch.  All great stuff for sure, but none of it compares to my favorite  helping out those in need and this is where the AG crew truly shines.  

Now that we’re getting to the end of 2011, as most of us do, I’ve begun to reflect back on my year. There are typically a couple of simple questions I like to ask myself. What went well this year? What may have I done differently? With the benefit of hindsight..I usually have a few I would change, but I can say that over that last few years I’ve been fortunate enough to check off more in the positive category than the negative.

Sales Prospecting Perspectives in pleased to bring you a guest post from one of our newer BDRs, Elizabeth Guerra.

It’s been said before, and it’ll be said again, but December is a tough month. And I don’t just mean in terms of sales and teleprospecting, though that is glaringly obvious to anyone working in those fields. December is a time where everyone is attending parties, fiendishly shopping, and trying to figure out how to cram as much as possible into as many hours of the day as they can. Just the other day I found myself complaining to a friend about how the days are simply not long enough, which got me thinking of ways to overcome these challenges.