Sales Prospecting Perspectives

Nothing can kill an inside sales opportunity quite like time. Even the most enthusiastic customers and prospects can turn away from a deal if something else catches their eye. The longer a deal sits and does not move through the pipeline, the more apt a prospect will be to lose interest. Below are a few ways to ensure that you’re not losing opportunities due to bad timing or poor follow up.

Every night when I was growing up, my family sat down to a home-cooked meal by my mom (aside from Tuesdays: those days dad was in charge of making spaghetti). Anyway, every night my mom managed to make a delicious meal after a long day at work. She juggled a career, three kids, laundry, grocery shopping, and more. She did it all, and she did it well, and continues to do so today. Now that I recently became a working mom, I truly understand how much effort it takes and while I didn’t think it was possible, I value and appreciate my mom even more now.

Over the years, I found that I innately gravitate towards the part of my job I enjoy doing the most. I think we're all guilty of that at times. In fact, I would argue that most of us gravitate away from cold calling.  In my experience it has been rare to see someone swan dive into cold dials every day. Generally, I had a pre-calling ritual before I got going, but there were still days when it seemed as if it took me an entire morning to get warmed up. 

When I was growing up, I was a non-stop talker. Some of my family and close friends might say I still don’t know when to stop talking. Well, most acquaintances would probably be a little alarmed about how energetic I can be and how much I can talk. This is part of the reason I knew I would be successful in sales. But, it could also have been the thing that hurt me the most. Learning how to control a conversation is an essential piece of every day in the life of an inside sales representative.

On New Year’s Eve, I posted a blog on the 7 Things I Want My Inside Sales Team To Know for 2014. Now that we're already days in to the last week of February (bring on spring please!), I want to double check that list to ensure I was actually following through on the characteristics I felt separated good managers from not-so-good ones. Of course it's a continual work in progress, but I feel like I've mostly stuck to the expectations I've set for myself.