Sales Prospecting Perspectives

Who's excited for this month's #ProspectingChat? Over at AG Saleswork's Twitter account, we'll be sharing inside sales messaging do's and don'ts for your team. We'll also be welcoming special guest John Golden, CSO of Pipeliner CRM, to discuss his experiences and tips Here are some details about today's Twitter Chat:

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

As an inside sales rep, the majority of my prospecting has been encompassed around cold calling. But as of recently, my client has been having my team follow up with warm, inbound leads. My role is to connect with recent trade show attendees, webinar attendees, prospects that have responded to email promotions, or downloaded whitepapers from my client’s website. Many of the "prospects" I communicate with are already my client’s customers. My goal is to follow up with them and find out what their current IT initiatives are and if they are evaluating my client’s additional solutions. When prospecting warm leads, the strategy and process is much different from the typical cold calling campaign. Therefore, here are few tips for prospecting inbound leads.

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.

The other day someone said to me, “When it comes to cold calling, it’s really just a numbers game. By reaching out to 100 people per day, there’s bound to be someone who says yes.” The comment took me by surprise and I thought to myself, "Wow, do people really think that’s all there is to cold calling? Do they really think of it as 'mindless' dials that will eventually lead to someone who says yes?"

It’s nearing the end of summer. Sales reps might think that making cold calls to prospects will now be easier, but lately, it's becoming harder and harder every day. Why, you may ask? For the same reason leads were down in the middle of summer: Vacations.  Not only do individuals inside sales representatives call go on vacation, sending us automatic out-of-office email replies or recording voicemails that state "I will be out of the office until...", but us cold callers luckily get some time off as well.  The problem is that, as prospects are finally returning from vacation, they're pushing sales reps away. I have called many a person in the last few months who has said to me, "I just got back from vacation and I have a backlog of emails and voicemails to get through.  Can you call back in two days?"

We know how you feel. You’re an executive of an inside sales team, busy closing sales and leading your team. It’s unwise (if not impossible) for you chase down the latest and greatest tools and ideas to improve your crew’s performance.

No worries. Our new eBook, Top of the Funnel Field Guide to Sales Prospecting Success, a collaboration with the team at SalesLoft, is here to make that process simple for you.

The team at AG Salesworks has been hands-on, in the trenches, with over 350 sales teams over the last 10 years. We’ve seen the outcomes of sales conversations and have a great grasp on what you need to empower your team with the tools and processes they need to get ahead.

Going through a slump? Feeling like this fat cat?

Whether it's that time of the year, or your pipeline is looking depressing, or your personal motivation is lacking, there are endless reasons why you might be having a difficult period for passing leads. But this is not a bad thing. Since there are many reasons for a “sales slump,” this means that there are endless ways to escape it!

Here are some tips for getting out of a sales slump and back into doing what you do best:

No matter what time of year it is, it’s important to stick to your company’s call plan. Of course, variation is fine depending on projects and clients, but it is best to try and keep the call plan on track. At AG, we have found that our call plan works for most projects and receives many responses from prospects at all levels and in many different departments.