Sales Prospecting Perspectives

It’s Friday, Friday, gotta pass some leads on Friday! Welcome back to our Weekly Recap. Here at AG, we’re excited for the weekend, just like Rebecca Black, so we can rejuvenate before coming back on Monday. Most people love the work environment here and coworkers have become friends, so even though it’s Friday, we never truly dread Mondays.

Happy Friday! At AG, it’s been a busy week, as everyone returned from vacation to a full inbox and several tasks to complete. In order to bring up morale around the office, we’re holding a contest that partners up inside sales reps, adding their QC numbers and lead percentages. It’s called a Tag Team Tournament, and it’s gotten everyone excited and supportive of each other’s success. The ties will be broken by a “mystery physical challenge,” which sounds both daunting and exciting. Consider pairing together your inside sales reps to harmonize your team.

Happy fourth of July! At AG, the enthusiasm around the office this week was palpable and it translated to our inside sales reps’ calling efforts. While many people discussed their plans for the 4th – a pool party, a trip to Boston – they also hunkered down so they could meet their numbers for the week and be able to leave early or even take an extra day off. We’d like to wish America “Happy Birthday” from all AG employees; we’re thankful for being able to work in this wonderful country.

It’s been a busy week for everyone at AG Salesworks, but Peter Gracey especially. Our president participated in the largest inside sales summit in history, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, on June 20 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Pacific Time. He was accompanied by an all-star roster of sales professionals and authors who offered advice to grow your company’s revenue. Pete Gracey spoke about how to measure outbound success. To view this event on demand, register for free here.

This week was a busy one at AG Salesworks. During the first half of the week, our inside sales reps were passing leads like crazy. Their leads were so hot that a small electrical fire started in the office on Tuesday! No worries, though; we’re all safe, and there was just a bit of smoke in AG Central. After that, there was more excitement: The Summer AG Olympics. I’m happy to announce that Team USA won! Find pictures and more about this event on our Facebook.

It’s the first week of a new month, and I’m sure your sales team is eager to pass qualified leads, meeting deadlines and stepping up to challenges. Here at AG, we’ve held contests over the past few weeks to pump up our own inside sales team. We’ve also produced a few blog posts to help inside sales reps with their technique.

Yesterday, it was 86 degrees outside. I was glad to be inside an air-conditioned office, but I also sympathized with my coworkers, who were calling for someone with “fiber” to help them move all our cubes outside. Oh, the cube life. I hope your business employees are doing well, and have been able to use their breaks to enjoy the much-coveted sunshine this week.

It’s the end of May, and the long summer months are approaching. Instead of forlornly staring out the window at the blossoming trees swaying in the sun, why not read our Weekly Recap to learn more about how to nurture your sales campaign or how to be a better boss?

In leiu of recent events here in Boston, I think it makes sense to skip this week's share post and instead focus on the victims of this week's tragedy. Our CEO, Paul Alves, posted earlier this week about the struggle between good and evil and we mentioned a local organization, TUGG (Technology Underwriting Greater Good) who had begun a fundraiser supporting the local victims and families. I wanted to take this opportunity to mention again this great cause as well as invite any of our readers who want to donate to do so. There has been overwhelming support generated and a great sense of community established in this wonderful city many of us call home. Though our community has been rocked by the events that have unfolded, we have created an even stronger bond and sense of resilience that two men alone can not and will not break.

It's the final day of the month and the quarter; I'm sure there are a lot of elevated blood pressures today! Isn't it wonderful when these things fall on a Friday? Hopefully your sales pipeline is not the reason for the added stress and anxiety that comes with the last day of a quarter. One way to feed the pipeline is to start getting more social; integrating social selling practices in with your sales process. This week's share discusses social selling and comes from Brian Bachofner of InsideView who compared social selling vs. social prospecting and discussed some of the key activities being used by sales professionals and some of the key behaviors in determining a high performer. Brian cited multiple industry experts and discussed some of the findings from their ebooks, survey's and research to formulate is own opinion on the topic of social prospecting. Brian's view on social prospecting is "it's the measurable and trackable aspect of Social Selling that’s creating focus there. The ROI is simple to measure." He also states that social prospecting is "the easiest (activity) to deploy, but also the easiest to do WRONG." A great read from Brian, who will be assisting in managing and contributing content for Social Selling University until a new "Dean" has been found.