How Invested are Your Inside Sales Reps?
Over the summer, the AG team created a list of 50 traits an inside sales rep should have. Number 43 was that an inside sales rep should be invested. Being invested has always been something that I relate to as a Senior Business Development Representative here at AG. The main traits and skills that I feel an inside sales rep should have to be invested are: Devotion, Persistence, Active Listening.
Devotion:
To clarify, with devotion, I am not talking about a religious experience but more about always striving for your client’s success. Inside sales reps should immerse themselves in the project at hand. It should matter to them whether their clients are successful and they should strive to meet and exceed their goals. When you find business opportunities, you should be excited about the opportunity and want to see it go through fruition. Granted it’s nice to have closed business, being genuinely excited about this opportunity as you pass it to an outside sales rep will spread your excitement. This will generate a better working relationship and will ultimately lead to more closed business.
Persistence:
I can write about being persistent till my fingers hurt. It's not about calling, and calling, and calling someone until they pick up the phone and then pitching until they agree to a meeting. One of the traits that I try to teach to new BDRs is “polite persistence:” following a call plan and always treating prospects kindly. If they are not interested, GREAT! Find out why. If they don’t have time to talk, it’s not a problem… When is a better time to reach them?
I was discussing the 80/20 rule with some colleagues, noting where roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. This rule is completely true in cold calling. More than 80% of the time we are leaving voicemails or being told that prospects are not interested. But that 20% is enough to ensure we make our goals and quotas, so don't give up!
Active Listening:
If you are an active listener, it will help you qualify more opportunities. Alex Orton wrote in his blog that “without conversation your prospects will never want to talk to you.” This is completely true. We are not robots; we are humans. In order to get the most information from a person, we need to have a quality conversation. We need to listen, take notes and show sincere interest to show that we are listening. Use this information to ask appropriate questions and find the true issues, pains and needs that your solution can fix.
These three traits / skills can help find more business, close more business and keep you excited about finding the next deal. I feel that we all have these abilities and they just need to be brought out. What other skills do you feel are necessary to be invested in a project?
