Recently I was thinking about the typical obstacles Inside Sales Reps face in trying to reach their goals and numbers. Some may say prospecting is a gamble: you catch your ideal prospect in either the best mood of their life with check in hand, or they want to climb through the phone and ring your neck. For this reason, Inside Sales Reps get hung up on “this project is difficult, I can’t get through gate keepers, I can’t reach them via email, my list stinks, I can’t I can’t I can’t…” I’m not buying it.
The most successful Inside Sales Reps at AG are my colleagues with positive attitudes, who are personally motivated. Some ways Insides Reps overcome obstacles such as outdated lists, gate keepers and cranky prospects is simply not getting hung up on it. You want to be one of the top five producers in your company, get resourceful.
Specific ways the top Inside Sales Reps around here ensure success is through:
- Bringing in new contacts
- Following a persistent call plan with appropriate follow up
- Asking the right questions
Every time you pick up that phone, consider it a failure if you hang up without a piece of information or direction that will enhance your next step. The successful Inside Reps are the ones that clarify titles with admins, ask when their “contact identified’s” will be back in the office, what their schedules look like and how to get on them.
0#ing at the end of a voicemail to double check this is the person you want to speak with is going to result in more quality conversations and more individuals to reach out to. Along with clarifying who your prospects are, not assuming they are the “end all and be all” is extremely important. Are you low on names? Go back to the drawing board and reach out to departments you know would influence a decision for your product.
In addition to bringing in new contacts and being persistent with your contacts identified, having an outline of what you are looking to achieve once you get them live is extremely important. None of us want to come off as scripted, but going into an obstacle course with no map is going to result in you walking around in circles. Remember what your objective is - to help them. Figure out what is going on with their environment. The less you hear yourself talking, the more success you will have. If you find yourself up against a tough obstacle, remember a “how” question is your best maneuver. This job is about listening to people talk about their environment and giving them the resources they need to address their problems. Everyone has obstacles to overcome. The prospects have budget freezes, 20 more vendors calling them on top of you and just a sour taste about sales in their mouths. No one can be successful without remembering that every problem has a solution and being personally resourceful is your best maneuver for success.
How has being resourceful helped you be successful? Feel free to share what has worked for you.
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