Sales Prospecting Perspectives

Ask not what you can do for your company. Ask what your company can do for you.

In the past few years, discussions of company culture have multiplied across start-ups in Silicon Valley, trusted businesses in Boston, and several other areas around the world. Some people think company culture can be confused with perks in the office, creating confusion and toxicity in the workplace. Some people think cultures can’t be created, that they’re a product of how leaders inspire their customers and employees. Still others argue that company culture affects traditional business metrics positively, resulting in revenue growth, employment growth, net income growth, etc.

Happy Friday, Sales Prospecting Perspectives readers. Here in the office at AG, we can tell that prospects are returning from vacation: there are more conversations, and less sales reps blocked by an away-from-the-office message. Fall is just around the corner!

This week, we’d like to share two articles.

I have long believed that one of the most important cornerstones to a great corporate culture is learning and growth.  An important part of my job is to create such an environment, and work to ensure that each and every team member understands they have the flexibility to expand their contribution beyond their job description.  When this happens, everyone wins.  The team member has the opportunity to learn, improve and expand his or her skill set.  The customer benefits from a happier, more skilled team member, and the company benefits from increased productivity, customer loyalty and ultimately, profitability.  

Ever have a poor customer experience at Starbucks? I haven’t. I am always extremely satisfied when I leave there. From the moment you walk in, every employee smiles from ear to ear, they have a ton of energy, and if they mess up your order or take longer than expected, they give you a free drink, no questions asked. The key is this: they make it about you, the customer, from the second you enter their front door. Every employee seems to possess a positive attitude at all times. They truly make me believe that they love going to work and that satisfying their customers is their top priority.

By the end of the decade, millennials will encompass 50% of the workforce. Not only will they be employees, they will also be customers. They’re changing the workplace with adaptive views on feedback, mentoring programs and socialization. They’re vocal about their beliefs and ideas, and are confident that their input matters. The millennial generation is changing the way all employees, Baby Boomers and Gen X alike, work in the new millennium.

This week marks my 9-year anniversary at AG Salesworks. It's been a great ride.  

Prior to joining AG, I spent some time working in hospitality, banking and technology. What I discovered is that the personalities I ran into within each of those industries could not get more diverse. With the experience I gained has come perspective on what­ I feel helps drive a team. It could be money for some, continuous praise for others or the challenge of what the job brings on a daily basis. One of the few consistent themes I've seen is this: You need to have your team’s back. 

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.

I’ll admit it. I think I have been avoiding the usage of collaboration tools for a number of years now. No matter how hard my boss has pushed it, I just couldn’t get myself to fully adopt the tools he was presenting. I would test it out for a few weeks and then would stop because I wasn’t recognizing the true value.  You may have been in the same boat as me. I just kept using the excuse, “I have my email to manage that.” After recently realizing that comments like this make me feel old and stuck in my ways, I started giving it more thought, and decided to jump on the bandwagon to give it a shot.

And when I did, something great happened.

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.

Before I entered the world of sales, I worked as a preschool teacher for a few years.  I truly enjoyed being a teacher and loved spending my days reading stories and singing songs.  Sometimes I miss it, but I do like to go home at the end of each day without someone else’s boogers on me.  

Teaching preschoolers and working in sales may seem like very different worlds, but there are many things I learned during my time as Miss Colleen that I can apply to my current job as an inside sales rep. Here are some sales tips from a former preschool teacher.