Sales Prospecting Perspectives

Talking About My Generation And Yours

One of the most common ways we tend to define generational gaps today is by the way we think about B2B technology and how we let it influence our lives and our work. 

I can say that with some authority. Even though we here at Engage are advanced technology users in our daily work, at times I still find it a little mystifying how younger generations are using technology. (Can someone please explain to me the legitimate appeal of Snapchat?)

It’s okay to say no to chasing every trend that pops up in the digital zeitgeist, but you owe it to yourself and to the organization you lead to keep an open mind about how new technologies can help you improve your work as a B2B sales leader.

It’s that time of year again, and the “new year, new me” attitude will be in full effect for at least another few weeks or so. It doesn’t hurt to also start developing steps to improve and enhance your performance at work to make this year even better than the last. One way to improve in the New Year is to start at the foundation, and for many of us B2B sales development reps, that means cleaning up the database. After all, quality data is the key to success in inside sales. Here are 3 steps to B2B data management:

1. Become familiar with your database system and its capabilities.

A huge overhaul of your entire database is both unnecessary and unrealistic as you start off the New Year. Just because you have a new goal to improve your organization and clean up your data does not mean you suddenly have all the extra time to do so. In order to effectively clean up your data, you have to start small and ensure that the process does not become overwhelming. No matter what system you use to organize your data, it is imperative that you become familiar with just what your system is capable of and develop a consistent method to use these features.

It’s January 6. Do you know what that means? It’s the second day of the first full week of 2015. Yesterday, you were most likely scrambling to answer all those emails you missed over vacation, rushing to meetings about your sales pipeline, and scrambling to write down your new sales goals.

Here are three trends I see in the sales world, paired with predictions on where those trends will take us. I welcome any feedback in the comments, or via Twitter at @davemacboston.

TREND #1: Content Fatigue / Focus

We’ve learned our lesson that so-called snackable content does not create any value, and all those empty content calories are killing the platforms that previously served as places to identify compelling new ideas. Twitter used to be rich with rewarding content, but now I have to scroll for several minutes before I find anything worth dipping into. And LinkedIn blogging went from sharp and provocative to “look at me” noisy in less than a year.

B2B sales and marketing leaders will need to decide whether they’re going to invest in content creation as a way to make noise or as a way to add value for customers.

In terms of the social activity of sales reps, it’s worth noting that being good and thoughtful curators of content allows individual reps to help advance their organization’s content marketing goals.

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

Let’s be honest, the hypnotic pull of the television can be hard to resist after a long day of work. I know I’ve been a victim to it more times than I’m willing to admit! With the influx of new fall television shows, I’ve drawn strength from one of my favorite TV personalities, Olivia Pope – the leading lady of Scandal. As a strong female character known for being a "fixer" for high-profile celebrity scandals, she is passionate, non-judgmental, and determined. Here are some sales prospecting methods I've learned from Olivia Pope that have helped me when B2B prospecting.