The Pipeline

OCTOBER 12, 2021

By Tibor Shanto. The generally correct answer is any reasonable time. Even that can be open to interpretation, I know a number of B2B sellers who have success prospecting on Saturday. I understand people trying to be as efficient as possible by pinpoint the best time to make prospecting calls. I know many salespeople hope they can know the exact time the right prey will be at the watering hole.

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Prospecting Cold Calling Video Exact 345

The Pipeline

OCTOBER 11, 2021

Subscribe today , and take the Breakfast on the go! Warren Coughlin helps principled entrepreneurs build a Business That Matters. That is one that delivers to you, the owner, attractive profits and a fulfilling lifestyle while also creating positive impacts on customers, team and the larger community. In other words, it is one that helps make the world – or just your corner of it – a better place.

Salary 173

Salary Exact Coaching Positioning 173

The Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021

Subscribe today , and take the Breakfast on the go! Frank Cespedes teaches at Harvard Business School, ran a business, serves on Boards, and is affiliated with VC and PE firms. He is the author or co-author of six books as well as articles in Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, Business Horizons, California Management Review, International Encyclopedia of Business and Management, Journal of Managerial Issues, Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, Marketing Encyclopedia,

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Journal Case Study Study Up-Sell 173

The Pipeline

AUGUST 17, 2021

By Tibor Shanto. Choice , such a nice word, makes everyone who offers or receives one feel good: and for all the wrong reasons. But in reality, and in sales it will almost always work against you. I’ll go further, it is a clear indicator of laziness and lack of professionality. Yet for the all the usual reasons, salespeople and pundits swear by and depend on it.

Negotiation 352

Negotiation Lead Rank Lead Scoring Buyer 352

The Pipeline

JULY 13, 2021

By Tibor Shanto. Summer, traditionally a time to kick back, relax and enjoy the brightest and warmest time of year. Business seems to move at a calmer pace as people enjoy school and work vacations. And while there is no doubt that the pace may be different, there are ways to take advantage of the “ summer lull.” But while elements of the change in pace are true, it requires a change in our action, not a lack of action.

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Pipeline ACT Sales Cycle Account 362

The Pipeline

JUNE 29, 2021

By Tibor Shanto. I have always said that ‘demo’ is a four-letter word, as bad as any. Not the act of doing ‘a demo’, but more about timing and the purpose for one. All the people that came before you have taught buyers some bad habits. As always, you have a choice. You can cop out, and do the demo you think they want, or deliver a demo that moves deals?

Harvest 352

Harvest ACT Buyer Objections 352

The Pipeline

JUNE 8, 2021

By Tibor Shanto. One thing that great prospectors have in common, is an understanding that at first contact, we are an interruption. If your email, InMail or phone call is not scheduled, you are an interruption. You are about to cost them 23 minutes of productivity , like it or not. That initial interruption is never welcome, leading many sellers to want to “normalize” the conversation too quickly.

Prospecting 341

Prospecting Conversion Video Benefit 341

The Pipeline

APRIL 13, 2021

By Tibor Shanto. It’s no secret we exist to consume, choose your lens, B2B or B2C , the system survives on consumption. Out with the old, even if it works, and in with the new long before it truly does. But one can’t go on consuming without discarding things to make room for the new. Buildings are razed every day to make room for something better.

B2C 210

B2C Consumer B2B System 210

The Pipeline

MARCH 16, 2021

By Tibor Shanto. More often than not success is a question of mastering the simple and most common fundamentals. There is a reason why professional athletes practice the most likely things to happen versus the anomalies. Unlike athletes, once salespeople have a bit of success, they stop learning and practicing. If you have a base of accounts, you can probably get by for a time, but it eventually catches up.

Prospecting 299

Prospecting Video Influencer Up-Sell 299

The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

By Tibor Shanto. I posted yesterday about the need for salespeople to make better decisions about their view of time. One of the points I emphasized was to reorient from qualifying to disqualifying. Most people usually find what they set out to look for, a nip here, tuck there, but they find it. So, if you set out to find someone that qualifies, you will, blemishes and all, anything will do.

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Sales Qualified Lead Data Meeting Closing 259

The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 23, 2021

By Tibor Shanto. People deal with time as though it was a fickle dance partner, “if I work with it, I can stretch and do things I know it can’t do.” As you know I think time management is a stupid concept that just leads to more work. The only thing malleable about time is you. The challenge with time is that it reflects the decision we make about how we use it.

Objections 378

Objections Leads Marketing Qualified Lead How To 378

The Pipeline

JANUARY 12, 2021

By Tibor Shanto. It is estimated that 40% of our daily activities are driven by habit. This simplifies things to some degree, as we just need to replace bad habits with good. That’s where the challenge comes in, changing habits. But as you do, you will see measurable change in your success, and willingness to swap out more habits. So here are 5 habits to change for a better sales year.

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Exact Sales Leads Marketing Qualified Lead 228

The Pipeline

DECEMBER 22, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. Many of us are running on two tracks now, closing the year right, and the unusual holidays we face. Rather than pontificate on a finer point of sales, I wanted to add a bit of holiday spice to today’s video. So, I share a discussion I had with a close chum. We bandied about the question as to whether Santa Claus would make a good B2B salesperson.

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Face-to-face Video B2B Closing 220

The Pipeline

NOVEMBER 14, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. It has been a long hard year; you deserve to do something special for yourself. Not a guilty pleasure, but the gift of continuous sales success. Join us for a special Holiday Edition of the Proactive Prospecting Program , December 1 – 2. Like everything else this year – it’s Virtual! That’s right, you don’t even have to leave your home to improve your prospecting, sales, and overall success.

Prospecting 369

Prospecting Buyer Revenue Pipeline 369

The Pipeline

OCTOBER 23, 2020

Overcoming Call Reluctance. _. Wed, Oct 28, 2020 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT. _. Cold calling is not dead, but it is losing the battle to call reluctance. Call reluctance is not new but is losing the propaganda war to less effective means of engaging with prospective buyers. The reasons for call reluctance are also not new, they are: Lack of Process.

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Cold Calling Pipeline System Prospecting 241

The Pipeline

OCTOBER 20, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. You know just because you can throw a football does not mean you can tackle the opponent’s linebacker. Sure both the lineman and quarterbacks are on the same team, with two completely different skill sets. No one would expect one to play like the other, or have a similar attitude to the other. Yet in sales, we want to pretend that we can in fact do that.

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Prospecting Survey Video Sales 298

The Pipeline

OCTOBER 6, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. It took a lot to convince people that smoking was bad for them. And rather than responding to reason, most had to be scared in to quitting. So, I thought I would try a similar approach for those who don’t like sales numbers. I still find it difficult to believe that people are still debating whether sales is a numbers game or not.

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Sales Video Prospecting 250

The Pipeline

OCTOBER 3, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. While selling has always been personal, it is that much more so since the arrival of COVID 19. More than ever to succeed we need to think Human-to-Human is you are in B2B. This requires you to rethink your message as much as the delivery. Contact with colleagues, friends, and family is impacting how we do everything including buying and selling.

Distribution 385

Distribution Webinar Metrics Video B2B 385

The Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. Can we agree that despite many claims to the contrary, there is no single proven method for continuous success in B2B sales? One that has proven itself in varied markets and real-world challenges. No matter what argument you may counter with, the fact you’re willing to discuss proves it doesn’t exist. That’s neither good nor bad, but an honest way to start looking at a real problem is sales today.

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Hiring Fashion Facebook Pivotal 286

The Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 15, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. I always say that time is fixed and the only nonrenewable resource, but with skill and will you can bend it a little. In the video below I share how to help patterns in activities to help the prospect ignore their own objection. Unless you are selling a pure commodity, this will help you get more prospects now, and buyers later. [link].

Objections 383

Objections Video Resources Buyer 383

The Pipeline

AUGUST 25, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. In yesterday’s pos t, I looked at the validity of thinking that there is the best time or best day to prospect. I also suggested two steps you can take to begin optimizing your prospecting time while reducing the total time required. I mentioned I would share a video looking at what you can do with the data to initiate an improvement and development plan.

Prospecting 255

Prospecting Video Data 255

The Pipeline

AUGUST 24, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. I have a lot of empathy for pundits in a subjective undefined area of practice, like prospecting for example. Making proclamations, spinning data, presenting speculation as fact , only to be undercut by facts. But why let the issue be clouded by facts when there is a waiting public ready to consume. A great example of this Greek-like tragedy, is the never-ending debate about the best day to make prospecting calls?

Call-back 290

Call-back Pipeline Face-to-face Video 290

The Pipeline

AUGUST 18, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. There is a lot of talk among the pundits about how to make your prospecting communication more personal. Sure they talk about that, then quickly switch to personalization, hoping you wouldn’t notice. It gets even sadder when you realize what some experts mean when they personalization. Some may think it is a good use of time to personalize things in a way buyers can see through.

Video 258

Video Up-Sell Buyer Prospecting 258

The Pipeline

JULY 29, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. Nothing points to a lack of consensus on a topic than a myriad of alternative opinions. If there were two or three altering opinions, you can sort of pick camps to be safe. But when there is a multitude of opinions or options, the only sure thing is that no one knows. Like a broken clock, we are bound to right twice a day. Voicemail is a great example in sales, there are as many opinions as there are pundits.

Buyer 289

Buyer Prospecting Call-back Cold Calling 289

The Pipeline

JUNE 22, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. There are a lot of blurred lines in business and sales, leading to blurred conversations, and longer sales cycles. One blur is the line between who is a buyer and who is a prospect. Assuming buyers and prospects are the same and the words interchangeable perhaps explains the output numbers year after year. You need to accept that prospects are not buyers, which is a good thing for us.

Buyer 272

Buyer Prospecting Advertising Advertising 272

The Pipeline

JUNE 18, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. Urgency is always a battle cry at sales meetings, one on one or the team. As though creating urgency was like adding volume, “turn it up, let them hear you mean business.” While there is no escaping the logic and allure of leveraging urgency, trying to create it fraught with risk for sellers. Careful what you wish for, creating the wrong sense of urgency may just accelerate unwanted outcomes, like losses.

Discount 297

Discount Quota Face-to-face Margin 297

The Pipeline

JUNE 3, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. Now that almost all of North America is back on the path to complete reopening, the hype machine is about to go into overdrive. As people ascend from their quarantine, fix up their hair, and realize their sales, or specifically quota retirement, needs attention. The tendency will be to go to all the usual sources, usually determined by volume, not quality.

Sage 361

Sage Airlines Enterprise Enterprise 361

The Pipeline

MAY 29, 2020

Friday, May 29, 2020, 7:30 AM – LinkedIn Live. Andrew Jenkins. Connections Matter More Now Than Ever: . It’s not about just increased social selling activities but IMPROVED social selling. People are now part of a bit of a captive audience but that doesn’t mean you can shortcut to a close. Building relationships still matter. HOW TO VIEW.

Social Selling 284

Social Selling LinkedIn Closing How To 284

The Pipeline

MAY 13, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. We are all familiar with the concept of buyer’s remorse. It is the feeling of regret after a purchase, which usually grows with the value and importance of the purchase. Usually, these fade as the solution is implemented and some of the expected changes and benefits present themselves. Some sellers cope with this challenge better than others, many are about to experience their own form of regrets, namely Sellers’ Remorse.

Outsourcing Services 279

Outsourcing Services Real Estate Ideal Customer Profile Objections 279

The Pipeline

APRIL 6, 2020

This Week’s Guest – Laurent Amar. We sat down with Laurent a little before the outbreak of COVID 19, but I think you’ll find his comments and insights useful in the current climate. Laurent Ama r is VP of Sales at CMiC, and a consummate solution seller and leader. Having led and lived through the migration to the cloud, Amar talks with host Tibor Shanto about the difference (and the similarities) of selling in the cloud.

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Video Sales Opportunity Prospecting 272

The Pipeline

MARCH 16, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. “Starve your distractions, feed your focus.” — Daniel Goleman. I had to sit back and think hard about how to jump into the stream of pundit babble about COVID 19. We must acknowledge the reality of the event, and the impact on our families, friends, colleagues, clients, employees and the business. While the world around us has indeed altered, our reaction can and should, extend from our current sales approach and process.

Objections 310

Objections SME Lead Rank Lead Scoring 310

The Pipeline

MARCH 3, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. Change is a constant , it’s all around us, and it’s hard; keeping up is a continual challenge. And while change does bring good, you know what they say about too much of a good thing? Yet we, pundits and leaders, ask people to take on more change every day. Salespeople are asked to change themselves, change how and who they deal with, change the focus of their conversations, and more.

Face-to-face 362

Face-to-face Pipeline ROI Training 362

The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 20, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. I see many salespeople march through the first quarter, heads down working their plan. As we all know, Q1 is pivotal; as it goes, usually, the others will follow. Precisely why I think we should be much more hands-on with our pipeline in Q1. It is not too early to consider spring cleaning. We should flush our pipelines a lot earlier in the year than most will want to.

Referrals 274

Referrals Pipeline Decision Maker Pivotal 274

The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 18, 2020

By Tibor Shanto. No joke, I think people in sales and the industries around it, need to lighten up a bit. I know sales is a high-stake endeavour, but it gets that much more difficult if you forget to laugh. It’s one thing to take the activity seriously, it’s another to take oneself too seriously. The same people who will tell you people buy from people are quick to forget one of the most human of attributes, humor.

ACT 335

ACT Face-to-face Buyer Compensation 335

The Pipeline

DECEMBER 3, 2019

By Tibor Shanto. Every trade has schtick, specific things that they think they are expected to say or do. It is as though absent the schtick; you are not as expert as you claim. Sales, and the corner my fellow pundits and I occupy is no different. The right schtick helps uncover and align expectations, frame discussions, and lead to measurable progress.

Decision Maker 293

Decision Maker Face-to-face Buyer Sales 293

The Pipeline

NOVEMBER 21, 2019

By Tibor Shanto. People always ask what tools to use to track opportunities , which dashboards give you the best views and indicators. My favorite is still your pipeline. It may be low tech but it is effective. Has everything you need and no more. No more distractions no more wasted efforts. There is no doubt about it, your pipeline is your best dashboard.

Pipeline 43

Pipeline Webinar Metrics Buyer Tools 43

The Pipeline

NOVEMBER 5, 2019

By Tibor Shanto. Commodity, the word is like Kryptonite for salespeople, say it out loud, and you can see their social status and sales erode. Somehow over the years, the word has come to be something negative in sales. The implication becomes that it is low value, easy to undercut on price, delivers few loyal customers, and generally undesired. The implication being that the only way to win is by price, with the winning move being to lower it.

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Wireless SalesForce Fashion Call-back 240