No More Cold Calling

SEPTEMBER 12, 2013

Instead of letting your buyers be judge and jury, make them your partners in “crime.”. We both have extensive sales experience, so we committed to learning from each other. When I read her new book, Conversations That Sell , I was reminded of sales techniques I had forgotten. Does this ever happen to you? Focus on Collaboration.

Buyer 219

Buyer Small Business Small Business Enterprise 219

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 26, 2021

I wrote that in 2013, back when virtual sales meetings weren’t the only option. We’ve had to make do with virtual sales meetings, and that has affected many B2B sales pros’ ability to access new customers and to make real-world connections. The Problem with Virtual Sales Meetings. But not referral sellers.

Sales Meeting 287

Sales Meeting Meeting Referrals Face-to-face 287

No More Cold Calling

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

He is a sales stalker—someone who blasts out dozens of invites and then lies in wait, ready to pounce with an unwelcome sales pitch the moment anyone responds. Like Mark, many sales stalkers are too lazy to even personalize their invitations and just use the automated verbiage: “Please join my professional network.”

Referrals 177

Referrals Cold Calling Lead Rank Lead Scoring 177

No More Cold Calling

JANUARY 13, 2022

I understand that predictive analysis tools can be accurate at forecasting business trends and sales performance. Astrologers, business analysts, and sales “experts” all tend to focus on hopeful outcomes that aren’t always grounded in reality. Hopeful outcomes sound like this: Sales and marketing will learn to play nice.

Trends 356

Trends Margin Cold Calling Outbound 356

No More Cold Calling

JANUARY 27, 2022

The research is clear: Diversity drives sales. Diverse sales teams can make more meaningful connections with your increasingly diverse customer base. They bring different experiences to the table, learn from one another, and help you understand how to target harder-than-ever-to-reach buyers. 12% higher sales attainment.

Research 257

Research Benefit Hiring Demographics 257

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 15, 2021

Every sales leader says their #1 prospecting challenge is getting leads in the pipe. Considering half of the deals that are forecasted to close don’t, and customer retention has decreased as seller attrition increases, sales teams are facing yet another frustrating year if something doesn’t change. The same is true for our buyers.

Lead Gen 397

Lead Gen Sales Qualified Lead Leads Marketing Qualified Lead 397

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 11, 2024

It’s OK to double your price for PITA clients Every buyer isn’t your client. If buyers continue to make unreasonable demands and keep changing requests and deadlines—even after you’ve given them exactly what they need—then you’re dealing with PITA clients.

Referrals 156

Referrals Cold Calling Exact Energy 156

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 26, 2018

Sadly, that behavior continues in sales negotiations today. We’ve trained our buyers to expect discounts and that everything is negotiable. They know sales reps will make the best offers at the end of the quarter or at the end of our fiscal year, so they wait. Let’s call sales negotiations what it is: a failed sales technique.

Negotiation 237

Negotiation Referrals Lead Qualification Discount 237

No More Cold Calling

AUGUST 16, 2018

Buyers know everything about our companies, products, and solutions before they ever speak to a salesperson. Far too many sales reps do. Perhaps if what you’re doing isn’t working, new sales techniques are in order? McKinsey summarizes this challenge in “ The secret to making it in the digital sales world: The human touch.”

Fashion 219

Fashion Buying Cycle Social Media Survey 219

No More Cold Calling

DECEMBER 6, 2019

Cold calling is a duplicitous, disingenuous sales tactic. If you make 100 calls, you’ll talk to about 20 people, schedule 10 sales appointments, and if you’re lucky, close one new deal. Why would you bother with a sales system that gets such dismal results? Message to cold callers: Pestering strangers is NOT the way to prospect.

Cold Calling 365

Cold Calling Social Media Telemarketing Referrals 365

No More Cold Calling

MAY 24, 2018

If you’re researching the latest and greatest sales trends, you just might fall victim to the bright-shiny-object syndrome. Trends mean nothing unless you include your buyer in your research. Just because certain sales prospecting techniques are all the rage, doesn’t mean they’re right for you or for your buyer.

Prospecting 196

Prospecting Social Media Trends Face-to-face 196

No More Cold Calling

NOVEMBER 23, 2021

If virtual sales training was ever needed, this was the time. The importance of eye contact in sales (even virtual sales) can’t be overstated. Early on in the pandemic, there was a learning curve as we all adjusted to virtual sales meetings. Virtual sales is not going away, so I’d better up my game.

Video 289

Video Cold Calling Exercises Conference 289

No More Cold Calling

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

Are your buyers clamoring to talk to you? Why the sudden interest in referral sales? When the economy shrinks and companies cut budgets, buyers don’t want to talk to salespeople. Who are buyers going to talk to when they’re short on funds and stressed about the future of their organizations? Think about it. There it is.

Referrals 323

Referrals Sales Qualified Lead Marketing Qualified Lead Lead Generation 323

No More Cold Calling

DECEMBER 27, 2022

This article received a 2022 MVP Award from Sales Pro Central , putting me in the company of such strategic business writers as Dave Kurlan and Closer IQ. (Be NEWSFLASH: Buyer-Centric Sales Is NOT New. When I read about how sales has evolved to be buyer-centric and relationship-driven, I was ready to scream.

Referrals 156

Referrals Prospecting Lead Gen Cold Calling 156

No More Cold Calling

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

And why does taking these conversations offline give your sales team a competitive advantage? Simply put: You want to be sure the person you’re referring won’t embarrass you and jeopardize your relationship with the buyer. It’s not only presumptuous; it’s rude—and a big sales mistake. They get valuable sales intelligence.

Social Media 194

Social Media Referrals Media Lead Generation 194

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 8, 2017

I made the sale. It’s the job of account-based sales reps to make it easy for their prospects to buy, by making the intangible seem tangible. This is a lot tougher today, because buyers are already suffering from information overload. So, how can account-based sales teams sell complex solutions without overwhelming prospects?

Account 201

Account Travel Cold Calling Buyer 201

No More Cold Calling

MAY 14, 2020

He wrote: “We are now in a period where we can actually read the minds of your buyers. However, during a period of uncertainty and the resulting downturn, every customer, buyer, and human being is essentially thinking about the same three things.”. Featured image attribution: Julia M.

Prospecting 428

Prospecting Referrals Scale Sales Qualified Lead 428

No More Cold Calling

AUGUST 2, 2018

The odds might not be in your sales team’s favor … yet. I’ve interviewed many sales reps over the past two months, trying to better understand the challenges they face in today’s fast-paced, digital-first sales environment. A long sales cycle exacerbates the problem. That’s a real downer for sales reps.)

Data 297

Data Quota Trends Face-to-face 297

No More Cold Calling

JANUARY 5, 2021

It’s a new year and time for a fresh approach to sales. That’s why I’m introducing Back in the Black , my new monthly sales TV show on the Sales Experts Channel! I’ll cover a different sales topic each month to help you get comfortable asking clients for referrals. Think of it like watching the news.

Referrals 194

Referrals Cold Calling Call-back Social Media 194

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 16, 2020

Face Facts: The Client Is Not Always Right, and Your Sales Pitch Is Annoying. Buyers don’t trust salespeople, because many are arrogant and never stop pitching. In fact, just 18 percent of salespeople are classified by buyers as “trusted advisors” whom they respect, according to research by Steve W. In a word, it’s fidelity.

Face-to-face 434

Face-to-face Call-back Cold Calling Webinar Metrics 434

No More Cold Calling

MARCH 30, 2023

(Read “ Celebrating the Women on the Quarters 2023 ”) How to Win New Clients from Lost Deals I have been in B2B sales so long that I’ve probably forgotten more deals than I remember. Because I generate all my B2B sales leads through referrals, my relationships begin with trust and credibility already earned. I wasn’t surprised.

Referrals 156

Referrals Cold Calling Social Media Call-back 156

No More Cold Calling

JULY 5, 2018

My new LinkedIn sales training courses take out the guesswork! Getting meetings with decision-makers is an even greater struggle, because companies all look alike to buyers. Getting meetings with decision-makers is an even greater struggle, because companies all look alike to buyers. Sales: Referral Selling by Joanne Black.

Referrals 159

Referrals Prospecting Cold Calling Decision Maker 159

No More Cold Calling

DECEMBER 28, 2018

There’s a saying in B2B sales that people buy with emotion and justify with fact. Unless a buyer likes and trusts you, you won’t get the deal. Sales AI doesn’t have the same advantage. You’ve probably heard the “expert” predictions that technology will render salespeople obsolete, and sales AI will soon replace us.

Referrals 232

Referrals Cold Calling Inside Sales Enterprise 232

No More Cold Calling

JANUARY 24, 2019

How about a buyer who enjoyed receiving cold calls? percent of sales reps made quota last year. Cold calling doesn’t address the top two challenges that sales teams face. In fact, that’s why many buyers shy away from gated marketing content.). Cold calling is an outdated tactic that simply doesn’t work with modern buyers.

Cold Calling 269

Cold Calling Referrals Sales Qualified Lead Lead Generation 269

No More Cold Calling

MAY 3, 2018

At least 57 percent of the buying process is complete before buyers ever contact your company. Stats like this suggest that buyers don’t really need salespeople anymore—that we should just wait around for prospects to do their research and then call us when they’re ready to buy. What B2B Buyers Are Really Buying.

Lead Generation 270

Lead Generation Lead Rank Lead Scoring Leads 270

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 9, 2020

You’re the ultimate sales technology—and this is the ultimate sales conversations book. If there ever was a time for real, authentic sales conversations, it’s now. Do you know how to have that kind of sales conversations? Reps told me they didn’t need to have sales conversations. The phone works. INTRODUCTION.

Conversion 305

Conversion Face-to-face Social Media Referrals 305

No More Cold Calling

FEBRUARY 16, 2017

At least 67 percent of the buying process is complete before buyers ever contact your company. Believe that, and your account-based sales strategies are doomed from the start. The best account-based sales strategies aren’t reactive. Referrals Should Top Your List of Account-Based Sales Strategies. Big mistake!

Account 191

Account Strategy Cold Calling Referrals 191

No More Cold Calling

NOVEMBER 8, 2021

Your referral network is your net worth in sales. How can smart, experienced sales reps let their customer relationships wither? It was a pandemic, and businesses were struggling with managing remote sales teams and “pivoting” their focus to survive. What happened to me is what happens to so many sales teams.

Referrals 227

Referrals Customer Revelation Networking 227

No More Cold Calling

JULY 29, 2018

Not just your buyers, but from all the people you meet at client companies during the buying process? But you are the one who has developed relationships during the sales process. Why Referrals Cut Through the Sales Prospecting Noise. So, how do you cut through the noise and actually talk to your buyers? Forget closing.

Referrals 168

Referrals Sales Qualified Lead Leads Marketing Qualified Lead 168

No More Cold Calling

MAY 25, 2017

Account-based sales reps know better than to treat people that way in real life, so why treat people that way on social media? And considering account-based sales is all about relationships, perhaps a different approach is in order. When I first started out in sales some 27 years ago, we sent out mail shot letters.

Account 288

Account Social Media Social Selling Twitter 288

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 12, 2014

.” That’s a wise observation from an astute manager I worked for early on in my sales career. ” Some people say objections just mean buyers are interested. Others say prospects use objections to test your sales savvy or to see how you respond. This reduces and often eliminates major objections to the sale.

Objections 240

Objections Face-to-face Small Business Small Business 240

No More Cold Calling

NOVEMBER 5, 2013

You are the ultimate sales technology! As a buyer, I don’t care how your technology works until I know what it can do for my business. You use technology to facilitate your sales process—to conduct research , find referral sources, organize information, and provide buyers with valuable information. So what do you do?

Sales Technology 249

Sales Technology Small Business Small Business Enterprise 249

No More Cold Calling

OCTOBER 29, 2017

No, Halloween isn’t so scary, but account based sales can be. Sales leaders and their teams have lots of fears: “We have a quota looming over our heads. What if a buyer tells us her problem and then switches gears? Find out how in my blog posts from this month: Why Your Account Based Sales Team Will Never Be Good at Referrals.

Referrals 159

Referrals Cold Calling Webinar Metrics Direct Mail 159

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 15, 2017

I have been in B2B sales so long that I’ve probably forgotten more deals than I remember. It was 20 years ago, when I was working as an account-based sales rep , and I lost the biggest deal of my career. We were thought leaders; we had visibility; and the client loved our solution for advanced sales training.

Account 257

Account Referrals Sales Qualified Lead Lead Generation 257

No More Cold Calling

MARCH 31, 2021

Get over your sales slump with referral selling insights in my 2021 blog posts: The Phrase of the Year Is Seller Access. Why the sudden interest in referral sales? When the economy shrinks and companies cut budgets, buyers don’t want to talk to salespeople. Women Sales Leaders: From Pioneers to Modern-Day Trailblazers.

Referrals 371

Referrals Cold Calling Sales Qualified Lead Call-back 371

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 7, 2018

I’ve just returned from three conferences, and the #1 challenge I heard sales pros repeat again and again was how to get leads in the pipe. attain quota, and about 65 percent of sales reps in Europe do so. What sales leader would find these stats acceptable? We all look the same to our buyers. That’s a fact.

Referrals 276

Referrals Sales Qualified Lead Leads Marketing Qualified Lead 276

No More Cold Calling

MARCH 22, 2018

In sales, time is money, and the more of that time is spent interacting with customers and prospects, the more money comes in. Thus, sales enablement technology only works if it saves times on menial tasks and facilitates human conversations. Buyers and decision makers are people. The post Does Sales Enablement Technology Work?

Sales Enablement 135

Sales Enablement Decision Maker Cold Calling Guarantee 135