The Pipeline

JUNE 17, 2021

What hypothesis I am proposing is this: Ambition is key – investing energy in low balling targets will hurt you in the long run. Psychological Safety is important to team performance. It relates directly to how goals, targets and quotas are set and hit.

Top of Funnel 352

Top of Funnel Quota Proposal Lead Rank 352

The Pipeline

JUNE 19, 2017

Every day you are focused on things that are driving deals, allowing you to leverage not just the energy in your prospecting, but the things your buyers responding to positively are the very things you can use in your prospecting. Just as they can smell fear, they can sense and respond to success.

Prospecting 224

Prospecting Pipeline Energy Forecasting 224

The Pipeline

AUGUST 31, 2021

If your inbox and your routines or flows are not synched, you’ll waste time and energy that could be put to better use. At minimum, ensure that you see things you need to so you can act, while not losing sight of secondary things. Use labels, sub boxes, rules, templates and anything that let’s you be agile and responsive. Try Something New.

Harvest 360

Harvest Referrals Call-back Video 360

The Pipeline

DECEMBER 6, 2013

Finding ourselves unsure of the depth of a given threat (an opportunity to be bold), we revert to the instinct of energy preservation. Our primal brain assures us: “Hey, I’m just preserving my energy in case a greater threat comes along.”. It’s a survival technique. There is a built-in justification for doing so.

Energy 322

Energy Twitter Course Research 322

The Pipeline

MARCH 21, 2019

The goal is to understand and develop means of dealing with the inevitable, not waste time or energy trying to avoid. As with most things in prospecting and sales is the same, to develop a routine you can and willingly implement.

Objections 310

Objections Handbook Lead Rank Energy 310

The Pipeline

AUGUST 30, 2013

Beyond their energy level, I came to see why kids are the best sales people on the planet. Once I adjusted for the noise level and energy I began to notice their sales skills come to the fore. So it was refreshing to spend some time with some so five to seven year olds last week.

Energy 308

Energy Intent ACT Up-Sell 308

The Pipeline

JUNE 18, 2019

He insisted that any energy, time, anything at all, directed away from Plan A, is foolishly squandered. Whether you measure time, or energy or any quantifiable resource, it is easy to understand why Plan B can be a resource suck. The B in Plan B is For Bad. Same goal, different experience. Plan B is a Luxury.

Resources 252

Resources Energy Commission Exercises 252

The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 17, 2014

Rather than spending energy to pinpoint the ultimate time to call, use that energy to create quality talking points for when you connect. Unless you are doing something specific and measurable to realize revenue, (a retweet does not count), the best time to prospect is now.

Prospecting 312

Prospecting Cold Calling Top of Funnel Call-back 312

The Pipeline

MAY 9, 2012

The pressures of an empty pipeline are immense, regardless of the cause, it is a lot like falling behind early in the game, then using all you energy and skill to catch up, but not enough energy to put it away. Discount means lesser margins, less reinvestment opportunity for your company, and more.

Top of Funnel 282

Top of Funnel Discount Funnel Face-to-face 282

The Pipeline

JANUARY 28, 2013

Even if it gets done later, it lacks the urgency and energy of a call made right there and then. This kind of energy is just electric over the phone, the prospects feel your excitement and get caught up in the moment along with you. Waiting has a lot of risk. First and foremost, is the call not getting done.

Energy 256

Energy Call-back Quota Follow-up 256

The Pipeline

MAY 25, 2012

Many sales people, managers and sales leaders spend a lot of time and energy worrying about “buyers’ objections”; making this even a worse problem, is the fact that much of that time and energy is spent on trying to avoid “buyers’ objections” Realistically however, there is only one way to avoid objections, it works (..)

Objections 302

Objections Buyer Energy Face-to-face 302

The Pipeline

DECEMBER 31, 2012

It is hard for some of us to understand why this is, and why these two groups of professionals seem to expend more energy not doing things, things they are paid to do, especially since they would have to actually expend less energy if in fact they did execute.

Energy 241

Energy Territories Exercises Groups 241

The Pipeline

MARCH 3, 2020

They have invested time and energy learning things, and now we turn? The more you work at getting rid of the bad the greater likelihood the ‘new good’ will hold. This starts by helping reps understand why what you asked them to do now needs to change.

Face-to-face 362

Face-to-face Pipeline ROI Training 362

The Pipeline

APRIL 16, 2019

The advent unlimited calling eliminated that, no need to waste energy time thinking about as you talk all day long. There is a reason why successful salespeople seem less wound up: they do not have the quota stress. Unlike the masses, they have eliminated it. Remember when we about cell phone overages, now we don’t.

Quota 236

Quota Real Estate Pipeline Ideal Customer Profile 236

The Pipeline

APRIL 2, 2012

As soon as a prospect is closed, we seem to show them a different level of love, or energy than we did when that same prospect was a fresh new lead. But once on the shelf, they do not get the same attention as those opportunities in the early stages of the sales cycle.

Prospecting 267

Prospecting Sales Cycle Energy Policies 267

The Pipeline

NOVEMBER 2, 2017

You can sense the energy of anticipation that is going into every element of the planning, and ensuring that the trip lives up to everything they imagined and more.

Travel 253

Travel Margin Buyer Exercises 253

The Pipeline

OCTOBER 24, 2019

It’s hard to confidently go down the rabbit hole when your nerves and energy are consumed, keeping their planned flow on track. Recognizing them, picking them up, polishing to suit your needs, all takes time and effort. All meetings require time, so let’s look at the effort.

Prospecting 205

Prospecting Training SME ROI 205

The Pipeline

OCTOBER 23, 2017

The emotional rollercoaster, the misspent energy, all avoided by setting an appointment with themselves to secure appointments with their next big client. If the distraction or “client emergency” does not happen, then you have time in the bank for other high-value activities, like maybe prospecting.

Banking 268

Banking Sales Qualified Lead Proposal Quota 268

The Pipeline

MARCH 8, 2013

Instead they need to be taking the time, energy and resources and deal with things that they can actually change and impact. To be clear, this is not about the usual reluctance to change, this is about taking accountability for do what needs to be done, and doing it.

Face-to-face 300

Face-to-face Account Energy Groups 300

The Pipeline

AUGUST 21, 2018

There is no denying that summer brings a different rhythm and energy to sales. Sales cycles are no strangers to cyclicality and seasonal swings. Summer shutdowns”, retooling, Christmas, and of course summer. Vacations, kids out of school, longer sunnier days (where did I put that beer?), these are but a few contributing factors.

Energy 79

Energy Decision Maker Objections Face-to-face 79

The Pipeline

MAY 18, 2017

This unbridled optimism and energy works great when you have a willing audience, say a play, where the audience comes with interest and openness to the message. That however is not the reality of a prospecting call, or dare I say, cold call; enthusiasm is not enough, in fact can be your undoing.

Prospecting 205

Prospecting Infusion Cold Calling Demographics 205

The Pipeline

DECEMBER 29, 2016

Contrary to what some may think, I think the prudent course is to avoid playing the game, and spend the time and energy prospecting for potential buyers who are willing to engage based on merit, not the need to justify a purchase from someone other than you. You can take steps to either avoid playing the game, or play it to disrupt and win.

Vendor 211

Vendor Call-back Buyer Energy 211

The Pipeline

MARCH 3, 2014

So why they would have wasted time and energy pursuing me is beyond me, but they did, and here is how it unfolded. To begin with, I or anyone in my company, has no absolute need for their “solution”. Yet another example of “solution selling” gone bad, unleashing a rep who runs around the country side looking for a problem.

Inbound 287

Inbound Outbound Follow-up Energy 287

The Pipeline

DECEMBER 9, 2013

Not the need, but the realization, the acceptance, and the energy in realizing that they can in fact achieve their objectives, and achieve them with your help. That’s the realization takes someone from status quo, the majority of the market, to engaged prospect. Without realization, there is no need. What’s in Your Pipeline? Tibor Shanto.

Sales Qualified Lead 275

Sales Qualified Lead Objections Energy Pipeline 275

The Pipeline

JUNE 1, 2017

Telephone prospecting is hard, in fact so hard that most people spend a disproportionate amount of time and energy trying to avoid it. By Tibor Shanto – tibor.shanto@sellbetter.ca .

Objections 180

Objections Fashion Energy Prospecting 180

The Pipeline

JULY 10, 2017

The change in outcome does not always mean a closed deal, but saved time, energy and refocus on better opportunities in your pipeline. Would have been helpful had you had an inclination earlier in the sale, when you may have been able to change the outcome.

Closing 198

Closing Vendor Energy Pipeline 198

The Pipeline

AUGUST 21, 2014

So as long as it is legal, moral, and helps both you and your buyer, invest your energy in building your abilities. Think in your own life of a time when you had a real breakthrough, I bet like me, as soon as the breakthrough takes place, we never see what all the fuss, fear and reluctance was in advance. What’s in Your Pipeline?

ROI 303

ROI Face-to-face Buyer Energy 303

The Pipeline

FEBRUARY 24, 2014

If you read this blog regularly, you know that I have pointed out that salespeople and sales organizations spend too much time and energy trying to avoid objections, when they should be spending time on learning to deal with them, redirect and leverage them to move the sale forward. By Tibor Shanto - tibor.shanto@sellbetter.ca.

Margin 256

Margin Objections Cold Calling Handbook 256

The Pipeline

AUGUST 20, 2015

In some it denotes those spend their time and energy making excuses as to why they are not succeeding. The goal was to be disruptive and shake things up from within, creating a nervous energy that one can never get from threats or heavy handed approaches. By Tibor Shanto – tibor.shanto@sellbetter.ca .

Hiring 120

Hiring Energy Commission Buyer 120

The Pipeline

NOVEMBER 3, 2014

Each rejection is like a blow, whether we overcome them or not, they consume effort, energy and they take their toll, much like a blow in any athlete in any contact sport. We face rejection from prospects we lose, and from those we actually win, in fact we win by overcoming rejection.

Face-to-face 288

Face-to-face Sports Objections Territories 288

The Pipeline

AUGUST 2, 2013

A good coach has energy that is contagious and persuasive. Model the kind of positive energy you want to see. This will give you insight into what motivates them. Be perceptive. When your intuition kicks in—and it will! Be energetic. Be focused. Be trustworthy.

Sales Management 257

Sales Management Hiring Inside Sales Cold Calling 257

The Pipeline

MARCH 20, 2013

As you work with them you quickly realize that they spend all their time, energy and creativity stacking things, rather than combining the right elements to succeed in selling. We have all met that rep who has read the latest best seller, attended the most up-to-date Sales 8.0

Quota 288

Quota Guarantee Conference Energy 288

The Pipeline

OCTOBER 3, 2012

Habits are life long, tasks are onetime events, requiring different preparation, different energy. The goal, and if you talk to people who are successful telephone prospectors, is to change a chore into a habit. By adopting a habit you don’t get bogged down in the rituals one has to go through to complete a task.

Energy 282

Energy Pipeline Prospecting Groups 282

The Pipeline

AUGUST 14, 2017

I have spoken to many peers who see a similar reaction, reps spending time and energy defending something that is not under attack, leaving one to wonder what’s going on. It seems that many are looking for validation of what they are doing, and how they are doing it, while ignoring new elements they could benefit from.

Face-to-face 194

Face-to-face Quota Commission Energy 194

The Pipeline

NOVEMBER 12, 2012

Many of the wannabes spend more time and energy avoiding change and improvement than trying to figure out how to hit goal. Their most common refrain or push back is “well that’s just common sense”. If so then why do we not see evince of these sellers doing what seems to be just common sense?

Decision Maker 264

Decision Maker Call-back Energy Account 264

The Pipeline

SEPTEMBER 6, 2013

This leave pipelines full of names that some mistake for real opportunities, and end up consuming time and energy before we realize that all hope had left these “opportunities” soon after they were parked, or often even before.

Pipeline 276

Pipeline Sales Qualified Lead ACT Call-back 276

The Pipeline

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

While that is not the worst thing, what is, is when sellers then spend a disproportionate time of energy, emotion and time, trying to get the sale based on the logic of the fit. We have all seen scenarios where despite all the right elements being in place, there is no sale.

ACT 253

ACT Ideal Customer Profile Policies Buyer 253