Understanding the Sales Force

OCTOBER 23, 2023

I could go on and on but today, those were the first three examples, and most obvious three examples that were top of mind. You are calling on a prospect who loves your competitor. Compliment your prospect on their decision making. Something is likely to disappoint your prospect. iPhone vs. Android. Trump versus Biden.

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Account How To Face-to-face Call-back 203

The Pipeline

AUGUST 24, 2020

I have a lot of empathy for pundits in a subjective undefined area of practice, like prospecting for example. A great example of this Greek-like tragedy, is the never-ending debate about the best day to make prospecting calls? Many will tell you that their data has pinpointed the best day and time to make prospecting calls.

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Call-back Pipeline Face-to-face Video 290

Understanding the Sales Force

NOVEMBER 29, 2023

And every Monday night I wheel two big trash barrels down to the bottom of the long driveway and repeat the process in reverse on Tuesday nights. As much as I hate trash time, my feelings about email are even more negative. I get around 600 of these shitty emails each month and two cold calls. I’ll tell you why.

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Meeting Cold Calling Outbound Inbound 193

Mr. Inside Sales

JANUARY 8, 2021

Two weeks into the New Year, and are you already stressed about picking up the phone and making prospecting calls? I learned a secret years ago that enabled me to overcome my fear of making calls, and that allowed me to make hundreds of cold calls stress-free. Imagine that…. That’s just the way it’s going to go. That’s right.

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Face-to-face Cold Calling Gatekeeper Decision Maker 313

The Pipeline

JULY 14, 2020

Anything worth doing is worth doing right, and in sales, telephone prospecting is something worth doing and doing right. And like with other hits, everyone piles on, including the pundits, all sharing how they feel about the phone and prospecting. Let’s look at telephone prospecting by the numbers. By Tibor Shanto.

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Prospecting ACT Quota Lead Rank 430

Understanding the Sales Force

NOVEMBER 22, 2019

This is not a political article but I will use the impeachment hearings as an example to set the stage for my insights. Currently in the USA there are 3 major schools of thought relative to the impeachment hearings: Most Democrats and Liberals: "We hate Trump and we want to see him impeached.".

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Relationals Opportunity Examples Sales 177

Hubspot Sales

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

“I hate sales.” From tracking down new prospects to qualifying leads, sales requires ongoing and concerted efforts to see success. So you might just hate sales, but it’s not all bad news. If you find yourself struggling to focus on anything but the fact that you have to work the next day, you might just hate your job.

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Cold Calling How To Hiring Travel 104

Mr. Inside Sales

SEPTEMBER 23, 2022

So many sales reps hate hearing NO. I realized a long time ago that I was going to get a lot more no’s than I was yes’s. I realized a long time ago that I was going to get a lot more no’s than I was yes’s. In fact, constant rejection is the number one reason most sales reps dislike sales. It isn’t.).

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Face-to-face Gatekeeper Decision Maker Licensing 156

Partners in Excellence

APRIL 25, 2024

This seems to dominate so much of the conversation I see. But this thinking drives our focus on MQLs, SQLs and massive prospecting efforts. Let’s say, for both organizations they qualify 1 out of every 10 opportunities they prospect. There’s a flawed assumption I made in the analysis above.

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Top of Funnel Funnel Sales Qualified Lead Leads 77

Understanding the Sales Force

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

My wife and I have been known to binge-watch a TV series now and then, and this weekend, we watched the first three seasons of The Chosen. I’ve written hundreds of articles with analogies to sales using athletes, musicians, actors, CEOs, politicians, inventors, songs, movies, TV Shows and their leading characters.

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Scale Hiring Coaching Promotion 182

The Pipeline

JULY 7, 2021

Full disclosure, I came from the sales is a numbers game camp. While it is safe to say I have evolved, I have not abandoned my “sales is a numbers game” friends. As mentioned, I was a flag bearer for the “numbers” team. No doubt we all want greater quality prospects, than just more things in the pipeline.

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Discount Quota Sports Objections 361

The Pipeline

NOVEMBER 19, 2020

Your prospects sure don’t! What really counts in the real world (you know where sales are made), is the prospects’ and clients’ perception and definition of value. What really counts in the real world (you know where sales are made), is the prospects’ and clients’ perception and definition of value. By Tibor Shanto.

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Lead Rank Lead Scoring Margin SME 398

Sales 2.0

NOVEMBER 21, 2023

In my last post I was ranting about how I hate proposals. I highly recommend not spending your time generating beautiful documents for every person that says, “send me a proposal”. It’s a surefire way to eliminate your prospecting time and have a sick pipeline.

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Proposal Hiring Decision Maker Case Study 150

Partners in Excellence

MARCH 12, 2024

.” Another thing struck me: “And I love what professional selling is not. Why I Love Sales Dave, I found your question very thought provoking. Why I Love Sales Dave, I found your question very thought provoking. As I pondered my response, I arrived at several reasons why I love Sales.

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Face-to-face Sports Territories Forecasting 112

No More Cold Calling

DECEMBER 30, 2021

I dropped the ball this year, and I confessed to my mistake in my November blog post: “I Was Neglecting My Customer Relationships. ” I was too distracted with other activities like social media, emails, writing articles, watching football, and yes, sometimes, Facebook. I admit those were excuses.

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Referrals Small Business Small Business Cold Calling 194

The Pipeline

DECEMBER 14, 2021

You know I am not a big proponent of looking for pain, as it leads to much fewer valuable conversation. Bu in this instance, last two week of the year, I am open to exploring a pain or a need, a very specific one. Remember the prospect has had 9 months or so to learn to hate the incumbent or their choice.

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Objections Face-to-face Quota Pipeline 188

The Pipeline

JUNE 23, 2020

I understand why people do not like cold calling, I don’t like it either, I just make the connection between my next call and my next beach holiday. If you read my stuff you know I don’t shy away from cold calling, but smart calling is so much better. When I pick a sales book, I want actionable insights.

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Cold Calling Call-back Face-to-face Top of Funnel 250

Partners in Excellence

JANUARY 22, 2022

All my news feeds are filled with guru’s talking about how much customers hate certain sales approaches. Some of the most fashionable are: Cold calling, prospecting, any kind of email, social channels, pitches, sales people, …… The lists go on and on. Oh, but they hate that too! The post “Customers hate….[Fill

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Customer Cold Calling Fashion Channels 82

Mr. Inside Sales

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

Before you get on your high horse and tell me you wouldn’t be caught dead using a script, consider: If I were to record your prospecting and demo calls for a week, and then transcribe what you say, what would I get? Your prospects will trust you more, and you’ll appear more professional. And prospects like that! #2:

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Face-to-face Hiring Sales Qualified Lead Gatekeeper 258

The Pipeline

MAY 8, 2018

I do a lot of work with organizations trying to improve their prospecting, and the piece they look to from me is the telephone component of a robust prospecting routine. Most people hate voice-mail, due to a deadly combination: 80% or more calls made will go to voice-mail. By Tibor Shanto. One Of Sale’s Ironies.

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Inbound Call-back Cold Calling Objections 268

Sales and Marketing Management

JUNE 25, 2018

Author: Tony Hughes You may be struggling thinking, "What on Earth am I doing, I hate this job!". I know, you fell into sales, and perhaps from there, sales management. I think of what powers me to prevent burnout and I think of these five words. How do I stay fired up when I prospect?

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B2B Banking Conference Decision Maker 319

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 29, 2023

I celebrated a milestone this month. It’s been 27 years since I founded No More Cold Calling. Isn’t it time you considered a prospecting approach that delivers double-digit results and eliminates your competition? I told them they needed to talk to Joanne Black immediately.” Is it working? But almost no one does.

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Referrals Channels Cold Calling Scale 177

The Pipeline

NOVEMBER 15, 2020

I know it sounds odd, who the hell can you reach on Sunday ? Not the right question, reaching someone is a single point on a continuous prospecting journey. The question that should consume your focus is: “What can I do at every point to maximize every point along the way to always keep my pipeline full?”. By Tibor Shanto.

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Prospecting Call-back Quota Objections 241

Understanding the Sales Force

JUNE 20, 2023

Last week, I wrote about how the criteria you use to choose your all-time favorite songs is essentially the same as the criteria your prospects use to choose between you and a competitor. Today, I am continuing the music analogy, but this time, as it relates to motivational tools. Until yesterday. Those all make great rewards.

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Motivation Pipeline Hiring How To 156

Understanding the Sales Force

MAY 23, 2017

Back in the 20th century, when I first started cold calling, I hated it so much that I vowed to become so good at it that I could reach my new appointment goal in an hour instead of the 6 hours it was taking each day. Cold calling doesn't work. Cold calling is a waste of time. True if you suck at it.

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Cold Calling Meeting Prospecting Call-back 232

The Pipeline

APRIL 2, 2019

As though that was some form of barrier or obstacle or a reason for not leveraging the phone in your sales and prospecting success. I have to work extra hard not to laugh when a seller tells me that “their first contact has to be direct!” What they really mean is they want to be able to talk to the prospect live; to which I ask Why?

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Face-to-face Call-back Case Study Banking 300

The Sales Hunter

MAY 14, 2019

You cannot afford to waste your time with prospects that will not become your customers. All prospects are not the same. What I mean by this is that the prospects in their pipeline are only doing one thing: plugging things up. So, here’s the first question: is the prospect asking you great questions?

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SalesGenie Prospecting eBook Lead Rank 237

The Pipeline

MARCH 21, 2019

I hate objections, and I bet you don’t wake up looking to be rejected first thing in the morning, and then have to work the rest of the day. As with most things in prospecting and sales is the same, to develop a routine you can and willingly implement. By Tibor Shanto.

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Objections Handbook Lead Rank Energy 310

Sales Gravy

DECEMBER 16, 2021

“God, when I cross the truth, give me the awareness to receive it the consciousness to recognize it the presence to personalize it the patience to preserve it and the courage to live it.” ? The number one reason for an empty pipeline is the failure to prospect every day, every day, every day. This is the truth.

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Prospecting Decision Maker Call-back Social Media 113

A Sales Guy

JUNE 16, 2021

Yes, I said the CRM. Stay with me, it will all make sense when I’m done here. I took a poll on Linked in and asked if a salesperson could be good if they didn’t use the CRM. Salespeople are notorious for hating the CRM. Sales management is equally infamous for making the CRM a tool the salespeople hate.

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CRM Fashion Face-to-face System 163

Zoominfo

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

I hate the Dog Days of Summer excuse – it always felt like a cheap way for an underperforming sales rep to make an excuse for a slow month. What your sales rep is really saying is that many of their prospects and customers are out-of-office (OOO) — more so than any other time of the year. You get it.

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Demand Generation Targets Demand Generation Sports Trends 189

Marc Wayshak

APRIL 7, 2022

In these scenarios, salespeople have usually done something that turns the prospect off —but they never get feedback, and so they have no idea what they did wrong. That’s why I made this video to show you the 10 things sales prospects hate about you …or most salespeople, anyway. Sales prospects hate super high enthusiasm.

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Prospecting Discount Intent Closing 62

Alice Heiman

DECEMBER 15, 2021

If you know me (and if not, I hope you’ll get to!), you know how much I love supporting female founders. They are not always easy to find, and there are still far too few, but the ones I have talked to are so inspirational.? . What I love about Kate Bradley Chernis ,? Everyone Hates Writing . Click to tweet.

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Face-to-face Retail Social Media Video 114

Partners in Excellence

JANUARY 4, 2024

Whether it is the wording of the title of a prospecting email. Or it might be the formula for the sequence and timing of touches in your prospecting. Today, I read something, from a very smart guy, declaring, “Long form is dead, short form is the only thing that works.” I’ll stop my rant here.

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Ideal Customer Profile Guidelines Lead Rank Lead Scoring 95

Anthony Cole Training

JULY 28, 2014

Today, let’s talk about effective prospecting. At Anthony Cole Training, we have a program called The Rules and Gottas of Prospecting. I must honestly tell you that there is a fine line between a rule and a gotta and it gets a little fuzzy sometimes. 1) You don’t have to LIKE prospecting; you just have to do it. –

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Prospecting ACT eBook Up-Sell 199

Adaptive Business Services

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

This might occur during prospecting and then roll all the way through to the conclusion of the deal. However, I still remember one specific deal. I did get that sale. When I asked the customer why he chose me, he told me that “I was the only salesperson left”. I also took a lesson from that experience.

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Account Positioning Opportunity Prospecting 71

Mr. Inside Sales

NOVEMBER 24, 2019

Don’t you hate when this happens? You felt like you had a really qualified and interested prospect, set the demo call, looked forward to what you thought was for sure your next sale, and…. Here are three proven scripts you can use the next time your prospect tells you “I looked it over and I’m not interested….

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Gatekeeper Face-to-face eBook How To 158