Mr. Inside Sales

MARCH 2, 2024

I’ve helped sales managers and business owners interview hundreds of potential sales reps over the years, and I’ve identified 3 top mistakes that virtually eliminate sales candidates on the spot! Study these 3 interviewing mistakes and make sure YOU don’t make them the next time you’re trying to land your next sales position.

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Understanding the Sales Force

MARCH 13, 2024

But lately, when I talk with the Kurlan & Associates team, the topic is consistently about salespeople who push back when our sales training and coaching is specific to RFPs. When you partner with those decision makers, they write you into the spec and/or dictate to procurement to whom the business must be awarded.

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Decision Maker Data Hiring Proposal 193

Mr. Inside Sales

FEBRUARY 2, 2024

The reason this is such a common objection is because your prospects have figured out it’s the best way to get sales reps to drop their price! Unless you question it and get clarification, your only fallback is to lower your price! Try these the next time you get this objection and watch your sales and conversion rate soar!

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No More Cold Calling

OCTOBER 1, 2021

I’m embarrassed by the bad sales behavior that blasts us every day. Obviously, I’ve never been a fan of cold calling, but now the uninvited sales pitches are multichannel. LinkedIn invitations to connect from people who immediately send you a sales pitch. Rude, rude, rude sales behavior. Sales Reps Not Closing Sales?

Referrals 316

Referrals Decision Maker Cold Calling Social Media 316

Mr. Inside Sales

FEBRUARY 19, 2024

Because of this, it fools many sales reps who think that perhaps after a week or two the prospect might actually buy. OR “To be honest, whenever I say I’m going to think about something, it usually means I’ve already made a decision to go with another option. That’s the only way to win a sale. But they rarely do.

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Face-to-face How To Gatekeeper Decision Maker 202

Mr. Inside Sales

JUNE 11, 2021

Sales people like to talk; if you don’t believe me, just listen to a recording of one of your reps (or of yourself!). Ask questions frequently of your prospect. Why do sales reps talk so much? In sales, less talking and more questioning and more listening is the key to success. This is a problem. Rewrite it.

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Mr. Inside Sales

APRIL 30, 2023

They pitch features and benefits instead of asking questions and qualifying. They talk over their prospects and generally learn very little about what it takes to close a sale. Solution: Ask questions and listen more. into your qualifying pitch and find your MUTE button. ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS!

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Sales Qualified Lead Face-to-face Gatekeeper Decision Maker 212

Mr. Inside Sales

AUGUST 18, 2023

Establishing rapport with a prospect in the very beginning is perhaps the most important first step to earning the right to have a conversation that might eventually lead to a sale. Get it wrong, and that could mean the end of your call—and your chance to make a sale. ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS! Then… BE BRIEF!

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Mr. Inside Sales

JANUARY 14, 2023

NOTE: While this article talks about using this technique as an interview question to determine what kind of sales rep you’re about to hire, it’s also a great technique for managers to use to diagnose what is wrong with reps who may not be hitting quote consistently. Let’s first look at how most sales reps go about doing it.

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Face-to-face Gatekeeper How To Sales Qualified Lead 254

Mr. Inside Sales

MARCH 22, 2021

More and more these days, decision makers hid behind their assistants or other influencers. Many sales reps get frustrated by this and often try to get past these very important people, thinking that only the decision maker is worth talking to. Question Three: “What other solutions are they considering right now?”.

Influencer 203

Influencer Decision Maker Face-to-face Gatekeeper 203

Understanding the Sales Force

AUGUST 21, 2023

Bookmark this article so that over time, if you want to improve your sales effectiveness, you can read more of the topics below: To shorten your sales process, differentiate, uncover compelling reasons to buy and create urgency, read articles on taking more of a consultative approach.

Hiring 156

Hiring Decision Maker Forecasting Face-to-face 156

Understanding the Sales Force

AUGUST 21, 2023

Bookmark this article so that over time, if you want to improve your sales effectiveness, you can read more of the topics below: To shorten your sales process, differentiate, uncover compelling reasons to buy and create urgency, read articles on taking more of a consultative approach.

Hiring 156

Hiring Decision Maker Forecasting Face-to-face 156

Gong.io

JANUARY 2, 2023

This is why sales qualification is so important — it helps you identify and prioritize prospects more likely to become buyers. How do you know whether to move prospects through your sales funnel or disqualify them? We’ll explain what sales qualification is and why it’s important. What is sales qualification?

Ideal Customer Profile 149

Ideal Customer Profile Lead Rank Sales Qualified Lead Lead Scoring 149

Mr. Inside Sales

JULY 30, 2021

Wouldn’t it be convenient to have a list of 5 questions you could use to get your prospect talking, to get them to open up about how they’re feeling and what you might need to concentrate on? 5 “If you had to make a decision right now, what would it be?”. And a bonus layering question: #6 “And what would change that for you?”.

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Closing Gatekeeper Face-to-face Decision Maker 334

Mr. Inside Sales

NOVEMBER 26, 2022

The key to handling this objection is NOT to try to overcome it, rather you simply want to bypass it and attempt to engage and qualify. Now ask an engaging qualifying question…. Again, as an engaging qualifying question…. Now re-engage by asking a qualifying question. Let me ask you…”.

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Mr. Inside Sales

SEPTEMBER 25, 2021

Believe it or not, over 90% of sales reps do just that. But top producers are prepared for this common stall/blow off, and they know how to qualify past it. And then ask a qualifying question. This tells you how cooperative your prospect is, and so how cooperative they will be throughout the sales cycle.

Sales Qualified Lead 284

Sales Qualified Lead Face-to-face Gatekeeper Decision Maker 284

Mr. Inside Sales

JANUARY 31, 2020

If I asked you what the most important qualifying question was, what would you (or your team) say? Decision making process? And that is: Timeline for making a decision to move forward. It also means that the decision makers have all agreed that their buying motives (needs) are such that a decision needs to be made now.

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Decision Maker Face-to-face Gatekeeper Inside Sales 199

Understanding the Sales Force

SEPTEMBER 20, 2023

I’ve written more than 2,000 articles on my Understanding the Sales Force Blog and there are hundreds of other sales blogs. Some are written by sales experts. I am concerned about the subjects being curated for sales and sales leadership professionals. One or two are sales enablement topics.

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Sales Leadership Hiring How To Account Based Marketing 203

Mr. Inside Sales

DECEMBER 12, 2020

In case you missed this, I received the following email last week: Dear Mike: The people have spoken and your article, “3 Keys to Dealing with Difficult Prospects,” has won 2nd place in our 2020 Sales Pro Central MVP Awards Social Selling category!” Then: “And also, I’m not the decision maker on this, I’m just an influencer.

Decision Maker 291

Decision Maker Face-to-face Call-back Gatekeeper 291

Mr. Inside Sales

DECEMBER 21, 2020

You want to be more confident and make more sales, and I will help you do that & save money! If you want to instantly improve at getting better at: Getting past gatekeepers Connecting with decision makers easier Qualifying prospects better and learn their buying motives Giving better demos and presentations Overcoming objections easier.

Gatekeeper 178

Gatekeeper Face-to-face Decision Maker Licensing 178

Mr. Inside Sales

JANUARY 7, 2023

Question: Can you honestly answer each objection you get with a best practice response (that works)? ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS! Identifying decision makers. Qualifying prospects. The post <strong>4 Proven Ways to Get Better in 2023</strong> appeared first on Mr. Inside Sales.

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Zoominfo

MARCH 4, 2021

On the other hand, a faster sales cycle keeps your buyer’s attention on your offering. Understanding the sales cycle in separate stages helps predict buyer behavior and selling outcomes. Sales reps can also pinpoint specific obstacles and make improvements with a stage-focused sales strategy. Prospecting. Engagement.

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Sales Cycle Ideal Customer Profile Lead Rank Lead Scoring 246

Mr. Inside Sales

JANUARY 2, 2023

Most companies are under immediate pressure already to begin accomplishing their new goals and sales targets. Here’s how I handle the companies and contacts I speak with this month: after talking briefly about the holidays and new year’s celebration, I always start with question number one –. “So Overwhelmed? Under pressure already?

Face-to-face 223

Face-to-face Gatekeeper Decision Maker Licensing 223

Understanding the Sales Force

MARCH 13, 2024

But lately, when I talk with the Kurlan & Associates team, the topic is consistently about salespeople who push back on our sales training and coaching when it comes to dealing with RFPs. In the first column it shows that only 42% of the bottom half of all salespeople are commitment to their sales success. Replace them!

Decision Maker 170

Decision Maker Proposal Distribution Territories 170

Zoominfo

FEBRUARY 23, 2021

Learn what sales prospecting is, and how business development professionals can go to market using outreach strategies that deliver business results. What is Sales Prospecting? The ultimate goal is to guide your prospects through the sales funnel until they eventually make a purchase.

Ideal Customer Profile 208

Ideal Customer Profile Prospecting Strategy Top of Funnel 208

Mr. Inside Sales

NOVEMBER 16, 2020

Question for you: How often do you take notes while you’re on Mute and your prospect is revealing their buying motives? This one technique will separate you from all the other sales reps who are just looking for someone to dump their pitch onto. ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS! You don’t take notes? Get Access Today.

Motivation 332

Motivation Face-to-face Gatekeeper Decision Maker 332

Mr. Inside Sales

JUNE 13, 2022

What is a sales person’s dream? Many sales reps today still make the mistake of taking “implied interest” in your company or service, to mean someone is interested, qualified, and ready to buy. The way to capture a deal in this situation—if there is one—is to treat an inbound lead like any other: you need to qualify them.

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Inbound Sales Qualified Lead Leads Marketing Qualified Lead 156

Mr. Inside Sales

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

You’ll find them below, and I guarantee that if you use them, you’ll not only identify buyers faster, but you’ll feel more confident, you’ll close more sales, and your income will grow— starting today. Remember, YOU are the closer, and YOU need to be leading the sale. And by adopting the questions above, you will! And you can.

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Face-to-face Gatekeeper Decision Maker Licensing 233

Mr. Inside Sales

MARCH 12, 2022

The problem with this is you’re A) Identifying yourself as a sales rep, and B) You’re now inviting the gatekeeper to qualify you out. This approach uses an assumptive question, and it gives direction. ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS! Rep: “I’m looking for the person who handles your XYZ. Rep: “Thanks.

Gatekeeper 156

Gatekeeper Prospecting Face-to-face Decision Maker 156

Mr. Inside Sales

JANUARY 22, 2021

We all know the importance of asking questions of our prospects and clients, yet how many do you ask? How many does your sales teams ask? If you’re like most sales reps, then you’re probably doing a lot more talking (read pitching) than you are listening. And that’s because you’re not asking enough questions.

Face-to-face 287

Face-to-face Gatekeeper Decision Maker Licensing 287

Mr. Inside Sales

MAY 9, 2020

Let’s review: There are six primary areas that you need to qualify a prospect on: Buying motives Red Flags: Why they won’t buy Decision maker(s) Decision process Timeline Budget. Skip any of these and it can come back to sabotage the sale. ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS!

Decision Maker 161

Decision Maker Face-to-face Gatekeeper Licensing 161

Mr. Inside Sales

JULY 24, 2022

One of the best things about sales is that you already know what all the objections are. For every sale, there are only about five core objections: price, think about it, talk to someone else, etc., It’s ALWAYS better to qualify out an objection before you get it. ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS!

Objections 156

Objections Face-to-face Sales Qualified Lead Gatekeeper 156

Hubspot Sales

JANUARY 7, 2024

But when an inside sales professional wants to establish their authority over the phone, they need to use their voice tone and pacing to get the point across. Sales reps who use these words sound like hesitant amateurs, so be very careful to avoid them. But there’s a good way and a bad way to find out who a decision-maker is.

Hubspot 114

Hubspot Buyer Decision Maker Inbound 114

Mr. Inside Sales

SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

In my book, Power Phone Scripts , I talk about the secret of sales. Yes, there is an actual secret to successful sales, and by following it you not only will overcome failure and frustration, but you’ll make more money, so much more easily, that sales will actually become fun. ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS!

Face-to-face 240

Face-to-face Objections Gatekeeper Decision Maker 240

Mr. Inside Sales

JANUARY 2, 2021

Most company’s sales teams are under immediate pressure to begin accomplishing their new goals and sales targets for 2021. After talking briefly about the holidays and new year’s celebration, I always start with question number one: “So __, what are the top 3 initiatives for your department this year?”. Overwhelmed?

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Mr. Inside Sales

JULY 5, 2022

Ten Questions for making the Next Twelve Months Your Most Successful Yet, by Jinny Ditzler. I’ve been using Jinny’s book for years, and what I love about it—besides the ten powerful questions—is that you can start this any month or week of the year! ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS! Book #3: Your Best Year Yet!:

Face-to-face 156

Face-to-face Gatekeeper Decision Maker Licensing 156

Mr. Inside Sales

APRIL 8, 2022

The question is: what do you say to it? And then use a qualifying question regarding what they use, how often they order, etc. Again, use a qualifying question regarding what they use, how often they order, etc. ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS! Let me ask you this….”. Let me ask you this….”.

Face-to-face 156

Face-to-face Gatekeeper Decision Maker Licensing 156