Score More Sales

SEPTEMBER 3, 2013

Call on the wrong prospects. You can waste literally days out of every month looking for the wrong buyers. I would go so far as to say that some sellers waste 2 months out of every year going after the wrong prospective customers. We get calls from companies every week who want us to evaluate or use their sales tool.

Inside Sales 232

Inside Sales Buyer Lead Rank Lead Scoring 232

SBI Growth

AUGUST 10, 2012

To get an understanding of how prepared your sale force is for a launch, register for one of these sessions here to receive the Sales Enablement Gap Tool. Teach the sales force about the Buyer problems the new product solves. Your sales team needs this from you to make your product launch in 2013 successful. They should.

Sales Enablement 267

Sales Enablement Tools Territories Campaigns 267

Sales 2.0

DECEMBER 19, 2023

“Her” is a 2013 film about a lonely writer named Theodore Twombly, portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, who develops a romantic relationship with an AI on his phone named Samantha, (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). It was pretty challenging for Joaquin Phoenix in 2013. It’s not a rote, let me act like I care question.

Film 150

Film Lead Rank Intent ACT 150

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 26, 2021

If you have a big-deal prospect or client, you’d better jump on a plane, catch a train, or take a road trip as soon as possible. I wrote that in 2013, back when virtual sales meetings weren’t the only option. How do I really get to know my buyers if we can’t meet for coffee, a beer or a round of golf?”. But not referral sellers.

Sales Meeting 287

Sales Meeting Meeting Referrals Face-to-face 287

SBI Growth

NOVEMBER 4, 2012

Your Buyers face their own compelling events. To know a Buyer’s compelling event is critical. Because this is the real reason the Buyer is buying. Compelling events are the engine of the Buyer Process. Before 2013 starts, now is the time to identify Buyer compelling events. As a trigger to start a new sale.

Buyer 293

Buyer Decision Maker Demand Generation Demand Generation Targets 293

Score More Sales

MAY 29, 2013

I also encourage you to post YOUR thoughts on any of these, and ultimately, what you do to reach prospects – what is your best tip? Don’t be afraid to let them know that you feel they could be a great prospective client / customer. Find triggers that affect your prospects, and tie them into your messaging.

Prospecting 272

Prospecting Decision Maker Lead Rank Lead Scoring 272

Score More Sales

OCTOBER 10, 2013

Most of us in selling do not spend enough talk time with prospective buyers. The studies we have seen show that sellers spend, on average, 35% of their time actually selling – having conversations with prospective buyers. Ask anyone who has regular prospecting hours in their calendar because it really works.

Prospecting 191

Prospecting Lead Rank Lead Scoring Buyer 191

SBI

DECEMBER 18, 2013

You can tell they truly enjoy the opportunity to recognize people, resources and tools that advance our industry in one way or another. In all, there were 16 categories that honored thought-leaders; books, blogs and articles; software tools; and useful resources. And Smart Selling Tools itself was nominated in several categories.

Quota 135

Quota CRM SAP Forecasting 135

Score More Sales

MARCH 26, 2013

Mid-sized companies need better tools to help understand what customers need and want. Millions and millions – no, billions of dollars are being lost due to poor management of disparate data and not enough buyer-specific preference information inside the sales team. Get buy-in. Create a plan company-wide, from the top down.

CRM 235

CRM Guidelines Data Compensation 235

No More Cold Calling

APRIL 9, 2020

So, pick up the damn phone and have conversations with your clients and prospects—not just business conversations, but conversations with inquiry, empathy, and understanding. How People, Not Technology, Seal the Deal —in 2013, because I was alarmed by the unleashed dependence on technology by sales teams. The phone works.

Conversion 305

Conversion Face-to-face Social Media Referrals 305

Fill the Funnel

DECEMBER 3, 2012

This years Top Sales Books to Read in 2013. In fact, I am convinced that the most successful sales people in 2013 will begin to think as much as a marketer as they do a sales person. Please note that my Top Sales Books to Read in 2013 does not include any of the “classics” in sales. Salespeople have changed as well.

Face-to-face 132

Face-to-face Top of Funnel Call-back Social Media 132

SBI

DECEMBER 18, 2012

You still need to talk with the right prospects, at the right time, about the right things, so they can determine whether you have the right solution, in order to make a purchase decision. Buyers struggle with an overwhelming amount of work and responsibilities competing for their time and attention. And we have big plans for 2013.

Vendor 128

Vendor Sales Cycle Software Software 128

SBI

JULY 22, 2014

He skipped 2013, perhaps because the market was moving too fast because, as of the 2014 version, the map has grown to a staggering 950 companies. At Smart Selling Tools, we’ve been reporting on sales solutions for seven years. We’ve kept a dynamic Top 40 Sales Tools guide updated for two years. In 2012 it grew to around 350.

Tools 123

Tools B2B Top of Funnel Marketing 123

SBI Growth

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

2013 is the year Social Selling became Mission Critical. Social Selling is a proven method of securing the first appointment with buyers inside of target accounts. At its core, Social Selling is a modern prospecting methodology that fills the funnel with opportunities. Social Selling training budgets increased 48% in 2013.

Social Selling 321

Social Selling Top of Funnel Marketing Ideal Customer Profile 321

DiscoverOrg Sales

DECEMBER 4, 2017

In fact, according to the CSO Insights 2016 Sales Enablement Optimization Study , the number of businesses with a dedicated enablement function has increased from 19% to 33% since 2013. Get our research report: 30 Ways to Get Inside the Mind of Your Target Buyer. When it comes to focusing efforts, this should be a top priority.

Sales Enablement 295

Sales Enablement Collateral Decision Maker Study 295

SBI Growth

NOVEMBER 10, 2013

One way they do this is through actionable buyer intelligence. They bring buyer insights to the sales team that can be easily leveraged in sales campaigns and prospecting. Get started on buyer insights by downloading the Buyer Research Guide. Discover insights and market trends from SBI’s research in 2013.

Buyer Persona 310

Buyer Persona Marketing How To Lead Rank 310

SBI Growth

OCTOBER 9, 2012

3) Focus your attentions on kick starting 2013. Let the B’s and C’s roll forward to Q1 and strengthen your 2013 pipeline. Truth is, you can’t force the sales this year if the buyer isn’t ready. Knowing which opportunities are the priorities will help you split time accordingly among the most important prospects.

How To 244

How To Top of Funnel Funnel Face-to-face 244

Score More Sales

DECEMBER 16, 2013

Because buyers buy differently than they used to, smart sellers are now thinking about how they are viewed online and in various virtual ways. Various studies of buyer behavior show now that buyers are much further along their buying process when they engage with potential vendors. Build Sales with these LinkedIn Resources.

Lead Rank 256

Lead Rank Lead Scoring Ideal Customer Profile LinkedIn 256

Score More Sales

OCTOBER 18, 2013

These include prospects, customers, former customers, vendors, partners, and referrers? How do you handle pre-prospects? These are the names from marketing who are potential prospects or people you find on an industry list. Does it show what stage each of your sales opportunities (or your buyers’ buying opportunities) is in?

CRM 193

CRM Ideal Customer Profile Top of Funnel Lead Rank 193

Score More Sales

AUGUST 26, 2013

Do you want more and better leads when reaching out to potential buyers? This is definitely one of the top requests I hear when meeting with those prospecting for net-new business. Last week at Inbound 2013 I had the pleasure to meet up with Kyle Porter, CEO and Founder of SalesLoft. SalesLoft is also free with an upgrade path.

Inside Sales 217

Inside Sales Lead Rank Lead Scoring Leads 217

Score More Sales

MARCH 18, 2014

We have always had to communicate with potential buyers, ask for referrals, work trade shows, and advertise / market for new business. The big change now is the tools and technology. 10 tools and technologies to be most helpful. It’s funny to hear people debating about how and when social selling will be further adopted.

Trade Show 250

Trade Show Ideal Customer Profile Lead Rank Lead Scoring 250

Understanding the Sales Force

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

There are categories of sales tools and CRM applications where none existed a few years ago. Quizzes by Quibblo.com (c) Copyright 2013 Dave Kurlan' There is more free content on sales and selling than anyone could have imagined. There are probably twice as many books on the subject than just 10 years ago. What do you think?

Sales Management 288

Sales Management Hiring Compensation Trends 288

Sales and Marketing Management

FEBRUARY 21, 2013

Issue Date: 2013-01-01. Teaser: Successful marketing increasingly depends on well-timed, relevant and proven content being delivered to prospects. The trend of buyers researching products well before they engage with a representative is only going to increase. Author: By Peter Mollins, Vice President of Marketing, KnowledgeTree.

Software 176

Software Software Marketing Trends 176

SBI Growth

AUGUST 30, 2013

Step #1 – Define Your Prospect Universe. Account segmentation involves: Defining the prospect universe - who is best fit to be your customer. Step #2 – Build Buyer Personas. So the next critical step is building Buyer Personas. User Prospect – Buyer(s) who will be using the solution. Don’t skimp.

Lead Gen 306

Lead Gen Lead Rank Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Lead 306

Score More Sales

FEBRUARY 21, 2014

Now we are a mobile society of sellers and we need tools that are simple and easy to use. We talked at length about how two trends have changed the way sellers sell and buyers buy – that is that we are a social, mobile, b2b world now. Today, when a buyer goes out for ideas and knowledge online, they are moving at a fast pace.

Lead Rank 231

Lead Rank Lead Scoring Microsoft Twitter 231

SBI Growth

MARCH 17, 2013

Likely these processes are not aligned to today’s buyer. Have You Evolved with the Buyer? New buyer-centered proceses are at the center of marketing strategy. In the past year we’ve seen the following new advances that impact marketing strategy; Buyer Process Mapping (BPM) to the micro-decision. Ecosystem planning.

Marketing 314

Marketing Social Media Lead Generation Campaigns 314

Score More Sales

APRIL 4, 2013

We are, as a business community, being BOMBARDED with sales tools. Once we have the tools, we still need to craft interesting and compelling content in the form of sales messages to our prospective customers and existing clients. What is our end goal? What are we trying to accomplish? This is where we see a big issue.

Webinar Metrics 224

Webinar Metrics Outbound Social Selling Buyer 224

The ROI Guy

JULY 9, 2013

To kick off 2013, Gartner predicted that the reigns on worldwide IT spending would loosen, forecasting an increase of 4.2% 2013 Challenges for IT Solution Providers Revenue growth is extremely important for IT solution providers, as this growth is required to sustain high valuation multiples and shareholder equity. by mid-year).

Forecasting 67

Forecasting ROI Decision Maker Proposal 67

The ROI Guy

JANUARY 8, 2013

Although I too am more optimistic about 2013 compared to last, there are clear and immediate challenges that deserve action regardless. 2013 Challenges for IT Solution Providers Revenue growth is extremely important for IT solution providers, as this growth is required to sustain high valuation multiples.

Proposal 71

Proposal Decision Maker ROI Lead Rank 71

Tenfold

AUGUST 30, 2017

What we often have to deal with is a highly-evolved B2B buyer, someone who’ve searched across several online platforms. So, it pays to ask: How do B2B buyers search for tech solutions and how can you ensure you’re there, at every stage of their buyer’s journey? B2B Buyer Behavior. The Digital Age Buyer’s Journey.

Outsourcing Services 79

Outsourcing Services Buyer B2B Lead Rank 79

Score More Sales

AUGUST 12, 2013

If you spend part of your day calling prospective buyers, you must find a way to connect with them on some level in order to earn ten or fifteen more minutes of their time. It differentiates who moves forward with a buyer and who does not. Scripts sound canned, and they ARE canned. Building trust takes time.

Inside Sales 213

Inside Sales Lead Rank Lead Scoring Cold Calling 213

SBI Growth

NOVEMBER 23, 2012

Worst of all, [The Buyer] knows more about our competition than about us. So I spend a lot of time on the phone educating [the Buyer].”. Seth concluded his new company wasn’t producing quality content to inform their Buyers. Creates cheat sheets and sales tools because the ones from Marketing are useless. Well, it’s true.

Marketing 300

Marketing Sales Qualified Lead Face-to-face Buyer 300

SBI Growth

SEPTEMBER 8, 2013

In 2013, leveraging social selling & prospecting has become mission critical. Your business development teams are using LinkedIn and you’ve equipped them with the best social selling tools. You will have access to guides, templates and tools to help your social selling efforts. Buyers have become even more evasive.

Social Selling 312

Social Selling LinkedIn Lead Rank Ideal Customer Profile 312

SBI Growth

DECEMBER 6, 2012

According to Gartner, 99% of buyers of complex products and services begin their purchase process with a Google search. When that buyer types in a search term, do they find you? How do you engage Buyers when a rep is not in front of them? This is the actual tool SBI’s blog teams use as a template. What’s your number?

Demand Generation Agencies 267

Demand Generation Agencies Marketing Hiring Demand Generation 267

The ROI Guy

JANUARY 15, 2013

2013 - The Year for Sales Enablement? With the Great Recession, Buyers have changed – more empowered, skeptical, and frugal than ever before – a condition we call Frugalnomics. Why Now?” – Justify the Gain When invited late into the discussion, the tools and content to help a. Why Change?” – Quantify the Pain b.

Lead Rank 73

Lead Rank Lead Scoring Marketing Marketing Qualified Lead 73

Score More Sales

DECEMBER 2, 2013

You can determine this in a pretty simple manner – are you leaving voice mail messages for the right prospective buyers but getting no replies? Do you send out e-mail messages to potential buyers and NEVER get a reply other than, “we’re all set?” How can you pique your potential buyer’s interest?

Inside Sales 230

Inside Sales Lead Rank Lead Scoring Call-back 230

SBI Growth

JULY 23, 2013

The top of the funnel is filling with highly qualified prospects. Your message is resonating with buyers earlier in their buying process. By participating, you will get our Social Selling Cheat Sheet to handle 2013’s Top Misconceptions of Social Selling. Social Selling is not simply a tool for driving increased revenue, though.

Social Selling 323

Social Selling Benefit Top of Funnel Guidelines 323