Mr. Inside Sales

OCTOBER 14, 2023

Greetings to you on an early fall morning! I hope the changing of the seasons inspires you as much as it does me. Speaking of inspiration, here are some of my favorite quotes for you to enjoy today: “If one asks for success and prepares for failure, he will get the situation he has prepared for.” –Florence Shinn “Forget past mistakes.

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Mr. Inside Sales

OCTOBER 1, 2023

Actual voicemails I’ve been receiving lately: “Hi Mike, this is Megan. Can you call me back at (phone number)? Thanks!” And what do I do with these voicemails? Delete. This is one of the oldest poor sales techniques in the world, and it just SCREAMS: I’m cold calling and trying to trick you into calling me back! Doesn’t work. Here’s what’s better: First, you have to let the caller know what company you’re calling from and the reason for the call.

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Mr. Inside Sales

SEPTEMBER 2, 2023

I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend and that you’re charged up for the best time of the year: fall! Starbucks already has pumpkin lattes out, and the stores are already stocking fall items—make me giddy just thinking about it! As some of you know, today, September 5 th , my new book, The Owner’s Manual to Life: Simple Strategies to Worry Less and Enjoy Life More has been released!

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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. Given how important this step is, it’s sad to hear so many sales people get it wrong: They either rush into their pitch; talk over prospects; or use other ineffective techniques.

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Mr. Inside Sales

JULY 24, 2023

In today’s world of communicating through texting, memes, and hashtags, we’ve lost the warmth and underlying decency that make our everyday interactions enjoyable and respectful. Though we’re sometimes not aware of our tone and demeanor, other people do feel its impact, and they react to it as well. A few years back, my wife and I were on vacation in Venice, Italy, and we were having trouble navigating our way back to St.

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Mr. Inside Sales

JULY 9, 2023

Do you enjoy quotes like these? “Next time someone tells you ‘never,’ remember that means ‘not for at least one hour.’”—Jeffrey Gitomer “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” —Michael Jordan “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.

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Mr. Inside Sales

JUNE 26, 2023

Do you enjoy inspirational, motivational, and wisdom-packed quotes? They always seem to make the day brighter for me. I’ve collected and shared quotes with clients, friends, and family members for years. In fact, this was the motivation behind my latest book: The Owner’s Manual to Life. Some of these quotes include: “We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong.

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Mr. Inside Sales

MAY 26, 2023

I’d like to invite you all to join me on my journey through a new phase of my career: From this point forward, I’m going to spend more time pursuing what I’ve always done professionally (write), but I’m going to be writing more of the kind of books that have always spoken to me. Moreover, (and this is a big change), I’m going to begin publishing under my real name: Michael Zajaczkowski!

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Mr. Inside Sales

MAY 11, 2023

Have you ever observed your self-talk after you lose a sale? Mine used to go something like this: “Darn it! I suck at this!” “This product will never sell!” “The leads are trash, and I actually agree with some of my prospect’s objections!” “I wonder what I can sell that’s easier than this?” “Should I go back to school?” And on and on. While managers want you to jump on the next call, go from a negative experience and be positive again and “smile and dial,” you know how hard that is.

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Mr. Inside Sales

APRIL 30, 2023

Problem: Salespeople talk too much when they finally get a prospect on the phone. 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. Result? They may get some leads out and set up some “demos or presentations,” but because they didn’t discover whether a prospect was truly a buyer and in the market at that time, their close rate is a disappointing 2 sales out of 10 full pr

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Mr. Inside Sales

APRIL 14, 2023

To follow up on the blog post from two weeks ago (about the one quick fix to get your VMs returned ), here is the second quick fix: Stop trying to trick your prospect! Everyone knows that a partial message like: “Hey _, this is Mike. Call me back as soon as you can…” just reeks of a tricky salesperson calling. I ALWAYS delete these messages the moment I hear them.

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Mr. Inside Sales

MARCH 17, 2023

So many sales reps are anxious when they speak with a prospect. It seems they are afraid and think things like: “Will they like my product or service?” “Am I speaking with the right person?” “Do they have the budget or is my solution too much for them?” And on and on… As such, many reps don’t ask the “tough” questions, like: “What kind of budget do you have set aside for this?

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Mr. Inside Sales

FEBRUARY 19, 2023

It took me years to believe this. At first, it seemed almost rude to utter it… But let me ask you: out of ten prospects you pitch to, how many end up actually buying? My guess? Two. Yep, two out of ten prospects you speak with turn into buyers. And this means that you spend hours each day pitching to people who are never going to buy! That’s why most people get burned out in sales.

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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. Simply call your reps in, one by one, and ask them: “If I gave you a pencil and asked you to sell it, how would you go about it?”.

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Mr. Inside Sales

JANUARY 2, 2023

Welcome back to the office, how do you feel? Overwhelmed? Under pressure already? If so, then you’re not alone. Most companies are under immediate pressure already to begin accomplishing their new goals and sales targets. In fact, this is also felt in the accounting department, the marketing department, and everywhere else. You can probably feel it in your company, too.

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Mr. Inside Sales

DECEMBER 9, 2022

Happy Holidays everyone! While you’re all on the final push to make your year-end numbers (or December quotas), and while you’re all getting ready for the holidays—getting gifts for family members and arranging travel and holiday parties, etc.—I thought I’d give you, my readers, a gift: Click Here to download a sample chapter from my bestselling book, Power Phone Scripts , on “ Better, Smarter Prospecting Techniques That Really Work !”.

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Mr. Inside Sales

DECEMBER 5, 2022

Now that December is here, it’s time to get clear on exactly what you’re going to accomplish in 2023. When it comes to setting and reaching your goal, use this simple and proven 3 step process that virtually assures success. I’m going to lay it out here as it applies to a financial goal but recognize that this method applies to successfully reaching ANY goal.

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Mr. Inside Sales

NOVEMBER 13, 2022

Finding and hiring good inside sales reps has always been a challenge, and it’s gotten even tougher since the pandemic. The entire work landscape has changed, and working remotely has made it harder on both companies and individual producers. Recruiters, HR departments, and sales managers are working harder than ever, and they all ask me the same thing: “Where has everyone gone?”.

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Mr. Inside Sales

OCTOBER 21, 2022

One of the most important things I learned early on in my sales career is that attitudes are contagious. My manager told me that when I’m on the phone with a prospect or customer, someone was going to sell someone—either the customer was going to sell me on why he wouldn’t buy, or I was going to sell him on why he should buy. And most of that came down to my attitude.

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Mr. Inside Sales

OCTOBER 14, 2022

I don’t know why sales reps always default to: “I’ll call you again in a month…” Or 60 days or 90 days, etc. Why would you want to miss all the sales this prospect will place in the meantime? The smart thing to do is ask a prospect what their buying schedule is. Try: “How often do you find yourself needing these?”. OR. “I’m happy to call you back at the end of this week—do you think you’ll have some clarity over your needs by then?”.

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Mr. Inside Sales

SEPTEMBER 23, 2022

I’m sure you’ve heard that practice makes perfect, right? Do you believe that’s true? For those of you who said yes, I’ve got some good news and some bad news. Bad news first…. Practice doesn’t make perfect; it only makes permanent. So, if you’re winging it, ad-libbing your way through your sales career, then I know you’re struggling—and I know you’re not making your revenue goals….

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Mr. Inside Sales

SEPTEMBER 23, 2022

So many sales reps hate hearing NO. In fact, constant rejection is the number one reason most sales reps dislike sales. One of the most useful things you can do, however, is to embrace getting a no, and reframe it for what it is: Simply someone getting out of your way and helping you get to your next buyer faster. I realized a long time ago that I was going to get a lot more no’s than I was yes’s.

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Mr. Inside Sales

SEPTEMBER 20, 2022

What’s the number one blow off prospects use these days? “Can you email something to me?”. If you think about it, that’s the perfect stall. They aren’t saying no, and it implies that they’ll talk to you later…. Unfortunately, later becomes never, as chasing down busy professionals—especially people who now don’t want to be followed up with—becomes nearly impossible.

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Mr. Inside Sales

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

Quick tip this week. I worked with a client years ago, and he had a one-line rebuttal to the price is too high objection. Whenever a prospect told him that, he simply asked: “And besides price, what else is holding you back?”. That’s it. Simple. Direct. And powerful. This client understood that objections are generally smokescreens hiding other objections, so questioning it in this way immediately tells you whether it’s really price—or something else.

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Mr. Inside Sales

AUGUST 29, 2022

What are you going to do to ensure you close out the year strong? The most effective thing you can do as a sales manager or business owner is to upgrade the skills of your existing inside sales team. Nothing you can do will make more of an impact on your end of year revenues. (Sadly, not increasing their competency will lead to sales as they are now…).

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Mr. Inside Sales

AUGUST 7, 2022

If you are new to receiving these sales tips, or even if you have been subscribed for a while, I want to give you something that will help you sell more. It’s not often that we get something for free, but I’m going to give you some resources, some inside sales techniques that will help you sell more with less resistance. Now here’s the crazy thing about this no-strings attached offer: Over half the people reading this won’t take advantage of these valuable resources.

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Mr. Inside Sales

JULY 31, 2022

I was giving a training today and emphasizing the importance of directing the sale, assuming the deal, and leading the prospect through the close. As I did, I reminded the team of closers of my very favorite closing phrase, and one that has literally made me millions of dollars in my career. When you get to the reason to place the order now, or purchase your product or service, what’s important is not to ask if they agree, or if they have the budget, or anything like that.

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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., and then some outliers you get less frequently. But overall, you know what’s coming. So, why not eliminate, in advance, your top one or two objections? Here’s how: If you’re qualifying a prospect to pitch later, and you know that price is the biggest objection you get, then qualify for it so you’re n

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Mr. Inside Sales

JUNE 25, 2022

I have listened to thousands of sales calls over the years, and I spend the majority of my coaching and training hours listening to sales calls even today. And I still hear the same mistakes…. Here are three things NOT to say if you want to become more effective at opening and closing more sales: #1: When speaking with a gatekeeper and they ask if they can tell the prospect who is calling, don’t: Just say your name (“John,” or “John Davis”)—and then nothing else… Say your name and company name S

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Mr. Inside Sales

JUNE 17, 2022

Jeffrey Gitomer tells a great story about how he once bet a client his entire training fee on whether there were more than eight objections their sales team got on a regular basis. The client, sure their sales cycle was more complicated and therefore required more advanced closing techniques, considered the bet: If the sales team could come up with more than eight standard objections, then Jeffrey would do the training for free.

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Mr. Inside Sales

JUNE 3, 2022

Someone once said, “First we form habits, and then they form us.”. And in sales, this is especially true. Here’s a quick example from a new client I’m working with now: At the end of speaking with current accounts, the habit of the sales team is to ask: “If you need anything, please give me a call…”. Developing a better habit during this part of the call will greatly increase your sales.

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Mr. Inside Sales

MAY 30, 2022

Feeling a little overwhelmed by all the new sales tracking technology that seems to come out every month (almost every week)? If you’re like most companies, then you’ve probably got enough technology in place to measure just about everything: talk time, conversion rates, number of demos being given, lead flow and lead placement in the funnel—top end, middle, and end stage of leads.

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Mr. Inside Sales

MAY 14, 2022

Each time I work with a new company, the first thing I ask for are recordings of both their top two or three sales reps, and then recordings of everyone else. And each time I do, I immediately identify one thing that the top reps are doing that the other reps aren’t. I’ve been doing this for over 30 years, and things have remained constant during that time: top sales reps are better for many different reasons (personality, work effort, etc.), but they all share this one thing.

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Mr. Inside Sales

APRIL 29, 2022

Writing a deal (making a sale), is an exhilarating thing, and there are many ways to celebrate. Some companies have a deal board where you can write down your latest sale so the other team members can see it. Other companies have a bell to ring, so, again, other team members can be encouraged by your success. I’ve seen some reps strut around the office, stopping at their workmate’s desk to share their glory or tell the (often long) story of how that deal went down.

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Mr. Inside Sales

APRIL 8, 2022

This blog post is for those of you who haven’t purchased and read any of my book of scripts yet (what are you thinking? ). For those of you who are prospecting, this objection, “We’re happy with who we’re using,” is something you most likely encounter often. The question is: what do you say to it? This objection—like all others—is a perfect one to script an effective response to, and here is one of my favorites: Objection: “We’re happy with who we’re using” (Or any variation like, “We’re all set

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Mr. Inside Sales

MARCH 25, 2022

I received the following email from a previous coaching client of mine (Rino Racanelli). His email boils down my sales philosophy, and it shows how much success you can have if you follow just a couple of proven principles. I’m reprinting it below—word for word. The subject line was: “I took your advice”: Hi Mike, Hope you are well. Just wanted to update you on my progress and let you know my sales have increased thanks to you!

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Mr. Inside Sales

MARCH 12, 2022

Congrats to those companies & individuals who sent in their prospecting scripts for review. I received many scripts and went ahead and reviewed ten (instead of just the three). One error I kept seeing was reps’ mishandling asking for the right person when they didn’t know the right contact’s name. Usually, they asked it this way: Gatekeeper: “Thank you for calling the Johnson company.”.

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