The Pipeline

JULY 6, 2021

Sales like life is cyclical in many ways, some cycles help others may present headwinds. But one thing cycles have in common is their repeating nature and their predictability. One way to help buyers and you, is to leverage cycles, while changing the buyer’s and your own habits throughout the buying cycle.

Buying Cycle 282

Buying Cycle Pipeline Buyer Quota 282

Sales and Marketing Management

OCTOBER 26, 2020

Author: Mark Kovac, David Deming and Sushant Khandelwal Virtual selling in business-to-business markets, often associated with inside sales, has carried a bit of a stigma within field-dominated sales organizations. Myth 1: Field sales reps sell primarily in person.

Lead Rank 339

Lead Rank Quota Face-to-face Hiring 339

The Pipeline

MAY 28, 2019

Time is a truly critical element of sales success, yet too many take a very passive approach to their time. To succeed in prospecting, in fact, in any element of sales, you need to own your time. Time Is The Currency Of Sales. Too many sales organizations measure lagging indicators rather than actionable leading indicators.

Buying Cycle 309

Buying Cycle Face-to-face Lead Rank Lead Scoring 309

Partners in Excellence

FEBRUARY 8, 2024

I’ll address the problems of these short tenures in a separate post, but this is just a simple example of too much of the flawed thinking I see expressed in our social channels. ” Using the example, above, we’ve seen continued declines in performance correlated, perhaps caused by, declining tenures.

Buying Cycle 117

Buying Cycle Outbound Data Channels 117

Zoominfo

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

You might not think that automatic sales dialers have that much to offer you. What Is A Sales Dialer? A sales dialer is pretty much what it sounds like: technology that automatically dials numbers for salespeople. You’re a sales representative. Here’s where the sales dialer comes in. You have hundreds.

Closing 264

Closing Call-back How To Outbound 264

Partners in Excellence

JANUARY 25, 2015

It’s that time of year again, there are lots of posts around the popular research that indicates, “Customers aren’t engaging sales until they are, 57, 70, 90 (depending on the research you read) through their buying cycle.” Playing the numbers and pricing game to win their fair share of RFP’s.

Buying Cycle 48

Buying Cycle Ideal Customer Profile Customer Education 48

SBI Growth

FEBRUARY 16, 2013

A trend is emerging among Sales SVPs: they Make the Number every other year. And on and on the cycle goes. The right Marketing Methodology can enable you to break this cycle. In sales, knowing when a prospect is in the market is the Holy Grail. These markets have natural buying cycles.

Marketing 317

Marketing Inbound Buying Cycle Guidelines 317

Allego

JULY 20, 2021

Michael had completed this transaction to help his customer buy software they needed to adapt to the virtual selling world, and he had done it all without leaving his house. After this deal closed, Michael decided to go all in on virtual selling, and he had the second best year in his sales career in 2020, despite a global pandemic.

Buyer 133

Buyer B2B Buying Cycle Face-to-face 133

Zoominfo

MAY 25, 2021

Yet a similar phenomenon has already happened with another technology: sales and marketing automation. . But more than 30 years later, we are still talking about these same productivity gains — and automation remains elusive for many sales and marketing teams. Why has automation failed to gain traction despite its obvious promise?

Marketing 252

Marketing Decision Maker Telecommunications Lead Rank 252

MTD Sales Training

NOVEMBER 5, 2018

Experience: What processes does the customer go through when they are in the buying cycle? For example, under the heading ‘How customers find you’ you can log the marketing processes you use that gains the attention of the customer. MTD Sales Training | Sales Blog | Image courtesy of Big Stock Photo.

How To 224

How To Buying Cycle Social Media Follow-up 224

Zoominfo

APRIL 20, 2022

But as B2B sales gets more competitive and complex, simply knowing who sourced a lead may no longer be good enough. A more nuanced understanding of marketing’s effect on the sales cycles, a better case for increased budgets, and another step forward in the age-old struggle for better sales and marketing alignment.

Account Based Marketing 130

Account Based Marketing Marketing Lead Rank Top of Funnel 130

Close.io

AUGUST 6, 2018

Enterprises typically have very long buying cycles. Here are two things you can do to accelerate the sales process. Understand the buying cycle of the enterprise you're selling into. Have a clear vision of their buying journey. Once you have mapped out their buying cycle, you move on to the next step.

Sales Cycle 115

Sales Cycle Closing Buying Cycle Enterprise 115

Pointclear

AUGUST 16, 2018

Your sales team likes nothing better than getting leads with a high probability of closing soon. Often hot leads are really buying companies that have already been sold by another vendor. They’ve indicated they have a short buying cycle and they’re eager to talk, but what these buyers may be doing is validating a decision already made.

Lead Rank 113

Lead Rank Lead Scoring Sales Qualified Lead Leads 113

Zoominfo

JULY 5, 2023

At the recent Forrester B2B Summit North America, ZoomInfo founder and CEO Henry Schuck sat down with leaders from Smartsheet, Sendoso, and BlueOcean to talk about the practical ways ZoomInfo has helped them optimize productivity and align their sales and marketing goals. See for yourself with a free trial.

Ideal Customer Profile 130

Ideal Customer Profile Direct Mail Strategy Customer 130

Zoominfo

MARCH 6, 2021

Something to think about: According to Folloze, 77% of B2B sales and marketing professionals believe personalized marketing experiences make for better customer relationships. For example, a supply-chain management software brand might segment leads using firmographics to target CEOs and CFOs at food industry companies with 500+ employees.

Segment 204

Segment Account Based Marketing Lead Rank Lead Scoring 204

SBI Growth

NOVEMBER 9, 2013

There is one factor that is extremely limiting to sales processes worldwide. A customized sales process is an excellent tool. You can do this by incorporating dynamic personas and buying process maps. You can access the guide when you sign-up for SBI’s Sales & Marketing Research Review. Be helpful and not sales-y.

Buyer Persona 307

Buyer Persona Buyer Tools Trends 307

Hubspot Sales

APRIL 3, 2018

The same wisdom applies if you want to hit a home run in sales. Perfecting your sales cadence -- the timing and rhythm of your touchpoints with prospective customers -- can turn a so-so sales process into an awesome one. Time your outreach so it connects with and engages your prospects and you’ll increase your sales conversions.

Revenue 93

Revenue Buying Cycle Social Media Media 93

The Pipeline

JULY 9, 2019

Every journey has a beginning, middle and an end, and this is true for a buying cycle and sales cycle. And while it may work for Zen and motorcycles , in sales, it is not about the journey but the destination, the win. Each day is a building block of the sales cycles you’re currently travelling.

Travel 291

Travel Maximizer Microsoft Face-to-face 291

Sales and Marketing Management

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

Author: Giuseppe D’Angelo Inside sales have never been hotter, and the sales field is experiencing considerable change. Much of this is due to the technology that is beginning to drive the sales process much the way it has driven marketing for the past several years. Increasing demand for skilled inside sales reps.

Inside Sales 209

Inside Sales Trends Outsourcing Services Face-to-face 209

The Pipeline

OCTOBER 31, 2012

Last week I got an e-mail from one of the traditional providers in the sales enablement business. It seems they have discovered social media, Sales 2.0, You can tell your friends and family that you are in sales, but if that’s you, you’re an order taker, end of story. and felt they had to let the world know.

Decision Maker 257

Decision Maker Oracle Buying Cycle Social Media 257

Mindtickle

APRIL 27, 2022

Yet many shy away from taking on such an initiative, thinking it’s impossible to achieve given the current size of their sales team and available resources. And it often begins with your sales team. Spreadsheets and paper documents no longer support complex buying cycles — technology is a must-have in today’s business environment.

Data 52

Data Lead Rank How To Lead Scoring 52

Emissary

MARCH 2, 2023

Achieving enterprise technology sales goals has always meant overcoming a host of unique and challenging obstacles, including withstanding a protracted decision-making process and convincing a slate of committee members of your value proposition. Even the best computers still can’t beat the transformative power of human intelligence.

Decision Maker 98

Decision Maker Ideal Customer Profile Top of Funnel Networking 98

Mindtickle

JUNE 22, 2023

Buyers are already short on time, and the last thing they want is to listen to another sales pitch. Research from our 2023 State of Sales Productivity Report found that during a call, buyers asked an average of 18 questions, a significant increase from 13 questions in the 2022 report. As sellers, you’re even more in the hot seat.

Cold Calling 98

Cold Calling Lead Rank Lead Scoring Ideal Customer Profile 98

Zoominfo

SEPTEMBER 10, 2020

You might not think that automatic sales dialers have that much to offer you. What Is A Sales Dialer? A sales dialer is pretty much what it sounds like: technology that automatically dials numbers for salespeople. You’re a sales representative. Here’s where the sales dialer comes in. You have hundreds.

Closing 130

Closing Call-back How To Outbound 130

Pointclear

AUGUST 9, 2016

Your sales team likes nothing better than getting leads with a high probability of closing soon. They’ve indicated they have a short buying cycle and they’re eager to talk, but what these buyers may be doing is validating a decision already made. Here’s an example: Marketing spends $60,000 to generate 80 leads.

Sales Qualified Lead 100

Sales Qualified Lead Lead Rank Lead Scoring Leads 100

Janek Performance Group

JANUARY 4, 2023

A sales rep recently complained, “We had the better solution and price, and we still lost the sale.” ” These missed opportunities leave sales reps wondering if the prospect was even listening during the presentation. Let’s explore the significant bias impacting sales professionals. Confidence Bias.

Decision Maker 62

Decision Maker Lead Rank Lead Scoring Buyer 62

Zoominfo

MAY 25, 2021

Yet a similar phenomenon has already happened with another technology: sales and marketing automation. But more than 30 years later, we are still talking about these same productivity gains — and automation remains elusive for many sales and marketing teams. Why has automation failed to gain traction despite its obvious promise?

Marketing 130

Marketing Decision Maker Telecommunications Lead Rank 130

Zoominfo

DECEMBER 28, 2020

By definition, buying signals are the actions potential customers take that indicate they’re close to making a purchase. They’re customers’ verbal buying signals—the cues your sales agent homes in on when talking to a prospect. Your marketing and sales teams need both. Here’s a snapshot of buying signals.

Lead Rank 100

Lead Rank Intent Data Closing Marketing Qualified Lead 100

Partners in Excellence

DECEMBER 26, 2023

If I think, for example, the evolution of “prospecting letters.” ” I started in sales, about 5 years before emailing became popularized. Are we helping customers move those opportunities through the buying cycles and winning a sufficient number of those?

Retention 130

Retention Maximizer Buying Cycle Social Media 130

SBI

JUNE 28, 2021

Remote Selling has become an important focus for every sales organization. Digital sales technologies, by default, are what enables remote selling. Q: What are your customers doing to adapt to - or leverage - the trend towards distributed sales teams and remote selling?

Hiring 86

Hiring Lead Rank Lead Scoring Scale 86

The Sales Hunter

JULY 30, 2019

Here’s a simple fact: you can’t close a sale until you have someone to sell to. Yes, I know that is the exact opposite of what many sales managers say. You won’t know if your process works unless you’ve executed it for a period of time that is twice the length of your average buying cycle.

Prospecting 210

Prospecting Sales Qualified Lead Social Media Lead Rank 210

Sales 2.0

MARCH 4, 2012

I keep reading this one: “buyers complete 75% of their sales cycle on the web before ever talking to a sales person” But just over the last few weeks of selling for our Internet start up I’ve found several examples where taking this data is best ignored. They had not defined their need formally.

Top of Funnel 218

Top of Funnel Funnel Cold Calling Inbound 218

LeadFuze

SEPTEMBER 2, 2023

According to Forrester Research, companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at a 33% lower cost. In essence, what is lead nurturing but a strategic process designed to engage prospects by providing them relevant information at each stage of their buying journey? What is true about lead nurturing?

Lead Nurturing 52

Lead Nurturing Lead Rank Lead Scoring Webinar Metrics 52

Sales and Marketing Management

MARCH 8, 2020

There’s no reason it can’t have equally powerful impacts on B2B sales and marketing, but it’s in its infancy, experts say. “AI AI is the future of all sales, but it hasn’t gone from 0-1 yet in the B2B space,” says George Kocher, CEO of Brand North, a digital marketing and growth consultant. CRM will become more predictive.?AI

Top of Funnel 218

Top of Funnel Marketing Scale Lead Rank 218

Partners in Excellence

OCTOBER 5, 2023

From the very first sales training program I went through, through programs we have led for 1000’s of sales people, through 1000’s of deal reviews, we always ask, “What is the customer’s decisionmaking process?” In complex B2B initiatives, the reality is they probably don’t know!

Face-to-face 98

Face-to-face Buying Cycle B2B Customer 98

Partners in Excellence

FEBRUARY 9, 2021

We are used to all sorts of buying cycle/selling cycle metrics–customer commitments, certain activity levels on both the customer and sales sides. For example, are they seeking to align the buying group issues and concerns? Are they looking for information from people other than sales people?

Comparison 118

Comparison Face-to-face Buying Cycle Consumer 118

Partners in Excellence

NOVEMBER 2, 2020

“All sales problems are pipeline problems, and all pipeline problems are prospecting problems…… ” I was having a conversation with a really smart person. But I’m uncomfortable with this, I wish diagnosing sales performance issues could be that easy. Then there’s another way to look at this.

Pipeline 85

Pipeline Ideal Customer Profile Top of Funnel Hiring 85