Sales and Marketing Management

AUGUST 14, 2017

My definition of prospecting is trying to take prospects from latent to active need. Another way to phrase that is to say that: Prospecting is looking for people that aren’t looking. Alternatively, if sellers wait for “qualified” inbound Internet leads, it amounts to “in-basket” selling. Handling Gatekeepers.

Gatekeeper 249

Gatekeeper Buying Cycle Call-back Face-to-face 249

Mr. Inside Sales

AUGUST 21, 2022

I watched a sales rep making cold calls the other day. He was making one crucial error that was leading to him not getting very far with prospects. I want to share with you what this common prospecting error is and how to immediately fix it. He figured it would probably be true in sales over the phone as well.

Prospecting 156

Prospecting Face-to-face Sales Qualified Lead Cold Calling 156

No More Cold Calling

DECEMBER 18, 2014

When you have a referral introduction, there’s no need to dupe the gatekeeper. It’s tiresome reading about how to get past the gatekeeper. These “gatekeeper” tactics are insincere, duplicitous, unprofessional, offensive, and a waste of sales time. Gatekeepers are good at their jobs. Of course you would.

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Gatekeeper Cold Calling Telemarketing Referrals 303

No More Cold Calling

AUGUST 9, 2018

Find out how to unclog your sales pipeline. Your lead generation process plays out like this: You don’t have enough leads in your pipe, and your reps aren’t calling high enough. Big problem—the kind of problem that will keep a sales leader up at night, or worse, get a sales leader canned. Let me guess.

Lead Generation 197

Lead Generation Sales Qualified Lead Lead Rank Lead Scoring 197

No More Cold Calling

JULY 29, 2021

But not closing sales is never the real problem. The problem is that sales reps neglect important activities during earlier stages of the sales process. Unless you address the broken links in your prospecting system, your sales reps will continue to struggle with closing the deal. And that’s referral leads.

Closing 409

Closing Sales Qualified Lead Lead Rank Lead Scoring 409

Mr. Inside Sales

APRIL 14, 2024

You know how it is: You’ll be minding your own business and then suddenly you’ll hear things like: “These leads suck.” “I This might include: “Everyone has these leads, and I’ve written business from them. I can’t make any real money here.” “I I can’t believe this company is asking me to actually show up to an office!”

Face-to-face 224

Face-to-face Gatekeeper Decision Maker Licensing 224

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!

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Face-to-face How To Gatekeeper Decision Maker 255

Mr. Inside Sales

JUNE 1, 2020

A company I’ve been working with for over a year now gets a portion of their leads via inbound email requests for information on their services. Another company recently reached out to me wondering if there is a best practice approach for handling inbound leads. So, stop pitching your inbound leads and start qualifying instead.

Inbound 178

Inbound Sales Qualified Lead Leads Marketing Qualified Lead 178

Gong.io

SEPTEMBER 19, 2022

Qualifying prospects is a critical step in the sales process. So how do you qualify leads? How do you determine if a prospect is a good fit for your products or services? We’ll also clarify how you can implement this framework and provide a list of sales qualifying questions that you can ask.

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Sales Qualified Lead Ideal Customer Profile Prospecting Decision Maker 62

Mr. Inside Sales

JANUARY 28, 2019

Are you still getting screened out by the gatekeeper ? In fact, just last week I was reviewing a client’s sales team’s calls, and I repeatedly heard many of the reps making these common mistakes. And unfortunately, these mistakes lead directly to the kind of screening questions you see above. Is she expecting your call?”.

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Gatekeeper Decision Maker Call-back Inside Sales 139

Mr. Inside Sales

JULY 13, 2018

Avoid Rejection While Prospecting with this One Technique. Discover sales training with best tips, rebuttal techniques and responses on how to go about handling and overcoming most common objections in phone cold call prospecting. Before I give you this sales prospecting technique, let me tell you how you’ll use it.

Cold Calling 143

Cold Calling Objections Sales Qualified Lead Prospecting 143

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. Script #1: Make sure and have an email already prepared while you’re prospecting. And then ask a qualifying question. And begin qualifying! Let me ask you…”.

Sales Qualified Lead 283

Sales Qualified Lead Face-to-face Gatekeeper Decision Maker 283

Mr. Inside Sales

APRIL 23, 2022

How many times have you been stopped by the gatekeeper asking you: “Will he/she know what this call is about?”. In all likelihood, you yourself are creating this objection by the way you’re opening your dialogue with the gatekeeper. Here’s what not to do: Gatekeeper: “Johnson company, may I help you?”. Frustrating, isn’t it?

Gatekeeper 156

Gatekeeper Face-to-face Decision Maker Inside Sales 156

No More Cold Calling

JULY 13, 2021

You get an introduction to your prospect, and you get a meeting with the decision maker. The biggest challenge for sales teams is seller access , according to Gartner’s recent report, The Chief Sales Officer’s Leadership Vision for 2021. Cold” means your prospect doesn’t know you and doesn’t expect to hear from you.

Decision Maker 401

Decision Maker Referrals Sales Qualified Lead Marketing Qualified Lead 401

Mr. Inside Sales

JANUARY 14, 2023

This is one of the most basic of interview questions I use for prospective sales reps, and the answer reveals so much about their previous training, their understanding of the sales process, and ultimately about what kind of sales rep they are going to be. 80% of sales reps start the same way – they start pitching.

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Face-to-face Gatekeeper How To Sales Qualified Lead 253

No More Cold Calling

JUNE 7, 2018

Your lead generation tactics aren’t driving bottom line revenue. I’ve just returned from three conferences, and the #1 challenge I heard sales pros repeat again and again was how to get leads in the pipe. Everyone complained that they didn’t have enough leads, or at least not enough qualified leads.

Referrals 276

Referrals Sales Qualified Lead Leads Marketing Qualified Lead 276

No More Cold Calling

MAY 25, 2023

Stand Out to Meet Quota None of this would matter if sales reps were meeting or exceeding quota, if their pipelines were qualified and their projections accurate, and if they had only committed and loyal clients. But that’s not happening in most sales organizations. No pitching, no promotions, no duplicitous sales tactics.

B2B 177

B2B Buyer Referrals Sales Qualified Lead 177

Mr. Inside Sales

MARCH 2, 2023

Incorporate these proven techniques and give yourself the best chance of hearing back from prospects: #1: Use the “I need a little help, please…” technique. Everyone wants to be helpful, and by leading with this statement, you’ll at least peak someone’s interest, and get them to listen a little bit longer. #2:

Face-to-face 230

Face-to-face Call-back Gatekeeper Decision Maker 230

Mr. Inside Sales

FEBRUARY 21, 2020

How good are you at requalify existing accounts, or prospects you haven’t spoken with in a while? And that means that just because a prospect or client was in charge of a certain function last month or 6 months ago, it doesn’t mean they are in charge of it today. And that can only lead to more business. Upcoming Schedule.

Prospecting 158

Prospecting Sales Qualified Lead Face-to-face Decision Maker 158

Mr. Inside Sales

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

He told me that some of them are struggling to get through to decision makers, and he thought it was because they were “pitching the gatekeeper.” Let’s recap the role of the receptionist/gatekeeper: The receptionist’s job is to answer calls and route them to the right person. It works: Gatekeeper: “XYZ company, how can I help you?”.

Gatekeeper 120

Gatekeeper Cold Calling Decision Maker Exact 120

Mr. Inside Sales

FEBRUARY 3, 2023

Remember, YOU are the closer, and YOU need to be leading the sale. OR: “I’m sure you work with (the other person) pretty closely, so from what you know about what they’re looking for, do you think they would go with this?” As you can see, the point is to be more assumptive, instead of beating around the bush and not asking.

Face-to-face 232

Face-to-face Gatekeeper Decision Maker Licensing 232

Mr. Inside Sales

SEPTEMBER 11, 2020

We’ve all been there – you call your prospect back at the appointed time for your presentation and they tell you any of the following: This isn’t a good time, OR. First, understand what’s happening here: Remember the law in sales: Leads Never Get Better! ON DEMAND SALES TRAINING THAT GETS RESULTS! What to do?

Face-to-face 319

Face-to-face Sales Qualified Lead Scale Call-back 319

Mr. Inside Sales

MAY 11, 2023

Have you ever observed your self-talk after you lose a sale? The leads are trash, and I actually agree with some of my prospect’s objections!” “I Here’s how: When you lose a sale or suffer a difficult call (could be a prospecting call), you hang up and find your attitude is a bit negative, simply say to yourself: “Okay.

Face-to-face 249

Face-to-face Call-back Gatekeeper Decision Maker 249

No More Cold Calling

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

The events of 2020 changed the customer buying journey, so we must change our prospecting tactics. Sales leaders have an ongoing challenge to get more qualified leads in the pipe, but seller access has evaporated. Lead generation shouldn’t be nearly impossible, not even during a global pandemic and recession.

Referrals 323

Referrals Sales Qualified Lead Marketing Qualified Lead Lead Generation 323

Mr. Inside Sales

FEBRUARY 12, 2021

Many sales reps struggle when following up on emails they’ve sent out to prospects (or even clients!). When they get the prospect on the phone, they open with: “Did you get the email I sent?”. Try this: When you get your prospect back on the phone, say: “Nice to speak with you again. What email?”. Frustrating, huh?

Follow-up 228

Follow-up Face-to-face Sales Qualified Lead Gatekeeper 228

Mr. Inside Sales

OCTOBER 9, 2020

What do you say when you get this stall while prospecting? If you’re like many sales reps, you accept it and become a willing participant in the follow up chase that ensues. Let’s face it: This blow off is just a variation that prospects have been using for years. And then ask a qualifying question. Open the email.

Face-to-face 227

Face-to-face Sales Qualified Lead How To Gatekeeper 227

Mr. Inside Sales

JULY 24, 2022

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 not ambushed when you get to the close. It’s ALWAYS better to qualify out an objection before you get it. Remember: You can’t close an unqualified lead!

Objections 156

Objections Face-to-face Sales Qualified Lead Gatekeeper 156

Mr. Inside Sales

MAY 21, 2022

If you get this objection—while closing or qualifying—then the worst thing you can do is try to answer or overcome it. And until you find out what’s really holding your prospect back, you’ll just go around and around in circles. And only when I understood what was really holding my prospect back did I begin to close more sales.

Closing 156

Closing Training Gatekeeper Face-to-face 156

Mr. Inside Sales

APRIL 2, 2021

Remember, this is an “elevator pitch” designed to inform and grab interest in a prospect during the time you’re in an elevator together (or during that crucial 20 seconds you’ve got on the phone). Here are the two rules: Make it brief – one sentence is best, two short ones if absolutely necessary.

Sales Qualified Lead 231

Sales Qualified Lead Face-to-face Advertising Advertising 231

Mr. Inside Sales

OCTOBER 19, 2015

One of the biggest mistakes many inside sales reps make is pitching the gatekeeper. To start with, the gatekeeper is just that – someone whose job it is to screen salespeople from getting through to the decision maker. So leading with your pitch is the last thing you want to do. So, what to do? In this case it’s O.K.

Gatekeeper 120

Gatekeeper Decision Maker Sales Qualified Lead Call-back 120

Mr. Inside Sales

OCTOBER 2, 2020

Wondering if the prospect is sold and/or what they’re going to do next? Remember: You can’t close an unqualified lead. Yet that’s still what many sales reps and teams are trying to do. Yet that’s still what many sales reps and teams are trying to do. How many of you hold your breath at the end of your demo?

Closing 188

Closing Face-to-face Sales Qualified Lead Gatekeeper 188

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? Let me explain: If you’re like most sales reps, then you hate making calls because you’re either afraid of being rejected, or you’re are afraid you’re going to mishandle a call and so lose a good lead.

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Face-to-face Cold Calling Gatekeeper Decision Maker 312

Hubspot Sales

DECEMBER 23, 2022

Effective sales prospecting is a multistep process that requires systematic prospect discovery, qualification, and outreach. In this post, you’ll learn the 19 best sales prospecting tools to help you engage with your ideal prospects. What Is a Sales Prospecting Tool? Engage with your prospects.

Tools 111

Tools Ideal Customer Profile Prospecting Intent Data 111

No More Cold Calling

OCTOBER 1, 2020

In fact, new research from the Sandler Center shows that while most companies still focus on cold calling and emailing, referrals are far more effective at generating qualified leads. Read “ Sales Leadership Is Missing It Big (and Here’s the Proof) ”). It takes roughly eight touches for sales reps to reach cold prospects.

Referrals 373

Referrals Cold Calling Sales Qualified Lead Call-back 373

Zoominfo

MAY 8, 2019

More specifically, how can you increase your numbers (calls, email, sales, deal size) during the time you spend working each day? A quick Google search will lead you to plenty of lists claiming to offer the best sales productivity hacks and tricks you need to increase sales productivity. Bypass gatekeepers.

Data 193

Data Sales Process B2B Company 193

Zoominfo

OCTOBER 21, 2021

Every business needs to fill its sales funnel with qualified leads, convert those leads into customers, and retain paying customers for the long term. What makes the difference between a high-performing sales funnel and one that isn’t ready for the needs of a modern B2B sales motion?

Top of Funnel 130

Top of Funnel Funnel Sales Qualified Lead Data 130

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 257