Sales Prospecting Perspectives

This coming August, I will have been part of the AG Salesworks team for 10 years. It has been far and away the most time I've spent with any company in my career and also has been far and away the most challenging and enjoyable. 

The hardest transition I've found when moving into a manager role is the change in relationship between you and former colleagues that you've once worked with. This changeover generally tends to be the biggest challenge for most new inside sales managers, whether they're responsible for training the inside sales team or for managing the managers.

I am going through the most exciting time in my life and I couldn’t be happier. Not only am I expecting a baby boy in one month, but I just became an aunt for the first time. Meeting my nephew Luke the day he was born was amazing and I know the same will be true when our little one arrives soon.

I would like to think that I'm a positive guy. It has served me well over the years in the sales game. In fact, I would argue that there is nothing more important than thinking positively... especially for those of us blessed to cold call all day long. 

I can't believe it's finally the end of August. Fall is creeping upon us, employees are returning from vacation, and students are returning to school. We've published a few fall-based articles this week, and we're excited to hear what you think about them, and how helpful they've been to you! 

I often wish I can go back to those specific points in my career to let myself know that everything’s to be alright. You know those moments where you feel like the sky is falling and nothing is panning out they way you hoped it would?  At the time, these thoughts consume you, but a month later, you've all but forgotten it. 

Be honest: How much emotional energy did you dedicate to one lousy moment? Was it worth it in retrospect? 

Before I entered the world of sales, I worked as a preschool teacher for a few years.  I truly enjoyed being a teacher and loved spending my days reading stories and singing songs.  Sometimes I miss it, but I do like to go home at the end of each day without someone else’s boogers on me.  

Teaching preschoolers and working in sales may seem like very different worlds, but there are many things I learned during my time as Miss Colleen that I can apply to my current job as an inside sales rep. Here are some sales tips from a former preschool teacher.

I woke up early over the holiday weekend and found myself immediately thinking about an annoying/stressful situation that took place the day before. At that point, I had to stop myself and wonder what the hell I was doing. I was on the Cape, enjoying what was otherwise a wonderfully sunny few days off with my family. Why did I have to wake up thinking of something that’s bringing me down to negative town? I've always been intrigued by people who seem to have life figured out. For some reason, they manage to navigate the same waters we are all floating on, but somehow they always seem to come out clean with little to no stress slowing them down along the way. From what I've seen, most of these people always take the necessary step back from a situation and look at the big picture. The existing task they are consumed with could potentially overwhelm them with stress, but they have the ability to recognize that what may seem like a big deal now is generally insignificant in the big scheme of things.