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. 

Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you a post from Patrice Morrison, a Business Development Representative at AG Salesworks. 

I’ve seen inside sales described using many analogies. But my favorite analogy by far is the comparison to the popular series, The Hunger Games. These books and movies focus on a woman who has to fight to the death in order to survive The Hunger Games, a twisted competition in which children ages 12 - 18 are forced to particpate, created by central officials to deter rebellion. Now you may be thinking: “How in the world could you see any similarities between the sales world and the dystopian world described by Suzanne Collins?” Even though they’re not shooting bows and arrows at jabberjays like Katniss Everdeen, inside sales reps actually share many qualities with Hunger Games tributes. Here are four:

I’m going to say a word. And immediately you are going to form an assumption, positive or negative, about this word. You can’t help it, because that’s how we react as humans.

The word is: Millennial.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I am absolutely addicted to the Winter Olympics. Every night when I am relaxing at home, I get sucked into the speed skating, skiing, and of course curling competitions! After watching the first few nights of events and discussing with coworkers throughout the day, I started to think about how our office has the same qualities that the Olympics in Sochi have. 

Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt of a chapter from our recently published eBook, The Ultimate Inside Sales Prospecting and Management Success eBook. If you're interested in reading the 35-page handbook, click the link above.  

There are 5 important categories to measure from a reporting standpoint to ensure top performance from your inside sales team. The goal is to push your reps to excel in all 5 categories to guarantee their optimal success. The most important categories to pay close attention to are:

Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you a guest post from Chris Croner, Principal at Sales Drive, LLC.

One of the most frustrating experiences for sales managers is hiring “hunter” salespeople who produce lackluster results in spite of their stellar interview performance.  Unfortunately, this phenomenon occurs all too frequently and results from insufficient scrutiny of candidates in the recruiting process.  One of the most common mistakes companies make in this area is failing to screen candidates effectively before moving them into the interview phase.

...And How to Spot Them Before They Burn Up Your Time And Money

Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you a guest post from Chris Croner, Principal at Sales Drive, LLC.

Have you ever felt burned by a sales candidate who looked great in the interview but failed to meet your expectations?  This is one of the most heartbreaking and frustrating experiences for sales managers and business owners... And, unfortunately, it is also one of the most common.  Many candidates come with seemingly ideal experience and potential, and yet the best sale we get out of that candidate is their interview performance.  Although these situations can be very discouraging, we can avoid them by looking beyond the candidate’s demeanor, experience level, and even track record, and instead into the most important non-teachable predictor of success: the candidate’s innate level of what psychologists call Drive, a critical personality trait and key aptitude that research shows must be in place to succeed in “hunter” type sales positions.