Sales Prospecting Perspectives

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.

Some people don’t always like the idea of summer ending and fall kicking in, but it is honestly my favorite time of year. Not only is fall a time for beautiful weather, apple picking, and pumpkin lattes, but it’s my favorite time when it comes to sales. With the summer months behind us, we are now well into the new season, everyone’s back and ready to close out the year strong. Directors and VPs are either looking to spend their remaining budgets for the year, or they are planning ahead for 2014. As a result, they are all willing and open to talking when they receive cold calls.

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. 

Happy Friday, Sales Prospecting Perspectives readers! We're going to continue to feature excellent content on Fridays from marketing and sales blogs across the Internet, as well as recap our own blog posts from this week. Enjoy! 

Holy hell.  I’m exhausted.  What a year so far.  I had a feeling things were cranking along in the land of Outbound, but it wasn’t until my good friend and “Math Guy” Matt Bertuzzi sent me the first draft of the mid year Outbound Index that I truly understood just how fast things had accelerated.  

Sales Prospecting Perspectives is pleased to bring you a guest post from Craig Wortmann, CEO and Founder of Sales Engine, a company that helps firms build and tune their sales engine(s). You can find him on Google +, LinkedIn, & Twitter!

The best sales leaders I’ve ever worked for had three traits in common that made them powerful leaders.  Like all great leaders, they model the behaviors they ask for from their people. 

Client retention is critical to a business's success. Over the years, I have had a long, profitable relationship with several clients. It’s important for inside sales reps to not only believe in what they’re doing for themselves and for their company, but for their client’s best interest as well. Having a customer-oriented approach builds longer term relationships. But what does customer-oriented mean? How do you develop and maintain that relationship between clients? Below are a few tips I have found successful while engaging with clients: 

We know how you feel. You’re an executive of an inside sales team, busy closing sales and leading your team. It’s unwise (if not impossible) for you chase down the latest and greatest tools and ideas to improve your crew’s performance.

No worries. Our new eBook, Top of the Funnel Field Guide to Sales Prospecting Success, a collaboration with the team at SalesLoft, is here to make that process simple for you.

The team at AG Salesworks has been hands-on, in the trenches, with over 350 sales teams over the last 10 years. We’ve seen the outcomes of sales conversations and have a great grasp on what you need to empower your team with the tools and processes they need to get ahead.

Ever have a poor customer experience at Starbucks? I haven’t. I am always extremely satisfied when I leave there. From the moment you walk in, every employee smiles from ear to ear, they have a ton of energy, and if they mess up your order or take longer than expected, they give you a free drink, no questions asked. The key is this: they make it about you, the customer, from the second you enter their front door. Every employee seems to possess a positive attitude at all times. They truly make me believe that they love going to work and that satisfying their customers is their top priority.

Happy Friday, readers. At AG, we kickstarted this week with sales training for our inside sales reps at the Four Points Sheraton. Our reps spent four hours in the trenches with a professional sales trainer, practicing brain exercises, focusing on teambuilding, giving each other advice, sharing ideas and role playing specific sales scenarios. They came back to the office refreshed with information and ready to conquer more leads!