Sales Prospecting Perspectives

Let’s face it: As of today, we have four "real" business days left in quarter. Sure, if you happen to be in the office next week, you may be lucky enough to get your target prospect on the phone since they may have only a few meetings going on during the holiday week. Problem is, most of us I assume want to be with our families, and there is a good chance your prospect wants that as well. Since we all have aggressive goals, I think we all need to get in the mindset that next week doesn't exist and the month/quarter end is Friday. 

Most if not all inside sales reps have a CRM that they work within, but not many sales executives create and/or enforce any sort of process for how their reps should be operating and logging information within that CRM.

When we start working with a new client at AG, we establish a time for all parties involved to have a conference call per week. We like to check in with our clients once a week to make sure everyone is on the same page and all teams are aware of opportunities and pipeline. It is also a good time for questions to be answered if schedules are tight during the week. I’ve found that most clients like to use this time to ask us questions and give advice on certain accounts.

You've read the quotes: 

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

“If you don't know where you are going,

you'll end up someplace else.”

― Yogi Berra  

“Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

― Warren Buffett

Yet so few of us plan adequately.  And of those of us that do, many don’t execute effectively.  Over the years, I have witnessed the power of a well-executed plan many times.  Unfortunately, I have also seen the results of either a poorly executed plan or no plan at all.  Not pretty.  There is always a detailed explanation as to what went wrong.  The marketplace, competition, not enough marketing support.  The list goes on and on.  

Do you wish more of your qualified opportunities would move farther down the sales pipeline?

I would assume the answer is yes.  

Part of the sales process for most technology companies is to conduct a web demonstration to a prospect or a group of prospects.  In my experience, this demo usually happens very early in the relationship building stage, at a critical time when the two companies are still rather unfamiliar with each other.

Happy Friday, Sales Prospecting Perspectives readers! We had a busy week here. We celebrated a few birthdays and an awesome week for sports, all while continuing to converse with prospects throughout the week. We also found blog posts we liked:  

I'll preface this blog by letting you know that I'm not an avid runner. I've never run a marathon in my life, but I can say that I understand the saying, “It’s a marathon; not a sprint.” I’ve used this tidbit of advice on many occasions: big dinners, binging on TV shows, days spent shopping, etc. Now I can add teleprospecting to the list of things this saying has shown me to be true. 

Halloween! Thanksgiving! Christmas and Hanukkah! All of these events are great in Q4… but in sales and teleprospecting, it seems like Q4 is everyone’s least favorite time of year. Everyone is focused on closing business rather than building new business. But once the holidays are over and it’s back to work in 2014… Uh oh! Where’s the pipeline?