Sales Prospecting Perspectives Weekly Recap – Week of August 30, 2023
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!
This week, we'd like to share an article by Lori Richardson, Do Sales Grow More by Art or Science? Is selling an art or a science - or maybe a bit of both? While you can plan sales using CRM systems and the like, it's also true that a lot of what we do in selling involves the art of communication, connecting with people and maintaining relationships. The psychology of dealing with humans definitely influences how selling grows. If you want to vote whether selling is an art or science, do so here!
Now, on to the weekly recap.
Monday: Director of Customer Success Laney kicked off the week with How to Motivate Your Sales Team as Summer Comes to an End. As teams are scrambling to figure out how they are going to allocate the remainder of their funds for the rest of the year, it’s the perfect time for sales teams to strike. However, they can only do so if sales managers can figure out the trick to motivating their teams to get excited about the fall months and away from an unhealthy summer mentality. Laney suggests kicking off innovative incentive programs, introducing new tools and much more. Read the article by clicking the link above!
Tuesday: On Tuesday, Craig shared The Key Ingredient to a Successful Sales Rep. Can you guess it? Craig says the ingredient is attitude. Take a second and think about a question he asked in his blog post: How much emotional energy have you dedicated to one lousy moment? Was it worth it in retrospect? Having a good attitude can help you rebound from these lousy periods. In fact, a good attitude overcomes every obstacle inside sales reps face. Check your attitude and read Craig’s blog post for more about his experiences.
Wednesday: Let’s look at the title of Wednesday’s blog post: Ashton “Chris” Kutcher and his Advice for Inside Sales Reps. Never thought you’d be reading those words together, right? Guest blogger Chris Snell was watching Kutcher’s speech for the Nick Kid’s Choice Awards (he has a kid, so don’t judge!) when he realized that the three things he talked about: opportunity, being sexy-smart, and living life are just as important for inside sales reps as for kids going through puberty. Read the article to see his views on Kutcher’s speech.
Thursday: On Thursday, CEO Paul Alves wrote Inside Sales Managers: Training is Team Building. At AG, we have a pretty comprehensive training program, and many employees at the company are invested in improving the training program. Paul realized that training could also be team building; team building doesn't have to involve a formal retreat of some sorts. The training program improved relationships, processes and special bonds. What kinds of team building activities have you and your company participated in? Comment in the article above!
Friday: Stephen Wolff, Senior Business Development Rep at AG Salesworks, wrote Inside Sales Reps: Prepare for Fall by Organizing Your Work Life. While on a similar topic as Laney’s post earlier in the week, Wolff’s post concentrates on giving advice to representatives instead of managers, including how to organize effectively your call plan, follow-ups and personal goals when returning from vacation and preparing for the busyness of the fall months. Read the article to learn more!
Have a great weekend, Sales Prospecting Perspectives readers!