Learning From Experience: A Reflection From An AG Inside Sales Rep
Anyone who lived in Boston about 15 years ago will remember the Big Dig. The “Dig” that went from a projected 7 years to nearly 20. One of the best construction signs I saw during that time was “Rome wasn’t build in a day. And if it were, we would have hired their architects” (and that was only 5 year into the construction). That being said, AG didn’t come out of the gates knowing all the successful tricks that make up a successful inside sales rep.
I just recently finished up my three-year anniversary at AG, corresponding with AG’s 8th Birthday. It was interesting to take a moment and reflect back on how much AG has grown up; from the time that I arrived, to where we are now. All of us at AG continuously share our ideas and successes at the job; insights that one can only develop through experience as well as trial and error. If what we know now, was something that everyone knew right out of the gates, AG would not be as unique nor as successful in helping its customers achieve their goals as they tell us we have been.
I would like to share my take on what I feel are some key tactics that AG has developed over the past eight years, that I believe has made us more successful at our jobs and helped to provide our clients with the business opportunities that they need.
Call Plan – When I began at AG, it was on the dawn of a new call plan. Having a concrete ‘method to our madness’ (let’s admit it no one likes to cold call, and most sales rep don’t!) has provided us with the structure needed to make the dials, find the connections and generate the leads. By analyzing the numbers and setting a goal within our organization, AG has developed a call plan which provides a range of dials needed per day to generate a connect rate which in return will result in an average number of leads.
Calling with a purpose – Sales calls are notorious for bringing up the Charlie Brown “WaaWaaWaaWaaWaa” sound in my mind. Never focusing on the needs of the prospect and just going off, spewing what they do when there seems to be connection to what I do or what I need. AG has determined that the key to successful messaging is to state your purpose early in the call. What is the purpose of your call? What are you trying to establish? How can you make your prospect’s job more efficient?
Evites – This was a suggestion made by one of our BDRs 3 years ago, who had success sending outlook calendar invitations for 10 minute calls. Since then, this has been one of the most successful tactics for getting a prospect on the phone. There are many times an inside sales rep may be at the point in their call plan when they do not think there is any interest from the prospect. They are often pleasantly surprised when the Evite they send is accepted, and the first comment made by the prospect during the call is “I am so happy that you continued to reach out to me”. Persistence is crucial to success, and our Evites have provided us with a professional, polite yet persistent way to connect.
Referrals – Getting referrals and referencing them is one of the best ways to get someone to respond to your calls. Whenever we are pointed in the right direction, it is crucial to reference the referral in both your voicemail, as well as the subject of your email. This will grab the attention of the prospect and add some validity to your call. But before you can leverage the referral you need to ask for it. As much as we prefer to speak with the CIO, President or CEO of an organization, we understand that 1) Their days are busy and 2) They often delegate the task of evaluation to others in the organization. Therefore, AG has cut right to the chase. Sending an email to the CIO/CEO/President with the subject: Referral Help? By keeping it short and sweet, but asking for their help to point you in the right direction, you not only will find the right person to speak with within the organization, but you can reference a powerful name during your call.
These are just a few of the key tactics that I have witnessed over the past few years working for AG. From what I originally thought was a strong process for generating leads has only grown stronger and more tactical. Success is not born overnight; if it were, every company would be breaking at the seams with business opportunities and everyone would want to be in sales. AG has utilized the minds, knowledge and experience of our BDRs over the past 8 years to develop, refine, and in some cases reinvent the processes associated with B2B teleprospecting.