10 Things About Operating A Teleprospecting Firm To Be Thankful For
It's that time of year where every blogger in the universe posts what they are thankful for, or tries to work what they do into a Thanksgiving meal metaphor. Given my general lack of creativity I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR. I love it because I can do a top ten list of things I'm thankful for. This has been a banner year for AG so I have much to be thankful for. I consider myself a lucky man to be a member of this team and to truly enjoy what I do. Without further adieu, here are the top 10 Professional things I'm thankful for this year....
10. Sales People: You complain, you miss appointments, you ask us to only find leads where they have active projects with budgeted line items for your technology only. You send us prospecting lists written on napkins. Oh the headaches you create. BUT despite all of those headaches, you always close the deals that help us to demonstrate ROI. I'll gladly decipher company names written on a napkin when I know that if we get you in front of the right people you are going to get the job done. Your sales abilities are what allow us to consistently provide the greatest ROI in our space.
9. Our List Partners: You know who you are and you know how much we love you. Bad data is the death of any Teleprospecting campaign and it is something we put an emphasis on eliminating this year. Thanks to the help of a very...very...select group of partners we are now able to guarantee 90% or greater accuracy on all lists we put in front of our BDR's. A huge milestone for AG. I hope that we can continue to drive more revenue your way in 2012.
8. Beer Night: Every Thursday we go out locally for beers. It's a great way for me to get to know my team better and buy them a couple of beers as a reward for all that they give to me and AG. I also really like Beer.
7. Salesforce.com: They just keep on giving me free stuff. Every new release opens my eyes to something that I'm currently not doing that I need to be doing. I don't believe my license fee has changed in the 10 years I've been a customer. I've read some negative press about them this year. More than in past years. You won't find any here. We've built a great business with Salesforce.com as it's backbone and they continue find ways to enhance my experience without me having to ask. Keep it up.
6. AG Alumni: It's a point of pride to see how many folks have moved on from AG into very successful Sales and Sales Management positions. We take pride in what folks accomplish after their time at AG. The number of reference calls I've fielded for great people this year has been one of the most constantly rewarding aspects of my year.
5. The New Flavia Machine in our Kitchen: It's been a long time coming, but my business partner Paul Alves finally delivered on his decade long promise of high end coffee at AG. The new machine was installed last week offering a variety of options. Really anything your heart could desire from a caffeine standpoint. I haven't slept since and many of our employees have developed nervous twitches since..but it's worth it!! Thanks Paul!
4. My Sales Guys and CDR's: Paul, Lang, Ed, Norte, Nicole, and Swartz. We've had an awesome year from a new account acquisition standpoint and it is all due to your efforts. AG's brand is only as good as the people representing it outside of our 4 walls. You guys are by far the best sales people in our space and it is for that reason that I am so bullish on our future.
3. Google Apps: We no longer use Microsoft products exclusively and it saved us massive amounts of money and headaches in the form of limited functionality and IT expenses. If you haven't explored making the switch I suggest that you do.
2. Networking: I made a concerted effort to have at least 2 meaningful meetings and\or phone conversations with new people every week. I didn't always hit that number, but I did more than I did not. I've not only gathered great business insight and some new clients, but I've made some great new friends in the process. It's been a great way to diversify my week to week experience.
1. Matt Fitts and Craig Ferrara: Matt and Craig are our most tenured employees with 8 and 7 years experience respectively (we are a 9 yr old company). They are each responsible for managing a 3rd of our business as Directors of Client Operations. Matt and Craig have been through so much here that I don't have the space to detail it. The ups and down that they have experienced would have caused lesser folks to simply quit. Throughout it all they've always innovated, performed, and kept smiles on their faces and those of their co-workers. Their work ethic, loyalty, and dedication to their craft and this company have helped define who we have become this year. The added bonus is that they are two of my best friends. You guys get the #1 spot on this years top 10. Thanks!
There you have it. Another top 10 in the books. I wish all of you a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Eat too much, watch some football and reload for a big December.
Pete