10 Simple Games to Make Sales Prospecting Fun (Seriously)
You’ve probably heard the sales prospecting saying that it takes 10 “no’s” to get one “yes,” but I think that number is outdated. In today’s market, it can take 40 voicemails to reach a live person and dozens of emails to yield a single response. For sales reps, that kind of rejection often makes sales […]
When to Use Lead Generation Campaigns versus Sales Prospecting
I frequently recommend using lead generation, and then in the next breath mention sales prospecting when we’re defining new business development strategies and building client campaigns. But, I’ve realized that business owners – and even salespeople and marketers – don’t recognize the subtle differences between them. Both terms describe a new business development approach, but […]
Frosty the Salesman: A Christmas Parody
By Kendra Lee I love Christmas if only because I get to re-write a Christmas classic into a sales “song!” (Well, I do love Christmas for other reasons, but this is fun, too.) This year I took Frosty the Snowman and created our beloved “Frosty the Salesman” who is every sales manager’s dream prospector. Sing […]
Three Indicators If You’ll Achieve Your Sales Goals This Year
It’s the start of a new year. Here we go again: new year, new quota. Maybe even a new target market, new product you’re launching, or regional expansion. The thing about a new year is that not only have your revenue goals reset, but you get to start over. What you didn’t accomplish last year […]
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer: A Sales Parody with Eddie the Eager Salesman
Each year we have some fun with the season, taking a Christmas song or poem and putting our special sales twist on it. Sing along to the tune of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and join our fun. May you have a happy, healthy, safe holiday season, closing the year strong (yup, you can still […]
By Popular Vote: The Top 10 Sales Posts of 2016
This year I blogged a lot about lead generation and marketing because that’s what everyone seemed to be asking us about. But when I looked back over the year and our most popular blog posts, it was the sales articles that won the prize! (This is a great example of why you analyze the results […]
Sales Reps: It’s Not Your Prospect’s Job to Pick a Meeting Time
Last week I received an email from a very friendly sales rep who was trying to schedule a meeting with me to talk about his company’s product. The messaging was direct and relevant, but it was how the rep closed the email that bothered me. “Here’s a link to my calendar. Is there a time […]
The 4 Factors That Cause lead Generation Rejection
Perhaps one of the most frustrating things in lead generation is the rejection. People don’t open your emails. Voicemails aren’t returned. Email campaign open rates are negligible. And bounce rates are so high that your email provider sends you discontinuance warnings. Marketing automation has made reaching prospects even more challenging for sales people and marketers […]
14 Strategies and 1 Example You Can Use to Generate Leads
Two of the biggest mistakes sales and marketing teams make are giving up too early on prospects and relying only on a few tried-and-true lead generation techniques. If a sales rep doesn’t get a response after a few emails or cold calls, they assume the prospect isn’t interested and they move on. More often than […]