Sales Secrets

Everybody worries about prospecting and they should be they often believe things that cause them to fail. Prospecting will always be a combination of art and science but what is most important is what drives results. In this episode, Gord and Dan from the RainGroup talk about myths of prospecting and what you can do right now to start effectively building your pipeline. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: The Five Myths White Paper The State of Sales Development In This Episode You'll Learn: Exactly when buyers want to talk to sellers in the buying process Whether or not buyers find sales meetings valuable How C-level buyers prefer to be contacted by sellers 6 ways sellers can influence buyers to connect with them Whether or not the capabilities pitch is dead 5 strong influences on buyer purchase decisions

Are you ready for this? The fight of the century! In the last month, there have been more than 100,000 video views and thousands of comments on LinkedIn debating how sales leaders can best build pipeline with different prospecting methods. Is the phone really dead? Has buyer behavior changed? Is LinkedIn the answer? Can email still be effective? All of these questions plague sales reps and leaders and are debated daily on sales floors across the globe. What is the answer and more importantly what will bring results to solve the biggest challenge in sales – building quality pipeline? Gabe Larsen, VP of Growth at InsideSales.com has taken the stance that the phone is not dead and reps and companies should continue to use it as a tool in their prospecting arsenal. Mario Martinez Jr, CEO at Vengreso argued the phone has its place but using social tools such as LinkedIn must be included. Is one right and the other wrong? Are they both right or both wrong? The answer must be decided and the winner defined and the

If you’re not using Analytics and AI in your sales tech stack today, you’re falling behind the times and behind your competition. Most high-performing companies are already using advanced analytics for lead scoring, forecasting, and amazing productivity increases. To truly harness the power of predictive analytics in sales, companies need to focus on the areas where they can create the most value, and implement it wisely. In this session, Maria Valdivieso from McKinsey & Company joins us to talk about her learnings and experience with advanced analytics. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: AI Case Study Maria's LinkedIn In This Episode You'll Learn: How predictive sales software helps you target right customers Why software can be better than people at people management How analytics reduces churn and maximizes customer lifetime value How you can effectively implement advanced analytics

Cold calling? You probably don’t get very far into your call when you hear your first objection. At this point in the conversation, the prospect starts to blow you off for a variety of reasons: not enough time, not enough interest, not enough money, etc. Most people think you need a different answer for each objection, but that’s not true. All you need is a plan or strategy to overcome customer objections, and it’s actually very simple to create it. In this session, Jason McElhone, Director of Inside Sales at MarketSource and VP of Growth at InsideSales, Gabe Larsen, discuss the power of cold calling and the best methods for overcoming objections. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Cold Calling Webinar Part Two In This Episode You'll Learn: The number one method for overcoming objections on a cold call The strategic points of a cold call and how reps are using them to win What makes for a good cold call and why great reps realize cold calling is not dead

Sales can learn a lot from other industries and principles. It turns out that improving sales productivity is very much like a six sigma, lean manufacturing process. In Six Sigma there is a framework called DMAIC that is very applicable in sales as well. The D stands for Define - First define and normalize your sales process. The M stands for Measure - Then measure and benchmark each step of your sales process in multiple dimensions. The A stands for Analyze. Analyze - Then find the root-cause of any performance gaps by talking to people on the front line and by listening to their calls. The I stands for Improve - Implement improvements through technology, training, and coaching. Lastly, the C stands for Control - Control the change by monitoring the data and iterating over time. In this episode, Dominique Levin, Partner at Winning by Design talks about her experience and how sales and learn from lean manufacturing. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Winning by Design In This Episode You'll Lea

Let me guess, you’ve heard cold-calling is dead, right? I’ll tell you right now, the people saying that are not the people who are actually cold calling. Cold-calling is alive and well and we can prove it. We looked at nearly 1 million phone calls and the ability for a sales rep to convert a call to a conversation is above 10%. Not bad. But how can you do it better? Look no further than Jason McElhone, Director of Inside Sales and cold-calling expert at MarketSource. Jason has spent the last 27 years cold-calling and his results are out-of-this-world. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Cold Calling Webinar In This Episode You'll Learn: Why cold-calling isn't dead if you do it right How experts execute a cold call to win Cold calling tips to be successful on your first call

Gone are the days of the simple sale. CRMs, like Salesforce, allow you to document and log key sales information in a world full of complex deal cycles. But you often lack the essential tools to see the big picture, build effective account plans, and operate strategically. To succeed in sales today, you need to understand hierarchical and political relationships, identify influencers, and decide whom to contact. You need to be able to quickly and effectively show this information in deal reviews and 1:1s. The fastest, easiest way to get an overview of your accounts is to work visually. Influence maps and account maps are visual references that can help you find the fastest path to sale and close your deals faster. In this podcast, Lucidchart’s SVP of Sales, Dan Cook, will show you how to successfully map your accounts and key contacts and how to use that map to strategize more effectively. With a clear view of your accounts, you’ll be prepared to accelerate the sales cycle and close bigger deals. Links and Re

Everybody get's a cold-call but not everybody handles it like Ralph Barsi at ServiceNow. Ralph has made a lot of phone calls in his day and rather than giving sales people a hard time, he takes the time to provide coaching. Recently, Ralph received a cold call after an event he visited and the result was a positive conversation about sales reps can best follow up after an event. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Sales Leadership Summit The Definitive Guide to Sales Cadence In This Episode You'll Learn: Ralph's experience on the phone What you should be thinking about for event follow-up How you should approach a cold call

Sales reps are taught a lot of things but they are not often taught about how to approach senior level executives. Why? Most people don't know how. In this episode, Matt Conway, founder of MattConway.com talks about the skills needed to prospect to CEOs and why companies can't seem to figure it out. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Sales Leadership Summit The Definitive Guide to Sales Cadence In This Episode You'll Learn: Why it's so important to go 'high' when prospecting Why companies don't go high enough and how they can What are some of the skills needed to prospect to CEOs

There are a lot of challenges in sales but there is one that trumps them all. That challenge is building enough quality pipeline. The problem is leaders know it but they don't know how to solve it. They often think it's a people challenge so they hire more people but the numbers don't improve. This makes for an interesting dilema among leaders and one that doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon. In this episode, CEO and Founder of InsideSales.com, Dave Elkington talks about the biggest challenge in sales and how an AI system of growth can play a role in solving it. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Sales Leadership Summit The Definitive Guide to Sales Cadence In This Episode You'll Learn: What data and research prove is the biggest challenge in sales What role AI has in solving sales challenges What is an AI system of growth

Times are changing and companies need to change with it. In the modern era of selling customers are buying different and sales reps are selling different. For companies to win they need to understand the latest selling trends and modernize their sales team to compete in an era of constant change and disruption. ​In this session Alli, Amy, Katie, and Jim discuss digital sales strategies and discuss how organizations win and lose with or without them. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Sales Leadership Summit The Definitive Guide to Sales Cadence In This Episode You'll Learn: The buying experience has changed, how does that make you change the selling experience? Digital is often a word associated with marketing not sales but great digital sales teams work closely with marketing. How have you partnered with marketing to be successful? How have you designed your sales team around this new digital experience?

Your sales process doesn't have to be broken. Data can be used to drive the sales process forward and predict the result of the sales process. In this episode, Ed Garry talks about the importance of gathering the right data and making sure it is accurate. In addition, Ed hits on the pitfalls of sales management and data and why reps should be data-driven.

Inside Sales is here to stay but not many people know how to build a killer team. Well, Sid Kumar from CA technologies does. Sid joined CA Technologies with the specific purpose of building a flourishing inside sales team and he did just that. Sid went from 0-300 reps in 30 months and in this episode, Sid talks about his secrets to success. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Sales Leadership Summit The Definitive Guide to Sales Cadence In This Episode You'll Learn: The importance of modernizing your sales team Why you should map your customer journey with your sales process Key learnings across people, process, and technology

Not everybody has a sales operations team but every leader still needs to manage their business based on numbers. When sales leaders are left alone there are basic ways they can still run their team using numbers but it does take work and determination. In this episode, Debra Senra, VP of sals at Harris, talks about how she coaches companies to use data to mange their business - especially if sales leaders are going at it alone. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Debra's LinkedIn Sales Leadership Summit The Definitive Guide to Sales Cadence In This Episode You'll Learn: Why it's important to run your business based on numbers What numbers are important to be thinking about How numbers can be used to coach and push your people

There are a lot of things that can derail sales reps time. Time management is one of the most important things a sales rep can do. In large deals, the ability to figure out if a deal is good or not can mean a lot to the company's sales numbers. Caroline Robinson is the Director of Sandler Training in Cambridge and knows a thing or two about sales. In this episode, she talks about how reps get lost in the deal process through the three areas of client issues, sales team issues, and financial issues. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Caroline's LinkedIn Sales Leadership Summit The Definitive Guide to Sales Cadence In This Episode You'll Learn: How sales reps waste time with client issues How sales reps waste their time on sales team issues How sales reps waste their time on financial issues

There are always debates. One that is starting to pick up more speed is whether or not sales reps should respond to inbound leads. I took the time to put down my top ten secrets to responding to inbound leads and it's a solid list. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Top Ten Secrets Webinar Lead Response Tips The Definitive Guide to Sales Cadence In This Episode You'll Learn: Don’t Break the Law of Immediacy Balance speed and score Don’t Starve Your Sales Team Be pleasantly persistent Avoid Sales Reps Account-Based… Engagement equals response Yes, You Need a Chat Bot Don’t Be Afraid People Want You to Respond Fix Your Process

Should every sales person be a thought leaders? What role should content play in sales? Will Barron leads the Salesman podcast, the largest B2B sales podcast in the world and he's one who has mastered the idea of content. In this episode, Will discusses his rise to fame and how he thinks sales people should think about giving value to progress the sales process. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Will Barron on LinkedIn Salesman Podcast The Definitive Guide to Sales Cadence In This Episode You'll Learn: How can content help a sales rep become a thought leader The purpose of giving value to get value when selling Key learnings when creating content to help you sell

What is a sales playbook and how should companies think about it? The answer may seem easy but it's not. In this episode, Daniel Baunds, CEO of Vendas B2B Academy, talks about his experiences with sales playbooks. He highlights the importance of making them custom centric and having them follow a methodology that can be scaled to fit your business. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: AI System of Growth Case Study State of Sales Infographic In This Episode You'll Learn: The importance of a buyer-centric playbook The power of closing early Why you need to make it scalable The importance of mapping out your methodology Implementation hacks

You can't replace in the human in selling, it's just not possible. Authenticity goes a long way and it just can't be faked. In this episode, Shari Levitin, founder of the Levitin Group discusses the human interaction and how important it is in training and coaching. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: AI System of Growth Case Study State of Sales Infographic In This Episode You'll Learn: Why the book Heart and Sell was created How do you structure a training program so it produces ROI How do you know if your training methodology is effective What's the best way to scale a training program

Every organization changes but not every organization handles change the right way. Kat Andruha is the director of sales development at Apttus and she's experienced her share of change. In her own words, Kat takes us through lessons learned and ways she's found toe successfully manage changing in the organization you're in. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Sales Development Summit State of Sales Report InsideSales Labs Best Practice Training In This Episode You'll Learn: How to think about change in your organization Best practices in communication for change Tips on how to mange top down and bottom up