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Welcome to the year 2012! I hope the first couple of weeks is everything and more you could have hoped for in terms of sales and getting jazzed for a fresh start. I compiled a list of some blog posts I thought you all might find interesting. They outline a lot of really great best practices to get you up and running this year. For those who didn’t quite hit your marks last year, now might be a good time to start switching things up a bit. Spend the morning or afternoon reading these from some truly influential figures in sales.
- Personality Study of 1,000 Top Salespeople-Harvard Business Review - Heavy Hitter Sales Blog
- 12 Ways to Increase Sales – Inc.
- Being True To “You” – Paul Castain’s Playbook
- Optimism is a Selling Skill. Is Your Glass Half-Empty or Half Full? – Salesopedia
- How to Create an Enchanting Pitch #OfficeandGuyK – Guy Kawasaki
- 5 Leadership Tips for Sales Managers - Better Closer
- Seven Steps to Sales Transformation – Selling Power
- 8 Ways to Increase Sales – InsideView
- Want the Sales? Watch What You Say… – Joanne Black
- The Beauty of Imperfection – Jill Konrath
Shoot us at a tweet @insideview if you like our collection of blog posts!
Part of our job here at InsideView is to receive the most relevant and up-to-date knowledge about sales. Why? Because we love to know the in’s and the out’s of the sales industry. With today’s generation, knowledge is being passed around through networks like never seen before, most notably through Twitter. We have compiled a list of 25 influential leaders in sales who are some of the key distributors of rich, knowledgable content in the world of sales. If you are in sales and have a Twitter account, there is no question you should be following all 25 of these people. [The list provided is not in any specific order. I think all of these people are equally #awesome]
- Anneke Seley – @annekeseley
- Trish Bertuzzi - @bridgegroupinc
- Joanne Black – @ReferralSales
- Sam Richter – @SamRichter
- Jill Konrath – @jillkonrath
- John Barrows - @KenseiJB
- Kendra Lee - @KendraLeeKLA
- Josiane Feigon - @JosianeFeigon
- Barbara Giamanco – @barbaragiamanco
- Nigel Edelshain – @nedelsha
- Nancy Nardin – @sellingtools
- Don F. Perkins - @donfperkins
- Paul McCord – @paul_mccord
- Tibor Shanto – @Renbor
- Gary Hart – @SalesDuJour
- Gerhard Gschwandtner – @gerhard20
- John Cousineau - @jcousineau
- Kenneth Darryl Brown – @KenE3C
- Pelin Thorogood – @PelinT
- S. Anthony Iannarino – @iannarino
- Eric Blumthal – @EricBlumthal
- Doyle Slayton - @SalesBlogcast
- David A. Brock – @davidabrock
- Miles Austin – @milesaustin
- Mark Hunter - @TheSalesHunter
For the entire list plus more, check out our “B2B Superstars” list on Twitter: B2B Superstars
This post originally appeared on the Focus.com Group, where InsideView regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology for sales organizations.
Lets face it, sometimes the hardest thing to do is “get in the door” with a new lead. There have been hundreds of books written about it, countless podcasts and even entire sales enablement companies built around helping sales teams learn new tactics and strategies on making the first contact. With a lifetime of content available to a sales person, I don’t think that there is any one answer that cracks the code. That being said, it is much easier now than it was 3 years ago.
The perfect lead
The idea of the perfect lead could span all the colors of a double rainbow. Every company will have a different definition but they all boil down to a few key points. Someone has a pain, you have a product or service that can help and the clincher is that they have a budget that will cover the costs. Within that you can classify or rank your leads a thousand different ways to identify an even more specific list of the perfect lead. As a sales person you can only do so much so make sure that you are contacting the people that will have the quickest and easiest sales cycle possible. Even if the average sales cycle for your product is 6-9 months you want to keep that as close to the 6 month mark as possible right?
First impressions matter most
What you do with your leads is your business but there have been some horror stories told over the years about a shiny new lead that matched all of the criteria of the “perfect lead” just to be destroyed by first contact. If you typically send out an email first then make sure these are not some form letter sent to everyone. Since these leads are special make sure you add some great content into the email that grabs their attention and starts building the relationship that you want. Ask a question, attach a piece of key content that is tailored to their issue and give them multiple ways to contact you with any questions.
Laurie Lynard of Telemasters offered some great advice that has worked for her.
First, I am always prepared. If they were a referral, I craft a message like “John Smith referred me to you as having a potential need for X to streamline your process and reduce your costs”. If they were a web lead or an inquiry, I will remind them that they expressed interest in XYZ.
Next, I script a value proposition that will resonate with my prospect: “At ABC Company we specialize in provide solutions that shorten time to market and reduce R&D costs”.
(Note: These two steps also prepare me to convince the gatekeeper to put me through to the decision-maker when she asks “What is this call regarding?”)
Lastly, I script a clear and compelling call purpose with a benefit to set the stage for a “discovery” conversation to understand their current process or system to determine whether it would be of benefit to partner. I also determine which question I will ask to begin the qualifying conversation.
By following this process, when I actually make the call, I am prepared to talk to:
A. The Gatekeeper
B. The Decision-Maker
C. The Decision-Maker’s Voice Mail (Different approaches need to be used in each subsequent voice mail or email)
When approaching the perfect lead you want to come across sincere and professional. They are a perfect lead for a reason and you need to make sure you can articulate that to them especially if they aren’t convinced yet. If you can position yourself as an advisor or an expert in a certain area then that can go along way.
On top of all of this, it adds another layer on the relationship if you take an interest in the people you are dealing with. Using common social selling tips will keep you ‘in the know’ about your leads and the companies they work for. Set up a new watchlist and add some value to questions they ask online. This will set you apart from being just another sales person.
Here it is! Your Monday morning reading list from InsideView. Here are some of the blogs I read from last week that I wanted to share. If you have a B2B, Sales 2.0 or CRM blog that you would like added to my reading list, leave me a comment and you may see your name in next weeks post.
by kevindooley
CRM
- SaaS’s Impact on the Inside Sales Model – Sales 2.0
- Salesforce.com Rolls Out Chatter 2 – Destination CRM
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 vs. Salesforce.com: Why Microsoft is the better investment – CRM Software
- Marc Benioff of Salesforce Supports the Security Message – Dave Stelz
- Where Social Media Junkies Can Find Official Dynamics CRM Sites from Microsoft – CRM Software
- Is Your CRM System a Two-Way Street? – CRM Outsiders
- Enterprise 2.0 and Social CRM, Two Great Tastes that Taste Great Together – Enterprise 2.0
Social Selling
- Optimists or Pessimists? – Jonathan Farrinton
- Sales questions are hot now – Customer Think
- B2B Lead Generation Roundtable: A Heated Sales and Marketing Alignment Debate – B2B Lead Generation
- The Best Technologies For a Successful Inside Sales Team – Sales 2.0
- The Changing Nature of the Salesperson and Customer – Selling Power
- Dealing With Slacker Prospects Without Sounding Like a Pathetic, Needy Salesperson – Jill Konrath
- Seven Sales & Marketing Insights From Recent Events – Sales 2.0
- Engage Your Prospects – Eyes on Sales
- Cool Sales Tools to Make Prospecting Easier – Sales 2.0
- The Subtleties Between B2B and B2C Marketing Data – Eloqua
- For the Serial Prospecticider, Social Media is Now the Killing Field – Jonathan Farrinton
Social Media
- Social Media and the End of Privacy. – Gartner
- Calendaring Your Social Media Marketing Content – HubSpot
- 21 Ways to Build Trust and Sales Leads in Social Media – Kyle Lacy
- The Social Media Telephone Game! – Paul Castain (Sales Playbook)
- Old Tweets, New Twitter and B2B – Social Media B2B
- 10 Misunderstandings Of Social Media – Sales 2.0
- How Social is Social Networking? – MENG Blend
Last Wednesday I posted about 15 Sales Productivity articles you should read and I’m switching it up a bit and thought I would share my reading list on a Monday. I’ve scoured the web looking for news and insights that related around sales, CRM and social selling tips to come up with a list of articles I found interesting. If there is something you think I should add to my reading list, leave me a comment and let me know.
1. Drive Increased Sales Productivity with Sales 2.0 – Selling Power
2. Are You Interested in Monitoring Social Media? – CustomerThink
3. The Role of Technology in How Sales and Marketing Work Together – Marketo
4. Is Brand Awareness the Number One Social Media Goal? – Small Business Trends
5. B2B Social Selling Meets CRM – Social Media B2B
6. The Brave New Business Model for CRM – destinationCRM
7. Control or Ownership? Either Way, the Customer Has It (Or Both)! – CRM Outsiders
8. Difference between Social CRM and traditional CRM – Customer Think
9. The Silent Zone: Lost Sales or Lost Truth? – Eye on Sales
10. Gatorade Mission Control Project Misses the Social Biz Mark – The Blakery
11. 9 Awesome Ways to Market a Business Blog – Hubspot
12. What’s next after Social CRM: VRM - Marketing & Innovation
13. The Power of the Social Cloud – Paul Mulder
14. Customer Engagement: Key to Internet Marketing Success – CRM 1080
15. Improving B2B Sales Productivity with Social Media – Business Idea
16. What Is Customer 2.0? – The Social Nexus
17. How 4 Small Businesses are Using Location-Based Services – Mashable
18. When Success Get’s A Stay Of Execution! – Paul Castain
19. Three Steps in a New World of Customer 2.0 – Rare Agent
20. Is CRM training really that important? – Tracy Kinsey
photo by Thomas Hawk
I read a lot of blogs in a week. Some for entertainment, some for education and most just to stay on top of what is being said around the blogosphere about sales 2.0 and sales enablement. I have been sending out tweets about these posts but wanted to start highlighting a few of the posts I think should be read by anyone looking for good content in the B2B, Social CRM, and related fields. This will be a weekly exercise and may not always go live on a Wednesday depending on what works best for our readers. So here are 15 Sales Productivity Posts You Should Read Today.
1. Give Your Prospecting Legs with Social Media: Sales 2.0
2. CRM system end-user givebacks?: Tracy Kinsey
3. Sales 2.0: How Will It Improve Your Business?: InsideCRM
4. Customer 2.0: Buyers have changed, have you?: The Funnelholic
5. Kickstarting your Social CRM Initiative: Brian Vellmure
6. Selling Power Begins With Powerful Sales Leadership!: Paul Castain
7. Inbound & Outbound Marketing Play Nice Together: Eloqua
8. How important is the next new feature in a CRM system?: Tracy Kinsey
9. Behind the Cloud: An Interview with Salesforce.com’s CEO Marc Benioff: Blake Landau
10. 13 questions about social media and thought leadership: Chris Koch
11. Social CRM: The Rise of Social Service: Chris Butler
12. Catch the Window of Opportunity Before it Closes!: SellingPower
13. Social CRM: The Future of Customer Relationship Management: Internet Marketing
14. B2B Companies Must Keep Pace with the Customer 2.0: Social Media B2B
15. Social CRM: Bring Clarity to the Craziness: Casey Cheshire
What is your favorite blog that covers Sales 2.0, Social Selling, Social CRM or sales intelligence?
Selling Power, one of the premier voices on the sales industry, focused their latest issue on “1,009 Ideas for Building Sales in a Touch Economy,” and we were thrilled to see InsideView featured in their section on Lead Management. Selling Power notes that InsideView is “one of the best sources for finding valuable leads going forward.” The article provides an in-depth analysis of the role of Web 2.0, particularly LinkedIn, in generating quality leads and why the new sales tools that they highlight are becoming indispensible resources for sales professionals. Regarding SalesView, the author notes that it is effective at “cutting through the clutter” and that the application “accurately finds and alerts [sales] reps to key events that affect account management.” This issue of the magazine is definitely worth taking a look at, as it tackles a number of timely topics for sales professionals during this challenging economic period and provides many insights about how to improve performance. We are very excited to receive this recognition by Selling Power, as well as to know that our technology is making a real impact for sales professionals during this daunting moment in our economy.
