Build trust. Create value.
Honest lessons about confidence, helpful selling, ethical process, prospecting, and building a meaningful career in sales.
My days at HubSpot consist of me explaining how inbound marketing is going to help a business grow. People usually see the value of inbound marketing for lead generation. Inbound marketing for lead generation is a fairly simple concept. Inbound marketing over the past few years has evolved though and I think that the sales process has evolved with it.…
Read storyWhen I first start talking with a company who wants to transform their marketing into a more inbound way, one of the first things that we discuss is: Where are your leads coming from now? If you want to diagnose your lead issues and build out a sustainable method to lead gen in 2014 then you need to ask yourself…
Read storyCold calls or even a warm call you need to make sure you put your best foot forward. You need to make sure that you are using the best possible methods to get them to stay on the phone with you to hear why you are actually calling them. If someone won’t even stay on the phone with you long…
Read storyEvery sales rep should be doing research on their leads. When you get an inbound lead, when you source a lead, when you get a lead through a trade show or event…I don’t think it matters where it is from but you should be noting certain things before you pick up the phone. Smart research is the most important part…
Read storyAnyone can pick up the phone, dial a number and hope for the best. You have to have a little bit of guts and maybe a script but people do it everyday, all day. The thing that will differentiate you from all the other sales reps calling your prospect is how much research you have done. A sales person who does…
Read storyNot all leads are alike. There are leads that sales gets through marketing efforts, leads that are sourced by sales people themselves, leads from trade shows, referral leads, etc. I could go on and on and on about different types of leads. Personally, I don’t care where the lead came from. I care about why this potential lead (company) would be a…
Read storyIt is clear to me that I am a different kind of sales rep. It took me a while to realize it but now that I know I am I would love to get people out there who might not have thought sales was for them understanding why it might be. 1. You like to help people. A LOT… In…
Read story1. You are smart and you know what you are talking about. Be confident in that and respect yourself because you do know a lot. If you don’t know something ask for help and be direct and open that you don’t know. 2. You are trying to help them. Remind yourself what your job is. If you are in sales…
Read storyWhy do sales reps sell a product to a company that is not a good fit for what their product actually does? I have really started to think about this lately. I really don’t understand these kinds of sales reps. I think it might be one of a few different things happening in these scenarios. 1. The sales rep just…
Read storyThat last step of a sales process is typically negotiation. If you got to this part in the sales process then you probably are a pretty “human” sales rep anyways. It can be tough to think clearly when you are close to the end of your sales process. It is important to remember that the other person on the other…
Read storyNo matter how hard you try. No matter how much effort and work you put into the deal. No matter how much your prospect might like you. No matter how much he or she might trust you in the sales process. No matter how many hours you work. A deal is not won until you have the order in. You…
Read story1. Make the demo about their needs and their wants. 2. Don’t focus on what you want to do. 3. Ask your prospect or company that you are doing to what they would like to see and why. 4. Don’t forget your own agenda and your own goals of this part of the sales process but don’t let that over-ride…
Read storyIf there is a problem that you keep running into, it is chronic and very problematic for a big market –go after it. If you think you have the solution you should try to solve it. Try a lot of different things in your career. Try them early and often. Prove yourself to the company that you work for or…
Read storyWomen have a great deal of power and are constantly performing incredible feats that deserve recognition. If you want to learn from spectacular entrepreneurs and business women we hope you will join the chats. Leading up to the Women’s Leadership Forum, The Ad Club is hosting a weekly Twitter chat series aimed to: Inspire and connect women interested in business, marketing,…
Read storySheryl Sandberg, COO of FaceBook just gave a TED talk about women in the workplace and how we can get more women in upper management positions. She delved into what our problems are and how can we fix these problems to even out the number. We need to start now. Women at the top, C level jobs are around 15-16…
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