Having previously experienced inside sales roles at multiple organizations, I have left a large amount of voicemails in my career. “Hi prospect, I want to introduce myself… Hi prospect, I’m following up to the coupon you received… Hi prospect, I noticed you downloaded some content. Wow! Was I doing it wrong! Can’t really blame anyone for that other than the status quo of cold calling. I wasn’t told anything different.
“People always ask me whether or not they should bother leaving voicemails. My response is yes – as long as they are good ones” – John Barrows[note]Page 168[/note]
Sounds pretty simple right? It is… but because sales people have to show they’re being active, they often don’t personalize their messaging. Think about how people leave voice messages for you. Do you return sales calls when they’re boring? I doubt it. Shit, I bet you even delete the message once you hear the person’s name and what company they’re calling from.
STOP being boring. Bertuzzi’s examples in here are amazing! These examples are something that the VP of sales, sales managers and all inside sales people need to read. If you want to separate yourself from the competition, be relevant and interesting.
What’s your call back rate on voicemails? I bet it sucks. Change it up… Whatcha got to lose?
Another side of prospecting that a lot of people feel more confident to share their success in, is email. You can hide behind your computer and send out blasts of emails to see who bites. Try and think about this from your mailbox. How often do you respond to sales emails? If you do, why?
If you’re approaching a VP or C-level person, good luck getting a response from them by sending a crap email. They don’t have time for that. You have to grab their attention and provide value.
“An opening line addressing a relevant problem tends to grab my attention. Something straightforward and human.” – Hannah Wright[note]Page 182[/note]
If you’ve done research on the person and company, you’ll know enough about them to be able to grab their attention. Don’t try and trick the person to open your email… that might just piss them off. I did that once to the CIO of a 10,000 employee company… He wasn’t very happy.
You’re trying to get their attention so they want more information. Maybe they already have a provider for the solution you’re selling. That’s okay. What sets you and the competition apart? Maybe they don’t take the meeting now, but when they run into a snag with their current provider, guess who they’re going to call?
Bertuzzi has done extensive work with sales organizations throughout the years. She had written gold for you… and I strongly suggest you read this book.
Moving from sales prospecting and into the leadership side of a sales organization, you’re in charge of a lot! One thing I love about starting a new job is the ‘tool kit’ a company provides. Basically, it’s a shared set of ‘stuff’ that is given to the sales people to help them do their jobs. Presentation, talk tracks, prospecting profiles, templates… the works! Imagine using this ‘tool kit’ as a recruiting tool as well.
“In this highly competitive market, wouldn’t it be great to show a candidate your SDR toolkit and say, ‘Here is the roadmap for how the team executes. I look forward to you joining us and helping us to evolve this tool for future reps.’?”[note]Page 196[/note]
Prior to hiring someone, you’ve already got them engaged. Now they know that you’re not going to leave them hanging once you hire them.
Having a quota thrown at them is scary. But if they have the support of management and their team, they are set up for success.
“Whether or not making quota is an achievable goal sets the tone for your culture. Make it attainable, and you’ll have a group of competitive reps with a positive attitude. Make it too much of a stretch, and you’ll have miserable reps and a high attrition rate.”[note]Page 204[/note]
Honestly, we all know this. But being in sales… you’re at the bottom of the totem pole. The CEO decides a revenue number and then the sales department is in charge of hitting that number. Attrition destroys that number. If you’ve got your ducks in a role and the processes are sound, that number will be attainable.
“Great process is the foundation for repeatable, scalable success. Our reps bring passion, a competitive spirit, and curiosity to their jobs every day.”[note]Page 206[/note]
If you’ve got a process that works, your people like what they do, your attrition is low, you’re promoting from within, and you’re hitting your numbers, you’re going to grow. To successfully grow and to continue winning, you’ve got to have those ducks in a row or you’re going to sink.
There’s more to come from me about:
The Sales Development Playbook | Trish Bertuzzi
Get “The Sales Development Playbook” on Amazon.