sales management (29)

How to Sell a Half-Million Brake Pads, Save the Company and Get the Girl

In a departure from the usual topics, I'm going to weigh in on the subject of "Best Sales-Oriented Movies of All Time". Hint: Glengarry Glen Ross comes in second.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2010-02-05 01:07 0 comments

Teleprospecting is Not Just for Contacting New Companies

What we've discovered over the years is that in very large organizations there are a lot of competing fiefdoms and scattered silos of technology solutions. Just because you've managed to make a sale into one of the company does not give you carte blanche in the rest.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2010-02-03 23:07 0 comments

Where Teleprospecting Fits with Ram Charan's New Vision of Selling

Most sales organizations are not disciplined enough or motivated enough to develop this level of buyer introspective. Sales people have way too much on their plates to conduct this kind of due diligence UNLESS they get some help

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2010-02-03 14:14 0 comments

Why Sales People (especially Sales Managers) Fight Process

Without a system, when things don't go well the sales manager is going to be held responsible, and without any supporting data, can and is often shown the door.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2010-02-03 00:18 0 comments

Tracking the Incremental Expense of Lead Qualification

Don't overspend on lead qualification and development enroute to conversion.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2010-01-27 14:15 0 comments

When a Stranger Cold Calls

Brian Berlin, President of Straightline Strategies, is one of the prominent authorities on outsourced prospecting interviewed for an article in 1to1 Media.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2010-01-26 22:01 0 comments

How to Restore Dated Lead Information

As salespeople we're trained to attack a hot lead, but the prospect may only be in the research phase. So typically sales categorizes this kind of prospect as a "tire-kicker", and the info goes into the deep freeze.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2010-01-25 01:01 0 comments

Setting Proper Teleprospecting Expectations

Think of it as a process of elimination.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2010-01-18 14:53 0 comments

The Best Teleprospecting Script is Not a Script at All

The tightest, most economic "script" will still sound like a script, which is off-putting to any potential prospect.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2010-01-18 06:00 0 comments

5 Ways to Shorten the Sales Cycle Using Teleprospecting

Organizations that utilize outsourced prospecting firms effectively can shorten their time-to-market by eliminating wasted efforts on hurried plans. Armed with better data, managers can hire better and faster, and arm the sales team with more prospects, create a fatter pipeline and gain a more realistic view of revenues.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2010-01-08 13:53 0 comments

Social Media No Substitute for Real Time Prospecting

My sales manager DNA makes it impossible for me to equate Sales 2.0 tools as a replacement for phone calls. Plus I just know better.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2010-01-07 13:53 0 comments

The Compelling Hook

Prospects won't commit their time unless they understand the value and believe they might need the associated benefits.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2010-01-07 06:00 0 comments

Make Sales Not Cold Calls

The role of insides sales is to make sales, not cold calls. Selling cloud computing and web-based applications has created the rise of the "sales-inside" professional, and as such requires the same support as the field-based counterpart.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2010-01-06 14:24 0 comments

Pull vs. Push--the Yin and Yang of B2B Marketing

Pull marketing and other 2.0 strategies and tactics are important, but are limited in the types of respondents that are captured. Teleprospecting provides the necessary "push" marketing component to give B2B companies balanced go-to-market execution.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2010-01-06 06:00 0 comments

Using Teleprospecting to Shorten Sales Rep On-boarding Period

What if you could reduce on-boarding to three months from seven? That’s a 57% decrease in on-boarding time. Imagine what that could do for your forecasts!

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2010-01-04 13:48 0 comments

How to Budget for Teleprospecting

As a former VP Sales, I can tell you exactly where to find the money to pay for outsourced teleprospecting.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2009-12-24 06:00 0 comments

This Inside Sales Manager is Doomed

Unless your company coffers are brimming, you should outsource teleprospecting.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2009-12-22 06:00 0 comments

"I Hired Straightline--Here's Why"

Cost reduction came in dead last as a reason to outsource prospecting. Hmmm....

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2009-12-21 00:00 0 comments

Five Questions to Help Set Realistic Prospecting Expectations

I once had a client tell me there were "a jillion" prospects in their target market. Turns out it was 100 or less.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2009-12-16 15:30 0 comments

Teleprospecting and Sales 2.0

After hearing the term Sales 2.0 get thrown around with great frequency, I decided to determine the real meaning. As it turns out, teleprospecting fits very well in the Sales 2.0 world.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2009-08-23 17:01 0 comments

How to Pester a Prospect Following the First Meeting

There are only three good reasons to follow up on your prospect following a productive sales call, and only one bad reason.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2009-08-23 01:00 0 comments

When Does a Lead Become an Opportunity?

The rule of thumb that I've always followed: a lead becomes an opportunity when the prospect is going to buy something, from someone (maybe your company) in a defined timeframe.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2009-08-22 00:45 0 comments

The Prospecting Concierge

If you engage with the right (ahem) outsourced business development firm, what you should get is comparable to a prospecting event planner and concierge. Now, I know that sounds odd, so let me explain.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2009-06-25 03:41 0 comments

Why Sales Inside is Preferable Over Inside Sales

The only reason to have inside sales is to make sales, not appointments. So the "perfect" inside sales person is a sales representative that meets prospects by phone and internet.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2009-03-09 13:43 0 comments

Getting to "No": How to Vet Your Sales Process to Avoid Lost Deals

In enterprise sales, losing a deal casts a harsh light on the sales rep, the sales manager and the sales process. So it's rare that sales wants to deconstruct a lost sale as a learning exercise, and it's even rarer that a buyer will want to share the reasons. That's why it's important.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2009-01-27 05:42 0 comments

CRM Only as Good as the Data

Inaccuracies in CRM data lead to unsupported decisions, which can impact sales effectiveness.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2008-04-02 05:33 0 comments

How to Optimize Your Sales Performance Initiative

Sales performance measurement and management are hot topics. But companies need the tools to sustain the the programs they implement.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2008-03-30 05:30 0 comments

What Every Front Line Sales Manager Needs to Know

Making the "gut instinct" call is still an important management attribute in today's enterprise selling environment. If you're a sales manager, you've been hired to make decisions about your team to ensure its success.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2008-03-10 05:18 0 comments

How to Simplify the Enterprise Deal Cycle

The complexity of the enterprise sale has led many sales leaders to employ a creative handicapping system for the different stages of the sales cycle.

Posted by by Brian Berlin on 2008-01-20 05:14 0 comments

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sales management (29)

How to Sell a Half-Million Brake Pads, Save the Company and Get the Girl

Teleprospecting is Not Just for Contacting New Companies

Where Teleprospecting Fits with Ram Charan's New Vision of Selling

Why Sales People (especially Sales Managers) Fight Process

Tracking the Incremental Expense of Lead Qualification

When a Stranger Cold Calls

How to Restore Dated Lead Information

Setting Proper Teleprospecting Expectations

The Best Teleprospecting Script is Not a Script at All

5 Ways to Shorten the Sales Cycle Using Teleprospecting

Social Media No Substitute for Real Time Prospecting

The Compelling Hook

Make Sales Not Cold Calls

Pull vs. Push--the Yin and Yang of B2B Marketing

Using Teleprospecting to Shorten Sales Rep On-boarding Period

How to Budget for Teleprospecting

This Inside Sales Manager is Doomed

"I Hired Straightline--Here's Why"

Five Questions to Help Set Realistic Prospecting Expectations

Teleprospecting and Sales 2.0

How to Pester a Prospect Following the First Meeting

When Does a Lead Become an Opportunity?

The Prospecting Concierge

Why Sales Inside is Preferable Over Inside Sales

Getting to "No": How to Vet Your Sales Process to Avoid Lost Deals

CRM Only as Good as the Data

How to Optimize Your Sales Performance Initiative

What Every Front Line Sales Manager Needs to Know

How to Simplify the Enterprise Deal Cycle