Know yourself as a salesperson and the industry that you sell to, and rock it! Time management skills are important, and don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and network. And you can't forget to use the best sales enablement tools such as etailinsights!
...Ah, this preschool is just right.
Tip o’ the cap to Goldilocks. I’ve become an expert on child care options from nannies to pre-schools, and everything in between. My son Julian has unique needs regarding care. Last month my wife went back to work, and we simply placed Julian into the most expensive school, thinking a high price would equate with being the best.
Wrong.
My son’s name is Julian. But that isn’t what we call him, or at least not unless we really want to get his attention. As an infant, he was a bit of a “Fussy Gus.” So we started calling him Gus. Then somehow it progressed to Gussy. It stuck. Poor guy. But when his Mom really wants to get his attention, she will sternly say “Julian.” He will turn immediately and look.
Growing up in Chapel Hill, NC with two parents who attended the University of North Carolina and a Mother who worked for the university, no doubt I was a “Tar Heel Born and Bred.” In elementary and middle school, teachers would roll televisions into class during March Madness and we’d watch basketball games instead of learning. In High School, we simply didn’t attend much class during games in March, and it was essentially an excused absence.
The more precise you can be, the better success you’ll have. With etailinsights you can narrow down exactly the companies that fit your ideal target and then refine even further right to down to identifying the decision maker you need to connect with. This helps you get to the right prospect quickly and not waste your time sorting through leads that are not in your ideal client profile.
A lot of the time in SaaS sales, it’s easy to list off features and statistics and dive right into a demo of the product, which can overwhelm prospects or cause them to tune out on a call or WebEx. Avoid being put on mute after effectively securing a demo by listening, engaging with, and asking effective questions to your prospect. Find out what the root problem or pain point in your prospect’s current business is, and adjust your demo to highlight the specific areas of your solution that can help fix their current pain points.
Without a doubt, my favorite movie as a kid was Top Gun. I knew all the lines to the movie. My Gramps (J.B. Pierce) flew in fighter jets in the Marine corps (actually, he was a “gunner”), and he gave me his old helmet. I had an Atari joystick. I’d parlay these into a re-enactment of Maverick’s attack on Russian jets over and over. Sometimes I’d let Ice Man get shot down.
Recently, against my will, I attended my 20-year high school reunion. I didn’t want to go. But I was encouraged (read: forced) by a good friend, so I attended. I’m glad I went because it was great to see everyone.
Unfortunately, we didn’t rent out the entire bar. Therefore, there were lots of people in the bar who did not attend my high school. This was a recipe for disaster because many times I entered discussions with folks who weren’t from my school, and this took away the limited time I had to speak with my true classmates. And worse, I was confronted by a few people who remembered me, but I didn’t immediately remember them, and that feels terrible.
I can’t say enough about localizing your prospecting. We have sales people in major markets including Arizona, Texas, Illinois, and Colorado. Being able to call on a prospect and tell them you’re located within driving distance is huge. With all the sales calls that etailers receive, it's important to put a face with a name. Plus, knowing you're close gives them some comfort that if they do decide to work with you they have a local “throat to choke.”
If you email me, I’ll probably delete it – unless it’s a really good email.
If you call the etailinsights office, you’ll never get to me. Ever. I promise.
If you happen to have my cell phone number, you can call that, but I won’t answer. Then you’ll get a message that says, “This voicemail box is full.” Why? Because I get between 10 and 20 calls to my personal cell phone per day from numbers that I don’t have saved, likely because it’s a salesperson trying to sell something to me. They go straight to voicemail (do not disturb settings).
