Lead Generation

Sales development representatives (SDRs) play a critical role in identifying qualified prospects. As a link between marketing and the inside sales team, they also help ensure that leads are followed up on and converted into sales. How to prepare an SDR or inside sales team for the first outreach to a prospect has become increasingly challenging. Quality leads aren’t as predictably convertible as they once were. Clients now demand transparent answers and proven reasons to spend money on what you offer.

Today, the typical B2B buyer completes their buyer journey before they engage with one of your sales reps. But what if your team could get ahead of this reality? Our latest blog reviews how intent-based targeting helps you improve marketing effectiveness by targeting prospects based on their purchase intent. To incorporate intent-based targeting into your outreach process, you need intent data, which enables your sales team to identify candidates who are actively searching online for your product or service. We review the tools and processes.

As a sales tactic, cold outreach is often criticized as ineffective and intrusive. Yet many companies say they’re able to grow their pipelines and generate new qualified leads through the process. So, who’s right? Cold outreach tactics have been around for quite a while, though they’ve evolved from simple telemarketing or “cold calls” to include emails and social media. Another change has been that modern technologies now allow sales agents to use targeted lists and multichannel sales engagement workflows to contact with potential leads.

The success of any B2B sales strategy largely depends on the strength of a company’s database. That’s because when you know essential details about your leads, you have a better chance of engaging them. And when you engage leads, they’re more likely to convert, which means more customers, sales, and revenue.

Are you considering outsourcing your inside sales team? If so, you’ve likely heard or come across some common myths about the practice, such as: 1. Outsourcing costs more than building a team in-house. 2. Most businesses don’t need to outsource their sales processes. 3. Outsourcing an inside sales team is too risky. 4. Outsourced sales partners don’t bring new ideas to the table. Companies already investing in outsourced sales services have proven these myths unfounded, growing their pipelines and increasing revenue beyond their expectations.

Grabbing a prospect’s attention and keeping it long enough to secure their interest is often the most challenging part of a sale. But once you make that connection, the rest of the sales process can flow smoothly, as most people want to do business with someone they feel understands them.

If you're thinking of building a team of business development representatives (BDRs) but are having difficulty justifying paying someone who doesn't close sales, read on. You might need a new perspective along with a program designed to get the most of your business development reps. BDRs are essential because they free your salespeople of many burdensome tasks that take them away from selling.

How critical is customer experience to competing and winning business in the 21st century? Well consider this:

“ If you can't measure it, you can't improve it.” — Peter Drucker.

Thanks to online marketing and technology, we have more data than ever to use in measuring and managing marketing campaigns. There are so many potential reports and dashboards that it’s easy to be overwhelmed.
So in this article, I will boil down an ocean of possible marketing data into the essential drops of wisdom. These are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will give you the big picture. Plus, they allow you to drill deeper as necessary to manage your pipeline, refine your campaigns and maximize return on investment (ROI). 

Are you looking for a cookie-cutter inside sales process you can implement in your company without changes? If so, you’ll be disappointed. No such thing exists. That’s because you need to tailor your process to your market, target audience and product or solution.

Most importantly, how you approach the sale has to be in sync with your buyer’s journey. How do they make the buying decision? What questions do they ask along the way? How can you help them choose the right product or solution?

To illustrate an inside sales process, let’s take a fictitious example — a company, Zippy, Inc., which offers a marketing automation solution.