Confession: at our house, we watch a LOT of reality TV. One of our favorite series – and one of the few reality shows that’s also family-friendly – is ABC’s Shark Tank. I love the brash personalities, the high-stakes negotiation, and seeing entrepreneurs achieve their life’s dream. Our children love… Read More
Category Archives: inside sales
Steal This Technique for Your Next Sales Email
One of the basic rules of good, direct marketing copywriting is that a call to action should always be specific. In other words, it’s always better to present the reader with a very precise, preferably tangible reason to respond. So, for example: “Click to download our free white paper” is… Read More
Why is Inside Sales So Scared of Lead Nurturing?
Recent studies tell us that while the adoption of marketing automation technology continues to gain momentum, fewer than 20 percent of marketing executives say that they are fully integrating the technology into their current sales and marketing initiatives. One of the reasons for this under-utilization, and the inability of some… Read More
More Evidence That Waiting Even 5 Seconds to Contact a New Sales Lead Can Be Disastrous
In my experience, most of the mental energy and strategic thinking around the practice of lead nurturing and lead management is usually applied to the goal of accelerating prospects through the sales process – from MQL to SQL, from SQL to Opportunity, and so on. Relatively little attention is paid… Read More
3 Keys to an Effective Autoresponder Program
Studies show that responding to new sales leads promptly, literally within minutes, can have a dramatic impact on the rate at which those leads are qualified, and the speed at which they convert to opportunities and, ultimately, deals. An effective lead follow-up strategy, therefore, is essential to ensuring that you’re… Read More
Think Your Inside Sales Team Has it Covered? Think Again.
I’ve made the case previously in this space how one of the easiest way to gain a quick return from any investment in marketing automation is to apply the technology towards more efficient and systematic follow-up to inbound leads. And yet, I’m finding in the course of our firm’s work… Read More
Call Every New Sales Lead 6 Times? Sorry, that’s Crazy.
I only recently came across the results of research published late last year by Leads360, a leading provider of hosted (SaaS) solutions for managing sales leads. In their August 2010 report, “Building the Optimal Inquiry Response Strategy,” Leads360 use the data collected to make some startling claims, amongst them the… Read More