Sales Secrets

Not long ago, a few of us here at the office started debating what was the most popular sales related movie. Surprisingly, there was not a clear winner. I was shocked at some of the movies that people mentioned as I didn’t really considerer them a movie related to sales. After a lot of discussion we decided we'd finalize the debate with a research study. Why not ask a few hundred sales people what their favorite sales related movie was and once and for all see if we couldn’t settle the debate. So we did. We gathered a list of a handful of sales related movies and sent a survey out to a mix of sales positions. We had 433 people respond. The top three sales movies were...you'll have to listen to find out. In This Episode You'll Learn: What the highest and lowest rated sales movies Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: LinkedIn Post

Should you even have a sales development team? In this episode, experts Sarah Roberts (Salesforce), Richard Harris (Harris Consulting), and Ken Krogue (InsideSales.com), discuss and debate the pros and cons of having a sales development team and the tips, technology, and trends surrounding this sales function. In This Episode You'll Learn: Should you even have a sales development team Best practices sales development teams should follow Dos and Don'ts of successful sales development teams. Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: 23: Four Keys for Sales & Sales Development to Partner to Achieve Success w/Kristin Agnelli @PGi 18: How the World’s Top Tech Companies are Killing It with Sales Development w/Leaders from Apttus, Salesforce, Docusign, and Hubspot

Every new year there are a lot of people who speak out about what technologies they think should be part of the an optimized sales stack. Most of the time those answers are clouded with companies pushing their own products or consultants pushing partner products where they know they will get part of the pie. Needless the say, the conversation get's confusing and it's mostly the end user who suffers. We thought we'd break through the fluff and go right to the source so in 2016 we asked 600 sales leaders across a variety of industries and company sizes, what technologies are needed most to win. In This Episode You'll Learn: The top ten technologies leaders recommend as part of an optimized tech stack Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Business Growth Index Study LinkedIn Article

If you've not heard of Tom Hopkins, you're probably not a great sales person. Tom wrote a revolutionary book in 80's called 'How to Master the Art of Selling'. Since then Tom has revised that book and written another book called 'When Buyers Say No'. In this episode, Tom talks briefly about the importance of communication skills and the proper steps to selling and how to serve your clients well. In addition, Tom talks about the word "No" and how it can be a fork in the road if sales reps treat it right. In This Episode You'll Learn: The importance of goals The most important thing in selling How to think about "No" in a different way Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Tom Hopkins LinkedIn

Bob Burg is the coauthor of the international bestseller, The Go-Giver and a much sought-after speaker at sales and leadership conferences. In this episode, Bob discusses his book the Go-Giver and talks about how companies both large and small are not only of much greater value to their customers; they are also significantly more functional, and profitable by using the Go-Giver method. In This Episode You'll Learn: Five Laws that will bring you both personal effectiveness and professional success. The difference between price and value…and why that’s so vitally important to understand. One golden nugget of advice from a “drive-by mentor” totally shifted Bob’s perspective and played a big role in his success. Why asking if something will make money isn’t a bad question…it’s just a bad “first question.” Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Bob Burg's Website

Qualification is a lost art. Most people try to move too quickly to the presentation so they can talk about themselves and how great they are. In this episode, Mark Hunter, discusses keys to qualification and how reps can win if they qualify the right way. In This Episode You'll Learn: How to qualify quickly The key of asking open ended questions The importance of finding a critical need and building on it Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: InsideSales Labs Research The Sales Acceleration Show Recognized as Top Podcast

2016 has come and gone and it's time to reflect on what actually happened. Here are some of the highlights: The Olympics were awesome, there were some crazy tech acquisitions, a couple of important sports spells were broken, and of course Donald Trump was elected president. But, that's not all. Some fun things happened with InsideSales Labs and we wanted to tell you about it. In This Episode You'll Learn: Our highlights from 2016 Some of the cool things InsideSales Labs has been working on Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: LinkedIn Article with Links InsideSales Labs Research The Sales Acceleration Show Recognized as Top Podcast

2016 has come and gone and managers and reps are preparing for 2017. The end of the year provides a time to reflect and review on what went well and what can be improved. In this episode, author, speaker, and strategist, Andy Paul, discusses 2017 and what reps and managers should do to make it a success. In This Episode You'll Learn: Biggest sales challenge facing sales reps The importance of understanding the psychology of decision making Where deals are won or lost in competitive sales Advice for heading into 2017 Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: AndyPaul.com Inside Sales Top Challenges Study Andy Paul Blog: Top Five Sales Books Recommend by Experts

One of the fundamental questions in sales is, “What does my buyer want?” Surprisingly, very few sales people can answer that question correctly. Note, I said, “correctly.” Every sales person thinks they know what their buyer wants but not many reps actually do. In this episode, we review the latest InsideSales.com research on what buyers actually want. In This Episode You'll Learn: An objective approach to determining what buyers want What the top priorities of key buyers are The importance of title level and title function Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: LinkedIn Post Inside Sales Top Challenges Study 14: Using Sales Operations to Drive Growth and Productivity w/Leaders from Apttus, New Relic, Xactly, and Splunk

We've completed a study for the last the last three years in partnership with the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals. We ask managers and reps a series of questions to understand what's difficult about their job and what challenges they face. In this episode, we dive into the top challenges of manager and discuss the trends from 2015 to 2016. In This Episode You'll Learn: What are managers biggest challenges What managers are going to do about their top challenges Trends and analysis regarding inside sales top challenges Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: LinkedIn Post Inside Sales Top Challenges Study 44: Why Coaching Is So Much Better Than Training w/Rob Jeppsen @XVoyant

Everybody prospects but not everybody really prospects. In this episode, Jeb Blount, CEO of SavyGravy, talks about the secrets of prospecting with the pros. In This Episode You'll Learn: How important is a manager Tips and tricks for prospecting How to differentiate yourself on the phone

Training, coaching, skill building, on boarding . . .we hear about them but do we really know the difference and why they are so important? In this episode, founder of XVoyant, Rob Jeppsen, discusses what is coaching and how leaders can take steps to start coaching more effectively. In This Episode You'll Learn: What is coaching What is the business case for coaching Difference between training and coaching What are the things that a leader can do to be a world class coach Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: 37: What Makes or Breaks A Great Coaching Program w/Tom Lavery @Jiminny 31: Creating a Culture of Coaching by Using Call Recordings w/Steve Richard @ExecVision_io 43: Top Five Things That Piss Off Inside Sales Reps The Most

We've completed a study for the last the last three years in partnership with the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals. We ask leaders and reps a series of questions to understand what's difficult about their job and what challenges they face. In this episode, we dive into the top challenges of reps and discuss the trends from 2015 to 2016. In This Episode You'll Learn: What are inside sales reps biggest challenges What inside sales reps don't think matters Trends and analysis regarding inside sales top challenges Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: LinkedIn Post Inside Sales Top Challenges Study 31: Creating a Culture of Coaching by Using Call Recordings w/Steve Richard @ExecVision_io

Every company wants to grow, but not every company knows how to do that. In this episode, Jamie Shanks, CEO of Sales For Life, talks about his five step process to help companies achieve rapid and scalable business growth. In This Episode You'll Learn: How to plan your go-to-market strategy Use your people correctly Build out an ideal process How to thinking about optimizing your tech stack How to measure, adjust, and adapt Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: InsideSales.com Sales Acceleration Technology Summit

As 2016 comes and goes, many companies are starting to think about budgets for 2017 and where to spend their precious dollars. In this episode, Matt Heinz, President of Heinz Marketing discusses some of the points companies should consider as they review and decide on their 2017 budgets. In This Episode You'll Learn: Budget considerations for 2017 Areas where companies often overlook when it comes to budgeting Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: 37: What Makes or Breaks A Great Coaching Program w/Tom Lavery @Jiminny 24: Seven Cadence Templates To Double Your Contact Rates in 20 Days 20: How To Do Account-Based Sales. . .NOT

In sales we all have those moments. Moments we can't forget for the rest of our lives and usually it's because those experiences were incredibly embarrassing. In this episode, we talk about our most embarrassing moments and some of the lessons learned. In This Episode You'll Learn: Some of our most embarrassing moments Lessons learned from these experiences A few tips to make sure you don't make the same mistakes Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: LinkedIn Post: What Are Your Most Embarrassing Sales Moments? Here Are My Top Two

Everybody does social selling...or do they? Social selling is easy so you should do it...or should you? Social Selling is a buzzword but there are actually a lot of misconceptions about what it is, who it is for, and what it takes to really win. In this episode, Jared Fuller VP of Sales at PandaDoc, dives into the misconceptions of Social Selling and sets the record straight. In This Episode You'll Learn: The biggest misconceptions with social selling What companies and reps can do overcome solve misconceptions Why these social selling misconceptions exist Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: 17: Leverage Social Networks to Gain Access to Big Time Decision Makers w/Brynne Tillman @PeopleLinx 8: Boost Sales 30% by Integrating Social Selling into Your Traditional Sales Process w/Gabe Villamizar @HireVue

Great leaders can sense what is coming. They know when change is imminent and they usually have an idea on how to handle it. Not this time. If you sit down with a leader, you can see it in their face. They don't have the answer. The topic is Millennials, and the statistic is that Millennials are now the largest generation in the workforce as 1 out of every 3 workers is a Millennial [Pew Research]. In this episode, Gabe discusses common issues how Millennials are changing the way we do business. In This Episode You'll Learn: Killer statistics about Millennials What leaders can do to effectively lead in this new world How to change the old mentality of thinking towards Millennials Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: LinkedIn Posts: The One Statistic Every Leader Needs to Hang on Their Wall (Hint: It Involves Millennials) 36: A Day In The Life Of A Millennial Sales Rep: Why A.I. Is Causing A Sales Revolution

Coaching is something that people talk about but rarely do. Why? Is it because it's hard? Is there no technology to support coaching activities? In this episode, Tom Lavery CEO of Jiminny, discusses why and how companies can start creating a culture of coaching. In This Episode You'll Learn: What great organizations do to create a culture of coaching Where leaders should spend time coaching How to develop sales people in the ways they learn How companies are measuring performance Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: 31: Creating a Culture of Coaching by Using Call Recordings w/Steve Richard @ExecVision_io 27: The Secret to Selling in the Enterprise: Navigating the Path to Power 26: Owning the Sales Conversation w/Josh Harcus @TeamHuify

The workforce is changing. According to a White House report, 33% of the current workforce is a millennial and in 4 years time, millennials will make up over 50% of the entire U.S. workforce. Millennials do things differently and they expect their work life to be like the rest of their life -- supported by technology and A.I. The problem is, it's not. Work is the one area where sales reps do not get much support from A.I. and that trend is changing. A.I. in enterprise sales is at a tipping point and it's a good thing because if you look at the day of a typical millennial sales rep, you'd be shocked at what happens. I know I was. In this episode, Steve and Gabe discuss the power of A.I. in the our personal lives and gap we're experiencing in our work life. In This Episode You'll Learn: What a day in the life of a millennial sales rep looks like Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode: LinkedIn Post: A Day In The Life Of A Millennial Sales Rep: Why A.I. Is Causing A Sales Revolution 34: Data + Science