The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

While recently chatting with a new salesperson about setting appointments with new business target accounts, the seller said, “I never leave a message if my call goes into voicemail. I don’t want to waste time leaving a message.”

It’s no secret that leaving a good sales voicemail is hard. Even the most well-crafted messages often get ignored by prospects. However, leaving a voicemail is a wise investment and a critical part of the sales process that enables sellers to stand out and connect with prospects, and here are four reasons why.

Fortune Magazine reports that 46% of new sales employees leave or get fired within 18 months. Additionally, the average ramp-up time for salespeople is between six and nine months. Both alarming statistics that cost your company a lot of revenue.

What are new hires looking for to make their first days and weeks successful in sales? When talking with several new hires, there are interesting commonalities that resonate across multiple companies. Take a look at how you can help minimize the risk of an early departure, accelerate ramp-up time, and maximize the investment you’re making in sales new hires by giving them what they want.

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"Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it."

-Harper Lee

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As sales professionals, one of the biggest challenges we face is trying to connect with a new prospect. With so many different touchpoints, it’s easy for a prospect to avoid or ignore your voicemails, emails, texts, or LinkedIn request.

If you want your message to stand out, it’s critical that you have a solid valid business reason (VBR) that establishes you as trusted and valued. However, it’s equally important to ensure you have a strong email subject line. You can have the best valid business reason on the planet, but if the email is never opened by the intended recipient, what good is it?

Take this five-question quiz to set the foundation for this blog post—simply answer agree or disagree.

1. I interview sales candidates every week, even if I don’t have openings on my staff.

2. I find my best sales candidates when I’m under the gun and have openings on my staff.

3. I move out underperforming sellers often because I keep a talent bank of qualified prospects.

4. I am a proactive recruiter, always looking for, and evaluating talent.

5. I often tell candidates that I’m interviewing even though I don’t have a position open.

If answered disagree to the majority of these questions; continue reading this post.

- MOTIVATION -

"It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure."

-Bill Gates

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The 2019 Media Sales Report studies the landscape over the past year, including the expectations for sales managers and the strategies employed by media sales professionals to assess their impact across five key topics:

• Compensation and Sales Team Size
• Training and Development
• Number of Appointments and Sales Process
• Sales Enablement
• Culture and Industry
• More!

You can see some of the highlights for the survey in the infographic below. If you'd like to read the full report, download it here.

Your sales team has goals. In order to evaluate the activities that are being performed in pursuit of those goals, you need measurable indicators known as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Aligning your team with the right KPIs increases productivity and enhances performance, but it also allows you to monitor the overall health of your organization and team. With KPIs, you can:

• Measure progress
• Analyze patterns over time
• Make adjustments when necessary
• Solve problems
• Tackle opportunities

The hard part is choosing the KPIs that are most relevant to both your industry and goals. Here are some tips on how to select sales KPIs that align with your business goals.