Sales and Marketing Performance Blog

Daily Best-Practices for Sales Professionals

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The following best-practices are guidelines for high performing sales professionals. Thanks to Don Henrich, VP Sales and Marketing at Vico Software for the genesis of this article.

1. Start your day early with 15-20 minutes mastering a concept in the “Selling in the Internet Age" Performance Support curriculum. If you are not an Admarco client and don’t have a company supplied performance support tool, you could use this one for $2 per day. (One year subscription)
2. Check your goals for the day
3. Login to your dashboard in Salesforce.com/CRM tool – dial from your lead list and dial for a set period.
   
   • If you don’t have enough inbound leads we can help your marketing team generate them, but in the interim, work from introductions from existing clients, LinkedIn and social network contacts, news events related to your target accounts.
   • Process your leads – these are either new or people who keep coming to your website and your events.  They might not know enough yet to want to invest, but they should know who you are and what your process is to help them.
   • Shut out distractions, switch off email and focus, put yourself in a peak state every time you pick up the phone, this is money time!
4. Executives and managers come to work early to get things done before they are pulled into meetings and the daily turmoil, so plan to dial from 8.00 am to 11:00 am without interruption except for scheduled meetings, bio and stretch breaks. Leave well constructed voicemial when appropriate, with the single goal of getting a call-back.
5. Quality trumps quantity, but aim to do 40 dials/day minimum, especially if your sales pipeline is weak and/or poorly qualified.
6. If you have a face-face/Internet meeting with a prospective client, you will be prepared from the day before.
   
   • What is your “commanders intent” for the meeting?
   • Only 25% of reps get a second meeting so understand the buyer-persona, likely business goals and industry issues from your buyer-relevant-messaging templates.
   • Aim for a minimum of 8 in-person or Internet meetings per week with interested prospects.
7. 11.00am-12.00am check your voicemail, email and return any high priority calls/emails.
8. Call your manager and spend 15 minutes catching them up with your work, your progress and your challenges. Enlist the aid of others in the office to help perfect call openings and sales technique.
9. After lunch focus on opportunities; what is your "commander’s intent" – the single thing you need to get in motion or completed to be able to move an opportunity forward. 
10. Lowest priority is admin and travel, do this at the end of the day.
    
11. Before you leave the office for the day, spend 15-30 minutes getting ready for the next day and updating your opportunities, (if you haven’t done it already).
12. If you don't have enough inbound leads, send out 5-10 opt-in meeting requests on LinkedIN.