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Courtside with Community ft. Tibor Shanto | March 16 | How to become a pro at sales prospecting

Courtside with Community ft. Tibor Shanto | March 16 | How to become a pro at sales prospecting
rhea.desouza
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Calling all sales enthusiasts,

This one is for you! 

Welcome to another edition of the #CommunityChat, where we explore a relevant topic with specialists, and YOU.
 

Theme: How to become a pro at sales prospecting
 

In this session, we will be joined by @Tibor, a sales leader for over 25 years. Called a brilliant sales tactician, Tibor helps sales teams and organizations translate strategy to results through a focus on execution.  Tibor develops salespeople who understand that success in sales is about Execution – Everything Else Is Just Talk!  

 

Here’s a list of questions we will be tackling - 

  • What qualification frameworks do you use to identify prospects?
  • Is there a way to qualify your list of prospect, prioritizing those that are close to becoming sales opportunities? If yes, how do you do it?
  • Prospects can be reached out to via email, social and cold calling. What form of communication works best for you? What are some tips to start a conversation with a prospect?
  • Metrics are key to success. But what metrics must be captured while handling prospects and how often?
     

Come prepared with your insights, and any questions you’d like answered.
 

Let’s get talking on March 16, 9:30 AM PT.

Cheers | Team Freshworks Community

61 replies

Tibor
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It’s time for the last question - question no. 4!

Q4: Metrics are key to success. But what metrics must be captured while handling prospects and how often?

To answer this question, start your answer with A4, signifying the answer for Q4.

A4 - Metrics are key. While there are many, I like leading indicators, I measure the following:

 

Contact to Appointment

First Meeting to Discovery

Discovery to Proposal

Proposal to Close

Average Deal Size

 

Each of these require a learnable and improvable skill that can be coached to.

nivedita
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My question to Tibor and community is: Some prospects who express interest say they’d think about my proposition and get back in a few days - but they don’t until I follow up a few times. What is the ideal number of times to follow up and in what cadence without coming off as annoying?

Tibor
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We’re mid-way through the session. 🎉 Your next question is here:

Q3: Prospects can be reached out to via email, social and cold calling. What form of communication works best for you? What are some tips to start a conversation with a prospect?

Begin your answer for this question with A3 or click on ‘quote’ below

I find the most effective way to start a conversation is by providing an example of an outcome.  They always told us not to look at the last page of a novel.  I am saying the prospecting call should start with the end of the book, if they like that the rest of the story is straight forward.  Foocus on the end, not the means.

How effective is social media when it comes to prospecting? Is it important to track social mentions of your business and engage with prospects there? Or is it best to use social media as a tool to see if prospects fit your ICP?

I think it is one tool when it comes to ICP.  I would leave monitoring mentions to others in the company.  But I do think social to understand and connect with a prospect is part of your tool kit.

Manasa Kumar
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It’s time for the last question - question no. 4!

Q4: Metrics are key to success. But what metrics must be captured while handling prospects and how often?

To answer this question, start your answer with A4, signifying the answer for Q4.

Some metrics I like to track include: 

  1. Email metrics - email opens, clicks and replies 
  2. Social media engagement 
  3. Sales activity metrics - downloads, demo requests, calls, meetings 
Tibor
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My question to Tibor and community is: Some prospects who express interest say they’d think about my proposition and get back in a few days - but they don’t until I follow up a few times. What is the ideal number of times to follow up and in what cadence without coming off as annoying?

@nivedita Early in my sales career I was enticed in to a cult, the cult of Next Steps.  No encounter with a prospect should end without scheduling the next step.  When you present the proposal, and they ask for time, say “ok, how is Friday morning at 10:00 to review, answer questions and plan next steps.”  

 

I don’t think that there are too many follow ups, but I would think about your process if you are running into this regularly. There some specifics, if you want to reach out.

alyssia.correa
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My question to Tibor and community is: Some prospects who express interest say they’d think about my proposition and get back in a few days - but they don’t until I follow up a few times. What is the ideal number of times to follow up and in what cadence without coming off as annoying?

@nivedita Early in my sales career I was enticed in to a cult, the cult of Next Steps.  No encounter with a prospect should end without scheduling the next step.  When you present the proposal, and they ask for time, say “ok, how is Friday morning at 10:00 to review, answer questions and plan next steps.”  

 

I don’t think that there are too many follow ups, but I would think about your process if you are running into this regularly. There some specifics, if you want to reach out.

 Love the next steps example! Always get them to commit to a day and time - half the battle won!

Ally, Freshworks Community Manager
rhea.desouza
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What a blast! It’s been an engaging hour filled with a lot of learnings and takeaways! 

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed their insights, questions and experiences - it will definitely be a useful resource to many! 

Finally, thank you Tibor for taking the time to share your expertise on the subject and the many useful tips and tricks. 

We’ll see you next time!

Cheers | Team Freshworks Community
rashmi.nag
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@Tibor - Thank you for your answers and explanations! A question for you based on your experience so far - what would you say have been your 3 key challenges in your sales career?

Cheers, Rashmi || Team Freshworks
rashmi.nag
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What a blast! It’s been an engaging hour filled with a lot of learnings and takeaways! 

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed their insights, questions and experiences - it will definitely be a useful resource to many! 

Finally, thank you Tibor for taking the time to share your expertise on the subject and the many useful tips and tricks. 

We’ll see you next time!

Loved all the insights from today’s session!! Looking forward to more of these.

Cheers, Rashmi || Team Freshworks
Tibor
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@Tibor - Thank you for your answers and explanations! A question for you based on your experience so far - what would you say have been your 3 key challenges in your sales career?

I would say:

Learning to say NO, not everything is as important as it sounds

I have to continue to remind myself to disqualify, good conversations don’t always lead to opportunities

Staying up to date, things continue to change, and as a SME, I need to stay on top of things, as do most sellers.

Tibor
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What a blast! It’s been an engaging hour filled with a lot of learnings and takeaways! 

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed their insights, questions and experiences - it will definitely be a useful resource to many! 

Finally, thank you Tibor for taking the time to share your expertise on the subject and the many useful tips and tricks. 

We’ll see you next time!

Loved all the insights from today’s session!! Looking forward to more of these.

Had a great time, thanks for having me, bye for now!

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