The idea that CEOs must wear multiple hats has been perpetuated to the point of absurdity. Far too often small to mid sized companies find that their CEOs are trying to also wear the hat of sales manager. Unfortunately, you can't be both. You can't be a sales manager and a CEO, it is simply too hard. Trying to fill both of these roles will have you feeling like The Two-Headed Monster from Sesame Street! You can, however, be the leader and visionary needed to provide sales strategy to your sales managers.
No self-respecting sales development rep (SDR) has ever said, “I have enough business.” Even those crushing their sales goals crave more, and it would be nice if it came faster and easier than most deals do.
One of the most important ways to keep your sales development reps (SDRs) focused on growing their pipeline is by using a sales cadence. Now, if you are not familiar with this term it simply means a defined schedule indicating when reps should reach out to the prospects that they are pursuing. Every sales organization has a slightly different approach depending on the tactics they are using but a typical cadence may include calls, emails, social media activities, webinars, or all of the above. The important thing is that a cadence exists. Defining your sales cadence and sharing it gives sales managers and executives a certain level of comfort knowing that the SDRs are taking the necessary steps to accelerate leads through the buying process.
Every company, or at least every company that we talk to here at Maven, is looking for ways to generate more leads. Not just more leads, but more qualified leads. Sourcing qualified leads is what a sales development team is all about. It’s what gets them excited to come in to work every day – cranking out phone calls to follow up with potential prospects and qualify them for the sales team.
I know it’s hard to believe but we are already halfway through the calendar year! If you are like most sales organizations, the end of the second-quarter marks a huge benchmark for measuring your progress from the beginning of the year. This is when you begin to realize whether or not you are on track to hit your annual projections and goals.
