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Your sales reps can sell more by talking with customers and prospects and not at them. In other words, they need to have a conversation. I'm talking about conversational selling. Instead of developing a standard pitch for inside sales reps to follow or giving them a script, give them the skills and tools to engage.

The simple act of putting up a sign to announce something for sale is advertising. More specifically, it's outbound marketing. It's the oldest and simplest form of marketing. Today, we include in the mix newspaper, radio advertising, television commercials and pay-per-click ads, all of which are passive outbound marketing. Then you have your proactive outbound marketing, such as cold calling, email blasts and direct mail. Bringing it all together, you have your account-based marketing.

Video conferencing is no longer a competitive edge. It's essential equipment for prospect and client engagement, thanks in large part to the COVID pandemic restrictions on meeting face-to-face. Corporations, mid-size companies, even small businesses use video conferencing to engage with customers and prospects. Growth is almost off the charts: What was almost a $4 billion business in 2019 is slated to surpass $20 billion by 2024. So, if you're wondering what the new normal looks like, video conferencing is one of the mainstays. But what system to purchase?

In 2021, the average cost of a data breach will be $4.24 million. That’s enough to destroy most businesses. And according to IBM and the Ponemon Institute, both the cost and frequency of cyber attacks are increasing every year. What are you doing to protect your data assets? Like most companies, you probably realize that a data breach also has the potential to put both your business continuity and reputation at risk. You undoubtedly take data security and privacy seriously and go to great lengths to protect your systems and data.

Sales has been slow to adopt artificial intelligence (AI). The argument, of course, is that sales is a people game. And that’s true, but with inside sales proving the efficiency and effectiveness of virtual sales and automation, maybe it’s time to dig a little deeper into AI. After all, some maintain that you can either adopt, adapt and thrive or fall by the wayside. As to the state of AI in inside sales:

Only around 10% to 15% of leads, on average, convert to sales. So lead qualification is essential for helping you focus your time where it will be the most effective and profitable. When it comes to B2B lead qualification, many will argue that the BANT strategy is outdated and has outlived its usefulness. It’s been more than 70 years since IBM developed the BANT lead qualification framework for its sales reps. With today’s long sales cycles, the Internet’s impact on the buyers’ journey and the size of decision-making teams, some say BANT is dead. However, perhaps we just need to enhance BANT. First, though, let’s have a quick refresher on what BANT is.

If you ask the neuroscientists, they’ll tell you that people buy with their hearts, but they justify their purchases with their brains. In other words, top sales reps get buyers emotionally engaged, then feed them facts and figures that they can use to rationalize their buying decisions to management. If you manage B2B salespeople, you may be wondering two things: First, while we understand that consumers buy on emotion, does this really work with business buyers? And second, in an information era when most buyers begin their buyer’s journey on the internet, how do you control an emotional sell? My answer to the first question is yes, emotion works better than you might expect with B2B buyers. What’s distinctive about a B2B sale is that you’re appealing to different emotional heartstrings.

Only around 10% to 15% of leads, on average, convert to sales. So lead qualification is essential for helping you focus your time where it will be the most effective and profitable. When it comes to B2B lead qualification, many will argue that the BANT strategy is outdated and has outlived its usefulness. It’s been more than 70 years since IBM developed the BANT lead qualification framework for its sales reps. With today’s long sales cycles, the Internet’s impact on the buyers’ journey and the size of decision-making teams, some say BANT is dead. However, perhaps we just need to enhance BANT. First, though, let’s have a quick refresher on what BANT is.

If you want to boost your bottom line and grow your business, it’s often best to prioritize your current customers. However, most reps devote at least twice as much effort to new business acquisition as they do to customer retention. But over time, loyal, happy customers are worth at least ten times the value of their first purchase. So it might be time to change the focus of your business development reps (BDRs). Instead of spending all their time identifying new markets and reaching out to new prospects, BDRs could be more productive by dedicating more time and effort to cultivating business expansion with your customers

In 2017, inside sales reps in the United States represented not quite half (47.4% to 52.8%) of the sales force, with a modest 5% growth projected for 2018 and 2019. And then COVID-19 hit. Face-to-face meetings were out, but inside sales could work remotely and connect with buyers virtually. And 64% of B2B vendors using a remote sales model in 2020 achieved or even surpassed their revenue expectations.