John Barrows’ Post

When I started my first sales role, inbound leads would go to the rep who had the most sales for that month. If you were first in sales, you would get the first inbound lead. Second in sales, the second lead. Etc, etc. AKA if you were 8th-10th in sales, you probably weren't getting an inbound lead that day. But there was a loop hole... The "inbound lead clock" started at 8am. Before 8am, the inbound leads were first come, first serve. So if you were first in the office, you could get an inbound lead before 8am Because I was new, I didn't have pipeline... aka I was never getting inbound leads So I started showing up at 7:30am... The veterans didn't like this, and they started showing up at 7:30am So I started showing up at 7am They started showing up at 7am So I started showing up at 6:30am It went on and on like this until my boss gave me a key to the office and I was there before 6am every day to ensure I was the first person on site to get any and all inbound leads. I did this until I became the top performing AE on the board... And then I kept doing it until I got promoted 8 months later. ---------- As much as there are fancy tools and shortcuts out there, there are few things that beat showing up early and staying late. Hard work trumps all>>>> If you truly want to get ahead, outwork those around you. Period. Go get em.

Strategies to Elevate Leads from Cold to Hot in Sales

I heard a great story yesterday for anyone struggling with outbound sales teams, and it started a while back. My client had always struggled with outbound sales. Why? They have only ever hired inbound reps and tried getting them to do outbound. It's always one of the biggest mistakes I see. Try to get people to do something challenging that you didn't hire them for. So, in February, they hired a true hunter who loved outbound. How have the results been? Even I have been a bit surprised. When we reviewed the data a few weeks ago, the new rep was leading in every significant category besides revenue—they were a close second—and we knew they would move to 1 because of their pipeline. Then, yesterday, the rep closed a deal more than 10 times the company's average ACV. When I asked the source of the lead, of course, it was outbound they had generated. In just 5 months, the company has transitioned from doubting the effectiveness of outbound sales to actively strategizing to hire more people to do it. The moral of the story is your people. My client has told me that hiring this person is probably the best thing they have ever done at the company. The right people make you look GOOD. The wrong people make you look BAD. If your team is struggling with outbound right now, ask yourself if you have the right people doing it. If the answer is YES, great, you have a process problem you need to fix. If the answer is NO, you have a people problem you need to fix. You are only one person away from turning it around- You just need to find and pick the right one!

Sales professionals always ask me: Is 50 cold calls per day enough? Or… is 100 calls enough? They always ask for their numbers… like it’s the lottery over here. And it makes sense. You should identify and stick to call volume targets. Is 50 enough? Or should you be targeting 500? So today I’m covering that in-depth. But I won’t leave you hanging there. I’ll show you how to IMPROVE each metric along the way. After all, give me a lead list of 500 contacts and give that same lead list to a junior SDR and guess who’s closing the week with meetings on the calendar? (Don’t worry, I’m training him) So experience and constantly improving your skills matters… a lot. High call volume + High skill = High sales numbers. 💡 Read more in my latest article 👇🏼 https://lnkd.in/e349gz-G

Dialing into success in the sales arena! 📞 In sales, my primary goal is to always take a value driven approach when speaking to prospects. If a company that I'm speaking to doesn't have clear pain points that our solutions can address, pursuing a sale may not be of benefit. Instead, I prioritize in building meaningful, long-term client relationships that will lead to doing business together rather than then adding another meeting to their calendar. Curious about how Similarweb can streamline your lead qualification and prospecting strategies? Reach out, and let's discuss.

Is it just me, or could the term "hunter mentality" be the catch phrase of the year? The modern day "detail oriented", "rock star" or "ninja" if you will. As a sales leader who hires, manages, and sales along side his team, I see this trend dangerous. When sales people prioritize aggressively chasing new leads and closing deals quickly, often times, building deep customer relationships, understanding complex needs, and providing long-term value take a lesser priority. This leads to a poor customer experience and potentially damage brand reputation, especially in today's more customer-centric sales environment.    As a prospect, are you going to trust someone you feel they're "hunting" you? As leaders, it's important we foster a culture where sales people put their clients and company first. Consultative, servant leaders who build lasting relationship earn more money, close more deals, and have more return customers. In the words of Zig Ziggler, "You can have everything in life you want if you will just help other people get what they want." Here are 8 tips you can use immediately to help people get what they want.   Avoid the short-term gains: Hunters tend to prioritize immediate sales, sometimes neglecting the potential for recurring revenue and customer loyalty by not focusing on building lasting relationships. This can also result in accepting bad business which may put your brand and reputation at risk. High-pressure tactics: The aggressive approach of a hunter can feel pushy to customers, leading to a negative perception of the sales process.    Lack of personalization: By focusing on quickly acquiring new leads, hunters may not tailor their sales pitch to individual customer needs, resulting in a generic experience.    Ignoring customer feedback: The hunter mentality can sometimes lead to overlooking customer concerns or feedback, as the primary focus is on closing the deal.    Not suitable for complex sales cycles: In situations requiring in-depth consultations and multiple decision-makers, a hunter approach may not be effective.    Alternative approaches to consider:    "Farmer" mentality: This approach emphasizes nurturing existing customer relationships, building trust, and focusing on long-term value.    "Consultative selling": Deeply understanding customer needs and providing tailored solutions based on their specific challenges.    Relationship building: Prioritizing building genuine connections with customers to create a collaborative sales process.   

SDR’s are a hot topic right now and LevelUp Leads has 16 of them. Some people want to hire more and others want to get rid of them. With more and more tools coming out, how SDRs are used from one company to another will vary. It’s a job not many want to do, but at the same time, it’s some of the best experience you can get. Sales is part of everyday life and this is great firsthand experience. Even better, get a full sales cycle job which will allow you to experience every stage of the sales process, such as prospecting, lead generation, negotiating, account management and closing deals. I didn't know it at the time, but I had several full sales cycle jobs which taught me so much.

At some point, every founder needs to transition out of founder-led sales. But that doesn't mean you ever stop selling. For example: When I started Haven, I was closing every deal. - $5K - $10K - $50K Didn't matter. I was on every single call. Now—at 185+ clients—things are different. I've handed most deals off to my team but I'm still actively involved in sales. There's no magic formula for this transition. It's messy. It's personal. And the line between what to delegate and what to keep is blurry as hell. That's because transitioning from founder-led sales is an art, not a science. And for me, it's not just about the dollar amount. Let's say a new lead comes in. On paper, it looks like a standard deal. But what if that potential client is an influencer? Or a VC with a side business? Or a super-connector? As a founder, you're uniquely positioned to spot these opportunities that extend far beyond just closing the deal. That relationship could open doors to partnerships, investments, or a whole network of future clients. In cases like these, I'm absolutely taking that call. I can see the bigger picture and potential long-term value that might not be obvious to someone solely focused on hitting sales targets. THE TAKEAWAY: This transition from founder-led sales isn't about completely stepping away from sales. No. It's about being strategic with your time and relationships. You need to find and hire an amazing sales person. Someone you can trust to handle a ton of deals without you (shoutout Michael Brod). But building that trust takes takes time. The art is in knowing when to let go and when to stay involved.