"No one's picking up the phone during COVID-19."

“People aren’t answering numbers they don’t recognize.”

“What kind of idiot makes a cold call during a pandemic?”

Sound familiar? I see these statements every day on LinkedIn and our sales reps hear them every day in conversations with B2B companies. Read on to learn why a pandemic actually IS the right time to make cold calls and create new business opportunities.

As a sales manager, you need to work with, train, and be a coach for your sales team, including your inside sales reps (ISRs), sales development reps (SDRs), and business development reps (BDRs). Sure, the best scenario would be to work with them in person by sitting in their cube and being on calls with them, but that’s not always doable, especially now with most employees working from home. Read on to learn how you can coach your team from wherever you are, even in real-time, and how to trust your team to work from home.

You can’t turn on the news, or even scroll through Twitter or LinkedIn, without hearing about Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is more commonly known as “Coronavirus”. Conferences are being cancelled or turned into virtual events; companies are making sure their employees have the technology and capability to work from home in the event of a quarantine; and recruiters and others are pondering what they should do instead of shaking hands.

Look at the texts on your phone. Do you see a lot of texts from businesses? As I scroll down, I see texts from CVS MinuteClinic confirming a visit (which showed my son had the flu); different software companies sending two-factor authorization verification codes; a car dealership; movie theaters sending along my tickets to see “Underwater” and “Birds of Prey” (both great films); and many more. I don’t even think twice about getting those business to consumer (B2C) texts these days along with texts from friends and family.

Raise your hand if you’ve heard the word “chatbot” or “bot” recently. Sound familiar? If not, I want you to think about the last time you were on a software company’s website. As you scrolled down or went to the pricing page for information, did a little box pop up in the lower right-hand corner saying “hi” and asking how it can help you? That, dear reader, is a chatbot.

Have you ever had a day where you felt like you were spending your day at work wisely, you had the golden touch when it came to connecting with your B2B sales prospects, and you left the office that day thinking you had the most productive day ever? If a day like that isn’t your norm, shouldn’t it be? Read on to learn how to make most (if not all) of your days productive and successful, and see a timeline for a productive sales day.

Since you clicked on this, you’re no doubt wondering what the right way is to reach your B2B sales prospects. Is it through email? Cold calls? Carrier pigeon? (Yes, I’m kidding with that last one, but hey, if you try that as a unique form of direct mail and it works for you, let me know.) Read on to learn THE way to connect with your buyers or prospects.

Still haven’t decided what sales and marketing conferences you’re going to attend in 2020? Here are three must-attend conferences you should consider. In fact, we feel so strongly about the strength of these conferences that we’re exhibiting at all three of them.

As a marketer who works closely with our B2B sales team (as all marketers should), I sit right on the sales floor and attend our weekly sales meetings so I can keep the sales team informed on what I’m doing and also to learn from them. I always love hearing what prospects and customers are telling them — and what they’re telling prospects during their sales outreach — as it fuels my content.

It’s been a while (we won’t say how long) since my first job out of college, but I still remember that feeling of being the newbie and knowing that there was so much I needed to learn. While I don’t work in sales, I’ve continually worked closely since the beginning of my career with sales reps, sales development reps (SDRs), and business development reps (BDRs) in both Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C). If you’re just starting out and want to put your best foot forward, read on for some tips on what you need to know, besides having the right personality for sales, for a successful sales career from the start and avoid sales burnout.