With the rise of sales enablement technology and the variety of available communication methods, one might expect phone calls to become a thing of the past. Yet, cold calling is still a key component of B2B sales.
In fact, 78% of decision-makers polled have taken an appointment or attended an event that came from a cold call (source). Continue reading “21 Important B2B Cold Calling Statistics”
As data plays an expanding role in enterprise sales and marketing, discussions around data recency have increased. As a leading B2B data provider for sales and marketing organizations, here at ZoomInfo we’ve had the opportunity to study data recency firsthand.
Let’s start with this: The concept of data recency is fluid and difficult to measure. Why? Because in dynamic datasets, information is updated and appended on a constant basis. At what point can one say the dataset has been refreshed? Is it when all records have been updated in some way? If so, is the refresh carried out once or on an ongoing basis? Is there a percentage that qualifies as a refresh? Do all fields associated with an individual need to be updated or does updating a single field count? Continue reading “The Definitive Guide to Data Recency”
For the typical B2B organization, sales and marketing alignment is the ultimate goal. Yet, in most companies, the two departments operate independently—causing frustration and resentment on both sides.
If you’re struggling with sales and marketing alignment, here are a few compelling reasons to get these teams on the same page:
Continue reading “3 Sales and Marketing Alignment Best Practices”
Today, we’re sharing the ultimate list of sales podcasts. If you work in sales, it’s our hope that this list of sales podcasts provides you with some fresh listening material, newfound inspiration, and the tips and tricks you need to excel in the world of sales.
Recently, we published The Ultimate List of Marketing Podcasts. So if you’re already familiar with the sales podcasts on this list, we recommend you check out that post as well. Without further ado, let’s jump into it. Continue reading “The Top 35 Sales Podcasts for Sales Professionals”
Most sales professionals recommend using a sales methodology that involves uncovering a buyer’s biggest problem or pain point. While this is essential for sales success, it’s also only half of the story.
This type of approach often drives sellers to employ a “find-out-what’s-wrong-and-fix-it” mindset. Sellers hear a buyer’s complaint and often jump to problem-solving far too quickly. This can lead to: Continue reading “10 Discovery Questions to Uncover Buyer Needs”
Today’s sales professionals have more ways than ever to get in touch with prospects. And yet, sales reps can’t escape the most common and often the most frustrating method of sales prospecting communication—and that’s voicemail.
There’s no way around it—sales reps spend a lot of time leaving voicemails, and unfortunately, most go unanswered. Consider these statistics (source): Continue reading “7 Modern Tips to Leave a Better Sales Voicemail”
Welcome to the latest edition of our B2B blog post round-up series! Every month we feature the content ZoomInfo writers have contributed to outside publications—so if you’re up-to-date on the ZoomInfo blog posts, these additional posts should tide you over.
This month’s edition features content related to SEO vanity metrics, gaining a customer’s trust, critical marketing metrics, and so much more. Let’s get into it! Continue reading “September 2018 B2B Blog Post Round-Up”
There is no greater asset to your organization than your B2B database. However, when your database becomes cluttered with outdated, incomplete or inaccurate contact information, it can prove to be a costly obstacle along your route to success.
From marketing, lead generation and customer relationships, to sales and even revenue, dirty data can have an insurmountable impact on all areas of your business.
As frustrating as it may be, data decay is a natural outcome of the ever-changing B2B landscape; professionals are constantly changing positions, titles, locations and places of work, rendering data useless. Continue reading “35+ Statistics About Dirty Data”
In today’s sales environment, the role of the B2B sales manager has become more complex than ever before. From generating leads to forecasting to reporting— the modern sales manager is expected to juggle a variety of responsibilities that play a significant role in the success of an organization. Simply put, sales managers are the conductors of an organization’s revenue engine.
However, with such a heavy focus on big-picture items like hitting sales targets and growing revenue, it’s not uncommon for smaller – yet equally crucial – responsibilities, to fall to the wayside. The reason for this is simple: With the constant pressure to hit quota, it’s hard to justify any activity that doesn’t directly contribute to the bottom line. Continue reading “The Sales Manager’s Guide to Better One-on-Ones”
Marketing automation has become an increasingly effective tool in today’s technology-driven business landscape. In fact, studies show that the use of a marketing automation platform produces, on average, 60% revenue growth for B2B businesses (source). While its name implies marketing automation is strictly for marketers, sales teams can also use marketing automation to boost productivity and efficiency.
Unfortunately, many sales reps are still in the dark when it comes to marketing automation and it’s easy to see why. Sales reps are constantly busy selling, so they don’t often have the time or reason to look into tools primarily used for marketing purposes. Continue reading “What Sales Reps Must Know About Marketing Automation”