At Pinney Insurance Center, Inc., we strive to incorporate technology into our day-to-day practices. Doing so has allowed us to continue our growth and success. Technology, including social media, is key to getting in front of prospects and consumers today. Many producers worry about compliance. In this short video, I discussed social media and compliance with The Wealth Channel. I encourage you to give it a view and contact me if you have any questions.

Addtionally, we attended the virtual Inside Sales Summit on March 13, 2014. This is a cannot-miss, free event that occurs annually, providing up-to-date information on sales strategies, steps toward social media success, technology, methodology, sales tips, and much more. Unfortunately, we can’t possibly share it all with you. But here’s a look at some of the best from what we learned:

Voicemail Strategies: How to Get More Prospects to Call You Back Speaker: Michael Pedone, founder of Sales Buzz

  • Voicemail fails: salesperson isn’t prepared, has not rehearsed, or has no objective for voicemail
  • Must create a compelling reason for consumer to call back
  • Two types of voicemails: first time (never spoken) and follow-ups (spoken to at least once)
  • Identify type and prep different for each
  • Objective: get a call back AND advance sale OR have prospect willing to take your call next time
  • Voicemail should include recognition of their pain and how you can help quickly

Predict Your Next Customer: The Power of Predictive Analytics Speaker: Brian Kardon, CMO of Lattice Engines

  • 94% of Marketing Qualified Leads will never close
  • Think like Amazon: they know purchases, dwell time, items added to cart and abandoned, product ratings, suggest similar items you might like
  • Use public info to gain knowledge: social media, data from CRM, product usage data, job postings, patents, growth, company websites, customer service history, credit ratings, etc.

Handling Objections and Getting to Yes Speaker: Steve Richard, co-founder and Chief Content Officer of Vorsight

  • People are just plain busy; don’t react well to sales calls out of the blue
  • Consumer either not listening, is confused or does not see value in meeting you
  • Don’t probe with questions until you earn the right to do it
  • Key Steps: Lead a call with purpose, probe to find needs, consult and provide insight, match solutions, landscape decision makers

The Entrepreneurial Spirit of Sales and Marketing Speaker: Steve Young, former NFL quarterback

  • Never quit accomplishing goals. One minute you’re the NFL Super Bowl MVP, the next minute you take a backseat to Mickey Mouse at Disneyland. You can plant a flag at the top of Mt. Everest, but one week later, you’re back on the ground with everyone else. So why stop?

Sales Energy Audits: How to Increase Revenue by Shifting Your Use of Sales Energy Speaker: Nancy Nardin, President of Smart Selling Tools

  • Typical salesperson spends 35% of time selling, 65% of time completing admin tasks. Free up 1.2 hours (72 minutes) a day to shift to 42.8% for selling
  • Do this by automating simple tasks such as email response, expense report submission, call logging, etc.

The Trick to Nurturing Sales Leads Speaker: Mathew Sweezey, Marketing Evangelist for Pardot

  • Use a straight drop email sequence that has nothing to do with your product or service for a cold sales lead, competitive lead or lost deal to stay on prospect’s mind
  • Send “thought you might like this” article links to clients and make sure links are actually relevant, useful and interesting

Also heard…

  • The sales experience drives 50% of customer loyalty
  • Customers want to be shown what they missed
  • Customers are OK with the status quo and don’t want to change. Disrupters/challengers do well with customers by offering unique perspectives
  • Social selling leaders generate 45% more opportunities than those who don’t participate
  • Stay in front of “not ready” leads
  • Do not use generic LinkedIn connection invites
  • Reasons you miss a sale: bad attitude, wrong approach or a lack of taking action

Follow us on Twitter and be sure to scroll to our tweets from March 13, or search #SalesSummit to find even more great information!