The Snowball Effect For Building Sales Pipeline | Brian Liebel - 1727

In this episode of the TSE podcast, host Donald Kelly speaks with development lead Brain Liebel from Ambition. They dive deep into the rhythms of successful sales strategies and performance to redefine the sales approach.  Donald and Brian unpack the essence of human interaction in sales, the strategic 'snowball effect' of building a robust sales pipeline, and how to turn data from sales conversations into tactical gold. Let's sift through the invaluable insights from this rich discussion. Human Interaction: The Core of Sales In today's world, where automation and technology are prevalent, the importance of human connection can sometimes be underestimated. However, Brian underscores the irreplaceable value of human-to-human interaction, especially during the initial conversations in the sales pipeline.  Using analogies from lead utilization, he emphasizes the need for salespeople to focus on engagements ready to blossom instead of wasting potential opportunities. Creating a Documented Sales Process Drawing from his expertise, Brian advises having a carefully documented process within sales teams. This cornerstone allows for iteration and implementation of tactical solutions, moving beyond the often insufficient directive of simply 'putting in more effort.'  The systematic approach is about leveraging every lead and conversation to build a 'snowball' that grows over time - a strategy that becomes increasingly more potent as insights and data are collected. The Role of Ambition and Networking Brian shares his experience with Ambition, a sales coaching and performance management platform. This tool exemplifies the integration of data-driven strategy into everyday sales tasks.  Additionally, Brian extends an offer to connect on LinkedIn, allowing listeners to delve into sales discussions and gain further insights from a well-established industry leader. Organization in Prospecting Brian stresses the importance of organization in prospecting. He offers actionable advice on maintaining accurate data, imperative for evaluating performance and strategizing more effectively.  He outlines four vital administrative tasks: transcribing notes at an account level, implementing a tagging system, devising customizable queries, and updating the conversation timeline. Deep Dive into Tagging Systems A specific focus was given to the tagging system, with Brian explaining that a balance is required in the number of tags used. This balance ensures that the system aids the organization without becoming overly complicated.  Such a system assists in categorizing follow-ups, creating a more efficient path to revisit prospects. The 'Snowball Effect' of Sales Conversations Brian breaks down the 'snowball effect,' offering concrete statistics gathered from the Bridge group detailing the monthly average quality conversations salespeople have.  He also illuminates the conversion rate of these interactions and the long-term value of conversations that don't immediately result in meetings. This is a testament to the importance of viewing every conversation as a stepping stone to eventual success. Collecting Sales 'Gold Flakes' To harness the full potential of conversations, Brian advocates keeping logs of critical data points post-discussion.  He shares his tagging method for optimizing follow-up actions, such as tagging direct dials and follow-up dates.  Additionally, the speakers recommend creating touchpoints on LinkedIn and sending follow-up emails to help prospects remember the interaction, likening the process to collecting small gold flakes that accumulate into a valuable reserve over time. Gratitude for Insights As the discussion wrapped up, both speakers exchanged gratitude, highlighting the importance of sharing knowledge and appreciation in the sales community.  These moments of connection nurture professional relationships and foster a supportive atmosphere where learning and development can thrive. Donald and Brian agree that the meticulous process of cold prospecting, akin to sifting for gold, makes top-of-the-funnel activities enjoyable and fruitful. Sales professionals can elevate their pipelines by making every piece and interaction count and relish the journey toward a rewarding outcome. Join us for the next episode of “The Sales Evangelist” as we continue to uncover the art and science behind effective sales strategies. “How do you take all of this data and turn it into a tactical way to execute and return to these prospects you spoke to? You learned something, but it wasn't the right time to meet. What do you do with that? I think with a lot of salespeople is we're always looking to be a wordsmith on the phone or have the craftiest subject line or level up our training and seek all of this external flash. Right. All these flashy sales things. Organization and efficiency are two of the very unspoken things in the world right now. The best prospectors are when it comes to documenting all of these things that we do.” - Brian Liebel.  Resources Ambition  Brian Liebel on LinkedIn Sponsorship Offers This episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot. With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales. 2.            This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn. Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at linkedin.com/tse. 3.            This episode is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Foundation. Improve your connection on LinkedIn and land three or five appointments with our LinkedIn prospecting course. Go to the salesevangelist.com/linkedin. Credits As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and Produced by Brightseed and Hill.