The CRAP Report

If you’ve spent any time teleprospecting and making cold calls, or maybe if you’ve spent time managing a team of business development representatives, you know that typically the turn-over rate is pretty high.  I mean, let’s call a spade a spade here – teleprospecting is not a glamorous job; nobody is getting a Nobel peace prize or a Grammy for doing it.  However, that doesn’t mean that the job is not important.  I, for one, have always felt that what folks in our industry do is very important.  Our clients depend on receiving qualified sales opportunities that hit their forecast and close as quickly as they can.  Sales qualified leads are important to our clients, their families, my colleague’s families, my BDR’s families, and my family.  If you’ve got great BDR’s working for you, or maybe you’ve got a great vendor providing you sales opportunities, how do you keep a BDR from burning their proverbial candle at both ends?  How do you keep them invested in a job that, typically, isn’t glamorous? Read more… »

My colleague Lindsay wrote about shifting teleprospecting strategies this week, and it got me thinking…

I realize I may be alienating any readers who are not fans of the Boston Red Sox with the following analogy, but what can I say?  I’m a Masshole!  Seriously, though, maybe this happens to your favorite baseball team, so just try to substitute the Sox for your team, and David Ortiz for the player on your team this happens to.  If you notice, when David Ortiz is up to bat, the opposing team typically “puts the shift on.”  The entire infield shifts over to right, because that is, more often than not (when its not a home run) the location of where Ortiz tends to hit the ball.  Other teams in baseball have realized this, and in turn, when Ortiz is up to bat, the players shift position.  In the same light, your teleprospecting team (or manager for that matter) needs to know when to “put the shift on” when your sales prospecting efforts may not be as effective as they should be. Read more… »

Well here we are – the last of a four part segment on why your BDR Manager needs to be a little bit like each member of The A-Team.  Last Thursday I shared why your teleprospecting manager needs to be the pilot of his/her team, a little over the top, and quick on their feet like “Howling Mad” Murdock.  Last Friday I explained that your BDR Manager needed to be like Templeton “Faceman” Peck in that they should be a “master of disguise,” resourceful, and focused on your customer.  Yesterday it was all about being like B.A. “Bad Attitude” Baracus.  Your teleprospecting manager needs to be like a mechanic, a disciplinarian, and needs to know when to say no.  Today, I want to let you know why your BDR Manager needs to have the leadership qualities of John “Hannibal” Smith. Read more… »

Last week I started a four part series on why the people managing your teleprospecting team need to be a little bit like each of the four members of The A-Team.  On Thursday, I shared with you how your BDR Manager needs to be a pilot for their team, a little over the top, and quick thinking like “Howling Mad” Murdock.  On Friday, I explained why your telesales manager needs to be a “master of disguise,” resourceful, and focused on your customers like Face was.  In addition to all of those qualities, your BDR Manager also needs to know when enough is enough, how to keep your troops in line, and how to be a fix-it man.  Today, it’s all about the meanest, toughest, Mohawk-headed badass of The A-Team, B.A. “Bad Attitude” Baracus. Read more… »

Yesterday I shared with you the first of a four part series on how your BDR Manager should have characteristics from each of the four members of the hit ’80s TV show The A-Team.  I talked about how the manager of your teleprospecting team should be like “Howling Mad” Murdock, the A-Team’s pilot; they should be able to pilot your team, be a little over the top, and quick thinking.  In addition to those qualities, your BDR Manager needs to also be someone who can (obviously) wear many hats, has their focus on their client, and can be clever when the job calls for it.  Today, I want to talk with you about how the person who runs your teleprospecting team needs to be like the A-Team’s resident smooth talker, Templeton “Faceman” Peck. Read more… »

Growing up as a boy in the 1980’s with a love for all things action-related, it should come as no surprise to you that I’m a fan of The A-Team.  You remember those guys right?  The ex-military, mercenaries-for-hire team on the run for a crime they didn’t commit?  God I loved that show.  While I never understood why a team of highly trained Army Special Forces members couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn with their AK-47’s, the show’s ultra-action premise wasn’t lost on me at 11 years old:  The A-Team was trying to clear their name from something that they were accused of doing and didn’t, and helped a lot of people along the way.  Each member of the A-Team brought something special to the table and I think they’re a perfect analogy for the types of characteristics you need in someone to manage your B2B teleprospecting efforts. Read more… »