Sales intelligence dos and don'ts: part 1

Posted July 27, 2017

By Chelsey Feldman

Product Marketing at Outreach

Sales isn’t just about transactions - it’s about solving problems. But how do you solve problems when you don’t understand the customer you’re trying to help? That’s why we created sales intelligence tiles. Sales intelligence tiles are an easy way to see everything you need to know about a prospect at a glance, without spending hours on research.

Here are our do’s and dont's for prospecting like a master with sales intelligence tiles:

DO - Do your research.

You can’t sell a solution when you don’t understand the problem. Doing your research will help you connect on a more personal level with prospects, position your product more thoughtfully, and show you’re here to help, not just for the money.

DON’T - Don’t perform the same searches over and over.

Research is crucial, but that doesn’t mean it needs to take a lot of time and manual work to find the information. Rather than typing the same things into Google every call and getting lost in a sea of browser tabs, use Outreach’s sales intelligence tiles to access this information where you’re already working. With a combination of prospect information and partner data, sales intelligence tiles allow you to see:

  • Company details and industry
  • Recent company news
  • Social feeds
  • Competitors
  • And previous interactions with the prospect and account

All in one page, all within your prospecting workflow!

DO - Make good use of all information.

The key to sales is building rapport with your prospect, and no piece of information is too trivial to help foster that connection. Even seemingly meaningless information, like the local weather or office location, can really help take your call to the next level and forge an extra personal connection. We all roll our eyes at small talk, but we can’t deny it really works as an icebreaker!

DON’T - Don’t be a stalker.

We may believe no piece of information is too trivial to bring up, but there is definitely information that is too personal. Just because you know a little about a prospect doesn’t mean you have to share everything you find. It’s a great idea to bring up your recent trip to New York if you see that your prospect works in Manhattan. It’s a horrible idea to tell them you think you saw them on the sidewalk while you stalked their office on Google Earth.


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