3 Kickass Sales Hacks You Never Considered

When it comes to selling and prospecting, there are a million different variables check off: Do you have the lead’s name? Title?  Email address? Phone number? A reason to reach out? A handle on their business? On their org chart? Value prop? Pain points? The list goes on… Fortunately, there are a few ways to hack the system and get the scoop that you need to increase your connect rate and ultimately, close the deal.

1) Make Glassdoor.com Reviews Your Reason to Reach Out

Targeting a CEO? Need a trigger or reason to reach out? Out of ideas, articles, or quotes for your Why You? Why You Now? emails?

If you answered yes, we recommend you check out Glassdoor.com. Typically, it’s used by perspective employees to get the inside scoop on a company, but it is also a great place for sales professionals to gather information on a lead. Start with the anonymous comments to get to the heart organization’s values. Then, tie that to a value prop for your product or service.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, the days of just “checking in” are over. Being able to answer complete the sentence, ” the reason for my call/email is_____” is a surefire way to avoid the spam pile. Glassdoor’s insights are not only a reason to reach out, but they are also a great way to catch the attention of the C-Suite as they generally care about their teams and reputation.

2) Get Everyone’s Full Name on LinkedIn

Have you ever gone to look up a potential lead from a company on LinkedIn, only to see this:

Don’t let the initial-only situation throw you off. If you can copy and paste the highlighted information below, and throw it into Google, you will have your contact’s first and last name in no time at all!

3) Use Your Browser to Hack Your Prospect’s Email (Figuratively of Course)

This two step process is going to be your saving grace:

First, install Rapportive into your Chrome, Firefox, or Safari browser. This intelligence tool plugs right into your email and gives you insights on your contacts — that’s if their email address is linked to their LinkedIn or Twitter account. Their profile will pop up on the side with all the information you need about their social behavior.

So how does this help you guess their email? Well, our friends over at SalesLoft, shared with us this nifty “Email Guesser Tool“.

Make a copy of this spreadsheet, fill in the first name, last name, and domain name for your lead. The spreadsheet will generate several email combinations. If you copy and paste them into your email, Rapportive will highlight the correct one, verified through their plug-in and social channels (see how this hack in action on this webinar with SalesLoft CEO, Kyle Porter).

So what are you doing still reading this? Try out these hacks today and let us know what other hacks win you more deals!

Make sure to share your favorite sales hacks with us in the comments!

Photo by: Corrine Klug