4 Sales Effectiveness Resources: Recommendations from Ombud

Something that’s been a constant we’ve seen within our team and greater community this year is a hunger for knowledge. This may come in the form of engaging more on LinkedIn, taking night classes, or reading industry blogs. It makes sense. As the world gets crazy and we’re in our ability to go places and do things, it’s only natural we want to prepare ourselves for the next big thing and become better as people. 

A good example of this: the rise of webinars in 2020. ON24 reported in April that they saw the number of webinars hosted on their platform jump by more than 330% and the number of attendees to these events double year-over-year. And that’s only one webinar platform provider. 

So, with the onslaught of webinars, resources, and knowledge in our increasingly remote world, where should you start?

Below, we’ve provided a few content categories and standouts in each at this moment: 

Newsletters: Scott Barker’s “The Forecast”

Every Friday, Scott Barker (you may know him from SalesHacker and Outreach) writes a quick newsletter on the current state of sales. In each newsletter, he provides what he calls “tomorrow’s best practices today” where he makes predictions on future sales tech, processes, and techniques the most effective salespeople of tomorrow will be utilizing. He also highlights a podcast episode, a video to watch, and a random thought he has on sales based on the current trends he sees in the SalesHacker community and on LinkedIn. 

Why Do We Recommend?

As far as newsletters go, it’s the most digestible, actionable, and “no-bullsh*t” one we’ve seen. There’s little to no promotional content and it’s truly just what Scott sees as industry trends and his “forecast” for the future of sales. 

Podcasts: Make it Happen Mondays with John Barrows

This podcast, hosted by John Barrows (CEO of JBarrows Sales Training, and sales trainer for companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, and Box), is a weekly podcast running the gamut of sales topics. By publishing it on Mondays, you get a jumpstart on your week and get into the right mindset. His former guests include sales leaders like Trish Bertuzzi, Justin Welsh, and Ashleigh Early. 

Why Do We Recommend?

John’s deep knowledge of sales and his approach to interviewing really makes his guests shine. From Sarah Brazier, a rising SDR star at Gong, to a seasoned executive like Jake Dunlap, he treats each guest with the same amount of gravitas and really does his research. The content is always focused on actionable insights that you can apply tomorrow.  

Weekly Meetings & Happy Hours: Thursday Night Sales

Thursday Night Sales is a weekly meeting hosted by Amy Volas (Avenue Talent Partners) and Scott Leese (Scott Leese Consulting). Each Thursday evening, the happy hour consists of questions, roundtable discussions, and networking in the hopes of “leveling-up” attendees’ careers and networks. 

Why Do We Recommend?

Aside from Amy and Scott’s contagious energy, it’s a great opportunity to network with salespeople from all over while learning new strategies and building relationships in a more casual setting.

Communities: RevGenius, Revenue Collective, and many more!

You’ve probably seen these communities all over LinkedIn recently. In fact, since the pandemic hit, LinkedIn has seen record levels of engagement across the platform. That’s no surprise. Bravado’s CEO Sahil Mansuri said bluntly what all of us know in the back of our minds: “sales communities are springing up because sales is fundamentally broken, and we need to work together to fix it. We need to rebuild it from the ground up to be truly customer-first.” 

There are many options when looking for sales communities. Some are catered to executives (Revenue Collective) and others are more broad (RevGenius / Bravado). There are even communities for specific areas of sales like Modern Sales Pros for Sales Ops, Management, and System professionals, or SDRDefenders for, you guessed it, SDRs. 

Why Do We Recommend?

There’s no better place to get on-demand help on a problem you’re trying to solve. Have a company you’re trying to prospect into and don’t have a warm contact? Ask in the community. Have a complex problem you’re working on? Ask the community if they’ve experienced this before. Need help with a POC template or a new piece of collateral? Ask if anyone has examples. These communities have high engagement within their Slack channels and message boards because each person in there is hungry to learn and engage. 

Up Your Sales Effectiveness Game

Sales can be daunting and discouraging—especially in a recession. But, as Meagen Eisenberg said in a recent webinar with us, when market downturns happen, people turn their focus to education and professional development. Now’s the perfect time to learn more, up-level skills, and double down on your sales effectiveness game.