B2B-SALES  
HANDBOOK   
 
15 irresistible, insider stories on the success of 
high-growth sales teams. The stories will prepare you to 
schedule, sell and retain more than ever. 
 
Real-life stories 
+Bonus sales templates 
Game-changing demo tactics 
Top FREE sales resources 
 
 
 
 
 
 

1 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Autoklose helps sales teams to send engaging emails, by combining Sales 
Email Automation and B2B database with powerful filters – all-in-one. 
 
www.autoklose.com  
 
Authors: Autoklose Team with special thanks to Shawn Finder, Vedran Rasic, Natasa Djalovic 
Executive editor: Vedran Rasic 
Copy editor: Natasa Djalovic 
Design: Aleksandra Fajfric 
© 2019 Autoklose 

 
Out of respect for people who have invested time and energy into writing this FREE and 
Internet-wide available book, please, feel free to share or use the content but with 
appropriate credit and a link*.  
 

*Use this link for sharing: w

​ ww.autoklose.com/books/b2bsales  

 
If you would like to get in touch with the team please write to us: 

Shawn Finder, CEO: ​shawn@autoklose.com 

Vedran Rasic, CMO: ​ved@autoklose.com 

Natasa Djalovic, Marketing Manager: n

​ at@autoklose.com 

 
   

2 
 

Contents. 
Our mission here at Autoklose is to help propel the next generation of sales 
leaders.  
 
You are about to embark on a journey that is going to help you to book, sell, 
and retain like never before. A book that will indeed help you on your journey 
of becoming a full-stack sales leader.  
 
We will begin with the brand. Your brand. Then, continue with being very 
specific on how you can improve your sales game. The final chapter will offer 
our point of view on the importance of lifelong learning as a concept while 
listing some of the TOP FREE resources that you can use to start learning 
today. 
 
 

Chapter #1. Be the brand 

Chapter #2. Step up the game 
Chapter #3. Lifelong learning 
 
   

3 
 

Contents. 2 

Foreword. 7 

Be the brand. 10 

Story #1: Smarter together 10 
Story #2: You – the brand 12 
Story #3: Network = the most important asset that you have 13 
Story #4: Stay relevant, close, and consistent 15 
Story #5: Keeping a healthy network 16 
Story #6: Learn marketing and you’ll be fine 17 
Step up the game. 22 
Story #7: Find a coach 22 
Story #8: Build winning teams 23 
Story #9: Deliver a successful demo 25 
Story #10: Start with invite-only access 28 
Story #11: Engagement is everything 29 
#1. Social Media Engagement on LinkedIn Using LinkedIn Sales 
Navigator & LinkedIn Automation Tools 30 
#2. Social Media Engagement on LinkedIn using LinkedIn Free Tools 35 
#3. Social Media Engagement on Facebook 42 
#4. Use Video to Personalize Your Outreach 42 
#5. Talk to Your Audience in Real Time 45 
#6. Email marketing still rules big time 47 
#7. Leverage sales intelligence & clean data 49 
Story #12: St. follow-up 50 
Story #13: Consistency and persistency 53 
#1. Build Awareness 54 
#2. Connect With Your Prospects on a More Profound Level 55 
#3. Educate Your Prospects 55 
#4. Gain a Competitive Edge 56 
Story #14: Reason to contact 56 
Story #15: Do’s and don’ts of an effective follow-up process 58 
Follow-up examples 60 
#1. Schedule a demo 61 
#2. Missed Demo 65 
#3. Reminder to Start a Trial 66 

4 
 

Lifelong learning. 68 

List #1: Books 68 
How to Win Friends and Influence People 68 
Eat Their Lunch: Winning Customers Away from Your Competition 69 
Mindset 70 
To Sell Is Human 70 
Predictable Revenue 71 
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion 71 
Never Split the Difference 72 
The Little Red Book of Selling 72 
The Ultimate Sales Machine 73 
Difficult Conversations 73 
List #2: Blogs 74 
HubSpot Sales Blog 74 
The Make It Happen Blog 75 
Heinz Marketing 76 
G2 Crowd Sales Blog 76 
Sales Hacker 77 
Cerebral Selling 77 
Gong.io 78 
LinkedIn Sales Solutions 78 
SaaStr Blog 79 
InsideSales.com’s Sales Blog 79 
Inside Autoklose (Resources) 80 
List #3: Podcasts 80 
Bowery Capital Startup Sales 81 
The Sales Blog – In The Arena 82 
Salesman 82 
B2B Growth Show 83 
The Sales Evangelist 84 
Accelerate 85 
The Ultimate Sales Hustle 86 
Advanced Selling 86 
Sales Gravy 87 
The Sales Babble 88 
The Art of Charm 89 
The Ziglar Show – Inspiring Your True Performance 89 

5 
 

Sell Or Die 90 

Make It Happen Mondays 91 
Sales Pipeline Radio 92 
Conversations With Women In Sales 93 
The Sales Hacker Podcast 93 
LTV With Kyle Racki 94 
Sales Success Stories Podcast 95 
The Sales Engagement Podcast 96 
List #4: Groups 96 
Facebook 97 
LinkedIn 98 
Slack 101 
List #5: People 102 
Jill Konrath 103 
Matt Heinz 103 
Max Altschuler 104 
Mike Kunkle 105 
Richard Harris 105 
Koka Sexton 106 
Kendra Lee 107 
Tibor Shanto 107 
Jack Kosakowski 108 
Jeffrey Gitomer 109 
Aaron Ross 110 
James Muir 110 
Jeb Blount 111 
Jennifer Gluckow 112 
Morgan J Ingram 112 
Shawn Finder 113 
Gary Vaynerchuk 114 
Mark Birch 114 
Adrian Chow 115 
Mark Hunter 116 
Richard Harris 116 
Bob Perkins 117 
Sean Sheppard 118 
Steve Richard 118 

6 
 

John Barrows 119 

Noah Kagan 119 
Phil Gerbyshak 120 
Brian Halligan 121 
Dan Martell 121 
Jeff Haden 122 
Final thoughts. 123 
 
 
   

7 
 

Foreword. 
By Shawn Finder 
CEO, of A
​ utoklose.com​;  
A serial entrepreneur, former professional tennis player 
 
Thank you for taking the time to read this book. If you focus on one story only 
and integrate the lessons learned in your own life and profession, it will make 
a profound difference. 
 
1. The landscape: 
The way people interact and communicate is drastically different than it was 
30 years ago, and even 10 years ago. 
 
The sales as a profession changed. Salespeople spend less than 35% of their 
time actually selling.  
 
Being sales professionals who spent many years in banking & finance, 
hardware, software, and service sales ourselves, we identified this problem 
and wanted to do something about it.  
 
Strengthened by the success of the other software startups that we built, we 
decided to create Autoklose and cover all the important areas of the modern 
sales development. The beta, which was completed in late 2018, was a real 
life-saver, and it performed so well that we chose to share it with the rest of 
the industry. 
 

8 
 

A year later, more than 2,000 businesses, including Microsoft, DHL, VMware, 
and over 3,000 professionals use Autoklose daily to create effective outreach 
and klose (k!) more deals. 
 
As a sales professional you want to hone your skills and add just enough tools 
that will make you effective and efficient at the same time. That’s why we’ll 
share the tactics and tools that we use daily in our sales toolkit.   
 
2. Learner: 
15 years ago I was about to decide whether to try and become a tennis 
professional or get an MBA. I went after the education. While I was passionate 
about competitive sports, building teams and products was even more 
important to me.  
 
At age 24, I stepped into the entrepreneurial world and never looked back.  
 
Here at Autoklose my unique goal was to gather a team of A-players who 
share at least one common quality — the desire to be a lifelong learner. 
 
Even today with a team of over 50 people, I love doing sales. You can often 
see me doing demos or answering support tickets. The reason is that you can 
always learn something from your customers or prospects. As a matter of 
fact, you can learn from every human being, event, or situation if you are 
curious enough. 
 
   

9 
 

* * * 
 
This book reveals: 
 
1. What has changed in our B2B industry/profession, how to cope with 
the change, and what skills should one acquire to thrive? 
2. What should you change/improve to book, close, and retain more than 
ever? 
3. What resources are valuable to keep on your road to success?  
 
The trick is to enjoy reading, learning new things, and implementing them 
every day. 
 
Let’s connect! Please, message me at ​shawn@autoklose.com​ and let’s have a 
chat about this book (or pretty much anything related to sales, growth, 
sports, puppies...) :) 
   

10 
 

Be the brand. 
The purpose of the stories in “Be the brand” chapter is to shine a light on 
important principles that will help you to grow as a human being and a brand 
with a distinctive voice. 
 
 

Story #1: Smarter together 

 
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, 
but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. ”  
― Alvin Toffler 
 
Sales is the lifeblood of every business. But it’s hard to get it right when 
buyers are more and more in control, with hundreds if not thousands of 
options to choose from.  
 
There are at a minimum two fundamental ways we witness sales leaders 
successfully cope with this trend: 
 
1. They are quick to learn, unlearn, relearn, and implement the most 
innovative solutions. 
2. They join forces with Marketing. True sales leaders understand how 
important it is to build this sacred revenue unity. 
 
Let’s unwrap these two methods and see how you can make the most of 
them. 

11 
 

 
Some founders, entrepreneurs, and business professionals are more skilled at 
sales, while some aren’t exactly well-versed when it comes to this. But the key 
word here is “skill.” Sales is a skill. Much like writing code or building a 
financial model is a skill.  
 
That means that sales can be learned and practiced. Therefore building that 
muscle, applying what has been learned, asking for feedback, and teaching is 
part of shaping sales as a skill. 
 
The true masters (Yodas) of sales are people passionate about this profession, 
who understand its true meaning.  
 
Why are you in sales? 
 
It is essential to ask yourself this question, and even more so, it’s vital to stay 
true to yourself.  
 
The true masters of this profession answer this question in an almost 
altruistic way - because Sales is all about helping. To sell is to help someone in 
need by providing the best solution to their problem or improve their current 
status. With that comes a reward.  
 
Now, because we are living in such great times, surrounded by abundance, it 
has never been more critical that Sales and Marketing collaborate. 
 
Chief Revenue Officers (CROs) and Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) have to 
work together and own the revenue strategy. They can not afford to have a 
wall between themselves.  

12 
 

 
A good analogy would be that of good parents who raise their kids with a 
joint set of values and goals to ensure a prosperous future. 
 
 

Story #2: You – the brand 

 
“What’s better than a business? – A brand.” 
— Unknown sage 
 
When we think of a brand, trust is the first quality that comes to mind. 
 
Trust​ is the most important currency one can have on an imaginary, but 
ubiquitous, relationship bank account. 
 
In order to build trust, one has to communicate with integrity, honesty, 
bravery, and care. 
 
The more we communicate, the trust grows stronger. As trust grows we want 
to engage and communicate more. The fear of engaging or making a 
transaction almost disappears.  
 
This is true of both people and organizations. 
 
It has never been easier to communicate. In fact, it is so easy that we from 
information overload. 
 

13 
 

How can one build a brand and personal connections at scale out there in the 
wilderness of online media and offline events? 
 
Take action.  
 
Give yourself permission to “speak up”, engage, and write or record what’s on 
your mind. Be more you.  
 
As Zig Ziglar famously noted, “You don't have to be great to start, but you 
have to start to be great.” 
 
Remember, in order to build trust, the first step is to communicate. But to 
build trust one has to communicate with integrity, honesty, bravery, and care. 
 
 

Story #3: Network = the most important asset that you 

have 
 
“Your network is your net worth.” 
— Unknown sage 
 
When Shawn Finder and his team were about to launch Autoklose, Shawn 
alone already had over 30,000 followers on LinkedIn, and over 25,000 
followers on Twitter, not to mention hundreds of happy businesses from his 
previous ventures under his belt. You could almost argue that it was “easy” for 
him to launch a new product successfully. 
 

14 
 

Fair, but how he managed to amass that relatively strong following is worth 
exploring further. More importantly, it is not only the quantity but the quality 
of the relationships he built and patiently nurtured. 
 
As a young professional tennis player, Shawn used to coach and teach 
wealthy, business seniors.  
 
Even early on, Shawn was quick to spot patterns. One thing that he learned 
from his more experienced, business savvy and overly successful friends was 
that ​your network defines your net worth​.  
 
One student at his tennis course taught him about an Oxford University 
psychologist, Robin Dunbar. Dunbar hypothesized that there is a cognitive 
limit to the number of stable relationships one person can maintain. The 
number that Dunbar proposed – 150 – has been known as “Dunbar’s Number” 
ever since. 
 
Many have argued that this number should be increased due to social media 
and parallel online lives that we lead. 
 
However, professor Dunbar’s 150 has stood the test of time as recent studies 
have shown that “your brain doesn’t care” about your 1000 Facebook friends. 
 
Dunbar commented: “The fact that people do not seem to use social media 
to increase the size of their social circles suggests that social media may 
function mainly to prevent friendships decaying over time in the absence of 
opportunities for face-to-face contact.” 
 
Read more about the study ​here​. 

15 
 

Story #4: Stay relevant, close, and consistent 

 
“The currency of real networking is not greed but generosity”.  
― Keith Ferazzi.  
 
By now you might be asking yourself how it’s possible for to Shawn manage 
and engage over 30,000 people in his network, if we bear in mind the 150 rule. 
And yet, he does. So, where is the catch? 
 
“The catch” is in: 
1. Being proactive - effectively reaching out to people, digitally as well as 
offline, at conferences and local meetups - and taking the stage to 
speak up and share your thoughts; 
2. Staying relevant over time - following trends, taking the time to think 
about trends and creating them, making sure that what you share is 
utterly valuable; 
3. Staying close to where your stakeholders as well as the ones whose 
problem you are trying to solve are; 
4. Unlocking new networks - trying not to exist only in your little bubble, 
but exploring different ideas and terrains; 
5. Being consistent in giving - always first aim to give or earn a permission 
to share, ask, or pitch; 
6. Keeping in mind that you play the long game. 
 
As a sales professional in the year 2019 your goal should be to build a 
trustworthy, personal brand, that helps you to stay in touch with thousands of 
people and engage in meaningful conversations.  
 

16 
 

Sometimes it’s just a buzz showing that you exist but sometimes it’s a deep 
conversation on a topic of mutual interest. This is immensely important 
because by engaging and interacting with others you build touch points.  
 
Every touch point between you and your audience builds or betrays trust. Or, 
so to speak, contributes to that imaginary relationship bank account. 
 
Ultimately your brand and trust will help you to be less of a stranger in your 
network and more of a trustworthy business partner. You’ll become someone 
everyone wants to do business with. 
 
By actively engaging with your audience your name will ring a bell – and if 
you’re communicating with integrity, honesty, bravery, and care – a positive 
one.  
 
 

Story #5: Keeping a healthy network 

 
“You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the 
world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.”  
— Walt Disney 
 
Many of you reading this might pose a question “How much will it take me to 
build 30k followers on LinkedIn (or other mediums) as Shawn has?” 
 
Wellm ask yourself this: 
- How valuable am I to my network, industry or profession? 
 

17 
 

We deeply believe that you can learn something from every person out there 
if you are curious and present enough. 
 
Following that logic you are valuable just as you are.  
 
And of course you should strive to learn more and, in fact, to never stop 
learning. So, you should be open-minded to acquire new knowledge, but it’s 
also important to share what you believe, know, and find valuable.  
 
 

Story #6: Learn marketing and you’ll be fine 

 
“It isn’t the whiskey they choose, it’s the image.”  
— David Ogilvy 
 
You might be asking yourself: 
 
“​What’s up with these 20 something sales kids online and at live events 
sharing and boosting posts, acting vulnerable, and telling stories? Like that’s 
going to build their pipeline.  
 
Specialize and you will make progress. Otherwise you will lose your edge, 
and go soft.​” 
 
While we agree that specialization is important, it’s worth noting there’s an 
emerging trend that the fastest-growing companies are looking to hire 
full-stack sales talent, that is, professionals who understand and cover the 
sales process almost fully. 

18 
 

 
The reasons for this are: 
A. Named organizations invest up to 30% of their revenue into Sales and 
Marketing while the rest goes into product and customer experience; 
B. They value that customer doesn’t want to communicate to X number of 
people (of course, that is still the case with very complex sales cycles); 
C. At these companies reps have to understand the product entirely so 
they can be more versatile throughout the buyer’s journey. 
D. They’re mostly specialized in particular industries, which makes them 
capable of deeply understanding buyer personas (industry, roles, their 
pain points, etc.) and cater towards it. 
 
YES. Sales is getting more complex. The buyer is more in control than ever. 
 
But it doesn’t have to be painful. We just have to learn to unlearn the old 
ways and acquire new skills. 
 
In addition, new sales platforms and tools are helping sales generalists to 
have a comeback no one would ever thought would happen. 
 
We talked a lot about your personal brand. But there are a few other tricks 
that you can borrow from marketing and increase your success: 
 
1) Darn it! Write your own copy – learn copywriting skills.​ While it is 
common for marketing departments to write copy for their sales buddies it 
should not be that way. YOU, your voice, and your brand should be in that 
email. You are the messenger. And messenger is the message in a way in 
2019.  
 

19 
 

We all know too much about our products. But buyers are already well 
informed too. They don’t need a feature/benefit analysis. What they need is 
your understanding of their day and your ability to paint a portrait depicting a 
difference between their current pain and how things can be different with 
your help - they need your ability to tell them a story in which they’re the 
protagonist. 
 
Only those able to tell engaging, customer-centric stories about themselves 
and their products will be able to make progress.  
 
Nobody cares when you keep on talking about yourself and your 
organization. There’s nothing in it for them. 
 
The average attention span has reached a new low - it’s only 8 seconds. If you 
are unable to write a compelling story, you won’t be in the game. 
 
On the other hand, if you master the game of writing a compelling, eganging, 
story will fill your pipeline and be able to 3x cash in on that new skill.  
 
2) You are not alone in this. Go join a group, expand your network, and 
start and forging relationships with your fellow salespeople. It’s never 
been easier. ​FYI: In the last chapter we cover some of the most important 
groups that you can join. 
 
To start contributing more to different online communities you have to 
understand how they work first.  
 
Digital communities are just like their real-life counterparts (no kiddin’). You 
walk into a bar, and you don’t want to be that weirdo asking questions or 

20 
 

pitching. You ideally first observe and then slowly start engaging in 
conversations, uncovering more and more about other people’s interests and 
concerns; make sure to engage in sharing your opinion, giving advice, and 
offering your expertise, until you show up enough to you become a part of 
the group and attract other people’s attention so that they become 
interested in hearing your story. 
 
So build your network, nurture it and if you are valuable enough (and you are 
by default) they will come to you. First for advice and later to make a 
purchase. 
 
It might be a good time to go back to the branding stories we discussed and 
re-read some of the principles we’ve shared there such as: 
 
a. Be proactive but don’t pitch; 
b. Stay relevant; 
c. Stay close and be there to help; 
d. Unlock new networks - stay open-minded; 
e. Be consistent in giving - look for the best ways to help first; 
f. It’s a long game. Stay patient and persistent. 
 
You want to be and also stay perceived as an expert/consultant, someone 
who can help and be of service. 
 
This will build your pipeline better than any other marketing tactic. And you 
will stay in charge of the full process. 
 

21 
 

3) Be proactive and invest in technology. ​Technology isn’t scary; software 

isn’t scary. It’s built so that an ordinary person can use it (well, in most cases, 
even people who aren’t tech-savvy can figure out how to make the most of it.)  
 
This is one of those situations where you have to take a step back in order to 
start moving forward two steps at the time. 
 
There are so many affordable automation tools and platforms out there that 
you can purchase or even use for free, and with their help generate a massive 
growth. You can literally become a sales rockstar. That’s the proactiveness 
everyone wants to see. 
 
If you can cover more functions and increase your output, you are not only 
improving your company but your own position in it. 
 
So brand, writing, networking and tech will 3x the game. 
 
* * * 
 
After going over these useful principles, in the second chapter we’ll try to 
unveil more operational tactics. 
   

22 
 

Step up the game. 

In the “Step up the game” chapter we are going to cover the necessary 
tactics that you should implement in order to be successful in the coming 
years as a sales professional. 
 
 

Story #7: Find a coach 

 
“All coaching is, is taking a player where he can’t take himself.”  
— Bill McCartney 
 
It’s important to introduce the concept of a follower <> peer <> leader. 
 
Every one of us, hard-working professionals, have ​peers​, that is, friends and 
colleagues that are on the same or nearly the same growth level as we are. 
We get to learn from as well as challenge each other.  
 
We all have someone who looks up to us, and someone that wants to follow 
the same or a similar path. These can be our ​coachees​, ​mentees,​ or simply 
followers​. The ability to help someone reach the new heights is awesome but 
also very powerful and hence dangerous. When coaching, we have to be 
careful not to project our ideas or goals onto others. As it’s known with great 
power comes great responsibility.  
 

23 
 

The idea of coaching is to help coachee to uncover blindspots, ego, and other 
growth enemies; to help them understand their current position and what 
stands between where they are now and where they want to be.   
 
With that being said, we should all try to find a c
​ oach​. It’s of tremendous 
importance to find a professional who can help us take our life and career to 
the next level. We can walk alone, but together we can go and get there in a 
faster and smarter way. 
 
Our entire team at Autoklose is networked in the follower<>peer<>coach type 
of relationships. 
 
 

Story #8: Build winning teams 

 
“The bigger your dream = the more important your team.”  
— ​Robin Sharma 
 
We believe that team is everything. Everything starts and ends with the team. 
The team will take care of your business, customers, and other stakeholders. If 
you don’t have the right team you cannot and will not build a remarkable 
long-lasting business. 
 
This is how remarkable entrepreneurs build winning teams: 
 
1) Show appreciation – say please, and thank you. Reward. Don’t be too busy 
to do that. 
 

24 
 

2) Create a sense of belonging – your team has to feel that they belong to a 
special community. The sense of purpose it what will drive them. Encourage 
them to live by their culture and core values (which they share with your 
company), and make human connections.  
 
3) When people come to work, they want you to help them grow. Your job is 
to challenge and develop your team. Give them proper feedback and do it 
often. 
 
4) Celebration – don’t wait for the end of the quarter or year to celebrate. 
Have a pizza celebration. Have an office party. Integrate fun into your 
corporate culture.  
 
5) The secret to finding your passion is a sense of purpose. Always 
communicate with a compelling purpose. Constantly share a very clear, 
concise, and a bold vision of the future. Remind. People will give you their 
talent, energy, and their loyalty. 
 
Four bonus tips: 
● Lead by example 
● Huddle often 
● Coach 
● Have fun 
 
 

   

25 
 

Story #9: Deliver a successful demo 

 
“Think about what you can do to hit someone with so much value upfront 
they almost have to pay attention to the rest of what you have to say.” 
— John Barrows 
 
Before we dive into a quick story of how you will increase the effectiveness of 
your demos threefolds, let us pose a question:  
 
What’s the purpose of a demo?  
 
In our opinion it is the = Proof. The proof that you product does what your 
marketing promises it does and that you can deliver value. 
 
Your job is to give them that proof and do everything in your power to 
understand if there is a match; and if there is a match, go for your win. 
 
Let’s get to it.  
 
Be a storyteller and don’t show ROI calculations. You want to establish an 
emotional connection & get your prospects to make a decision based on it. 
The best way to do that is by creating the before and after images in their 
mind, and highlighting the problem that you’re trying to solve and 
comparing it with how the situation after you’ve solved will look. Every time 
you get them to think deeply and calculate you are ruining the momentum 
and getting them off the right track. 
 

26 
 

There is a high correlation between a prospect who is asking lots of questions 

and a deal being closed.  
 
So, how do you get them to talk more and ask important questions? 
 
Ask open-ended questions instead of limiting, yes/no questions.  
 
Don’t drown them in a product demo. Do the bare minimum and then stop. 
Remember, the most successful demo is when a buyer asks a ton of 
questions. 
 
Look often for engagement & always stay on track with concise messaging. 
 
30 min should be fine. But if it is a more complex product that you are selling, 
better slice it into more demos. 
 
John Barrows has a really nice principle called “time to value” - the more time 
it takes your prospects to understand the value of your product, the less likely 
they are to continue.  
 
In Autoklose case, we always start our demo with data and campaign.  
 
Don’t save the grand finale for the end of your presentation.  
 
It is counterintuitive but it works. 
 
And that’s also how you increase engagement earlier in the process, because 
now they are asking questions. Besides, it will help you qualify them better 
because if you fail to engage them and have the questions pouring in during 

27 
 

the quick “time to value,” then they are probably not that much invested 
which means that they’re not a good fit. 
 
Also, if you start talking about the value first, then your potential customers 
will start asking questions. That’s great because they feel that they’re in 
control. 
 
After that, you can use the momentum to slowly unpack the whole product. 
 
A few more tips to have in mind: 
 
0) Turn on your camera and use every chance to humanize your outreach. 
Having camera turned on by both parties increases the likelihood of the deal 
being closed. 
1) Don't leave on your instant message feed. 
2) Know your product in greater detail - but don’t show it all. 
3) Know the industry of the prospect you are talking to. 
4) Be able to answer questions about your competitive advantage. 
5) Don't be harsh on yourself if you make a mistake. 
6) Don't bad-mouth your competitors. 
7) If there is a bug or a glitch, don’t panic. The best strategy is addressing that 
elephant in the room and acknowledging it. 
8) Fewer features will give more value. 
 
 
   

28 
 

Story #10: Start with invite-only access 

 
“A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all people.” 
—​ Brene Brown 
 
When Shawn Finder started working on Autoklose in the early 2017, he knew 
it would take him and a handful of engineers over a year to self-fund and ship 
a minimum viable product (MVP.)  
 
He knew back then how important it was to start building the brand, visibility, 
and fanbase early on. A good thing is that Shawn had (and still has) a solid 
network of sales professionals.  
 
But it wasn’t until he started hustling and inviting people to join the group 
that he started building that necessary trunk from which everything 
branched out.  
 
It was all about the precise communication and psychology. 
 
– A crisp and clear message; 
– It’s about You not about Shawn! 
– Accessibility; 
– FOMO effect (Fear of missing out); 
– Exclusivity; 
– Sparking conversations; 
– and a clear CTA. 
 

29 
 

If you are launching a product/service, it’s best to first test it with a handful of 
clients rather than spend months in the stealth mode (hiding in beta – 
behind the scenes).  
 
 

Story #11: Engagement is everything 

 
“The business of business is relationships; the business of life is human 
connection.”  
— Robin S. Sharma 
 
We’re lucky to be currently witnessing the emergence of d
​ ifferent disruptive 
technologies​ which transform the world of sales and help us structure the 
hyper-tailored outreach, get in the minds of our prospects, and predict their 
behavior, among other things. 
 
But what about lead generation? ​Being a top challenge for 61% of sales reps​, 
this tactic requires all our attention. 
 
As we have discussed in the first chapter, personal branding and marketing 
next to creative, smart, modern tech-stacks will help you build more 
meaningful relationships and engage with your prospects on a deeper level. 
 
So how do you engage? 
 

30 
 

#1. Social Media Engagement on LinkedIn Using LinkedIn Sales 

Navigator & LinkedIn Automation Tools 
LinkedIn Sales Navigator is the company’s own social selling platform which 
allows you to identify and reach out to the best leads for your business with 
the help of an array of different search parameters. 
 
You can search for leads (contacts/people) or accounts (companies). You can 
narrow down your search based on location, industry, company size, and 
titles. 
 
For the sake of this example we’ve selected Directors of Inside Sales, based in 
NYC. The result = 172 people because we haven’t added other variations of the 
title such as Inside Sales Directors, etc. 

 
 
When we click search, we’ll get a list of profiles (172 in this case). 

31 
 

 
This tool lets you send I​ nMail​ messages to LinkedIn members even if you’re 
not connected with them. 
 
But it has certain limitations based on your package. 
 
Now, with LinkedIn you have the option to lock/unlock your profile for 
connections other than your 1st-degree network. 
 
So, some profiles are open to direct messages even if you aren’t in the same 
network, while others are closed profiles. 
 
“How do I know?” 
 
Glad you asked. 

32 
 

 
In our list from Sales Navigator, next to the name, degree network, and 
paid/free LinkedIn icon, you will spot OPEN. 
 
Here comes the trick. 
 

33 
 

Yes, you can segment and then go after these profiles manually, one by one 
or you can do it automatically. 

Mind you, with great power comes great responsibility! 

 
You can use one of these LinkedIn Automation Tools to send long messages 
to strangers, fake your interest in them, add connections, and badger your 
connections to death, but that will only hurt your business and reputation. 
 
Or, you can be smart and start a conversation just like you would at a bar, 
where the words, questions, and curiosity goes both ways. 
 
This would be a good personalized example that returns a ton of replies: 
“Hey Shawn, I saw that you are Director of Sales Dev at Amazing Inc. Do you 
mind telling me if a) you are managing a specific territory or b) you are 
leading nationwide? Thanks.” 

34 
 

 
 
That curiosity placed in a plain and simple English sentence or two will return 
33-45% engagement. More than any other long pitch form email and 
follow-up​ (tested on thousands of contacts in different niches). 

35 
 

Again, you can message one by one, or use a third-party tool which can take 
your prospecting and lead-generation efforts to a whole new level (500 
messages per day, per one LinkedIn profile). 
 
It saves you a lot of time that you’d otherwise spend sending messages 
individually and striking up numerous conversations with potential leads. 
 
Other brand awareness, sales engagement, techniques that most LinkedIn 
Automation Tools can do (but 90% Sales reps don’t): 
 
– Add/remove connections automatically so you don’t get penalized; 
– Send “congratulations” messages on new gigs/events/celebrations; 
– Send bulk f​ ollow-up​ messages and make sure you touch-base regularly; 
– Upvote connections’ skills automatically; 
– Scan/visit profiles automatically; 
– and more… 
 
This should be done every working day. The first thing you do as a Sales rep 
when you come to the office. No excuses. 

 
#2. Social Media Engagement on LinkedIn using LinkedIn Free 
Tools 
Writing comments is essential if you want to distinguish yourself and build 
connections with others. Besides that, by joining groups relevant to your 
niche and participating in discussions will also help you get a high profile and 
establish yourself as a thought leader and expert in your field. 
 

36 
 

So, make sure to be helpful and share your knowledge with others by posting 
helpful articles that you can also send to your connections and potential leads 
with the help of LinkedIn Sales Automation Tools. 
 
This way you’re building your personal brand and that’s the most important 
thing when it comes to lead generation because people trust individuals (and 
brands) who are prominent and visible. 
 
Read more about how to leverage social media for your lead generation 
efforts in o
​ ur blog post on the topic​.   
 
Post 3-6 times a day different types of post to your LinkedIn. Be the voice of 
your industry. 
 
Examples: 
a. Re-share a trendy post that you would like to discuss: 

37 
 

 
 
b. Use a trendy post and put it into a context of your business: 

38 
 

 
 
c. Ask for community advice: 

39 
 

 
 
d. Use this massive resource and build valuable content: 

40 
 

 
 
e. Feel free to share your thoughts and feelings why not – this is your brand: 

41 
 

 
 

42 
 

#3. Social Media Engagement on Facebook 

As mentioned earlier, Facebook boasts 2
​ .27 billion monthly active users​. 
That’s huge. 
 
However, not everyone is your market and Facebook is not necessarily where 
people go to do business. 
 
But… 
 
Facebook is changing with Facebook Marketplace but more importantly for 
this topic the good old Facebook Groups. 
 
Our recommendation is not to neglect Facebook Groups but to earn the right 
to post and promote your business from time to time: 
 
1. Find Facebook Groups that specialize in your niche; 
2. Whenever you have a question -ask; 
3. Post valuable resources; 
4. Do not hesitate to connect to group owners and members; 
5. Actively engage 1on1; 
6. Answer questions and contribute in comments; 
7. Support members’ causes; 
8. and more… 

#4. Use Video to Personalize Your Outreach   

“One minute of video is worth 1.8 million words.” James McQuivey 
 

43 
 

Your schedule is most probably packed with meetings, tasks, and different 
activities. 
 
The same applies to your leads. 
 
Sometimes they don’t have enough time to squeeze in reading your 
messages and emails. 
 
But, what they could most certainly do is watch your personalized video 
message, or even listen to it while they’re driving to work. 
 
59% of decision-makers​ say that they’d rather watch a video than read an 
article if both are available. 
 
Apart from being much easier to consume, video also makes things more 
personal. 
 
The very fact that your prospects can see and hear you will help them 
establish a connection with you. As the tone of your voice and facial 
expressions are of paramount importance when it comes to establishing 
rapport, it’s clear that a personal video will make them feel as if you were in 
the same room, chatting.   
 
That’s the reason why Autoklose joined forces with Vidyard and implemented 
GoVideo, a super cool feature which allows you to record your personal video 
directly from our email editor and easily attach it to your campaigns. 
 

44 
 

Adding the word “Video” to your subject lines will increase your open and 
click-through rates, so always use this trick to capture the attention of your 
recipients. 
 
We’ve done a blog post o
​ n how to drive engagement and conversions by 
using video in your sales outreach​, and we suggest you read it and find tons 
of actionable tips. 
 
There’s another way to utilize video for lead generation purposes. 
 
Namely, by tapping into the power of this format, you can enrich your 
content and make it more captivating and interesting. 
 
Why not put a twist on your existing content and transforming your blog 
posts into videos? 
 
How? 
 
It’s actually very simple. 
 
Lumen5 is an AI-powered, easy-to-use tool​ that can help you create attractive 
videos from your blog posts. 
 
You can add different backgrounds and animations, use various fonts, and 
pick the music that best fits your topic. 
 
Here’s an example: 
It’s a great way of recapping your lengthy blog posts and emphasizing its 
main points. Such a video can be a great teaser for your latest blog post, and 

45 
 

if you share it on Instagram, Facebook, and other social media, you can 
intrigue your audience to visit your blog and read the original post. 
 
Finally, d
​ on’t forget to add a CTA to your videos, as otherwise your audience 
will watch the video but won’t understand what exactly you want them to do. 

#5. Talk to Your Audience in Real Time 

“The art of conversation lies in listening.” Malcolm Forbes 
 
When it comes to personalization and engagement, you need to take your 
audience’s preferences into consideration. 
 
This applies to the time when they’re ready or available to talk to you. 
 
But, the thing is that they’re scattered across different time zones and it’s 
virtually impossible to live up to their expectations to have 24/7 customer 
support. 
 

46 
 

Enter chatbots.

 
 
These smart algorithms have taken the world of marketing and sales by 
storm with their capacity to engage prospects and customers by providing 
them with answers they need at any time. 
 
Besides being extremely useful in terms of engagement and conversions, 
chatbots can also save you a lot of money that you’d otherwise have to spend 
on hiring additional support reps. 
 
With the advancement of AI, ML, and NLP chatbots have become 
increasingly powerful in terms of being able to communicate beyond offering 
predefined answers. 
 
It’s expected that in the near future, it would be virtually impossible to tell a 
smart chatbot from a regular sales or customer support rep. 
 

47 
 

By 2020, a
​ lmost 85% of all customer interactions with brands​ will be 
performed without a human agent. 
 
There are 3 crucial reasons why should implement a chatbot on your website 
right away: 
 
■ People hate forms! Many of them simply bounce when they’re 
presented with a lengthy contact form they have to fill before signing 
up for a trial. Chatbots can provide targeted messaging based on the 
information prospects provide them and thus keep them engaged.   
■ Educating B2B sales leads is of vital importance, and chatbots can do 
that effectively. They can showcase your product or service and answer 
questions regarding its use. Instead of waiting for available sales or 
customer support rep, your prospects will be taken care of by the 
chatbot. 
■ Chatbots can capture and analyze huge amounts of customer data. 
Chatbots can collect all the information about a prospect and 
processes them thus providing you with a valuable insight into their 
interests and pain points. Bots can even memorize data about every 
individual prospect and use it for personalized and targeted 
communication with them. 

#6. Email marketing still rules big time 

“Reaching the inbox isn’t your goal – engaging people is.” Matt Blumberg 
 
Email marketing is an excellent lead generation strategy, no matter what 
some people say. 
 

48 
 

It just needs to be properly crafted and executed. 

 
The most important thing is maintaining a clean contact list. Scrub it on a 
regular basis and get rid of hard bounces. 
 
You can generate leads only if your campaigns are segmented, targeted, and 
automated. 
 
That’s where Autoklose comes in to help you do all this and much more. 
Our sales automation platform offers advanced segmentation and targeting 
features so that you can build hyper-personalized campaigns which will 
resonate with your leads. 
 
Craft the converting copy, schedule your campaign, and automate it. As 
simple as that. The rest is up to us.   
 
Don’t forget that being persistent is the only way to get your leads to 
respond, which is why f​ ollow-ups​ play an important role in this strategy. 
 
We’ve introduced t​ he so-called Always Running Campaign feature​ to make it 
easy for you to add recipients and follow-ups to your existing and finished 
campaigns and keep them running indefinitely – or until your prospects don’t 
respond. 
 
It’s a thin line between making a decision to open your email or send it to the 
spam folder and that’s a subject line! 
 
Keep it short, sweet, and relevant, and offer a sneak peek that will intrigue 
your prospects enough to open it. ​Check out more tips in our blog post​. 

49 
 

 
As for the email copy, there are some guidelines to adhere to: 
■ Be concise and to the point; 
■ Feature just one offer per email in order not to confuse your recipients; 
■ Don’t be too stuffy and uptight – be conversational instead; 
■ Your narrative should revolve around your recipient, so don’t talk about 
yourself; 
■ Accentuate benefits instead of features. 
 

#7. Leverage sales intelligence & clean data   

“The world is now awash in data and we can see consumers in a lot clearer 
ways.” - Max Levchin 
 
As we have mentioned, a clean contact list is of critical importance for your 
marketing efforts. 
 
That’s why purchasing lists from the internet is an extremely bad idea which 
can get you in trouble with your ISP provider. 
Namely, such lists are swarming with incorrect, outdated, and defunct 
contact information. It’s self-explanatory why using them is a waste of time 
and money. 
 
But apart from failing to reach your audience, there’s another risk – that your 
ISP will mark you as a spammer and blacklist you. This means that all your 
emails will automatically end up in the spam folders of your recipients. 
ISPs use inactive and defunct email addresses and set spam traps. If you 
persistently send your emails to these addresses, a red flag will be raised and 
boom! Your online reputation is ruined. 

50 
 

 
We know that it’s hard to find relevant and verified customer information, 
and that’s why we offer ​a huge database packed with millions of relevant, 
high-quality B2B contacts from different industries​. 
 
You can build different lists and create specific, highly-tailored campaigns for 
each of them. As a result, your delivery, open, and click-through rates will go 
up substantially and generate you fresh, qualified leads. 
 
Once you generate leads, they will be analyzed by the Autoklose proprietary 
software and evaluated based on their engagement and the probability of 
making a purchase. 

 
Story #12: St. follow-up 
 
“Not following up with your prospects is the same as filling up your bathtub 
without first putting the stopper in the drain.” 
— Michell Moore 
 
This quote by Michelle Moore, bestselling author and real estate consultant, 
perfectly describes one of the most common mistakes that salespeople 
usually make.  
 
Oddly enough, most sales reps mention lead generation as one of their top 
challenges, and yet once they land their precious leads, they give in and gave 
up after the first follow-up.  
 

51 
 

Yeah, nobody wants to be a nuisance, and all of us – sales reps and marketers 
– are still trying to get rid of that stigma of hard selling and a door-to-door 
approach. That’s why we’re too cautious and watch where we tread when 
we’re trying to attract our prospects.  
 
No wonder that this way most of us decide to move on after a prospect 
doesn’t respond after just one or two attempts to reach them.  
 
And that’s the worst mistake that potentially costs us a lot of money and 
wasted opportunities.  
 
It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that not following up is actually one of 
the biggest challenges in sales.  
 
We’re not saying it’s going to be easy to change your current 
walking-on-eggs mentality, but, we’re going to navigate you through the 
process, give you useful tips, and real-life examples and templates that our 
sales reps use. 
 
The fear of rejection is a powerful anti-motivator.  
 
What if I cross the line and my prospect unsubscribes?  
 
“No” is the scariest word in the English language, and that feeling of dread at 
the idea of hearing it is what throws a spanner in the works. 
  
But the thing is that most sales reps are so afraid of being denied and 
rejected to the extent that they simply ghost on their prospects before even 
giving them a chance to respond.  

52 
 

 
Our CMO Vedran Rasic moved to Toronto a few years ago and he was eager 
to prosper and grow. So, he decided to seek mentorship and a C-level exec 
seemed like an obvious choice. But, after the initial message in which Vedran 
expressed his interest in being mentored and explained his agenda, there 
was no response.  
If you knew Vedran you would be aware that the phrase “I give up” can’t be 
found in his vocabulary, so he kept on following up reluctant to miss out on 
the opportunity to learn from such a seasoned expert. 
 
It’s not that an unpleasant scenario in which he was being pushy didn’t occur 
to him. He was simply ready to persist until he got an answer.   
 
Any answer.  
 
Eventually, the said C-level wrote back and apologized for a belated reply. His 
schedule was crazy and he literally couldn’t find a moment to consider 
Vedran’s offer.  
 
But once he did, he immediately agreed, and later even said how impressed 
he had been by Vedran’s persistence.  
 
Similarly, when Shawn Finder, our CEO, had his mind set on closing an 
important deal with Rogers, things weren’t going smoothly. But, Shawn isn’t 
a quitter either, so he kept on following up until he landed his 15 minutes to 
introduce Autoklose and our DataUnlimited feature.  
 
Needless to say, his persistence paid off and he landed not only a demo but a 
deal.  

53 
 

 
 

Story #13: Consistency and persistency 

 
“Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, 
and persistence.”  
— Colin Powell 
 
Let’s get a couple of things straight:  
- Only 2% of people are ready to convert during the initial contact, that is 
the first time you get in touch with them. 
- People are too busy.  
- It’s extremely hard to reach decision-makers and capture their 
attention.  
- Sometimes people aren’t even aware that they need your product or 
service.  
- It takes time to plan a budget and get everybody on the same page 
regarding investing in a certain product or service.  
- There are numerous pressing matters to be addressed.  
 
What this basically means is that you need to be patient and persistent. 
 
Psychological factors play an important role when it comes to convincing 
your prospects to have a meeting with you, subscribe for your free trial, or 
make a purchase. Ironically, a stat that has been circulating on the internet 
says only 20% of sales leads are followed up. 
 

54 
 

Ask yourself what the worst thing is that can happen if you decide to follow 
up and be persistent.  
 
Or we can put it this way: 
 
If you follow up, there’s a fifty-fifty chance to convert your prospect; however, 
if you give up then there’s a 100% of chance that you’ll end up with a 
self-imposed “no.”  
 
So, even if your prospect rejects you or unsubscribes eventually, you’ll be no 
worse off than if you give up after the first follow-up. 
 
By following up you’re practically improving your chances of success by 50%, 
and that’s the best perspective on things.  
 
Here’s what you can achieve with this approach. 
 

#1. Build Awareness 

Touching base is crucial for building the so-called “top of mind” awareness, 
which is why you need to find a good reason to reach out to your prospects 
and remind them of your company.  

As for the frequency, it’s advisable to stick to the following schedule: 

- 1​st​ follow-up one day after the initial contact; 

- 2​nd​ follow-up on the third day after the initial contact;  
- 3​rd​ follow-up on the seventh day after the initial contact;  
- 4​th​ follow-up on the fourteenth day after the initial contact; 
- 5​th​ follow-up on the twenty-eighth day after the initial contact;  
- 6​th​ follow-up on the fifty-eighth day after the initial contact.  

After this cycle, you should follow up with your prospects once a month. That 
way you can be sure that you’ll be on their radar.  

55 
 

#2. Connect With Your Prospects on a More Profound Level 

Every new follow is a new opportunity to establish a meaningful relationship 
with your prospects.  
 
It’s also an excellent way to personalize your outreach additionally, and with 
Autoklose you can go well beyond those common first name-location-title 
personalization efforts.  
 
As a matter of fact, you can create your own personalization tokens and 
personalize any element of your email message.  
 

#3. Educate Your Prospects  

This is particularly important in the B2B industry.  
 
It’s no secret that products and services in this niche are complex and it takes 
time to understand how they operate and what benefits they can provide. 
That’s one more reason to follow up and try to educate your prospects and 
help them understand that they need your product or service.  
 
Besides, many people need a little encouragement when it comes to making 
a purchasing decision.  
 
And your timely follow-up with social proof – reviews or testimonials from 
your happy customers – can be exactly the nudge that will get them to say 
yes.  
 

56 
 

#4. Gain a Competitive Edge 

As we’ve said, only 20% of sales leads are followed up, which practically means 
that only 20% of sales reps use this effective strategy.  
 
So, by following up, you’re outperforming your competitors because you’re 
doing something that they don’t do.  
 
With every follow-up, you’re one step closer to converting your prospects into 
paying customers.  
 
 

Story #14: Reason to contact 

 
Using the phrase ”Let me know how I can help you” is being lazy at best. 
— Autoklose team 
 
Now that we’re clear on the fact that following up until you hear either yes or 
no is an absolute must, there’s another obstacle to deal with.  
 
Touching base just for the sake of it can be counterproductive which means 
that you need a reason to contact – an RTC.  
 
It’s actually a fresh perspective on things or a new reason to call or email your 
prospects.  
 
Sometimes it’s hard to catch up with a prospect because you don’t want to 
sound stale and repeat the same ol’ pitch all over again. Although this might 

57 
 

be just your perception of things, the truth is that such an outlook gets to you 
and takes its toll on your confidence. 
 
Needless to say, this lack of confidence is the worst case scenario for any sales 
rep.  
 
But with an RTC, you won’t have to be afraid that your prospects roll their 
eyes loudly when they receive your purposeless email.  
 
Here’s what you can use as a proper reason to contact: 
- The latest industry news which is relevant to your prospects. “I 
stumbled upon this information, and I thought that you would find it 
useful.” Now that’s a great icebreaker and an intro into a meaningful 
conversation.  
- An upcoming industry event. “Have you already registered for this 
conference? It’s awesome and we have a talk over coffee.” 
- The latest upgrade of your product or feature. It’s a good idea to let 
your prospects know that there’s a new benefit they can enjoy if they 
opt for your offer. “Our product is even better than the last time I 
reached out – this new upgrade will help you...” 
- New client success stories and testimonials. “I thought you’d like to 
know how XY, who is similar to you, prospered with our help. This can 
be you too.”  
- Inbound marketing. “I noticed that you downloaded our industry 
report, and I thought that you could use a couple of more insights. Also, 
I’d like to explain how our product can help you overcome your 
challenges.” 
 

58 
 

So, am RTC provides you with an excellent opportunity to reach out and 
engage a seemingly stale prospect.  
 
 

Story #15: Do’s and don’ts of an effective follow-up 

process 
 
“If you’d have to pick up one, following-up is probably the most valuable 
technique that a sales rep is to learn and practice daily.” 
— Autoklose team 
  
Apart from being persistent, it’s also important to know how to follow up 
properly.  
 
Here are a couple of guidelines to set you on the right track, but we 
recommend that you sign up for our 14-day trial and see how Autoklose can 
help you nail your follow-ups and get responses.  
 
#1 Do use a multi-channel approach and make sure to always get closer 
to your prospects​ – after you get your prospects to respond, try to schedule a 
phone call as your next follow up. After that, work towards a personal 
meeting. Following up is a process, so upping your game leads to success.  
 
#2 Do make it about your prospects.​ Your follow-up should revolve around 
your prospects – talk about them and mention your product or service only as 
a means of improving their lives. Benefits – yes! Features-no!  
 

59 
 

#3 Do define the next step. A

​ sk your prospects how much time they need to 
consider your offer, and scheduling the next follow-up. By signing off your 
email with “Talk to you soon,” you’re putting them in charge of your 
communication. This way, you won’t have to wait for them to ping you.  
 
#4 Do say “Thanks”. W
​ henever your prospects respond and whatever their 
answer is, make sure to thank them for their time. Remember that they’re 
busy professionals, and yet they took their time to write a couple of lines 
instead of turning a blind eye to your email.  
 
# 5 Do personalize your outreach. ​Making your prospects feeling special is 
crucial for the success of your strategy, so use Autoklose to personalize every 
single element of your campaign. We even allow you to create your own 
personalization tokens and take this whole process to the next level. It’s 
practically the next best thing to the 1-on-1 email.  
 
# 6 Do spark their interest in with your Subject Line.​ We already know that 
a catchy and intriguing subject line is what makes people open an email. So, 
make sure to use one-liners, funny puns, a bit of controversy, and similar 
tricks to catch the eye of your recipients. But, make sure that you don’t cross 
the line and offend someone. Finally, it’s important to deliver – promising 
something in your subject line only to lure people into clicking on it, while 
talking about something entirely different in your message is a surefire way 
of ending up in spam.  
 
# 7 Do ask questions. ​By asking relevant questions in your subject line, 
you’re implying that your email offers answers and solutions.  
 

60 
 

# 8 Don’t get carried away. R

​ emember – you’re not writing a novel! Keep it 
short, informative, and to-the-point. Your prospects don’t have time and 
patience to read long-drawn-out messages, so tell them what you want right 
away. The KISS – keep it short and sweet – is the best approach.  
 
# 9 Don’t use industry jargon​. Don’t show off and confuse your prospects 
with some hi-tech words and phrases. Be as natural as possible and try to talk 
to them as if you do with your friends and family. The point is to explain the 
benefits and specs of your product or service in layman’s terms and help 
everybody understand why it’s so amazing. And industry jargon will only 
alienate your prospects instead of bringing them closer.  
 
# 10 Don’t clutter your messages. B
​ y including more than one offer or 
talking about more products, you’re distracting your prospects’ attention. So, 
focus on one thing and have a single CTA. Similarly, don’t pack your email 
with a lot of images and links because people don’t like it when they have to 
figure out what exactly you want them to do – your narrative should build up 
and lead them towards that action you want them to take.  
 
 

Follow-up examples 
 
Most people make a mistake by believing that follow-ups are used only for 
the prospects who fail to respond.  
 
The truth is that by following up with your potential customers, you’re 
actually nurturing them and staying on their radar.  
 

61 
 

Different points of the sales process call for following up in order to push 
things further and move your prospects to the next stage of their customer 
journey.  
 
We at Autoklose heavily rely on our follow-up sequences, so here are a couple 
of examples that our sales reps use.  
 

#1. Schedule a demo 

#1.1. ​Subject Line: {{First Name}} something awesome for you 
 
{{First Name}}, judging [their product] it seems that your company 
could greatly benefit from using [your product]. I can save you at 
minimum 5h per sales rep per week. That’s 1h / day! 
 
Let me show you how. Find day/time that works best for you: 
[Registration link] 
[Your name] 
 
 
#1.2. S
​ ubject Line: Turn your obstacles into your opportunities 
 
{{First Name}}, Do you struggle with [Name some of the problems that 
companies in the target industry face]? Well, that's why I am offering 
you a demo of [Product name]. I believe it's exactly what you need to 
overcome those obstacles and grow your business. 
 
Use the following link to schedule your demo, and see how it works:  
[Registration link] 

62 
 

 
Kind regards, [Your name] 
 
 
#1.3.​ Subject Line: Don't put this off until tomorrow 
 
{{First Name}}, As a [job title], you're undoubtedly extremely busy, but 
in business, time means profit. That's why I wanted to remind you 
about the exclusive demo of [Product name], I still haven't seen your 
registration come through. Please try to carve out [X minutes] and see 
how it works and how it can help transform your business. 
 
Follow [this link] to sign up for your demo. 
 
If you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them. 
Check out my calendar at the link below, and schedule a quick call 
when you are available. 
[Book a call] 
 
Hope to hear from you soon, [Your name] 
 
 
#1.4.​ Subject Line: [X minutes] away from success 
 
that's the length of our exclusive demo of [Product name], a product 
that could revolutionize your business and help you solve [Name the 
problems your product solves]. 
 

63 
 

You can register for your demo by clicking on the following link: 
[Registration link] 
 
Stay well! - [Your name] 
 
 
#1.5. S
​ ubject Line: Still not too late 
 
Hi {{First Name}}, I've sent you an invite for a demo of [Product name] as 
I believe that it would benefit your business. There's still time to set up 
this demo and see the potential of this awesome [Product or service] 
and how it could be a game-changer for your business. 
 
Don't miss out on this, register for your demo right away by clicking on 
the following link: [Registration link] 
 
I'm here for all your questions, don't hesitate to book a quick call with 
me. Here's my calendar, please pick any date that works for you: [Book 
a call] 
When can I expect to hear from you? 
[Your name] 

Here’s an example that our VP of Sales, Adrian Chow, uses: 

 
#1.6. S
​ ubject Line: {{First Name}}, can I help?  
 
At Autoklose, we provide companies just like yours a Sales Automation 
Platform that takes all the heavy lifting out of the sales process. We 

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easily automate such tasks as lead generation, sales campaign 

execution, customizable follow-ups, and even scheduling calls and 
future meeting requests. This new platform is a complete game 
changer and is fully integrated with Salesforce or potentially any other 
CRM you are currently using. 
 
Feel free to book a time directly on my calendar at this link: 
calendly.com/autoklosedemo 
 
Best Regards,  
Adrian Chow 
 
 
#1.7.​ Subject Line: 8-13 times? 
 
Further to my note the other day, as salespeople, we've all suffered the 
pain of losing a potential sales opportunity due to a lack of time or 
resources in following-up. Research shows 8-13 follow-up touches are 
necessary to nurture a prospect into a potential buyer. Would you say 
each of your associates is hitting this target? Here attached is a quick 
one-pager to show you how we can help get you there with a click of 
the mouse! Look forward to helping you and your team, 
- Adrian Chow 
 
 
#1.8. ​Subject Line: {{First Name}}, last few spots available to participate 
   
{{First Name}}, we've just signed up some of the biggest multinationals 
(some of whom you might consider competitors) for Autoklose's 

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invite-only launch program. Our participation deadline is, in fact, 

tomorrow, but I wanted to personally offer you one of the few 
remaining spots to participate. 
 
Thanks again, 
Adrian Chow  

#2. Missed Demo 

 
Sometimes, prospects finally register for a demo but fail to show up. However, 
that’s not the reason for you to give up. Again, here’s an example of how to 
handle this and see why they ghosted on you, taken from our VP of Sales, 
Adrian Chow: 
 
#2.1.​ Subject Line: {{First Name}}, did you miss your demo? 
 
{{First Name}}, I'm following up with you as it seems you previously had 
registered for a demo with our team but were unable to participate. 
Please find a time that is most convenient for you: 
calendly.com/autoklosedemo​ and we can begin transforming your 
sales trajectory for 2018! 
-Adrian  

   

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#3. Reminder to Start a Trial  

 
#3.1. S
​ ubject Line: No strings attached  
 
Have you considered my proposal for a trial? I chose you because I 
know that your company could really benefit from our [product or 
service name]. So, why not give it a try? You won't be charged and you 
don't have to pay for it once the trial period expires (although I'm 
absolutely sure that you'll find it indispensable for your business). 
 
Simply follow this link, register, and begin your exclusive trial: [link] 
Stay well, [Your name] 
 
 
#3.2. ​Subject Line: Don’t forget to register... 
 
{{First Name}}: I just wanted to remind you about that trial of our 
[Product or service name]. And don't forget that it's on us! You're 
among the few others who can take advantage of [Product or service 
name] at no charge, so, it would be a shame not to use it and ultimately 
miss out on the benefits. If you have any questions about [Your product 
or service], its features, or the implementation, I'd be more than happy 
to answer them. Simply follow the link below, pick any date from my 
calendar that works for you, and we can have a quick call. 
[Book a call with me] 
To start your trial period, register on the following link: [Registration 
link] 
I'm looking forward to hearing from you, 
[Your name] 

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#3.3. ​Subject Line: Testing 1-2-3 
 
{{First Name}}, I've noticed that you still haven't started your [the length 
of the trial period] trial, and I just wanted to check on you and see if 
perhaps you're just too busy. I understand that, and that's why I'll be 
around if you need any help, so please don't hesitate to contact me. 
When you find a couple of minutes, follow the link below, register, and 
set the ball rolling. 
[Registration link] 
Warm regards, 
[Your name] 
   

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Lifelong learning. 
Wikipedia: Lifelong learning is the "ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated​"​[1] 
pursuit of knowledge for either personal or professional reasons. Therefore, it 
not only enhances social inclusion, a
​ ctive citizenship​, and personal 
development, but also self-sustainability, as well as competitiveness and 
employability.​[2] 
 
 

List #1: Books 

 
Lifelong learning is what can make you a great salesperson. You should also 
read as many books as you can. But, not every book on sales is a masterpiece, 
that’s for sure. However, we have made a compilation of 10 must-read books 
which will expand your sales horizons and show you the ropes of this 
amazing art (or skill).  
 
Pick one and read it. Implement what you have learned. If you read all listed 
books congratulations! Yet still, pick one - remind yourself on the important 
learning lessons.  
 
 

How to Win Friends and Influence People 

 
This book by Dale Carnegie was first released back in 1937, but it hasn’t lost its 
edge despite a huge time distance.  
 

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It’s still relevant and contemporary, all of which makes it an indispensable 

read in every salesperson or marketer’s library.  
 
You’ll learn some vital techniques in handling people as well as how to win 
them to your way of thinking.  
 
Being a leader isn’t the same as being a boss, and this little book will teach 
you how to become an effective leader without being bossy.  
 
Generally speaking, if you’re striving towards self-improvement, make sure to 
read this bestseller at least once.  
 

Eat  Their  Lunch:  Winning  Customers  Away  from  Your 

Competition 
 
Anthony Iannarino authors this book on how to cut through the noise and 
sell in an overcrowded market.  
 
Growing your business can be though if there are too many companies 
offering the same or similar products and services, and you have to find a way 
to outperform, outdo, and outsell them.  
 
And for that, you’ll need to tap into their customer database and take their 
market share.  
 
If you’re a B2B salesperson who wants to steal over your competitors’ existing 
customers then first grab a copy of this book and start learning.  

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Mindset
 
You’re most probably already aware that every great salesperson is an ever 
better psychologist who can understand their customers and help them. 
 
Salespeople who want to succeed need to believe in themselves because, as 
otherwise that’s the only way to be persuasive and convincing enough when 
dealing with their prospects. 
 
That’s why, Carol Dweck, a Stanford psychologist, wrote this book which can 
help you adjust your mindset and encourage you to change for the better.  
 
Read it if you want to forget about self-doubt and develop a mindset of a 
successful person. 
 
 

To Sell Is Human 
 
Being empathetic and human are the traits which set a great salesperson 
from an average one.  
 
And that’s exactly what Daniel H. Pink, a New York Times best-selling author 
talks about in this amazing book.  
 
As sales is all about building meaningful connections with your prospects, or 
as Katherine Barchetti said: “Make a customer, not a sale.” 

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Find out how to overcome all the negative stereotypes about sales and 
become the salesperson who knows how to approach your prospects and 
help them before you try to sell them. 
 
 

Predictable Revenue 
 
Generating revenue is something that every business strives for, but what’s 
even more crucial is to generate predictable revenue and be in control of how 
much you can earn. 
 
This seminal sales book can teach you how to build a thriving business and 
grow it exponentially. This can be done only if you make your decisions based 
on relevant data – educated guessing won’t get you far.  
 
Aaron Ross & Marylou Tyler bring you the $100 million best practices of 
Salesforce.com.  
 
 

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion  

 
Dr. Robert Cialdini is a famous and influential name in the marketing and 
sales industries – and with good reason.  
 
Improving performance with the help of the principles of persuasion is his 
area of expertise, and this book offers science-based advice on how to 

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leverage the power of behavioral psychology and transform yourself into a 

master of persuasion and influence.  
 
 

Never Split the Difference 

 
Knowing how to negotiate can do wonders for your sales efforts.  
 
But, you need to understand that fine line between being persuasive and 
being a pest.  
 
Chris Voss, a former international hostage negotiator for the FBI surely knows 
the drill and can help you step up your negotiating game and your sales.  
 
This book is packed with different useful principles and practical advice on 
getting the edge in any negotiation and argument.  
 
 

The Little Red Book of Selling

 
If you’re looking for the ultimate book on sales, then Jeffrey Gitomer’s the 
Little Red Book of Selling is the right pick.  
 
This is an evergreen classic which will stand the test of time for many years to 
come.  
 
In other words, you’ll no matter how long you’ve been in sales, you’ll still learn 
something new that you can implement and improve your skills.  

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Moreover, in this book, Jeffrey dissects and analyzes the reasons why people 
buy, thus helping you overcome any potential obstacle on the way to the 
checkout.  
 
 

The Ultimate Sales Machine  

 
One of the most important things that any sales manager has to do isn’t only 
identifying the right sales opportunities and using them, but also realizing 
which strategies and tactics that don’t work and eliminating them.  
 
So, if you want your sales team to work like a well-oiled machine, this is the 
book that all of you should read and study.  
 
Chet Holmes’ advice focuses on helping you double-down on your effective 
strategies instead of spreading too thin on different approaches that might or 
might not work.  
 
 

Difficult Conversations

Not everything is peaches and cream in sales – this profession has its fair 
share of difficult conversations and rejections.  
 
But, the key isn’t in avoiding them. What you should do is be ready to take 
the bull by the horns and try to make your point no matter how complicated 
or even impossible that seems.  

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Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen will talk you through having 
unpleasant, though and yet necessary conversations, without allowing you to 
slip into arguments or raise your voice.  
 
Every (sales)person needs to master the skill of having that conversation that 
they’ve been putting off for quite some time.  
 
 

List #2: Blogs

 
We know that you’re a busy sales professional whose main goal is to klose, 
but in the spirit of lifelong learning, it wouldn’t hurt to read a couple of 
interesting blog posts a week.  
 
Here are some that we highly recommend as they make for interesting and 
information-packed reads that can help you expand your horizons and 
achieve your goals faster.  
 
 

HubSpot Sales Blog

 
This should be your starting point, as HubSpot, besides offering indispensable 
tools for every sales rep, also thinks about helping all of us optimize our 
prospecting efforts, funnels, conversion rates, and generally speaking 
become more efficient and innovative in our approach to sales.  
 

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HubSpot’s blog on sales is suitable for both sales reps and execs, as it covers a 
wide variety of different topics on different levels.  
 
Some well-known names are among their contributors, which means that 
you’ll be able to read blog posts by the likes of Anthony Iannarino, Grant 
Cardone, or Jeff Hoffman.  
 
Topics cover every imaginable aspect of sales life, including cold calling and 
emailing, crafting a perfect subject line, getting a response from the CEO, or 
strategic planning for sales operations.  
 
 

The Make It Happen Blog

 
The man behind this blog is John Barrows, a sales rep turned highly 
successful sales trainer, and his idea is to share his expertise and experiences 
he has amassed throughout his two-decades-long career.  
 
His blog posts rich in valuable tips and key takeaways, but that doesn’t mean 
that they’re generic and long-drawn-out. John jazzes them up with 
numerous anecdotes which help bring his narrative to life and make it very 
personal and entertaining.  
 
Such an approach results in memorable and engaging.  
 
You’ll learn how to deal with common objections, deliver stellar 
presentations, unearth what makes you tick, and sharpen your sales chops.  
 

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Heinz Marketing
 
Heinz Marketing is a prolific blog – these guys release a new post on a daily 
basis.  
 
Every salesperson and marketer can find a lot of useful insights for growing 
their contact lists.  
 
Apart from your regular blog posts on how to build a pipeline, create an 
effective content marketing strategy, or grow your professional network, 
you’ll also benefit from two other special features:  
 
- Matt’s App of the Week is penned by the president of Heinz Marketing, 
and he discusses different useful apps in detail and explains why you 
should use them.  
- How I Work is a section in which some of the most successful B2B 
leaders achieve productivity and efficiency.  
 
 

G2 Crowd Sales Blog

 
You’ve most certainly heard of G2 Crowd, and you most probably check 
different software and app reviews on their website.  
 
Their blog is seamlessly organized according to different topics so that you 
can expand your knowledge on operations, commerce, software 
development, HR, and productivity, among many other things.  

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Given that this blog has several noteworthy contributors who are well-versed 
in their respective fields, their content is relevant and of superb quality.  
 
 

Sales Hacker 
 
The name of this blog says it all – tons of valuable and easily implementable 
sales hacks are within your reach. 
  
The thing that sets this blog apart is that unlike many others, it tackles some 
important and frequently neglected fields such as sales enablement and 
sales operations.  
 
Also, besides publishing a detailed and useful post almost every day, Sales 
Hacker has plenty of other content types to help you crush your quota. 
Webinars, ebooks, podcasts, and videos they produce are also top-notch and 
worth paying attention to.  
 
 

Cerebral Selling  
 
A top sales trainer David Priemer takes a unique scientific and data-driven 
approach in discussing sales.  
 
He’s willing to go well beyond usual tips and lists that you can find on other 
blog posts and delves into psychology, research, and various exercises that 
can help you optimize your sales.  

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Blog posts are written from different perspectives and take various factors 
which can affect the way you sell into consideration, thus making you rethink 
your existing routine and improve it.   
 
 

Gong.io 
 
This blog boasts being heavily backed by accurate data obtained by analyzing 
millions of sales conversations with the help of AI.  
 
This advanced method makes sure that readers will have a clear idea about 
what distinguishes great salespeople from the average ones (if this rings a 
bell, that’s because we wrote a community crowdsourced blog post on the 
same topic).  
 
Since their goal is quality and not quantity, their publishing frequency is 
approximately one or two blog posts per week. But all of them are 
comprehensive and detailed and make for an excellent read.  

LinkedIn Sales Solutions

Most salespeople, execs, and leaders spend a great deal of time on this social 
media platform for professionals because of its numerous benefits in terms of 
networking, prospecting, keeping up with the latest trends, and learning new 
things.  
 

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That’s exactly why you should also start following the company’s blog. It will 
provide you with different tips for making sure that you make the most of all 
LinkedIn features. 
 
Naturally, the main focus of this blog is social selling, and given that this sales 
tactic has proven itself to be extremely effective, you’d better polish your 
social selling skills and stay ahead of the curve.  
 
 

SaaStr Blog
 
This blog is mainly focused on SaaS founders and entrepreneurs, which 
means that it’s brimming with collective knowledge on how to run a SaaS or 
startup, how to pitch, find investors, and other useful things that every 
struggling venture needs for growth.  
 
Since it’s packed with content suitable for different stages of the 
entrepreneurial journey as well as niches, various filters are available so that 
you can pick the posts you’re interested in.  
 
 

InsideSales.com’s Sales Blog

 
Sales and marketing go hand in hand, which is why this blog amalgamates 
these two and offers the content which leverages their synergy for the best 
results.  
 

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You can expect a comprehensive and well-rounded outlook on all things 

sales and marketing, as well as discussions on what works and what doesn’t.  
 
Top tips for sales development, social selling and the law of reciprocity, and 
best practices to deal with phone anxiety as a sales rep are some of the topics 
that you’ll find on this versatile blog.  
 
 

Inside Autoklose (Resources​) 

 
Check why in less than a year over 50,000 sales pros subscribed to our list: 
- Blog: ​autoklose.com/blog 
- Books: ​autoklose.com/books  
- Webinars: a
​ utoklose.com/webinars 
 
 

List #3: Podcasts

 
Sales is a challenging and demanding job.  
 
That’s why sales reps need all the help they can get when it comes to finding 
new ways of nurturing, engaging, and wooing their prospects.  
 
Seasoned, been-there-done-that sales leaders are the best source of 
information and knowledge.  
 
Some of them are willing to share it with others in their podcasts. 
 

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Here’s the ultimate list of top sales podcasts to listen to in 2019. 

 
 

Bowery Capital Startup Sales 

 
- Host: Nic Puolos 
- Episode Length: 30 minutes 
 
As the title suggests, this podcast focuses on the struggles with startup sales. 
Although fresh startups are their target audience, the advice they provide is 
scalable.  
 
That’s what makes it applicable to bigger companies and the challenges they 
encounter too. 
 
This podcast dates back to 2014, which means that they have had enough 
time to tackle different subjects.  
 
So far, they have dealt with issues like creating high-converting email 
campaigns, effective sales cadence strategies, as well as improving your sales 
script and finding the sweet spot between automation and personalization. 
 
The team of Bowery Capital together with “experienced industry friends” 
strives to help young entrepreneurs find their feet in the world of sales.  
 
 

   

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The Sales Blog – In The Arena 

 
- Host: Anthony Iannarino 
- Episode Length: 10-50 minutes 
 
This podcast hosted by Anthony Iannarino, a successful entrepreneur, author, 
and sales trainer, goes way back to 2008. 
 
He was among the first to share valuable sales advice and his vast B2B sales 
experience online in a podcast. 
 
It’s his mission to train the enthusiasts in this field on developing their unique 
and effective approach to sales. 
 
Anthony uses his knowledge to navigate and direct in-depth conversations 
with his guests - other global sales and marketing leaders. 
 
He has amassed more than 120 episodes on different topics such as relevant 
books, in-demand skills, or the latest marketing trends, so knock yourself out. 
 
 

S​alesman 
 
- Host: Will Barron 
- Episode Length: 40 minutes 
 
Salesman is a very popular platform, and it attracts young entrepreneurs who 
need coaching. 
 

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Millennial salespeople who think outside of the box and want to push 
boundaries with their brand new ideas and visions are its main target 
audience. Its episodes are divided into four main categories – finding 
opportunities, skills for success, winning the sale and managing the accounts, 
which makes it one of the best-organized podcasts out there. 
 
Often touted as the world’s biggest B2B sales show, this podcast has 
achieved widespread recognition over the course of several years. 
 
It was featured on the “New & Noteworthy” section of iTunes. 
 
 

B2B Growth Show 

 
- Host: James Carbary, Jonathan Green 
- Episode Length: 15-30 minutes 
 
This podcast targets experienced sales executives who want to maintain and 
sustain the remarkable growth of their business ventures. 
 
Its hosts, James Carbary (founder of Sweet Fish Media) and Jonathan Green 
(chief storyteller of Sweet Fish Media) specialize in content-based networking, 
logistics, and marketing strategies, as well as legal matters.  
 
All this makes for very interesting, practical, and productive discussions with 
their guests. 
 

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The topics mostly focus on strategic partnerships, tools for increasing sales 

efficiency, business development strategies, the art of negotiation, and 
successful prospecting. 
 
 

The Sales Evangelist

 
- Host: Donald C. Kelly 
- Episode Length: 10-40 minutes 
 
Donald C. Kelly boasts an extensive knowledge of B2B sales, and together 
with an eclectic approach to picking topics, it’s is the X-factor of this podcasts. 
His podcasts range from the latest industry trends, inspiring and motivational 
sales stories, all the way to practical advice that you can use.  
 
Being a sales rep and a sales consultant, he brings a lot of real-life 
experiences and is capable of dealing with common pain points salespeople 
deal with and proposing practical solutions to these issues. 
 
Becoming a successful salesperson is much easier with his help. 
 
Some of the most popular episodes tackle the very art of selling, and you can 
expect both episodes in which some basic concepts are discussed as well as 
those which are focused on more complex and specific things. 
 
 

   

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Accelerate 
 
- Host: Andy Paul 
- Episode Length: 20-50 minutes 
 
Andy Paul is a well-known name in the sales world. He has been in this 
industry for more than three decades. 
 
Once a shoe salesman at JC Penney, Andy soon started moving up and 
successfully selling small businesses, complex communication systems, and 
even computers. 
 
Being an expert himself, Andy teams up with other sales giants like Jill 
Konrath, Robert Cialdini, and Jeffrey Gitomer in his podcasts, and asks the 
right questions that listeners can benefit from.  
 
They provide valuable insights into actionable strategies, leadership, and 
marketing tactics. 
 
Entrepreneurs, sales managers, and owners of small and medium-sized 
businesses are his target audience, and if you’re one of them, you’ll hear a lot 
of valuable lessons throughout more than 700 episodes of this podcast. 
 
 

   

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The Ultimate Sales Hustle

 
- Host: Steli Efti 
- Episode Length: 10-50 minutes 
 
Steli Efti, CEO of Close.io, runs this podcast which aims at inspiring you to 
become a more productive and successful sales exec.  
 
To read his (and other prominent sales leaders’) advice on becoming 
successful in sales, career, and life,​ d
​ ownload our e-book 673 Years of Sales 
Excellence​. 
 
His guests come from different sales domains and share their success stories 
and recipes. If you’re interested in the startup culture of Silicon Valley, then 
this podcast is the right place to learn more about it.  
 
Steli and his successful guests talk about smart and specific strategies which 
helped them overcome their obstacles on the road to sales mastery. 
 
 

Advanced Selling
 
- Host: Bryan Neale, Bill Caskey 
- Episode Length: 10-20 minutes 
 
Bryan Neale, an NFL referee and a sales expert, together with his friend Bill 
Caskey, a sales coach and a leader, offers a unique perspective on quick and 
effective sales techniques and jazzes it up with humor. 

87 
 

 
With more than 20 years of experience in sales, the duo is more than qualified 
to talk about better prospecting, cold calling, and sales forecasting methods 
that you can try out. 
 
It’s also a good idea to join their LinkedIn group as it’s a great way to reach 
other sales professionals and grow your network. 
 
 

Sales Gravy
 
- Host: Jeb Blount 
- Episode Length: 5-60 minutes 
 
Episodes of this podcast vary significantly in length and topics. 
This means that you can listen to a quick 5-minute episode while commuting 
to work, or start a long episode spanning over an hour when you have some 
free time. 
 
Jeb Blount, a bestselling author, consultant, and speaker is an expert in 
customer experience enablement and sales acceleration. 
 
How to close bigger deals consistently? Jeb has the right answer.  
 
This podcast also helps you deal with negative feedback, double the callback 
rate, and step up your sales game in general. 
 
 

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The Sales Babble

 
- Host: Pat Helmers 
- Episode Length: 15-40 minutes 
 
Besides being a business consultant, Pat is also well-versed when it comes to 
tech startups, B2B sales, and management. 
 
He talks prospecting, referrals, pitching startups, selling brand new products, 
among many other topics.  
 
What distinguishes this podcast from others is the fact that Pat explains 
everything using understandable language and layman’s terms so that every 
concept, no matter how complex it is, can be easily grasped.  
 
The main target audience of this show are entrepreneurs and SMB owners 
who have a lot of room for improvement. 
 
You don’t have to be proficient in sales and marketing or know the first thing 
about the sales jargon to understand what he’s talking about. 
 
 

   

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The Art of Charm 

 
- Host: AJ Harbinger 
- Episode Length: 10-80 minutes 
 
AJ Harbinger invites thought leaders from different industries and fields to 
his show. This means that you can listen to the likes of Tony Hawk, Kobe 
Bryant, and Noah Kagan Instead of discussing the monetary aspect, this 
podcast’s main focus shifts to the behavioral and social dynamics of sales. 
 
AJ’s strong background in biology helps him apply the scientific method and 
find innovative ways to build meaningful relationships with his existing and 
potential customers, and you can definitely take a page from his book.  
The guests on this podcast are equally well-versed in the power of effective 
interpersonal interactions in sales. 
 
They all tap into the synergy of psychology, social science, and behavioral 
economics to unearth incredible secrets of the art of charm. 
 
 

The Ziglar Show – Inspiring Your True Performance

 
- Host: Tom Ziglar, Kevin Miller 
- Episode Length: 20-80 minutes 
 
Created to pass on the wisdom of the great Zig Ziglar, a famous salesman, 
and motivational speaker, and preserve his legacy, this podcast is hosted by 
his son, Tom Ziglar, and Kevin Miller, another sales expert.  

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These two constantly help and promote fresh faces in sales and marketing 
through their podcast. 
 
They mostly focus on motivating and improving the performance of sales 
enthusiasts who struggle with overcoming trade challenges.  
 
Most episodes are based on certain aspects of Zig Ziglar’s philosophy, and 
they explore various topics including why meditation is important or how to 
hone your storytelling skills.  
 
 

Sell Or Die 
 
- Host: Jennifer Gluckow, Jeffrey Gitomer 
- Episode Length: 5-60 minutes 
 
The most interesting aspect of this podcast lies in the fact that it combines 
science and art to create the most effective selling techniques and 
implement them in real life. 
 
It explores some of the most crucial facets of being a sales professional. 
The topics include both relatable and progressive scenarios like how to 
handle rejection or the impact of artificial intelligence in sales. 
 
Its hosts, Jeffrey Gitomer, a popular author and business trainer, and Jennifer 
Gluckow, a networking expert, join forces to help you develop the habits and 
mindset of successful entrepreneurs and business leaders. 

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Make It Happen Mondays 

 
- Host: John Barrows 
- Episode Length: 25-50 minutes 
 
This podcast is mainly focused on B2B sales, and it offers a wealth of 
information for people who’d like to make a career in this field.  
 
John Barrows, an established sales leader, draws a lot of insights and 
anecdotes from his personal experience, and with his guests, other industry 
pundits, teaches you how to transform your sales, approach the target 
company, leverage social media to collect information about your 
competition, and close like a champion.  
 
According to John himself, sales could be the best job in the world if done 
right and the worst when done wrong. 
 
And with the help of this podcast, the first option is absolutely possible.  
 
 

   

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Sales Pipeline Radio 

 
- Host: Matt Heinz 
- Episode Length: 20-30 minutes 
 
Matt Heinz runs Heinz Marketing, a B2B marketing, and sales acceleration 
company, and this podcast deals with the most effective pipeline strategies 
and pairs them with impeccable marketing execution plans.  
 
This process results in creating irresistible, top-notch proposals. 
 
So, it’s clear that you can greatly benefit from listening to this podcast.  
 
Given that Matt has a lot of real-life experience (more than 15 years, to be 
more precise) when it comes to the B2B sales process and building a packed 
pipeline, he’s an excellent choice for hosting this podcast.  
 
Matt and his guests talk about various strategies to help you grow your sales 
pipeline and to keep you posted about the latest sales trends. 
 
They also focus on key pipeline metrics, account-based marketing, and 
demand generation.   
 
 

   

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Conversations With Women In Sales 

 
- Host: Barbara Giamanco 
- Episode Length: 35-45 minutes 
 
Over the past few years, we have the pleasure of hearing an increasing 
number of powerful voices of the women in sales.  
 
Barbara Giamanco, a sales expert, keynote speaker, and best-selling author, 
talks to other successful women in sales to inspire the next generation of 
female sales professionals. 
 
Her no-nonsense approach is refreshing and inspiring, and she can offer you 
guidance on career advancement and social selling. 
 
The topics may also include leadership skills and workplace diversity. 
 
 

The Sales Hacker Podcast 

 
- Host: Sam Jacobs  
- Episode Length: Around 50 minutes 
 
The world of B2B sales is a competitive one, and it’s good to have guidance 
and someone that will help you navigate through the white water of this 
fast-paced and challenging field.  
 
And that’s exactly what Sam Jacobs wants to do, together with his guests.  

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You can expect lively and productive discussions about relevant sales skills, 
effective strategies, the best technologies, and the latest industry trends.  
Meeting your goals and hitting your quota won’t seem so unattainable with 
their advice and best practices.  
 
Besides a regular Tuesday episode, the team added a shorter Friday session 
dedicated to brushing up on sales fundamentals, honing your sales skills, and 
growing your sales arsenal. 
 
 

LTV With Kyle Racki 

 
- Host: Kyle Racki 
- Episode Length: Between 10 and 20 minutes 
 
Every entrepreneur needs a portion of street smarts, and Kyle Racki, 
co-founder, and CEO of Proposify is the right person to help you hone your 
street-smart skills. 
 
He generously shares his experience of more than ten years, and his mission 
is to provide other entrepreneurs with a lifetime value of tips and tricks which 
will help them build thriving businesses. 
 
 

   

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Sales Success Stories Podcast  

 
- Host: Scott Ingram 
- Episode Length: Between 30 and 60 minutes 
 
The name says it all – this podcast is all about talking about different routes to 
success.  
 
Scott Ingram, a seasoned sales expert, tries to pinpoint the most important 
factors which contribute to the success in sales.  
 
He and his guests, renowned sales leaders, and top sales performers will talk 
you through their success stories and try to unearth different recipes that will 
result in delivering excellence.  
 
What kind of mindset is a must for succeeding in sales?  
What are the habits of a sales super achiever? 
What tactics and techniques are essential for the success in sales? 
 
These are some of the common questions that Scott and his guests try to 
answer. 
  
 

   

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The Sales Engagement Podcast  

 
- Host: Max Altschuler, Mark Kosglow, and Joe Vignolo 
- Episode Length: Between 15 and 30 minutes 
 
Engaging your prospects is a surefire of turning them into paying customers.  
But, it’s hard to cut through the clutter and noise – your competitors want the 
same, and your prospects are flooded with countless marketing and sales 
messages.  
 
Max Altschuler, Mark Kosglow, and Joe Vignolo make a powerful trio whose 
complementary skills and expertise in marketing, sales, and content 
respectively, can help you understand the importance of each segment in 
capturing your audience’s attention and nurturing them along their 
customer journey.  
 
You’ll hear a lot of real-life stories and examples which present this serious 
strategy crucial for generating revenue in a casual and entertaining way.  
 
 

List #4: Groups 

 
Getting in touch with other people from the industry and being in the loop is 
a must for success in business.  
 
That’s why you need to pick your company very carefully and hang out with 
seasoned professionals and sales leaders that you can learn a lot.  
 

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Here are some groups and communities that you can greatly benefit from.  
Not only will you be able to build valuable relationships with other people 
from your niche, but you’ll also have an opportunity to participate in 
discussions and show your expertise.  
 
This way can also make a name for yourself and build your personal brand – 
and become one of these above-mentioned experts that others want to 
connect with.  
 
 

Facebook 
 
Sales Pitches Galore​ -7,500 members  
This group might come off as pretty unorthodox given that it seems to have 
no rules, but you can actually meet some really cool people and read tons of 
useful stuff that you can later implement in your strategy. Keep an open 
mind and join it!  
 
Millennial Entrepreneur Community​ - 74,000 members 
This community consists of people from all over the world who have their 
mind set on making an impact and succeeding in business. It’s organized in 
such a way that you’ll be prompted, challenged, and encouraged to actively 
participate and tweak your mind for success and growth, both personal and 
professional.  
 
Sales Talk With Sales Pros​ – 78,000 members 
Want to learn how to close like a champ? Then, this group is the place where 
you can hone your skills and see how you stack up against some serious sales 

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pros. You can bet that almost 80k people joined this community because it’s 
really worth all the hype and buzz that surrounds it.  
 
Sales Professionals Group​ – 38,000 members 
As its name suggests, you can find sales professionals from different niches in 
this group. There are all walks of sales life from door-to-door salespeople to 
B2B sales reps. In other words, you can learn tons of new tricks no matter 
what your specialty is.  
 
Small Business Big Thinkers​ – 4,500 members 
Running a small business can be tough, and that’s why you need all the 
community support and help you can get. This group is the right place to be 
if you want to share your wins and losses, and improve your business strategy 
with the valuable input from other CEOs and biz leaders.  
 
Kingpinning​ – 38,000 members 
If you’re into e-commerce sales, then this group can help you create a 
thriving business and make some serious profit. You can expect to engage in 
productive discussions, read inspirational posts, watch educational videos, 
and hear the latest news and industry buzz.  
 
 

LinkedIn  
 
Sales, Marketing, Social Media, Advertising, and Technology Innovation 
Network​ – 547,000 members 
This is one of the largest LinkedIn communities where you can learn and 
share the best practices, ideas, advice, and tips, and leverage the synergy of 
sales, marketing, social media, advertising, and tech innovation. What’s great 

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about this group is that you can find relevant information about every aspect 
of running a successful business and connect with experts in the field.  
 
Sales Best Practices​ – 311,000 members  
The name says it all – tap into the best sales practices and learn how to sell 
your heart out. Sales prospecting and development, cold calling, productivity 
tips, the best tools, and software, as well as team management, are some of 
the topics frequently discussed in this group.  
 
Business Development – The Missing Link Between Marketing & Sales​ – 
310,500 members 
Discussions in this group revolve around improving your sales and being 
successful in different markets with the help of marketing, PR, and 
communication. Learn how to master business development and harness its 
power for the growth of your business.  
 
Sales Management Executives​ – 310,500 members  
Sales management execs are one of the most important people in every 
company, and yet they frequently struggle with the lack of training, 
mentoring, and professional development. This group wants to change that 
and offer resources for bridging this knowledge gap and help sales 
management leaders connect with their colleagues.  
 
The Sales Association​ – 99,500 members  
The aim of this group is to connect sales business professionals from different 
industries all around the world and provide them with the aggregated 
knowledge necessary for growing their businesses.  
 
   

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Sales & Marketing Executives​ – 247,000 members  

Back in 2015, this group was the award winner for the “Best LinkedIn Group 
for Chief Sales/Marketing Executives.” What sets this community apart from 
all the others is the fact that it doesn’t allow sharing content. The idea behind 
this rule is to promote productive and valuable conversations and 
interactions among the members.  
 
Inside Sales Experts​ – 59, 500 members  
If you’re in Inside Sales and want to exchange ideas and information with 
other execs, this group is a perfect place to start. Again, this community is 
dedicated to sparking meaningful conversations and encouraging 
discussions, which means that there’s no self-promotion or content-sharing.  
 
Sales Hacker Community​ – 12,000 
The specialty of this group is B2B sales. If you have any questions or want to 
find a way to prosper in this niche, you can get in touch with well-versed 
professionals in this area and learn from the best. Here, you’ll get valuable 
insights into how to optimize, automate, and accelerate your sales process 
and hit your quota.  
 
Sales Management Association​ – 42,500 members  
Salesforce effectiveness is the main goal of this group. It’s a forum for 
professionals in sales operations, sales enablement, sales leadership, and 
other functions whose role is to support the sales force. Besides enabling 
online discussions and chats, this group also hosts regular meetups, 
conferences, and regional events in an attempt to help sales management 
leaders connect and polish their sales skills.  
 
   

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Sales and Marketing Alignment​ – 156,000  

Smarketing alignment is an essential and yet commonly neglected factor for 
ensuring successful prospecting, nurturing, and closing. This community is all 
about offering tips, techniques, and advice for helping sales and marketing 
work together effectively.  

 
 

Slack  
 
Women in Sales  
A growing number of women have been looking for their place under the sun 
in the sales industry, and it’s crucial to encourage and support them. By 
joining this Slack channel, saleswomen from all around the world can support 
and learn from each other on their way to success in a traditionally 
male-dominated industry. 
 
CRO Growth Hacks 
We all know that conversion rates are vital to the growth of any business. This 
Slack group deals with the optimization of conversion rates and hacks that 
can foster growth. You can learn about SEM, SEO, email marketing, business 
strategies, and other useful tactics that can help you convert successfully.  
 
SalesStack 
This is a community dedicated to solving problems, discovering new 
technologies, and growing your career in sales. It also features a bi-weekly 
productivity newsletter. Both you and your team will benefit from numerous 
revenue development tips.  
 

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SaaS Community  
If you’re a SaaS founder or professionals, this Slack community will offer you 
valuable resources for growing your business. The main idea behind the SaaS 
Community is sharing knowledge and best practices.  
 
Conversion World 
Lead generation and driving more conversions is at the core of every 
successful business. Conversion World takes a data-based approach to these 
two processes and provides you with the latest analytics and tips backed up 
by hard data so that you can make educated decisions. 
 
 

List #5: People

Sales is a synergy of art and a set of well-polished skills.  

 
That’s why it’s good to have someone to look up to when you’re in need of 
some inspiration.  
 
Luckily for us, modern-day sales leaders can share their wisdom and 
experience through social media. 
 
Here’s a list of top sales leaders to follow and pick up some of their tricks and 
masteries. 
 
 

   

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Jill Konrath  
 
Being a globally recognized sales strategist, bestselling author, and a keynote 
speaker, this lady should definitely be on your “sales leaders to follow” list.  
 
Her 250,000 followers on LinkedIn and more than 140,000 blog readers 
indicate that Jill does an exceptionally good job.  
 
Want to learn how to close more deals, sell to big companies, and find your 
place under the sun in an overcrowded and competitive sales world?  
Check out Jill’s Twitter, LinkedIn, and website.   
 
Twitter: twitter.com/jillkonrath 
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/jillkonrath 
Website: ​jillkonrath.com 
 
 

Matt Heinz  
 
Are you big on smarketing?  
 
If the answer is yes, then Matt Heinz is your man – sales and marketing 
alignment is his specialty, and he can help you step up your game.  
 
His tips can do wonders for accelerating your revenue growth by improving 
your demand generation efforts, pipeline, retentions, and renewals.  
 

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In case that the answer to the first question is no, then change that ASAP and 
leverage the benefits of this powerful tactic with the help of valuable tips and 
tricks provided by Matt Heinz.  
 
Twitter: twitter.com/heinzmarketing  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/mattheinz 
Website: ​heinzmarketing.com 
 
 

Max Altschuler  
 
If you’re struggling to grow your business, knowing that Max Altschuler, 
Founder & CEO of Sales Hackers, Inc. and VP of Marketing at Outreach, has 
also had his fair share of obstacles and challenges is a comforting thought.  
 
He shares his tips and tricks on how he overcame them and made it on a 
daily basis, so make sure to follow him on social media and attend the 
conferences in which he’s one of the speakers.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/HackItMax  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler  
Website: ​saleshacker.com 
  
 

   

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Mike Kunkle  
 
Mike Kunkle is a renowned sales enablement and sales training expert. 
He frequently talks about the latest sales enablement trends and 
performance improvement.  
 
Being a corporate leader and consultant for 24 years, he has managed to 
hone his skills and help different companies increase their revenue growth 
dramatically.  
 
No doubt that he’s one of the influencers every sales rep should follow.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/Mike_Kunkle 
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/mikekunkle 
Website: ​mikekunkle.com/services 
 
 

Richard Harris 
 
Another familiar face from our last previous e-book 673 Years of Sales 
Excellence, Richard Harris is a sales expert who assists companies in building 
and scaling their sales teams, as well as grow their revenue.  
 
His field of expertise stretches from start-ups, across mid-size companies, to 
big corporations.  
 

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With more than 20 years in sales operations, Richard discusses both sales 
processes and methodologies and offers practical insights into how to 
implement them effectively.  
 
If you’re in search of valuable content about sales development, tools, 
metrics, KPIs, and other important topics, don’t skip Richard’s social media 
channels.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/rharris415  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/rharris415 
Website: ​theharrisconsultinggroup.com 
 
 

Koka Sexton 
 
Koka Sexton’s LinkedIn profile describes him, among many other things, as 
the Creator of Social Selling.  
 
And that’s exactly why you need to connect with him on every social channel 
right away.  
 
The man practically invented this tremendously popular and effective sales 
method, and you bet he regularly comes up with interesting insights and 
provides his expertise on how to leverage your network for closing more 
deals.  
 
Apart from being the pioneer of social selling, Koka has worked for social 
media software giants such as Hootsuite and LinkedIn. 

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Twitter: t​ witter.com/kokasexton 
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/kokasexton  
Website: ​kokasexton.com 
 
 

Kendra Lee 
 
KLA Group, the company Kendra Lee founded, states that they believe that 
sales is not an art – you can successfully learn it and become an expert. 
Just like Kendra, who specializes in helping companies acquire more 
customers through sales prospecting and lead generation, generate more 
revenue, and successfully expand.  
 
As she’s a renowned keynote speaker, you can follow her work offline too by 
attending industry events and conferences.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/KendraLeeKLA  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/kendralee 
Website: ​klagroup.com  
 
 

Tibor Shanto  
 
If you’d like to learn how to better execute your sales process, make sure to 
start following Tibor Shanto.  
 

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He’s a B2B sales execution specialist, who started out like your regular sales 
rep and later advanced to leadership roles with the likes of Dow Jones and 
Reuters.  
 
With his help, companies can reduce the sales cycle, boost close ratios, and 
experience double-digit growth. So, check his digital channels regularly if you 
want to pick up some really good tips and tricks on how to optimize your 
sales process.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/TiborShanto  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/tiborshanto 
Website: ​tiborshanto.com 
 
 

Jack Kosakowski  
 
Social selling and sales innovation are Jack Kosakowski’s main fields of 
expertise.  
 
“My goal each and every day is to add value to someone else’s day.” And that’s 
exactly what he does on his social media outlets, blog posts, and in 
conferences.  
 
As the CEO of Creation Agency, he works with sales and marketing teams on 
the optimization and automation of the sales funnel. With his help, many 
companies manage to warm up and nurture their B2B leads and push them 
down the funnel.  
 

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If crushing your sales and the bottom line is your goal, make sure to use 
Jack’s advice.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/JackKosakowski  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/jackkosakowski1  
Website: ​jackkosakowski.com  
 
 

Jeffrey Gitomer  
 
Jeffrey Gitomer is a big name in sales.  
 
The man who wrote The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling plus 
other ten bestsellers is a must-follow.  
 
His sincere, no-nonsense, and inspirational approach to sales shows in his 
highly valuable and interesting blog posts.  
 
It’s a good idea to have the King of Sales among your LinkedIn connections 
and people you follow on Twitter.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/gitomer  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/company/buy-gitomer  
Website: ​gitomer.com 
 
 

   

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Aaron Ross 
 
Aaron Ross is a bestselling author and co-founder of Predictable Revenue.  
If you want to explore outbound acceleration and sales process automation, 
then you’ll find plenty of resources on Aaron’s social media channels.  
 
“Of course you want more revenue, but what good is it if it isn’t predictable?”  
 
This quote by Aaron Ross sums it all up and tells you how you can benefit 
from connecting with him on LinkedIn and Twitter.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/motoceo  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/aaronross  
Website: ​predictablerevenue.com  
 
 

James Muir  
 
James Muir is an expert in B2B sales and a bestselling author.  
 
His book The Perfect Close is a valuable resource for every sales rep out there, 
as it offers straightforward, simple, and yet effective tips for closing your sales 
successfully.  
 
He also specializes in helping healthcare organizations optimize their 
workload and finances.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/B2B_SalesTips  

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LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/puremuir  
Website: ​puremuir.com 
 
 

Jeb Blount  
 
Jeb Blount, CEO of Sales Gravy, is a sales acceleration specialist.  
 
If your sales cycle is sluggish, Jeb’s advice might save the day.  
 
He has also authored nine books on prospecting, sales, leadership, and 
customer experience.  
 
As a sales coach, he helps sales leaders achieve and maintain a 
high-performance sales culture.  
 
Jeb loves sharing his knowledge and expertise with the community, and he’s 
a popular podcaster and keynote speaker.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/salesgravy 
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/jebblount  
Website: ​jebblount.com 
 
 

   

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Jennifer Gluckow  
 
Jennifer Gluckow describes herself as a “true NYC broad with sales moxie.” 
 
And indeed, this lady is a sales trainer and well-known New York Times 
bestselling author, whose strategies are fast, straightforward, and responsive. 
 
She often discusses the 212 strategies from her book “Sales in a New York 
Minute,” and you can pick up a lot of good and actionable tips from her.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/JENinaNYminute  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/jennifergluckow  
Website: ​salesinanyminute.com  
 

Morgan J Ingram 
 
Morgan’s job and passion is to help and motivate sales teams with the right 
techniques and tactics.  
 
He also hosts the SDR Chronicles, a podcast on which he explores motivation, 
tactics, and skills essential for every sales development rep. Being one 
himself, Morgan knows how this process works and is very well acquainted 
with all the obstacles standing on the way to success.  
 
That’s what makes his advice valuable – he’s speaking from the role of 
someone who shares the same struggles and wins as the rest of the SDR 
community.  

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Twitter: t​ witter.com/morganjingram  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/morganjingram  
Website: ​morganjingram.com  
 
 

Shawn Finder 
 
Shawn Finder, founder, and CEO of Autoklose has been in sales for more than 
15 years. 
 
He still gives demos and likes to get in touch with prospects, as that’s how he 
can learn more about their pain points and try to find a solution. 
That’s how the idea about Autoklose was born – Shawn himself, as well as his 
customers, needed a tool that could automate the sales process and speed it 
up.  
 
He shares a lot of valuable content on his social media channels, initiates 
interesting discussions, and offers his advice in numerous webinars he hosts 
with other sales leaders.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/autoklose  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/shawnfinder  
Website: ​autoklose.com  
 
 

   

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Gary Vaynerchuk 
 
Gary Vee doesn’t need any particular introduction, because his name most 
certainly rings a bell even if you’re a sales noob.  
 
His intense and no “BS” approach to entrepreneurship, sales, marketing, and 
life might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but he’s undeniably a leader from 
whom you can learn a lot about growing your business.   
 
His “hustle and grind” attitude is infectious, so make sure to watch his 
YouTube videos and webinars.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/garyvee  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/garyvaynerchuk  
Website: ​garyvaynerchuk.com  
 
 

Mark Birch   
 
Mark Birch is an enterprise software tech developer as well as a sales exec.  
 
His idea to bring B2B sales professionals closer and help them share, learn, 
and network with their peers resulted in starting the Enterprise Sales Forum.  
 
Being a techie – Mark graduated from Boston University with a degree in 
Science in Electrical Engineering, he promotes the idea that software 
development is crucial for innovation.  
Twitter: t​ witter.com/marksbirch  

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LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/marksbirch  
 
 

Adrian Chow  
 
Adrian Chow is one of a kind salesman.  
 
He managed to raise over $1B in sales for the companies he worked for 
during his career.  
 
With countless closed deals under his belt, Adrian is the right person to follow 
and learn from.  
 
If you can’t find a way to generate a consistent flow of customers and grow 
your business, check out Adrian’s social media channels and you’ll definitely 
get a couple of good ideas.  
 
At the moment, he’s VP of Sales in Autoklose.  
 
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/adrian-chow-28489472  
Website: ​autoklose.com  
 
 

   

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Mark Hunter 
 
“The only good sale is the one that leads to the next sale.” 
 
This on-point quote by Mark Hunter gives you a hint as to why you should 
follow him and what you can learn.  
 
In other words, he can help you acquire and retain the best prospects.  
 
With more than 20 years of experience, Mark focuses on teaching salespeople 
how to close at full price and avoid the trap of discounting their products and 
services all the time.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/TheSalesHunter  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/markhunter  
Website: ​thesaleshunter.com  
 
 

Richard Harris 
 
With over 20 years of experience as a sales advisor and consultant, Richard 
Harris has adopted a relaxed, conversational style of selling.  
 
His idea is that the sales process is a transition that sales reps and their 
prospects have to make – starting as strangers, then becoming 
acquaintances, and finally trusted business allies.  
 

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And that’s what you can learn from him. So, if “make friends, not sales” 
sounds like an interesting concept, follow Richard on social media and take a 
page from his book.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/rharris415  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/rharris415  
Website: ​theharrisconsultinggroup.com 
 
 

Bob Perkins  
 
Bob Perkins is an acclaimed inside sales innovator who founded AA-ISP, a 
global sales association, in order to connect sales leaders and prompt them to 
share their experiences, exchange ideas, and discuss challenges.  
 
His video channel, the Inside Sales Studio, provides great content every week 
and discusses the latest inside sales trends and topics relevant to inside sales 
leaders.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/rperk10  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/perkinsbob  
Website: ​aa-isp.org 
 
 

   

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Sean Sheppard  
 
If you’re running a struggling business, then there’s so much that you can 
learn from Sean Sheppard, an entrepreneur who has developed and grown a 
number of early-stage companies across different markets.  
 
Building a pipeline packed with high-quality leads and constantly improving 
it, as well as creating predictable revenue are top challenges as well as 
among the most important factors which determine the success of a 
company.  
And that’s exactly what Sean specializes in.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/seanasheppard  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/seansheppard 
Website: ​growthx.com  
 
 

Steve Richard   
 
Being a sales coaching and conversational sales specialist, Steve Richard can 
show you new ways of doing things in sales.  
 
In his webinars, he tackles different topics that every SDR can benefit from. 
 
So, if you’d like to know how to book more meetings, how to use sales 
enablement to your advantage, or how to prevent your deals stale out, 
Richard knows the answers, and he’s more than willing to pass on his broad 
knowledge on these and many other topics.  

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Twitter: t​ witter.com/srichardv  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/saleskickoffspeaker  
Website: ​execvision.io  
 
 

John Barrows 
 
John Barrows is a top sales trainer who helps sales reps reach their full 
potential and peak performance.  
 
He offers the right guidelines, talks about different tactics and strategies, and 
mentions different sales tools and platforms which will make your job and life 
much easier.  
 
By following John, you’ll get the advice you need to make your business 
thrive and sell more efficiently.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/JohnMBarrows  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/detail/contact-info  
Website: ​jbarrows.com 
 
 

Noah Kagan 
 
You’ve probably heard about Noah Kagan, employee #30 at Facebook, #4 at 
mint, and the taco-loving founder of Sumo and AppSumo, His YouTube 

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channel announces that there are lessons from an 8-figure founder on how to 
start a business, grow it, or improve your marketing.  
 
Check out his social media channels, and you’ll be in for tons of growth 
hacking tips, the latest sales, and marketing trends, best practices, and a lot 
of fun.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/noahkagan  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/noahkagan  
Website: ​okdork.com  
 
 

Phil Gerbyshak 
 
Phil Gerbyshak’s effervescent personality and energetic approach to sales will 
definitely convince you that you can make it if you try hard and motivate you 
to do so.  
 
He’s a sales expert, a keynote speaker, and a popular author whose additional 
specialty is networking.  
 
This means that he’ll teach you how to use LinkedIn to create and nurture 
meaningful and lucrative connections with your prospects.  
As he’s big on social selling, you can also pick a couple of tricks from that field 
as well.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/PhilGerb  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/philgerb  

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Website: ​philgerbyshak.com  
 

Brian Halligan 
 
Brian Halligan is the Founder and CEO of Hubspot. Need we say more?  
 
Not really, but we will as he’s a sales influencer from whom you can learn a lot 
about running a business and making it successful – Hubspot made almost 
$115 million in revenue in Q1 2018.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/bhalligan  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/brianhalligan  
Website: ​hubspot.com  
 
 

Dan Martell  
 
Being a serial entrepreneur, an angel investor, and a SaaS business coach, 
Dan Martell has a lot of successes and failures under his belt.  
 
The fact that some of his early startups were failures turned out to be a 
valuable lesson, and he gladly shares what he has learned over the years in 
business.  
 
He does weekly YouTube videos in which he discusses different strategies to 
help entrepreneurs scale their businesses and explains to them how to run 
their team for best efficiency.  

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Twitter: t​ witter.com/danmartell  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/dmartell  
Website: ​danmartell.com  
 
 

Jeff Haden  
 
Jeff Haden is one of the top LinkedIn influencers, and besides being a 
keynote speaker and the Inc. editor, but what sets him apart and makes him 
a must-follow leader is his extensive sales background.  
 
His advice can be very helpful if you’re struggling with your motivation, so Jeff 
wrote his bestselling book “The Motivation Myth: How High Achievers Really 
Set Themselves Up to Win.”  
 
So, follow him if you want to develop and tweak a competitive, 
high-performing mindset which will help you to excel in sales, as well as in 
other fields of work.  
 
Twitter: t​ witter.com/jeff_haden  
LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/hadenjeff  
Website: ​jeffhaden.com  
 
 

   

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Final thoughts. 
By Autoklose Team. 
 
You have read our thoughts on B2B Sales, a playground that has been 
growing like never before. 
 
We shared insider stories on the success of high-growth sales teams.  
 
The idea behind this book was to help you cut through the noise and 
implement only what is proven to work. 
 
Please do let us what you think about it and what else we can do to make you 
a world-class, full-stack sales kloser. 
 
Your Autoklose Team. 
hello@autoklose.com 
 

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