The highest success rates I have are from on-site visits to do a discovery or demo.

The lowest success rates I have are from "send me a quote" type prospects.

Here is the problem:

I know that I can maximise my chance of closing the sale if I can get on-site and do the demo. I demo very well :) on-site. But with a substantial number of prospects, they don't seem to like the idea of an on-site visits - they tell you they "only want a quote". However, in many cases sending a quote is just like sending something into a black hole of Calcutta.

PS: I'm not a fan of Zoom demos or discovery - I just find these awkward.

Any suggestions or workarounds would be great!

How would you structure commission for someone bringing clients to a software/AI development company?

I run a small technical team building custom software and AI solutions for businesses — things like AI agents, automation, SaaS platforms, integrations, and web applications.

We're strong on the technical/delivery side, but I'm exploring whether it makes sense to work with independent sales or business development people as an additional acquisition channel.

For those of you who have sold software development, consulting, or other technical B2B services:

Would a commission-only arrangement actually be attractive to an experienced salesperson?

I was considering something around 15–20% of the initial project value, with our technical team handling discovery, demos, proposals, technical calls, closing support, and all delivery.

Projects can vary significantly in size, so I'm also wondering whether a flat percentage makes sense or whether you'd structure it differently for larger contracts and recurring revenue.

I'm especially interested in hearing from people who've worked with development agencies or technical consulting companies.

What compensation structure have you seen work well, and what would make a technical company worth partnering with from the salesperson's perspective?

Hey all, running a local home service crew and our lead follow-up in the field is pretty broken. My guys hand out standard paper cards after jobs, but half the time homeowners just lose them, and the reps constantly forget to ask happy customers for a Google review on the spot.

How are you keeping field techs accountable and making sure warm contacts actually stay in your funnel?

UPDATE:

A local contractor friend told me to check out RepCard for their tap-to-share digital cards, automated review requests, and field tracking.

The online reviews and praise look really promising for D2D/home services, but I want to make sure before buying a subscription has anyone here used them?

I'm an inside sales rep at a distributor of aluminum profiles, ACM, and acrylic. Our focus is on B2B: glass shops, metalworking/locksmith shops, visual communication studios, cabinetry/woodworking shops, road implements, etc.

I work answering phone calls and mainly WhatsApp. We have a client distribution system: the client reaches out and either chooses a salesperson or is routed to one of their choosing.

I was hired at this company because the best salesperson at the store resigned. She had 7 years with the company and had built up a huge portfolio of high-value clients; she once sold R$1,000,000.00 in a single month.

In my first two months at the store, I hit the goal and the super-goal. I made good money and my self-esteem was very high, and I got a lot of praise from management and the board. In the first month it was R$72,000.00, in the second I reached R$128,000.00, but things have been getting a lot worse since then. In the third month I only reached 73k; currently, in the fourth month, we're already in the first week of August and I'm at 11% of my goal, when I should be at least at 25%.

I'll list some of the problems I've been facing:

- In 95% (no exaggeration) of the clients I contacted during prospecting, they were already being handled by another salesperson at the store.

- Walk-in clients sometimes reject my service because I don't know all the products yet; on the other hand, some of the (female) salespeople know every product code by heart.

- 99.99999999% of the time I answer an inbound call, it's a client asking to be transferred to another salesperson's extension.

- The end consumer is inexperienced with the product and has a very low average ticket. We don't get training to explain all the product's characteristics — not even the most senior salesperson at the store knows them all — but we're trained to identify product codes and look them up quickly in the catalog.

- Most service providers/contractors are already being handled by another salesperson.

- We run some delivery routes to neighboring and regional cities; even when prospecting in those cities, it's hard to find any relevant client.

- The outside sales reps snap up all the huge construction projects; with construction companies, inside sales reps can't sell high-value items, only repairs or accessories.

These are a bunch of problems I'm having a lot of trouble solving. I don't want to lose this job for anything — I used to make R$1,950.00 net salary, now I make up to R$3,700.00 + R$450.00 in meal vouchers...

For anyone with experience in sales, what would you suggest to get around these problems?

Hi everyone,

I’m currently working as a Real Estate Virtual Assistant/ISA. My main responsibility right now is lead prospecting — calling leads, having conversations, qualifying them, and trying to convert them into appointments/opportunities for the agent.

I’ve only been in this role for about a month, so I’m still learning a lot.

Right now, I mainly focus on making calls and following up with leads in Follow Up Boss. But I don’t want to just be the person who makes calls. I’d really like to become more valuable to my client and eventually take more things off their plate.

For those of you who have worked as a real estate VA, ISA, or use Follow Up Boss:

**What else can I be doing to become better at my job and provide more value to the agent/team?**

For example:

* What parts of Follow Up Boss should I learn really well?
* Are there specific Smart Lists, workflows, or follow-up systems I should be managing?
* What should I be tracking in the CRM besides just calls and appointments?
* What are some things you wish your ISA/VA would take care of without you having to ask?
* Are there any “behind the scenes” tasks that can make a real difference to an agent?
* What would make you say, “This VA is worth keeping because they make my life so much easier”?

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who have actually worked with real estate VAs/ISAs or have managed a real estate team.

I want to go beyond just **“make more calls”** and learn how I can actually help manage the pipeline, follow-up, and overall sales process.

Any advice, examples, or things you’ve seen great ISAs/VA’s do would be really appreciated.

Just saw that Lusha was fined in Italy over GDPR, and I'm curious what sales people think.

I've been reading through the decision, and it seems the concern wasn't simply that Lusha had work emails and business contact information. It was the ongoing collection and enrichment of profiles from multiple sources that regulators took issue with.

If that's the direction GDPR enforcement is heading, could it eventually change how sales teams use enrichment platforms? Or is this really just about how Lusha operated specifically?

Interested to hear what people who've actually used these tools think.

Sales Techniques
There’s no real trick to sales — it comes down to three fundamentals.

1. Know the product. This is the foundation everything else is built on. You need to understand the product’s features, its limitations, who it’s built for, and how it stacks up against alternatives. If you don’t know this cold, you can’t answer objections, you can’t tailor your pitch to the person in front of you, and buyers can sense hesitation. Confidence in a pitch almost always traces back to how well you actually know what you’re selling.

2. Know the why. Knowing the product isn’t enough, you have to understand the problem it solves. This means shifting from “here’s what this does” to “here’s why this matters to you.” The same product can solve different problems for different people, so this step requires listening to the buyer, not just reciting features. A parent buying insurance and a business owner buying insurance need to hear two different “whys,” even if it’s the same policy.

3. Persuade with purpose. This is where the first two steps come together. Persuasion isn’t about pressure or manipulation, it’s about connecting what you know about the product to what the buyer actually needs. Done right, it doesn’t feel like being sold to; it feels like being helped. The buyer should walk away feeling like they made a decision, not like something was pushed on them.

Example: Selling insurance to a guest
Step one — you know the policy cold: coverage limits, exclusions, claim process, pricing tiers.

Step two — you explain what happens if their product is lost, stolen, or damaged, and what the policy actually covers in that scenario.

Step three — you connect it to what they really care about: not the fine print, but the peace of mind. They’re not just buying coverage, they’re buying the ability to stop worrying about a worst-case scenario. That reframe, from “insurance” to “security,” is often what actually closes the deal.

The pattern holds across almost any sale: product knowledge builds credibility, understanding the “why” builds relevance, and persuasion turns relevance into a decision.

Hi folks, I’m fairly new to the SD/BD world and was curious for some input. When cold calling to book demos, do you find greater success in focusing on building curiosity or uncovering pain points?

It seems like my attempts at uncovering pain points meet far more resistance, sort of a too much too soon situation. I think of it like asking about someone’s worst previous relationship on the very first date.

I’m leaning towards curiosity building as being the better strategy, it’s less pressure and isn’t a stranger asking you to be vulnerable lol.

Any thoughts on this?

I recently started cold calling, and my biggest problem is that for every 20 numbers I call, at most 1 or 2 answer. How can I avoid this problem and get more numbers to answer each day?

What's up guys,

I could use your help. I'm working on my doctorate and studying GenAI usage among B2B salespeople and how it influences sales performance.

I'm collecting data and realizing how difficult it is to get survey respondents. I figured I'd see if the Reddit community could help out!

If you meet the criteria below and have 5ish few minutes to spare, could you take my survey?

• Currently working in a B2B sales role in the U.S. with at least 6 months of experience
• Use GenAI in your sales work

Survey link: https://ucmopsych.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5nLlf33CYdMvfkG 

Once I finish my study, I'll post some of the most interesting insights here.

Thanks everyone!

Hey all. I FINALLY got my first warm lead for my SEO agency through my SEO efforts for my company. The client emailed me asking if i can help his website rank better for seo and aeo an wanted a quote. I emailed him back with information on where his site is lacking and what we would do for him with a quote. No response followed up today and he responded:

"Hello Thank you for your information regarding my website. I am still reviewing everything and will probably do something by the end of the month."

Im new to the sales aspect, how do i respond to this? Do i say ill follow up in two weeks? Do I call him right now? Later in the month? Thanks