The Importance of Hard Work to Generate Sales Leads

We've all heard the old adage that achieving success is a mixture of luck and hard work, and if you're in sales, you may be tired of hearing it. You already do work hard, you stay focused, and you're consistently putting in extra hours - so why isn't it translating into long term success?

The truth is, hard work isn't all about working overtime; it can mean a variety of things to different people and within different contexts. In lead generation and sales, it can mean, for example, improving self discipline, making a dedicated effort to develop skills, battling to overcome obstacles, and even prioritizing personal growth over sales metrics.

Today, we're going to be delving into the role that hard work plays in the sales industry, not only explaining why hard work is important for achieving success, but exploring the different shapes that 'hard work' takes, letting you in on some industry secrets, and telling you what to avoid if you want to work more efficiently.

To do this, we've been joined by John Barrows, 25-year+ sales veteran and expert salesperson, to discuss the importance of hard work and continuous learning in sales.

So this article isn't just about telling you that 'working hard makes you more money' - although it does - it's about giving you the keys you need to open doors to professional growth and sustained long term success.

Read on to learn more!

Understanding sales leads

Of course, if we're going to be discussing how important hard work is in generating sales leads, we ought to go over sales leads themselves.

In short: sales leads are the building blocks of your business future. A 'lead' is a potential customer (or a 'prospect') who may be interested in your solution and could, through careful nurturing, be persuaded to buy.

Many companies, particularly startups, make the mistake of assuming that their product will sell itself. But chances are, it won't. Without steadfast and consistent lead generation efforts, your business simply won't have enough people to sell to. This is so crucial that half of all marketers consider lead generation their number one priority.

Different types of leads

Although they're all super important, not all leads are the same. In broad terms, we have:

• Outbound leads: potential customers engaged through outreach programs like cold calling and cold emailing
• Inbound leads: prospects who've found your business through organic searches and have shown an interest in your solutions
• Cold leads: leads who've shown no previous interest in your business (even though they may fit your 'Ideal Customer Profile')
• Warm leads: potential customers who've expressed some interest in your company but who've yet to make up their mind
• Hot leads: qualified leads who've expressed and interest and have a high likelihood of buying

Achieving success through hard work in lead generation

Anyone who's worked in any kind of sales can testify just how difficult the industry can be. Sure, you may not be on your hands and knees in a dark an dusty mine all day, but you're doing the business equivalent.

It can take months - even years - to close deals, and sales roles tend to have particularly high turnover rates. In fact, over 80% of all deals are closed after 5-12 contacts. It's no wonder so many people can't take it.

But the results for the hard worker are incredible. Sales has the potential to be an extremely rewarding (and lucrative) career - if you know how. That said, let's take a look at the role of hard work in lead gen success.

Persistence and consistency

We've already mentioned how many follow ups it takes to close a deal, but did you know that almost half of sales reps quit after just one follow up? This stat alone is a great example of how hard work beats talent: no one, even the most talented individual, makes a sale in one call. Trusting the process and putting in the work can be the difference between successful people and unsuccessful ones.

And let's face it: how many stories of entrepreneurs have you heard wherein the desired outcomes happened overnight? Not many. Most of the time, it takes months and years of skill development and working hard to achieve success.

Overcome obstacles

Being deemed 'talented' can actually be a disadvantage when it comes to sales. Let us explain:

When a salesperson goes into a situation, be that a sales call, a meeting, or a new role, expecting to make great strides with minimal effort, they'll often be knocked down when they face an obstacle. And obstacles are no rare thing in sales.

Take rejection, for instance: the average sales rep deals with rejection day in, day out, every day of the week. Self improvement, through skill development and strategic actions, will help to reduce the number of rejections and improve your sales stats.

Attention to detail

Today's consumers are more discerning than ever, and every detail contributes towards success.

Take, for example, emails. Generic template emails sent in bulk simply don't cut it anymore; you need personalized messages that speak directly and powerfully to your lead. Studies show that personalized emails receive an open rate of around 41% (compared to the average 2.3%).

So while personalization takes a long time and a lot of hard work, the self discipline involved in nurturing leads with care and precision pays off in results.

Tools to enhance hard work and achieve success

As we said, working hard doesn't just mean spending more hours doing what you're currently doing. It can mean taking time to adapt your workflow and build on your personal development. One way to enhance your work is to adopt powerful sales tools.

Artificial Intelligence

When we sat down with John, one of the main avenues we explored was the role of AI in everyday sales. The average sales rep spends around one third of their time actually selling and the other two thirds fulfilling menial tasks. AI automation tools can seriously help you waste less time and get ahead quicker.

But which tools to pick? John recommends taking 30 minutes out of each day to experiment with new AI tools, but not to be distracted by them. Developing discipline in this area is seriously beneficial for personal growth and for sales results.

The long-term benefits of hard work in lead generation

Self discipline, hard work, and continuous improvement don't just help you make more sales and impress your boss. These are key tenets to adopt in your own life - tenets that will give your career a leg up and your life a boost.

• Build a strong pipeline‍
  
  • The harder you work and the better you get at overcoming obstacles, the stronger your pipeline will be. Not only will you have more leads, but those leads will be more engaged and more likely to buy

• Establish a reputation‍
  
  • Let's be honest: any salesperson serious about their career wants to be known for their diligence and reliability. By consistently putting in the work, you'll secure a great reputation among both your peers and your potential customers

• Personal growth‍
  
  • We all know the feeling of having done a hard day's work and reaped the results: it's one of personal fulfillment and self esteem. Working hard shouldn't just be measured in how many deals you've closed, but also in how it helps you reach your personal goals

• Make work easier‍
  
  • Conversely, by making hard work routine, you can often make day-to-day tasks much easier. That's because by replacing bad habits with good habits and building your skillset on a consistent basis, you're making success more accessible.

The hard worker catches the worm

As you can see, hard work isn't all about being the last one to leave the office; in the world of sales and lead generation, it takes on many meanings.

It can mean keeping at something (like a lead) even when you're not sure it's going to work out; it can mean being more careful with your words and spending more time personalizing an email; it can mean having the courage to get to work everyday in the face of terrifying odds; it can even mean working smarter, utilizing modern tech to spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time selling.

Whatever 'working hard' actually means to you, its results are clear to everyone: better sales, better personal growth, better reputation, and better relationships.

For more tips on all things sales development, find John on LinkedIn or head over to his website. And, as always, you can find dozens more expert articles packed full of valuable advice and important sales insights on our blog. Sales leaders, sales reps, entrepreneurs, CEOs - there's something for everyone.