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Category: Sales

Cup of Tea with a BDE: Joel vs The Great Cold Call Debate

Posted on by Hannah Sanders

The great cold call debate is a tale as old as time. LinkedIn warriors take to their keyboards to proclaim “COLD CALLING IS DEAD!” – and then usually promote a tool that can generate 2x your pipeline in four weeks without ever speaking to a prospect.

But the question remains – is cold calling really dead? Have we stopped valuing real human conversation?

We can’t deny that digital tools and AI are brilliant co-workers when it comes to efficiency. But our Business Development Executive, Joel Pugh, is living proof that we can’t afford to lose our voice in the sales journey.

Over the past quarter, Joel’s median target achievement has reached 264%+ across five separate client campaigns. He hasn’t missed a single target – in fact, he’s exceeded every one by a considerable margin.

Joel joined Air just over a year ago, fresh out of college, with no prior sales experience but a genuine thirst to learn the art of prospecting.

“I came to Air knowing I wanted to get into sales. I’ve always had a clear drive and goal to work in business, and the BDE role was the entry point for me to start that journey. I wanted to learn the basics and gain experience so I can progress in the future.”

Over the past year, Joel has become a consistent top performer and now works closely with his teammates to help them achieve similar results. But how exactly does he do it? We sat down with him – and a cup of tea – to find out how he continues to excel in a market that’s telling SDRs to avoid the phone…

What’s something you’ve learnt from your peers that helps you to succeed?

“Don’t say sorry for doing your job – that’s something a lot of people do when they start in sales because they feel like a nuisance. But my peers helped me see that it’s our job, and we’re here to help. Don’t apologise for that.”

If you were a BDE starting from scratch, what would your top tip be?

“Get used to rejection – embrace it. That was probably one of the first things I realised in this job. You can’t let rejection stop you. You’ve got to be OK with it.”

What traits make a good salesperson?

“Competitiveness. I’m a competitive person – not in a nasty way – but that competitive edge is needed in sales. I enjoy the banter with my mates; it helps us push harder.”

When you’re facing a tough day or week as a BDE, how do you turn it around?

“I make promises to myself. I was having a bad week recently, and my Team Manager asked if the workload was getting too much. I said, ‘No mate, I want to be doing all this work.’ I told myself that tomorrow would be make or break – either I’d have a great day or I’d be finished, retired!

I ended up getting seven fresh leads the next day and won the all-in-day incentive. It’s about not dwelling too much on the day before. That’s important. No dwelling on the past – it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

Is cold calling dead?

“Cold calling is king – and I think it always will be. One of the reasons I got into sales is because I don’t fear AI replacing my job. People want to be taught and spoken to by people, not computers or robots. They want to hear a human voice – someone who’s confident and skilled. That’s always going to win.”

So, the answer to the great cold call debate? It’s simple – cold calling isn’t dead. It just takes grit.

There’s no shortcut to pipeline generation. Be like Joel: dedicated to your craft, resilient in the face of adversity, and confident in the power of real human connection.

 

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Cup of Tea with a BDE: Joel vs The Great Cold Call Debate

How to Choose the Right Outsourced Sales Agency in the UK

Posted on by Hannah Sanders

Why UK B2B Companies Are Turning to Outsourced Sales

More and more B2B businesses are outsourcing sales to gain agility, control costs and reach markets faster. But one truth stands out: the difference between average and exceptional results lies in choosing a partner who can deliver measurable pipeline and integrate seamlessly with your team. This guide helps you make that choice with confidence.

What to Consider Before Partnering with an Outsourced Sales Agency

Before you start reviewing agencies, get your own house in order. Clarity on your needs will help you separate good from great. Consider:

  • Your goals. Do you want lead generation, pipeline development, deal closure – or help with a specific stage like outbound outreach or appointment setting?
  • Budget & resources. What’s your budget compared to hiring internally? What internal capacity do you have to manage or support the partnership?
  • Control vs delegation. How much control do you want over messaging, process, and reporting? How much should the agency own?
  • Timeline. When do you need results? Sales cycles take time – lead nurturing, message refinement, and learning curves all matter.
  • Success metrics. Define KPIs such as meetings set, qualified leads, and revenue, and agree on how they’ll be tracked.

Key Qualities of a High-Performing Outsourced Sales Partner

The strongest outsourced sales partners combine proven sales processes with target-market expertise, ensuring they can reach and convert the right people, not just understand your sector.

Choose a partner who is a true sales architect – someone who doesn’t merely execute outreach but engineers results. These are experts who live and breathe sales, blending strategy, discipline and creativity drawn from years of building and running top-tier sales operations.

Look for an agency that offers:

  • Multi-market reach and sector fluency – the ability to tailor outreach for different buyer profiles, seniorities, and geographies, supported by case studies and references that show measurable results.
  • Plug-and-play outbound capability – a ready-built sales engine that integrates quickly and delivers momentum without a long ramp-up.
  • Precision cadences and messaging – carefully designed touchpoints and curated messaging that transform technical features into commercial conversations and lift contact and conversion rates.
  • Specialist SDRs and ongoing coaching – a team trained to speak the language of senior decision-makers, supported by continual coaching to keep dialogue sharp and value-driven.
  • Intelligent data and TAM mapping – sophisticated data segmentation and total addressable market analysis to reach the right buyers every time and uncover scalable growth opportunities.
  • Insight-driven forecasting and reporting – accurate pipeline forecasting and transparent performance dashboards, so every decision is backed by data and revenue visibility is never in doubt.
  • Scalability and flexibility – the ability to adjust team size, cadence or targeting as your needs evolve, without disruption.
  • Cultural and brand alignment – a partner whose tone, values and quality standards reflect your own.
  • Technology and compliance strength – from CRM integration to GDPR adherence, ensuring efficiency and peace of mind.

This combination of sales mastery and market expertise ensures an agency isn’t just familiar with what you sell – they know who to sell to and how to move opportunities faster, whether that’s C-suite leaders in enterprise tech, procurement heads in manufacturing, or fast-moving SMBs in emerging sectors.

Essential Questions to Ask an Outsourced B2B Sales Agency

When speaking with potential partners, probe with questions like:

  1. “How do you adapt outreach for different market segments or seniorities?”
  2. “What’s your approach to TAM mapping and data segmentation?”
  3. “How do you ensure messaging reflects our technical and commercial value?”
  4. “Can you share case studies where you scaled outbound rapidly while maintaining quality?”
  5. “What reporting will give us confidence in pipeline accuracy and revenue forecasting?”

Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Outsourcing Sales

Beware of agencies that:

  • Promise instant high-volume results without a clear process or onboarding plan
  • Can’t explain how they source or segment data
  • Provide vague reporting with little insight into conversions or ROI
  • Lock you into inflexible contracts without room to pivot

How to Build a Long-Term Partnership With Your Outsourced Sales Team

The strongest outsourced sales agencies become an extension of your team. They’ll bring fresh ideas, challenge your assumptions, and collaborate on strategy – not simply “deliver calls”.

Keep communication frequent and two-way. The most productive partnerships involve ongoing iteration as markets shift and data informs better decisions.

Choosing the right outsourced sales agency is about more than sector familiarity. The best partners are true sales architects – professionals who live and breathe sales, blending strategy, discipline and creativity to engineer results. With market-specific insight and advanced processes, they make every conversation sharper, every campaign smarter, and every opportunity move faster.


The Air Marketing Approach

At Air, we partner with B2B businesses who need to strengthen sales performance without the burden of permanent headcount. Whether you need extra capacity to support your team, or a fully outsourced sales engine to drive pipeline, we deliver measurable results that prove value fast.

Explore Outsourced Sales With Air Marketing

The Outbound Sales Playbook That Works: Proven Scripts to Grow Your Pipeline

Posted on by Hannah Sanders
Outbound Sales Playbook - Proven Scripts to Grow Your Pipeline by Air Marketing

Outbound is one of the toughest channels to crack in B2B sales – but it doesn’t have to be guesswork. The right words, timing, and approach can mean the difference between unanswered calls and booked meetings. That’s why we’ve built The Outbound Sales Playbook That Works – a free, practical guide packed with proven scripts and frameworks designed to help sales teams grow pipeline faster.

What’s Inside the Playbook:

  • Cold call scripts that cut through and spark real conversations

  • Email templates that drive replies (not just opens)

  • Messaging frameworks tailored to B2B decision-makers

  • Proven approaches to objection handling and follow-up

  • Strategies to build consistency and scale outbound success

Why Download It?
This playbook isn’t theory – it’s built on the strategies our team use every day to help clients book more meetings, convert prospects, and grow revenue. Whether you’re a Sales Director, SDR, or founder building pipeline, this resource will sharpen your outbound game.

Complete the form below to download your free copy and start using scripts that actually work.

5 Common Gaps Exposed: Sales Process Audit Insights

Posted on by Hannah Sanders

Behind every underperforming sales team, there’s usually a broken process. Without structure and clarity, even the best teams struggle to build momentum and scale.

When done properly, a sales process audit reveals the hidden gaps holding back sales performance. From the hundreds of sales process audits we’ve delivered, five clear gaps appear time and time again:

1. Sales Conversations That Lack Structure

Too many salespeople are left to ‘freestyle’ their conversations, particularly in discovery calls. Without structure, messaging drifts, qualification suffers, and deals stall later in the process because the groundwork was never properly laid.

In every sales process audit, we assess how your team runs their conversations: the questions they ask, how they position value, and how well those conversations align with modern buying journeys.

2. No One’s Quite Sure What the Official Process Is

If your process isn’t clearly defined and documented, it doesn’t really exist. All too often, we find sales process documentation is outdated, inconsistent, or simply ignored. That leaves reps interpreting stages differently, pipeline reviews becoming subjective, and deals moving at uneven speeds.

A sales process audit digs into whether your documented process truly reflects what’s happening in real sales conversations – and, importantly, whether your team actually follows it.

3. Collateral That Doesn’t Close Deals

Outdated decks. Generic case studies. Content that speaks more to you than to your buyers. We see it all the time. Even worse, reps often don’t know what resources they have, or they’re forced to create materials on the fly.

We evaluate the quality, accessibility, and effectiveness of your sales collateral. The right tools should equip your team to have more impactful conversations – not hold them back.

4. Data That Can’t Be Trusted

If you can’t trust your data, you can’t forecast, coach, or scale effectively. We frequently uncover reporting issues: pipeline stages that don’t reflect reality, fields left incomplete, or inconsistent logging that makes conversion rates impossible to track accurately.

We dig into whether your data reflects true pipeline health, where deals are being lost, and which behaviours are driving wins. Without reliable data, decision-making is just guesswork.

5. Tech That Slows You Down

Sales technology should be an accelerator – but more often than not, it becomes a drag. We regularly find stacks bloated with overlapping platforms, poor integration, and underused features. The result? Reps spend more time managing systems than selling.

A sales process audit evaluates your stack from top to bottom: adoption, automation, and efficiency. The goal is to streamline and optimise – so tech becomes a genuine enabler of sales success.

Conclusion

If any of these gaps sound familiar, you’re not alone – most organisations experience at least one (if not all five). The difference lies in identifying them early and putting in place the structures, tools, and processes to fix them.

Sales Process Assessment & Audit Artwork Featuring Shaun Weston at Air Marketing

Ready to uncover the gaps in your sales process?

At Air, we specialise in helping businesses optimise sales performance through our Sales Process Audit.

This detailed assessment highlights strengths, uncovers gaps, and identifies opportunities for improvement – helping you increase conversion rates, shorten sales cycles, and drive sustainable growth.

LEARN MORE

Outsourcing Sales: The Smarter Play in 2025’s UK Job Market

Posted on by Hannah Sanders

The UK jobs market in 2025 is sending mixed messages. On one hand, businesses are still chasing ambitious growth targets. On the other, hiring confidence has dipped to its lowest levels since 2009. With higher interest rates, rising employer National Insurance contributions, and increased scrutiny from finance teams, the cost of adding permanent headcount has never been higher.

For Sales Directors and Commercial leaders, this creates a dilemma: the board still expects revenue, but the traditional lever of building out a sales team feels riskier and more expensive than ever.

So how do you continue driving growth when permanent hiring slows down? More businesses are finding the answer in outsourced sales.

The Hidden Cost of Permanent Sales Hires

On paper, a new salesperson might look like a straightforward investment: salary, commission, tools. But the reality is very different.

📊 CIPD’s Labour Market Outlook shows hiring confidence at its weakest since 2009, with redundancy plans at a ten-year high.

  • Employer costs are rising: NI contributions increased from 13.8% to 15% this year, inflating the true cost of every hire.

  • Interest rates remain stubbornly high: the Bank of England’s base rate sits above 4%, making CFOs wary of fixed-cost commitments.

  • Recruitment and ramp-up take time: months can pass before a new hire is delivering meaningful revenue.

“Permanent headcount isn’t just expensive – it’s slow. And in today’s economy, slow growth is high risk.”

Why Outsourced Sales Is Winning Support

Revenue targets don’t pause just because hiring gets tougher. Boards still demand pipeline, meetings, and opportunities – and that’s where outsourced sales comes in.

📊 REC/KPMG’s June 2025 Report on Jobs recorded the steepest fall in permanent placements for nearly two years; while demand for temporary roles remained far more resilient.

An outsourced model gives you:

  • Variable cost instead of fixed overheads – easier to flex up or down with your budget.

  • Immediate access to experienced sales professionals – no lengthy recruitment cycles.

  • Proven processes, technology and data – already tested and optimised to deliver results.

  • Clear ROI – measurable outcomes you can take straight to your CFO.

A CFO-Proof Approach to Sales Growth

Sales and Commercial Directors need solutions that satisfy both growth ambitions and finance scrutiny. Outsourced sales offers exactly that: a lean, flexible model that reduces headcount risk while still delivering results.

📊 With UK redundancy intentions at a ten-year high (CIPD, 2025), finance leaders are prioritising variable-cost levers over permanent expansion.

“The strongest sales strategies in 2025 are the ones that keep the board confident and the balance sheet under control.”

The Air Marketing Approach

At Air, we partner with B2B businesses who need to strengthen sales performance without the burden of permanent headcount. Whether you need extra capacity to support your team, or a fully outsourced engine to drive pipeline, we deliver measurable results that prove value fast.

We build pipeline. You see meetings, opportunities and revenue.

Talk to us about your goals.

Sales Process Audit Checklist: 10 Things to Review Before Your Next Quarter

Posted on by Hannah Sanders
Sales Process Audit Checklist on an iPad

Sharpen your sales process before next quarter.

Most sales leaders know their process could run sharper – but spotting where it breaks down isn’t always simple.

Our Sales Process Audit Checklist highlights 10 areas to review before next quarter, helping you identify gaps, remove friction, and boost consistency across your team.

Fill in the form below to download your checklist and start turning process into performance.

Why Your AEs Are Failing at Prospecting – And What to Do About It

Posted on by Hannah Sanders

For many sales leaders, it’s an uncomfortable truth: your Account Executives (AEs) are great at closing deals but terrible at filling their own pipeline.

It’s not that they can’t prospect – it’s that in most organisations, the structure, priorities and culture set them up to fail. The result? A reliance on a handful of inbound leads, sporadic outreach and a dangerously thin pipeline.

Inconsistent prospecting is one of the most common and costly AE prospecting challenges we see. If your team’s success is heavily weighted on closing skills but the top of your funnel is weak, you’re building a revenue engine on a shaky foundation…

…the kind we break down and rebuild in our guide →  How to Fix Your Sales Pipeline Before It’s Too Late

Why AEs Struggle with Prospecting

Let’s get clear on the reasons first – and spoiler alert: it’s rarely just about “lack of effort”.

  • Conflicting priorities: AEs are judged on hitting monthly or quarterly targets, so they naturally focus on late-stage deals that are closest to closing. Prospecting gets pushed down the list until it’s too late.

  • Wrong skill focus: Closing requires a different skill set from opening. AEs who are brilliant negotiators might not have the same persistence, tone and timing needed for cold outreach.

  • Poor data quality: If they don’t have access to clean, segmented and targeted data, prospecting turns into a slow, frustrating slog. Take a look at → How To Increase Qualified B2B Sales Leads for insights on sharpening lead quality and pre-call readiness.

  • No consistent process: Without a structured cadence and clear metrics, prospecting efforts become sporadic and inconsistent.

  • Lack of accountability: If prospecting activity isn’t measured and coached, it becomes invisible – and invisible work rarely gets done.

The Impact on Revenue

When AEs aren’t consistently prospecting, the pipeline becomes dangerously dependent on marketing, referrals or luck. That’s not a strategy – it’s a gamble.

The lag effect is the real killer: a dry pipeline today is the result of prospecting gaps months ago. By the time you notice, the problem is already baked into your next quarter’s numbers.

What to Do About It: Effective Prospecting Strategies for AEs

The solution isn’t to simply tell AEs to “do more outreach”. It’s about creating the right structure, providing the right tools and instilling consistent habits that make prospecting part of the sales culture.

Here’s how to make it happen:

  • Separate responsibilities where possible: If resources allow, split sales into SDRs/BDRs for outbound and AEs for closing. If not, ringfence daily prospecting time that can’t be interrupted.

  • Block dedicated prospecting hours: 1–2 hours each day, protected from internal meetings or other distractions, ensures prospecting doesn’t get sidelined.

  • Create a repeatable cadence: Use a clear, multi-touch process that combines email, phone, LinkedIn and even voice notes to improve connection rates.

  • Lead with relevance: Personalise outreach with industry insights, role-specific challenges or trigger events such as funding rounds, leadership changes or product launches.

  • Follow up relentlessly: Build persistence into the cadence – most prospects need several touchpoints before they respond.

  • Measure activity and outcomes: Track calls, emails, meetings booked and conversion rates. Use this data for coaching, not just reporting.

  • Invest in skills training: Prospecting is different from closing. Equip AEs with tested messaging, objection handling techniques and the confidence to start high-value conversations.

  • Refine through testing: Experiment with subject lines, call openers and value propositions, and double down on what works.

  • Use tech to scale smartly: Sales engagement platforms can automate parts of the process without losing the personal touch, freeing AEs to focus on meaningful interactions.

The Bottom Line

If your AEs are failing at prospecting, it’s not just their problem, it’s a leadership problem. You can either keep asking closers to also be openers (and watch the pipeline yo-yo) or you can focus on managing AE prospecting performance in a way that builds consistency.

That means building a high-performing prospecting process that’s embedded in your sales culture, supported by training, and measured with the same rigour as closing performance.

A strong pipeline isn’t built in the last week of the quarter – it’s built every single day.

Written by: Ricky Hopwood, Head of Business Development at Air Marketing
Take Control of Your Sales Pipeline

Need to transform your sales performance?

At Air, we help businesses reignite growth by designing and executing outbound strategies that work in the real world. We uncover where opportunity is being missed — whether that’s in targeting, messaging, cadence or conversion — and build outbound engines that generate consistent, qualified pipeline.

Our approach surfaces what’s holding you back and unlocks faster, more predictable revenue.

TALK TO US TODAY

Inbound Plateaued? Here’s How Outbound Can Restart Your Growth Curve

Posted on by Hannah Sanders

Inbound has had a good run.

It’s consistent, measurable, and when it works, it works well. But for many B2B businesses, especially in competitive markets, the growth curve eventually starts to flatten. Content takes longer to convert. SEO rankings stabilise. Paid campaigns become less efficient. And despite best efforts, pipeline momentum begins to stall.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. We speak to growth-focused leaders every week who tell us, “We’ve hit a ceiling with inbound.”

So what’s the next move?

It might be time to take outbound seriously.

Why outbound — and why now?

Outbound today is a different beast. It’s not about scripted calls or generic outreach. When done properly, it’s a scalable, insight-led growth channel that drives proactive pipeline. It targets the right personas at the right time with the right message.

Crucially, outbound doesn’t replace inbound. It enhances it. When layered into your demand engine, it turns inconsistent interest into consistent opportunity.

1. Outbound gives you control

Inbound relies on timing. Buyers need to be looking for your solution when they find you. Outbound changes that. It lets you choose who to target and when, based on strategic priorities rather than search traffic.

You’re not waiting for the right leads to come to you. You’re going to them.

2. It builds predictable pipeline

With outbound, you can model volumes, track conversions, and forecast with far greater precision. This makes it much easier to report with confidence, plan with clarity, and justify investment.

It also speeds up pipeline generation. You’re not reliant on how well a blog performs or whether this month’s paid campaign hits.

3. It complements inbound, not competes with it

Some of your best-fit prospects may never engage with inbound. They’re not searching for your solution. They’re not reading your whitepapers. Outbound lets you reach these audiences directly and spark commercial conversations earlier.

In many cases, outbound turns passive prospects into active pipeline.

4. When it’s informed by insight, it works

Modern outbound is powered by data — intent signals, firmographics, technographics, and buyer behaviour. This allows for highly relevant messaging that feels timely rather than intrusive.

When it lands well, it doesn’t feel like a cold outreach. It feels like you’ve read the room.

5. It tightens the sales and marketing loop

Outbound brings marketing and sales closer together. Sales teams benefit from the awareness marketing has already built. Marketing gets real-time feedback on what messages are landing with decision-makers.

This insight makes every part of your demand strategy sharper.

Time to restart your growth curve?

If your inbound activity is no longer moving the needle, outbound can help you break the plateau. It brings structure, accountability, and commercial urgency into your pipeline strategy.

But outbound only works when it’s done properly:

  • Dedicated, experienced resource

  • Accurate, segmented data

  • Sharp, pain-led messaging

  • Consistent, multi-touch follow-up

  • Continuous testing and refinement

That’s exactly what we deliver at Air.

If your current approach isn’t cutting it, let’s build one that does. Talk to us today.

Take Control of Your Sales Pipeline

Your pipeline shouldn’t depend on who finds you.

At Air, we help businesses reignite growth by designing and executing outbound strategies that work in the real world. We uncover where opportunity is being missed — whether that’s in targeting, messaging, cadence or conversion — and build outbound engines that generate consistent, qualified pipeline.

Our approach surfaces what’s holding you back and unlocks faster, more predictable revenue.

TALK TO US TODAY

Is Your Sales Process Quietly Costing You Revenue?

Posted on by Hannah Sanders

Your sales team might be putting in the hours. The effort might be there. But if your sales process is misaligned, outdated, or poorly defined, that effort could be going to waste—and costing you serious revenue.

Misfires in the sales process rarely make noise. They don’t show up as flashing red alerts. Instead, they creep in: through inconsistent deal progression, disjointed messaging, underused tech, or a growing reliance on top performers just to hit target. Left unchecked, they compound into missed opportunities, inefficiencies, and eventually, stagnation.

So how do you spot the silent killers, and what can you do to fix them?

The Hidden Ways Your Sales Process Is Undermining Performance

Let’s start with the telltale signs we see most often in underperforming or plateaued sales teams.

1. Reps Are Working Hard, But Not Effectively

Without a clear, modern framework to follow, reps default to personal preference. Some chase leads aggressively, others take a consultative approach—neither necessarily wrong, but without structure, it’s inconsistent. Messaging varies. Follow-up slips. Deal cycles stretch out unnecessarily.

2. Deals Stall—And No One Knows Why

A process without well-defined stages, exit criteria or qualification standards leads to unpredictable pipelines. Opportunities linger indefinitely. Forecasting becomes guesswork. Leadership loses visibility, and the business pays the price.

3. Your Tech Stack Isn’t Working For You

You may have invested in CRM, automation, and sales enablement tools, but if they’re not fully embedded into your process, they’ll be underused or misused. Reps avoid clunky systems. Data becomes patchy. And automation? That becomes an opportunity missed, not maximised.

4. Discovery Is Shallow—and It Shows

Great discovery should uncover pain points, motivations, buying dynamics and urgency. But too often, teams still run through surface-level questions and lead with features. This results in generic proposals that fail to resonate, and a much higher likelihood of deals going cold.

5. No One Can Define What ‘Good’ Looks Like

If high performance in your team is anecdotal rather than systematic, you have a scalability problem. Without a shared understanding of best practice—supported by data, benchmarks, and coaching—you’re relying on a handful of stars, rather than building a strong, repeatable machine.

6. Sales and Marketing Aren’t Pulling in the Same Direction

A misaligned sales process can disconnect your GTM engine. If marketing is generating leads that sales doesn’t know how to convert, you’ll see friction, finger-pointing, and funnel leakage. The buyer experiences inconsistency, and conversion suffers.

7. Top Reps Are Getting Frustrated

If your strongest performers are weighed down by admin, inefficient processes, or inflexible tools, they’ll disengage. Worse, they might leave altogether. Talent retention isn’t just about culture, it’s about whether they can do their best work.

8. Coaching Becomes Firefighting

When there’s no clarity or visibility into what’s working (and what’s not), managers are left reacting to missed targets, rather than proactively supporting their teams. Coaching becomes inconsistent. Underperformance becomes harder to diagnose, and even harder to turn around.

How to Know If Your Sales Process Needs an Intervention

You don’t need a full-blown pipeline collapse to know something’s wrong. Look for these early indicators:

  • Inconsistent win rates across reps or teams

  • Low adoption of CRM or sales tools

  • Too many prospects ending in “no decision”

  • Stalled deals with unclear next steps

  • Difficulty forecasting or hitting targets

  • High rep turnover or disengagement

  • A vague understanding of your ICP or sales playbook

  • A culture of ‘gut feel’ over data-driven decisions

The Fix: Clarity, Consistency and Commercial Focus

At Air Marketing, we work with B2B sales leaders to remove the guesswork. Our Sales Process Assessment & Audit gives you a clear picture of how your sales process is performing: what’s working, what’s not, and what’s costing you deals.

We analyse:

  • Process design and deal stages

  • Sales-to-marketing alignment

  • Discovery and qualification techniques

  • CRM structure and adoption

  • Use (and misuse) of sales tools

  • Rep productivity and coaching cadence

Then we deliver practical recommendations to help you build a sales operation that works at scale—grounded in data, driven by best practice, and built to convert.

Sales Process Assessment & Audit Artwork Featuring Shaun Weston at Air Marketing

Ready to stop the silent revenue drain?

At Air, we specialise in helping businesses optimise their sales performance through a detailed review of their sales and marketing processes.

Our assessment highlights strengths, uncovers gaps, and identifies opportunities for improvement, enhancing conversion rates, shortening sales cycles, and driving sustainable growth. 

 

LEARN MORE

How To Increase Qualified B2B Sales Leads

Posted on by Hannah Sanders

In B2B sales, the real challenge isn’t generating leads—it’s generating the right leads.

If you’re looking to improve your sales pipeline quality and increase conversion rates, the solution lies in strategic preparation, not just volume. At Air Marketing, we’ve seen time and again that the single most effective tactic for boosting lead qualification is pre-call research.

By understanding the prospect before you ever pick up the phone, you equip yourself with the insights needed to have meaningful, relevant conversations that open doors—not shut them.

These insights were originally explored in our Calling Masters webinar – watch the full session here.

Why Pre-Call Research Is Key to Better Lead Quality

Cold calling, when done without context, is often met with indifference. When done with insight, it becomes a powerful tool for starting qualified sales conversations.

Pre-call research helps shift your approach from generic outreach to tailored messaging. It increases credibility, improves rapport, and ensures you’re targeting people and businesses with the highest potential to convert.

Start with a Clear Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)

High-performing sales teams don’t treat every prospect equally—they prioritise the ones that match their Ideal Customer Profile.

Understanding your ICP allows you to filter by relevant industry sectors, company size, and decision-making roles. That clarity ensures you’re speaking to organisations that not only need what you offer, but are structurally and strategically aligned to act on it.

This is a fundamental step in every outbound campaign we run at Air. It keeps messaging sharp, outreach relevant, and lead qualification rates high.

For a deeper dive into defining and leveraging your ICP, read our guide: Swipe Right: How to Match with Your Ideal Customer Profile.

Solve Specific Problems, Don’t Deliver Generic Pitches

The most successful sales calls start with a solution-focused mindset. But you can’t offer a solution if you don’t understand the problem.

By taking a few minutes to explore recent company activity, sector trends, and likely challenges, you’re better positioned to demonstrate value. That preparation allows you to speak directly to the pain points that matter most, making your proposition immediately more compelling.

Use Insight to Build Trust

Tailored calls that reference specific details about the prospect’s business stand out. Whether it’s a recent funding round, industry recognition, or a strategic initiative—they signal that you’ve done your homework.

This builds trust early in the call and positions you as someone who respects the prospect’s time. In a crowded market, that kind of credibility makes all the difference in moving a lead from cold to qualified.

What to Research Before You Call

Here’s how to prepare efficiently and effectively:

1. Company Information

  • Industry trends and challenges

  • Company size and structure

  • Press coverage, funding, partnerships

  • Website content and service lines

2. Decision-Maker Context

  • Job title and responsibilities

  • LinkedIn activity and content

  • Career milestones or professional interests

It’s about surfacing the information that can enrich the conversation—not overwhelming the prospect with a data dump.

3. Business Triggers

  • Expansion into new markets

  • Hiring trends or leadership changes

  • Regulatory pressures or sector innovation

  • ISO or ESG ambitions

These are often signs that an organisation is navigating change—and may be more receptive to new solutions.

4. Tools to Make It Easier

Our team leverages tools that cut through the noise, including:

  • BuiltWith – to assess technology stacks

  • Google News – for timely updates

  • LinkedIn – for individual signals and social proof

  • CRM history and intent data – for deeper context across previous interactions

Stay Focused: Efficient Research Yields Faster Results

Pre-call research doesn’t need to take hours. When done with discipline, it can take just 5–10 minutes and yield much higher-quality conversations.

The key is to find the balance: not so much research that it delays outreach, but not so little that it results in unqualified leads.

To maintain momentum, set clear time limits per prospect, segment your research by persona or vertical, and focus only on details that will genuinely support your conversation.

Putting Research Into Action

Research is only useful when it’s applied. Here’s how to bring it into the conversation without overwhelming the prospect:

Start With Relevance

Mention a recent update or known challenge to demonstrate that you’ve prepared. Then link that insight directly to how your solution can help.

Avoid Information Overload

Use just enough detail to demonstrate understanding. The goal is to create a sense of familiarity and relevance, not to show off how much you know.

Ask Smarter Questions

Guide the conversation by referencing industry context or common pain points. Asking “Is that something you’re seeing as well?” opens the door to discussion and deepens the prospect’s engagement.

Common Cold Calling Challenges – and How Research Helps

Cold Call Anxiety

Preparation builds confidence. Knowing your value proposition, understanding the audience, and being ready for objections makes each call more manageable.

Staying grounded in facts and insights also keeps the call professional, even when a prospect isn’t receptive.

Engaging Senior Stakeholders

Executives expect relevance and impact. Research allows you to cut to what matters—commercial results, risk mitigation, or strategic growth.

By speaking their language and demonstrating domain knowledge, you elevate the conversation and increase your chances of success.

Research + Relevance = Better Leads

If your goal is to increase qualified B2B sales leads, pre-call research is one of the most impactful habits you can adopt.

It improves call quality. It raises conversion rates. It helps you stop wasting time on the wrong leads and start focusing on the right ones.

At Air Marketing, we embed this thinking into every sales campaign we deliver—because preparation isn’t a luxury in outbound sales. It’s a performance advantage.

Ready to Improve Your Lead Quality?

Air Marketing helps businesses generate more qualified B2B leads through targeted, insight-led outbound sales campaigns. From strategy and messaging to SDR execution and reporting, we manage the full process—so you get results without guesswork.

📞 Request a quick discovery call and learn how our outsourced SDR teams can build your pipeline with precision.