Best Sales Practices From FRONTLINE’s Top Performers

Best Sales Practices From FRONTLINE’s Top Performers The stereotype of the pushy, opportunistic salesperson is hard to shake. But anyone who has built a lasting career in sales knows that real success is built on trust, not pressure.   At FRONTLINE Selling, professional integrity is non-negotiable. Representing our clients clearly and honestly isn’t just encouraged, it’s expected. Our sales leads understand that every conversation is a reflection of the client’s brand. That’s why we hold ourselves to the highest standards, and why we coach our teams to do the same. Why Core Values Matter in Sales First impressions shape everything. In a world where buyers are constantly bombarded, showing up with clarity and professionalism makes the difference between being ignored and getting a response.   That’s why integrity, alignment, and excellence aren’t just internal mottos. They guide how we show up for our clients, for each other, and for the people we’re reaching out to. At FRONTLINE, our job isn’t just to get meetings, but to protect and strengthen the reputation of the companies we represent. How Our Team Puts It Into Practice It’s easy to write a mission statement. It’s harder to live it. Our top performers do.   One standout example is Heather Frady, a sales lead who’s known for her professionalism, consistency, and clear standards. She recently shared her own list of best practices: a simple but powerful guide that shows what high-level execution looks like day to day.   What to Do ✓ Respect people’s time and attention on every call ✓ Avoid pressure or force when speaking to prospects ✓ Know your value prop and rehearse it with intention ✓ Make informed changes after analyzing real data ✓ Use tone and pacing to support how your message lands   What Not to Do ✓ Don’t call personal cell phones during lunch hours ✓ Don’t double dial or call multiple times in a row ✓ Don’t spoof your number using local area codes ✓ Don’t badger prospects or overdo follow-up efforts ✓ Don’t change your outreach approach too frequently What This Means for Your Team If you want better outcomes from your sales team, it starts with consistency and values. Your internal message ,the one you share in all-hands meetings, onboarding, and performance reviews, needs to match how reps act on the phone or in the inbox. That alignment builds trust externally and momentum internally. Some teams fall into the trap of chasing shortcuts. They see competitors doing it and assume it’s working. But short-term wins built on poor behavior rarely turn into long-term deals. The simplest rule of thumb:Would you want this experience if the roles were reversed? If the answer is no, it’s time to make a change. Practice Is the Only Shortcut The fastest way to improve sales performance isn’t a better template or tool. It’s preparation.   Know your message. Learn your buyer’s challenges. Practice how you communicate value in every conversation. “An amateur practices until he can do a thing right. A professional practices until he can’t do it wrong.” Start there ,and keep going.   Want your team to operate with more consistency and confidence? Contact FRONTLINE Selling to learn how our simulator can sharpen skills and support real-world results.

Why Your SDRs Aren’t Producing, And How to Help Them

Why Your SDRs Aren’t Producing, And How to Help Them Help Your SDRs Succeed Most organizations feel both appreciation and frustration toward their SDR or BDR teams. On one side, they recognize the difficulty of sales prospecting. It’s one of the hardest roles in the organization, and also one of the most important. Most full-cycle sellers would prefer to avoid it altogether.   But despite that respect, SDR teams are often held to high expectations. When results don’t follow, the support turns into criticism.   Teams start pointing fingers, and the same comments surface again and again:     ● The team needs to qualify prospects more effectively     ● The reps could benefit from stronger training support     ● The messaging may not be resonating with the audience     ● The current tools might not be helping execution     ● The outbound team itself may not be the right fit   Before jumping to solutions, it’s worth asking a harder question: are you giving your SDRs what they actually need? “Love” and “Empathy” Aren’t Strategies Telling your team you support them is important, but not enough. New tools can speed things up, but they don’t fix poor execution. Advice from different leaders can contradict itself and create confusion.   Think of it like this: if your child were struggling in school, you wouldn’t just tell them you believe in them or buy them a new computer. You’d invest time, structure, and proven resources to help them improve.   The same logic applies here. Praise, empathy, and better software might feel like support, but without a real method behind them, they rarely lead to better outcomes. In fact, they often introduce more noise into an already noisy job. The Real Reason SDRs Struggle SDRs aren’t struggling because they’re lazy or unqualified. Their job is hard because it requires constant, split-second decisions with very little predictability.   Compare them to professionals like pilots, paramedics, or quarterbacks. Those roles all rely on instincts and training at the moment. There’s no pause button. They can’t stop to read a manual mid-flight or revisit a strategy deck in the middle of a pass rush.   SDRs operate the same way. Unlike field reps who prepare for scheduled demos, SDRs have no idea when someone will answer the phone. When it happens, they’re expected to switch gears instantly and perform.   Even before the call, they face a stream of micro-decisions:     ● How much research to do before reaching out     ● Who to contact and when to time the outreach     ● How to handle gatekeepers and admins professionally     ● What to say when the key decision-maker answers     ● How to respond when asked to “just send something over”   And because they’re unsure of what’s working, they often guess their way through it.   Now add in your sales engagement platform, cadence logic, and sequences. Those tools are powerful, but they increase the complexity of decisions. Without clear guidance, you’re just speeding up the guessing. The Two Factors That Actually Drive Prospecting Success Top-performing SDRs aren’t simply better at using tech. What sets them apart is their ability to: Communicate value clearly Navigate conversations with confidence Those two skills: verbal acuity and situational control, aren’t taught in most onboarding programs. Sequences tell reps when to call, but they don’t prepare them for what to say once someone answers.   Let’s be clear:     ● If a key player answers and the rep freezes, the moment is lost     ● If the admin picks up and the rep fumbles, the door shuts quickly     ● If the voicemail sounds robotic, the prospect stops listening   You can perfect timing and targeting, but without training on how to execute the conversation, reps will miss their window. The Bottom Line If your prospecting strategy focuses only on cadences and automation, you’re solving for the “when” and the “what”, but not the “how.”   And the “how” is everything.   When SDRs know what to say, how to handle tough moments, and how to recover from unexpected turns, performance improves fast. Reps stop guessing. They feel more in control. And the whole team benefits.   Your SDRs don’t have to struggle. When they’re equipped with the right process (and trained on how to use it) you’ll see real, repeatable results. Want to Learn the ‘How’? Let’s Talk. FRONTLINE Selling has studied millions of outbound sales conversations and continues to analyze millions of touchpoints every year. We’ve built a proven process for the “how” that helps reps succeed in the moments that matter.   Call me directly:Mike Scher – 770-262-3009(This is my cell, and yes — I really want you to use it.)

Confidence Is Everything in Sales: 5 Ways to Increase Yours

Confidence Is Everything in Sales: 5 Ways to Increase Yours When was the last time you agreed to buy something from a timid salesperson who stumbled over their words and couldn’t even look you in the eye? You probably didn’t. The moment a seller seems unsure of themselves, or what they’re offering, buyers lose interest. Confidence sells. Uncertainty doesn’t.   Confidence is essential in every sales motion, but that doesn’t make it easy to access on demand. The good news: with the right approach and mindset, anyone can build it. Below are five strategies to help you get there. 1. Develop a Growth Mindset Let’s get one thing out of the way: confidence isn’t about puffing up your chest and pressuring people into buying. That’s bravado, not belief.   Real confidence is grounded. It’s built on the quiet certainty that you’re good at what you do and that what you’re selling can truly help. That starts with your mindset.   The idea of a “growth mindset” was popularized by Carol Dweck in her book Mindset, and it’s especially useful in sales. A growth mindset means believing that skills can be developed, that talent isn’t fixed, and that improvement comes with effort. This perspective is powerful. It turns “I’m not good at sales” into “I’m still learning how to sell well.”   That internal shift makes failure less threatening. Instead of fearing a bad call or a missed target, you start to see those things as fuel. And with less fear in the way, confidence has room to grow. 2. Know What You’re Selling, and Why It Matters Confidence isn’t just about trusting yourself. It’s also about trusting the product or service you’re offering.   If you don’t understand your solution deeply, it shows. And if you don’t fully believe in its value, that hesitation comes through in your tone, your pacing, and your posture.   The best salespeople don’t just memorize features. They understand the real-world problems their solution solves and the outcomes it supports. They speak in terms of impact, not bells and whistles.   That doesn’t mean pretending your product is perfect. It means being clear about its value and knowing who it’s for. When you can confidently explain how it helps, objections feel less like threats and more like conversations.  3. Be Passionate Once you believe in yourself and what you’re offering, passion follows naturally. And passion is magnetic.   It’s more compelling to buy from someone who’s excited about the solution than someone who sounds checked out. Energy is contagious, and when your enthusiasm is real, it can disarm even the most skeptical prospects.   If confidence feels too far away, focus on passion first. Tap into why your solution matters. Think about the impact it’s had. That emotional connection fuels conviction and conviction builds confidence. 4. Work On Your Body Language   You don’t need to buy into the “93% of communication is nonverbal” stat to know that body language matters. It does.   Confidence shows up in how you move, how you sit, and what you do with your hands. So start watching yourself. Are you standing tall or slouching? Making clear gestures or fidgeting? Are you maintaining eye contact?   Record yourself if you can. It might feel awkward at first, but it gives you a clear window into how you’re showing up. Small adjustments, like improving your posture or practicing eye contact, can make a big difference in how confident you appear. 5. Use Simulation to Build Real Confidence Simulation isn’t just for pilots and astronauts. It’s a powerful tool for sales teams too.   At FRONTLINE, we use simulation training to help sellers sharpen their skills before they ever talk to a prospect. The format mirrors real-life conversations, challenging reps with different scenarios and giving them feedback in real time.   Sales simulations train muscle memory. They help reps learn how to respond under pressure and adjust their approach based on what the prospect says. And because the feedback is structured and specific, reps walk away knowing what to improve and how to do it.   It’s one of the fastest, most effective ways to build both confidence and capability. Confidence Comes From Reps Confidence doesn’t just appear, it’s earned through preparation. The more you practice, the more naturally it comes.   Know your product, understand your buyer’s pain, and keep refining how you communicate value in every conversation.   “An amateur practices until he can do a thing right. A professional practices until he can’t do it wrong.”   Start now, and keep going.   Want to build real confidence across your sales team? Contact FRONTLINE Selling to learn how simulation can help your team perform with clarity and confidence in every conversation.