Akilesh Kumaran

- Track the engagement of leads (social media follows & engagement, website activity, DM & email conversations, webinar & event attendance, etc.) Also make it a point to add notes often. You can use CRMs, spreadsheets, Notion, or other tools depending on budget. - Prioritize leads based on engagement, pipeline progression, and total contract value. - Ensure clear and timely communications with your leads. Try to engage with them during their usual active hours. Set up reminders and automate steps as necessary. - Set up access for team members to step in and continue the conversation/followups if you are on leave. If it's a long leave, ensure smooth handover of all threads to a team member. As always, review and improve continuously.

- Understand the brand's core (mission, vision, values, color, tone of voice, typography, logo, etc) and stick with it. - Prioritize feedback based on based on relevancy, source, and how it affects the long-term goals. But take them as information to make modifications to your brand core as you deem necessary. Don't make changes based on each and every feedback. - Communicate with all stakeholders on your decisions and the rationale behind those decisions. Frictions are bound to happen, but the team should align based on data and logic - not based on emotions. - Monitors metrics to gauge target audience interactions with your brand. This should have the upper hand in all discussions and decision-making processes regarding the brand.

This works for me and based on discussions with my peers, it works for them too. - Identify what disrupted the schedule and see how it can be fixed. Fix repetitive bottlenecks as early as possible. - Prioritize work items, tasks, and subtasks effectively and practically. Identify bottlenecks and divide overwhelming tasks. - Set realistic deadlines and adhere to them. Limit distractions, prioritize ad-hoc requests based on criticality, and block time for focus hours and for reviews. You can encourage colleagues or team members to follow this too. - Inefficiency and burnout due to lack of breaks can affect the schedule without you noticing. Take breaks. They help to improve productivity and stabilize the schedule.

Allow your prospects to speak. During your calls/meetings, don't make them feel interviewed - make them feel as though they are talking to a trusted colleague or friend. Ask the right questions relevant to their pain and the solution they want to discover/achieve, and allow them to talk in their flow and chime in only to keep the conversation flowing. Don't make it into a Q&A/questionnaire completing session.

Exploring and trying out new channels is fun for everybody. But first, understand the channels that have been tried and tested. - Find out which channels are currently working, how they are being leveraged, and why they are working. - Figure out why some channels failed. Was it due to failed experiments or is the channel itself not relevant to the ICP? This will help to decide if you must reconsider them. - Understand the existing processes followed and see if you can build on that to optimize your outreach. - Can some of the channels or some steps in these channels be automated? Please get them automated at the earliest. - Weave your messaging across multiple channels in a coherent manner. - Don't spam or torture your prospect 🙅

Understand your market but more importantly, understand your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Start by learning about current customers. This will help to prospect better. Understanding the following is a great starting point. - Which industries, revenue segment, and employee count segment do our customers belong to? - What technologies and services do they use? Why and how did they choose them? - Who are the decisions makers, influencers, and blockers? What are their pains and goals? - How did we provide value to them during discovery, during the decision making process, and after becoming our customer? - How did our customers find us? What messaging resonated with them? - What process/steps have our sales teams followed so far?