My Best Sales Hack
I recently was on a screen share and saw an inbox on the other end of the screen that was immaculately organized! I was actually suprised and a tad bit jealous to see such a clean looking inbox to be honest. If you're an avid emailer you probably understand my pain of owning a mess of an inbox. Working at ToutApp I've become completely email obsessed, so of course this discovery of a poster child for a perfect inbox got me pretty excited.
Here is how I came to love Gmail's multiple inboxes.
The Problem
I live and breathe email (and a lot of Salesforce) so Gmail for me is where I spend a lot of my time. The big problem was my Gmail inbox looked like a Rubix Cube before it was solved -- a complete jumble.
The bigger problem was the important email responses from hot leads that were getting buried in my inbox. 
Writing sales emails and follow ups with the goal in mind to get a reply is always at the top on my mind. With ToutApp I've been able to hone my messaging to identify what email messaging and follow up typically generate replies.
Too many replies is a good problem to have, but a messy inbox makes it difficult to prioritize and manage following up efficiently. I needed to find a way to make it easy to identify the most important email replies in my inbox.
The Solution
Multiple inboxes. Beyond just the ability to organize your read, unread and starred emails, I discovered creating filters was the best way to keep important replies easy to identify in my inbox.
If you're not feeling my excitement just yet, here's how I've put this solution into play.
New ToutApp users are typically put on a 5X5 drip. This is made easy with templates and auto-follow up. One of my inboxes filters only replies from new ToutApp users on the drip.
My most important inbox filters what I deem to be important replies. I've named this inbox "big deals" Example: I send over an email to set up some time to chat with a decision maker connected to a "big deal" I've followed up a handful of times and receive a one-liner "10am Wednesday".
How to get started?
- Head on over to Gmail Settings. Go to labs and enable multiple inboxes.
- You should now have a "multiple inboxes tab". Once you click on the tab you'll see the option to create different searches.
- Create your search queries. This is the key to organizing your inbox. Example: subject:(re:type in your subject line)in:inbox
- Rearrange. Choose the positioning of your new inboxes.
- Lastly, enjoy your new organized inbox!
Take your game to the next level, learn more tips to streamline your email process with email tracking for Outlook and Gmail, analytics and templates. Check out ToutApp or sign up for a free trial.
A Journey From College Grad to Intern to Full-time Marketing Officer
From graduating college to interning to finding a full time job has been quite the ride over the past year. As much as you say you are prepared for the real world no one and nothing can prepare you for this transition. And if you ever meet anyone who says it's easy, they are fibbin'. It's tough. After twelve months I finally found my niche although it was not a breeze, the journey was so worth it.
Growing up, I was told on more than one occassion, "You should do what you love in life." Throughout college and post college I was set on doing just that. With a proud shiny degree from the University of Notre Dame (Go Irish!) I thought I had my career in the bag. However, after months of tedious applications and interviews, I realized I was mistaken. I was unhappy with my first internship out of college and was craving a position of growth; I wanted to be challenged. After browsing for weeks upon weeks on Indeed.com, LinkedIn, One Day One Job, I finally found ToutApp. ToutApp was offering a Marketing Internship, the position summed up as:
If you want to kickstart your career in startup marketing, if you're willing to learn, if you're creative, and if you've got the hustle in you: THIS IS THE ROLE FOR YOU.
I was sold. I interviewed and was offered the position a couple days later. I landed quite a unique internship at ToutApp.
As an entry level Marketing Intern I was given tasks that were not typical for an intern. Instead of the usual hand holding process I was given the freedom to be innovative and share my thoughts and ideas. And with much guidance and support from TK, CEO and Founder of Tout, I learned a great deal more within the startup world than I ever imagined. From monitoring anayltics and metrics of content to creating product videos I was constantly learning something new and fresh everyday. Months later, I was fortunate to be offered a full-time position in Marketing at ToutApp. From the product video development side to blogging to content creation, and distribution, I landed an exciting job within a company in the midst of serious growth and is still growing today.
While working at ToutApp, I was introduced to Paul Singh, and he provided me some of the best advice. Paul told me to search out my greatest strengths and master them. I took his advice to heart. Eight months later, with much mentoring, reading and research within the marketing field I am actually doing something I feel good about and am getting good at.
With the advice of my mentor TK, I have come to realize:
If you really want a rewarding career of growth and ultimately success + happiness - find out your ultimate strengths and skill set and become the most knowledgeable master of them. And once you become really good at what you do each day with research and practice, you'll be passionate about your career.
I will be the first to admit that I'm no Einstein, no prodigy of Marketing, just a twenty two year old college grad trying to find my path to be successful within my new career and thought I would share my experience with you all. My advice to those just getting out of college and have absolutely no idea what you want to do... try the following:
Find a mentor
Find and reach out to someone older, more experienced, smarter and wiser. Ask them to teach you the things they wish they would have known. You will gain a tremendous amount of knowledge. As Neil Patel coined, "Average people learn from their mistakes. Smart people learn from other people's mistakes."
Find your strengths
Apply for an internship for a company that will allow you to grow and take on different tasks and projects outside of your comfort zone. A challenging position will become the most rewarding position.
Master them
Master the crap out of them. Read, chat, join webinars, take a skillshare course, go to a Meet-up. Follow the top twitter accounts, top bloggers and influence leaders in the field. And soak it in and apply it to what you are doing. You will only grow.
Try Sales or Marketing
Many companies have amazing training programs. Take those as an opportunity to grow and learn about the industry. If you are interested in a sales career, check out the ToutApp Sales Job Spotlight featuring awesome sales jobs at companies all over the world. This is a great way for you to kick start your journey.
Have faith
Believe in yourself. You will find your niche. Be patient. Keep working towards your goal, whatever it may be, for the long haul. You will eventually find it.
So venture out into the real working world, your career awaits you. A journey from College Grad to Intern to Full-time Marketing Officer - SHARE YOUR JOURNEY!
“ToutApp gives insight into the psychology of every single one of my prospects”
Our featured User of the Week entry comes from Mark Baer, Business Development Manager at ConnectAndSell. Every week or so, we'll profile a different user who uses our app to improve their email productivity. If you would like to be featured in the future, you can apply here.
I work as a Business Develpoment Mananger for ConnectAndSell. My responsibilities are to cultivate new opportunities and develop existing business relationships with clients throughout the U.S. One of the main business objectives is to prospect new business and determine interests. Our software enables conversation and we were looking for an effective way to penetrate email conversations. That's where ToutApp came in.
Why ToutApp?
I use ToutApp to track my opportunity pipeline, prospect net-new business and to do follow-ups before and after phone conversations. The reason I love ToutApp is because it gives me insight and visibility on potential prospects along with one single email thread to help me better manange my time and determine my next steps in a business conversation. ToutApp has been beneficial in helping me turn more of my email efforts into positive outcomes.
ToutApp gives insight into the psychology of every single one of my prospects.
Know what is happening with your emails. Start Touting.
Life without ToutApp would mean “Less Deals Done”
Our featured User of the Week entry comes from Matt Ellsworth, VP of Growth, at Storefront. Every week or so, we'll profile a different user who uses our app to improve their email productivity. If you would like to be featured in the future, you can apply here.
Storefront is a marketplace for short term retail real estate. Artists, eCommerce companies, designers, online retailers and sellers often times are in the market looking for short term real estate which can be difficult to find. What we do is take the legwork out - our team works with brokers and landlords in order to find amazing retail spaces for people to lease on a short term basis so they can sell their products and connect with their customers.
Storefront makes it easy for people with something to sell to find space to sell it.
How do you use ToutApp?
Along the lines of why a lot of people use Tout and the most addictive part is knowing when people are opneing you emails, knowing that someone had read your email and you can acknowledge the fact that they did recieve it. Tout allows us to stay on top of our prospects and give us the ability to know how successful our email campaigns are on an individual as well as a team basis.
What success can I attribute to ToutApp? Honestly, a whole lot of time saved.
Why Matt Loves ToutApp
- Real Time Email Tracking: Knowing when people are opening your emails - that something is happening with the emails you send. It's the no clue zone and I like having a clue about that zone.
- ToutApp Meeting Times: Being able to give a list of times you are available to meet or chat on the phone is a game changer. This function can save you 3-4 emails in any given email chain and if you do that five times a dat you are talking about a significant amount of time saved.
- Tout Templates: Eliminates that repetition and saves you a whole lot of time.
- Tout Group Emails: Being able to send a personalized email to a group of prospects is really amazing. It fills the void between marketing emails like mailchimp and copying and pasting the sames email over and over again.
- ToutApp Happiness: The ToutApp team is always there to answer any and all questions when you need it.
My life without Toutapp would mean less deals done.
Who are the true unsung heroes?
Who are the True Unsung Heroes? If you were cruising through the bay area over the past few months you may have come across a mind boggling billboard claiming Salespeople take first place as unsung heroes.
We often think of heroes with the prefix super. Such as these window washers at a children's hospital who dressed up as superheroes.
I'd say these guys are truly heroes!
However, there's another outstanding group of heroes ToutApp would like to recognize by sending a BIG congrats to the 25 Most Influential Inside Sales Professionals!
I believe heroes and leaders go hand in hand, which brings about the question, what defines a true leader?
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams
The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say "I." And that's not because they have trained themselves not to say "I." They don't think "I." They think "we"; they think "team." - Peter Drucker
Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. - John F. Kennedy
Here's two of our favorite ToutApp users who embody true leaders.
Daniel Barber - Responsys
Daniel is one of the most spectacular sales leaders we've encountered. We'd worked closely with him while he was still a Sales Development Representative at Responsys, and we witnessed his growth to a manager role as Manager, NA of Sales Development West. No matter which title Daniel has held, he always went above and beyond to lead. Daniel is decisive, intuitive, a problem solver and a true leader for his outstanding team and the industry in general. His dynamic personality and amazing communication skills make him a force to reckon with - and an incredibly inspiring manager.
Julio Viskovic - Hootsuite
Julio's name says it all as Sensei of Enterprise Sales Enablement. While working with Julio and his team at Hootsuite we'd seen his impact first hand as an excellent sales leader. Julio not only leads his incredible team to success, but is a HUGE contributor to teaching the industry how to become better leaders and sales professionals using social selling. He leads by example as a charismatic, creative and compelling leader.
Check out the other leaders recognized by the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals and thanks to insidesales.com for compiling the list.
- Julio Acosta: Global Inside Sales Manager at Infoblox
- Lauren Bailey: President at Factor 8
- Daniel Barber: Manager, NA Sales Development West at Responsys
- Louis Bernstein – Chief Sales Officer at Izenda
- Trish Bertuzzi – President & Chief Strategist at The Bridge Group, Inc.
- Carolynn Betts – CEO at Betts Recruiting
- Mike Brooks – Owner & President at Mr. Inside Sales
- Chad Burmeister – Director, National Accounts at ON24
- Michael Critchfield – VP of Sales at InsideSales.com
- Dave Elkington – CEO and founder at InsideSales.com
- Kevin Gaither – VP of Sales at uSamp
- Chris Hardeman – VP of Corporate Sales at Act–On Software
- Barrett Hennessey – Account Executive at PeopleAnswers
- Kraig Kleeman – Author/Speaker/Global Strategist at Blaire Group
- Ken Krogue – President and co–founder at InsideSales.com
- Kelly Lichtenberger – Director of Inside Sales at LifeSize Communications
- Kelly Molander – Director of Inside Sales at TIBCO Spotfire
- Shawn Naggiar – Chief Revenue Officer at Act–On Software
- Laurie Page – Managing Partner at The Bridge Group, Inc.
- Mark Ruthfield – VP of Sales, Executive Team at ZoomInfo
- MJ Shutte – VP of Corporate Sales at Riverbed Technology
- John Smithers – Enterprise Account Manager at Oracle
- Art Sobczak – Owner at Business by Phone, Inc.
- Julio Viskovic – Sensei of Enterprise Sales Enablement at HootSuite
Is there anyone else you'd add to this list? Let us know your thoughts.
If you're a Sales leader, learn why you and your team should be using ToutApp.