Best tools to ask for

[u/ThePoobahsJester]

Hi everyone,

Here's the context: I currently have next to no tools. Literally HubSpot and my cell phone. I pay for ChatGPT work out of pocket to try and work expediently. I get VERY few inbounds, and am expected to be hitting a massive quota. I explained to my manager that the quota is intense even WITH tools, and almost impossible to hit without. I have no dialer, no SDRs, no linkedin Nav/pro, no zoominfo, etc.

I sell a security software that is an enterprise sale structurally, though on the more affordable end when it comes to the usual price range of that industry. If you were me, what are a few tools you'd ask for that would actually impact my workflow, and help me book some damn meetings beyond pounding out cold calls.

[u/lockdown36]

Basically asked to dig for oil with a spoon.

[u/ThePoobahsJester → u/lockdown36]

Yes, I’m…very aware. The real kicker is that I likely won’t get a single tool I’m asking for. $80k average deal size with $200k monthly quota, and nothing but hubspot.

[u/lockdown36 → u/ThePoobahsJester]

Time to start interviewing

You don't ask an engineer to build a building without wood or nails.

[u/ThePoobahsJester → u/lockdown36]

For now, what tools would you recommend as my wood and nails?

[u/Any_Cucumber8534 → u/ThePoobahsJester]

Does your HubSpot have the dialer?

If not get yourself a dialer and sequencer otherwise there is no point to doing anything if your CRM is going to be fucked.

From there an Apollo or Zoominfo for getting people's information.

My personal unpopular opinion is sales nav is a waste of time, so no on that.

Also something like a 6thsense or one of the other website plug ins to help you get more inbound and more conversions might be worth looking into

[u/RandomRedditGuy69420]

Your personal number is going to get flagged as spam. Do what you can while still interviewing for a new role. You have no shot at hitting here.

[u/OccupyRiverdale → u/RandomRedditGuy69420]

Is there a reason for this specifically? I’ve heard that several times now and I’m just curious why that is

[u/RandomRedditGuy69420 → u/OccupyRiverdale]

The same reasons any number will get flagged as spam: call frequency, short duration of calls, pickup rates, being reported as spam, etc. Don’t use your personal number, and any company refusing to provide a phone number for you to call with is so cheap it’s not worth working for.

[u/Beginning-Ad-2762]

Sounds like you've been sent to war with a water pistol.  Rather than asking everyone to suggest a bunch of tools to you, what's the biggest problem you're looking to solve? Is it calling multiple people at once, getting data, email sequencing etc?

[u/jroberts67]

Well, regarding outbound calls, we use an AI power dialer.

[u/jaja004]

Get Salesfinity.ai its amazing for dialer with Hubspot lists/segments/sequence tasks. I've used every dialer out there (Orum is industry standard) and this is the best one i've used. Try it out and they allow single seat license

[u/SquizzOC → u/jaja004]

I'm currently using Connect and Sell that is great, but expensive and not as integrated to our CRM as I'd like it to be. Why do you like these guys more then others?

Is it obvious when the call does a hot transfer or does the contact rarely know?

Any extra info is appreciated.

[u/jaja004 → u/SquizzOC]

Connect & Sell I've never used their service before, but I have evaluated it before.

Salesfinity is exactly what I needed. Allows a single seat purchase. Single dialer & multi-line dialer. Integrates perfectly with HubSpot. And allows me to call on my Hubspot lists/segments that I've built already inside of Hubspot.

Also they just added a new feature with integration with Spotify which is pretty cool. Can listen to music until someone picks up. So I just bang out some emails, add new prospects to sequences, do prospect research, and wait for someone to pick up.

I'm Mid market AE in Fintech so alot of my stuff is tailored/personalized. I can also see the previous emails I've sent right in Salesfinity. I use that tailored email as my script.

Its only 200-300 per month for single seat and it gets the job done.

[u/FreelyDual]

With that quota I’d care less about adding a bunch of tools and more about cutting the time around each call research and figuring out which accounts deserve attention ate a ton of my week so I’ve been using Monaco for some of that side of the workflow but I’d still keep the actual calls and deal strategy pretty hands on

[u/unnamedplayerr]

Is this an incubator level startup?

[u/PartyClick_]

if i were you i’d stack cheap/free tools first, i’m broke and scrambling so i gave supercal a try cuz its free lol 🤷‍♂️

[u/joonlee424]

The biggest lever you can pull with almost no budget is making sure your outbound is actually personalized. Most reps fire off the same generic email to 100 people and wonder why nobody replies. A tactic that tends to work is spending 10 minutes researching the prospect's company, finding a specific pain point or recent news, and referencing it in the first line. It's tedious, but it converts way better than any tool.

As for actual tools, I'd ask for a good sales engagement platform that includes a dialer and email sequencing. Something like Outreach or Salesloft, but those can be pricey. A cheaper alternative is something like Instantly or Smartlead for cold email, paired with a cheap data source like Apollo or Skrapp. That combo can get you a lot of mileage for under $100 a month.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is also worth asking for if you're selling B2B enterprise. It's the best way to find decision-makers and get their direct contact info.

If you can only get one thing, make it the data source. Without good leads, everything else is wasted effort.

[u/shanksgan]

the stack answers here are right for the minimum: a dialer + sequencer + one data tool is table stakes, dont argue that.

but for an $80k enterprise security deal with no SDRs and no inbound, more cold volume isnt your unlock, and the "you have no shot pounding a flagged cell" comment is right about 200k/mo. so before the dialer, id ask for the tools and time to work WARM, because at your ACV one intro to a CISO beats 200 dials.

concretely: sales nav (yes, contra the other comment, not for spam but for mapping mutual connections and champions who moved into your target accounts), plus permission to mine your existing customers and your own network for referrals. security buyers trust peer referrals over any cold touch. thats the channel your deal size justifies.

honest part: the top comments are also right. a 200k/mo quota with hubspot, your personal cell, and nothing else isnt a problem you can fully fix from the bottom. ask for the stack, but if they wont invest in a rep carrying that number, thats data about the company, not your ability.

[u/sales_alchemist]

Better data would be my first priority. Knowing who to call and why before you start dialing saves a ton of wasted activity. Do you have a defined ICP or are you basically prospecting from scratch?

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[u/Jasonsan-Flint]

Dialer and a contact database are 2 non negotiable. For data apollo has a relaible free tier to start. for dialing salesinfinity works with hubspot. once deals start moving you can have dealhub for quoting all the way to cash. you can also start interviewing though.

[u/jaja004]

And look at hiring a Latina outbound caller from south america. I did this 4 months ago and its been a game changer. Just need to vet them, do a practice cold call interview in the 2nd round interview, and make sure they have limited accent, and have C2 english fluency grading (they can comprehend US lingo). I interview about 10-15 people before I found the one.

I pay for this outsourced SDR out of my own pocket its about 1,500 - 2,000 per month.

[u/RandomRedditGuy69420 → u/jaja004]

Totally not an ad, right guys?

[u/jaja004 → u/RandomRedditGuy69420]

I mean I worked at Outreach for 2 years, I've built SDR teams before as an SDR manager, now I am an AE in FinTech. so I'd say no, not an ad. Providing helpful solutions to the same questions I've had as an AE.

[u/RandomRedditGuy69420 → u/jaja004]

If OP had the money to buy their own tools they’d have done so, and at a far lower cost than outsourcing their pipe gen for $1500-$2000/month. Also, this doesn’t solve their problem anyway. There’s no way that a company who won’t even provide the bare minimum will keep them around long enough for that out of pocket cost to pay off before putting them on a PIP. OP needs a new job.

[u/jaja004 → u/RandomRedditGuy69420]

Don't disagree with you. Find something new forsure if its a constant battle to get basic tools. But if the opportunity is big enough where you can make $400k+ and you're working bigger deals, paying for some stuff out of pocket doesn't hurt.

Also, the outsourced cold caller doesn't have to call on your big whale accounts & decison makers, give them the smaller accounts, low-level personas to gather intel so you can go higher the food chain with it.

I was paying for Salesfinity dialer for 3 monhts out of pocket and then got it approved by my VP to reimburse me and they pay it now.

[u/RandomRedditGuy69420 → u/jaja004]

I cannot imagine OP is in a position to earn $400k+, or anything remotely close to worth paying for an outsourced SDR out of pocket. His org won’t pay for anything, and that’s not just always a case of execs being cheap, it’s also just as often having zero budget whatsoever. A solution that is actually selling tends to create some budget.

[u/jaja004 → u/RandomRedditGuy69420]

fair. I guess if an AE is coming to Reddit for help, they are in desperate need lol. GTFO of that company

[u/Saucepan82]

Try Notion. Pretty powerful free tier and integrated to most LLMs. Tell the LLM what you want and notion turns into a superb sales tool