Paradox of choice. A term coined by the American Psychologist, Barry Schwartz in ’04. Essentially describes why “more is less”. How with the endless amount of options today when choosing which product to buy, which book to read or which tool to use we’re overwhelmed with options so we experience something called “decision paralysis”. As a result we can resort back to choosing nothing as it’s sometimes the easier choice. Paradox of choice exemplified 
We have more calls to make, more meetings to attend and more deals that need closing to drive higher numbers than we thought would be possible a decade ago. How does one handle this frenzied climate? With the right tools! I’m not talking to you Bob the Builder (did I just age myself?). I’m talking about what tools are in your sales stack. These are business utensils that will help your pipeline grow so you can sleep soundly at night. These might include email tracking tools, scheduling tools, CRM’s and discovery/research tools. These sales instruments allow us to be more efficient and get more shit done than ever before. Here are 2 of my favorite tools I’ve fallen in love with recently. They’ve helped me build a healthy pipeline and then can help you crush your quota when used in congruence with good sales technique. Calendly: Scheduling Platform Are you tired of repeatedly updating your email templates and outreaches with your new availability once those previous dates have passed? Ever wish you could simply drop a link into your drip campaigns or templates that easily displays your availability without having to manually share dates/times every email? If you’re super savvy you might already know about this but I’ve recently fallen in love with https://calendly.com/. This tool is listed first because of the time it’s saved me. Now with ease I’m booking more appointments than ever before. And not solely because of the time now available for more emails, calls and prospecting but for its ease on both parties. All I need to do is add my personal link. Once a recipient opens the link, they’re presented with options I’ve curtailed. Book a 10, 15, 30 or 60 min meeting with me. That’s it. The displayed schedule is adjusted according to their time zone and I immediately receive an email notification when an appointment is booked. Here’s what the prospect sees when they open my personal link 
Then I go to the proposed event invite and add the invitee email (that’s one bug I haven’t figured out. Even though they booked the time I need to still “invite them” via google calendar.)
Viola! Meeting set.
Here’s why I think this tool (or any other scheduling tool) can help you crush quota. Say you’re like me and have 20 different templates with bulleted dates/times in there. I found I was spending upwards of 5 minutes updating my templates and outreaches on a day-to-day basis.
Now that’s just a bunch of wasted time. Time you could spend prospecting, making more calls, sending more emails and setting more appointments.
If this still sounds trivial you haven’t gotten micro enough. If you can save 5 minutes a day x 22 (working days per month) = 110 minutes’ x 264 (working days per year) = 29,040 minutes / 1,440 min in a day = 20.17 hours saved over the course of a year!! That’s almost 3 working days you’ll have back people!
Got questions about sales consulting or sales recruiting help? Are you attending Sales Machine Summit in NYC next month? Book some time with me here, https://calendly.com/maxlaughlin. Onto my next gem.. BombBomb: Video Email from Gmail, Mobile & Web Potentially my top sales tools ever! Simply put, this is the holy grail of getting the attention of your customers, prospects, or anyone you’re having trouble getting a hold of. What makes BombBomb so special? A video extension that drops right into your email!! That’s right. Check it out. BombBomb has helped me get responses when prospects have entered the dreaded D-zone. Imagine this. You’re a C-Suite who gets bombarded with 200 of the same calls and emails per day from persistent reps selling their hearts out. Now imagine this. You’re that same C-Suite who opens up your email and finds a video dropped right in with a thumbnail of this goofy face? 
I’m betting on that you’re going to click play. And the results have backed that up. The industry average for B2B Sales email open rates is 24.80%. With BombBomb I’ve been seeing an average open rate of 40% and most impressing a 60% response rate! If you want to save that stalled deal or get a response from that prospect give BombBomb a try and send me one! max@asalesguy.com. Thoughts? Give these sales tools and try and let me know what you think in the comments! Let the force be with you as you fill that pipeline and have a great Memorial Day weekend!! <>Max (Hit me up on the Twitters)