When faced with a customer issue and after acknowledging the customer's experience, the recommended next step for a sales representative is to show empathy. Empathy involves understanding and sharing the feelings of another, which in this context means recognizing the impact of the issue on the customer and conveying genuine concern. This approach helps build a rapport and trust with the customer, demonstrating that the sales rep is not just focused on a transaction but cares about the customer's overall experience and success. Salesforce emphasizes the importance of empathy in customer interactions as a way to strengthen relationships and foster loyalty.

Cold calling is the process of contacting potential customers who have not expressed any prior interest in your product or service. Cold calling can be a challenging but rewarding task for sales representatives, as it can help them generate new leads and opportunities. One of the benefits of cold calling is that phone calls provide immediate feedback whether the lead is worth pursuing or not. Unlike other methods of contact, such as email or social media, phone calls allow the sales rep to gauge the level of interest, need, and urgency of the prospect, as well as to address any objections or questions they may have. Phone calls also enable the sales rep to establish rapport and trust with the prospect, and to move them along the sales process more quickly and effectively.Reference:

Cert Prep: Salesforce Certified Sales Representative, unit ''Generate Leads and Opportunities''

[Sales Rep Training], unit ''Prepare Your Team to Sell Successfully''

Updating the opportunity's stage and forecast category to reflect the recent progress is what the sales rep should do to ensure accurate forecasting. An opportunity is a qualified prospect who has a high probability of buying the product. An opportunity stage is a measure of how far along the opportunity is in the sales process, such as prospecting, qualification, proposal, negotiation, etc. A forecast category is a measure of how likely the opportunity is to close as won, such as pipeline, best case, commit, closed, etc. Updating the opportunity's stage and forecast category helps to reflect the current status and potential outcome of the opportunity, as well as to provide a realistic and reliable prediction of future sales revenue. Reference: https://www.salesforce.com/resources/articles/sales-forecasting/#sales-forecasting-definition

When a sales representative demonstrates how their products or services can reduce costs and enhance productivity for a customer, they are presenting a value proposition. A value proposition articulates the unique benefits and value that the company's offerings provide, distinguishing them from competitors. It focuses on the specific advantages the customer will experience, such as cost savings and productivity improvements. Salesforce emphasizes the importance of understanding customer needs and effectively communicating how their solutions can address those needs, which is central to crafting a compelling value proposition.

Promoting a prospect's content on social media is a customer-centric approach that can be used by the sales rep to engage with a prospect at a greenfield account on a digital platform, because it shows that the sales rep is interested in the prospect's work and values their expertise. This can help to build rapport and trust with the prospect, and create an opportunity for further conversation and relationship building. Upselling to a prospect at an existing account or sending an email with content links to a prospect are not customer-centric approaches, because they are more focused on the sales rep's own goals and interests, rather than the prospect's. Upselling to a prospect at an existing account is not relevant to a greenfield account, which is a new account with no prior relationship or history with the sales rep or the company. Sending an email with content links to a prospect may be seen as spammy or intrusive, and may not capture the prospect's attention or interest.Reference:Certification - Sales Representative - Trailhead,Sales Rep Training: Customer Engagement - Trailhead