In 2025, staying ahead in sales means being smarter, faster, and more adaptable. With evolving technologies, shrinking attention spans, and increasingly data-driven decision-making, continuous training is no longer optional—it’s essential.

Marketing Week’s exclusive 2025 Career & Salary Survey reveals that more than half of marketers (54.9%) are being asked to do more with less. "As marketers try to navigate myriad challenges, including managing data in the face of proliferating regulations, the name of the game is efficiency" according to a Marketing Dive article - '10 marketing predictions for 2025 as new era of productivity dawns'.

With the increase in challenges for marketing teams, salespeople must work even harder to prove their value and win new business. ALF Insight is a lead generation tool designed to help make new business easier, but we wanted to go that step further and support the new biz community with access to top quality sales training. 

That’s where the idea for ALF Academy began. We launched our inaugural training course. ‘Turning Leads into Clients’ last month; a game-changing initiative designed to equip new business professionals with actionable skills and the latest sales techniques. 

ALF Academy: First Event, Big Impact 

Continuing our commitment to delivering value beyond the platform, we recently hosted a live, in-person training course at ALF Insight’s central London offices. 

We were thrilled to partner with Debra Sharron from Media Sales Training, whose dynamic session packed the room with new business professionals from across media owners, agencies, charities, and more. 

What started as an intimate group quickly turned into a lively, buzzing crowd, exchanging ideas and building connections. 

Key Learnings from the Day: 

6 ways to build essential client knowledge: 

• Follow on LinkedIn 

• Connect with key stakeholders across the DMU 

• Set up Google Alerts 

• Analyse the company’s website 

• Review their annual report 

• Check Companies House for financial details 

Why? To identify pain points and tailor your sales angle with relevance and precision. 

She also shared expert tips on multi-channel outreach, reminding attendees that email, LinkedIn, phone, and networking events are just 50% of what you should be doing. To stand out, you need diverse and consistent touchpoints. 

Pro Tips from ALF Academy You Can Use Today 

💡 1. Ditch the Clichés: 
Debra shared the worst email phrases that instantly turn off prospects – here’s a tip, if the language of the email centres around your wants and needs, it’s not going to resonate with your prospects. With ALF Insight, you’ll have access to specific company insights that let you avoid generic language and craft more meaningful, relevant messages. 

💡 2. Use Video in Your Outreach: 
Video will be essential for cutting through the noise in 2025. ALF Academy highlighted how short, punchy videos can grab attention faster than text-heavy emails. Combine this tactic with ALF Insight’s contact data to target the right people. 

💡 3. Multi-Touchpoint Sequences Win: 
The best outreach sequences combine email, LinkedIn, phone, and event-based connections. With ALF Insight’s platform, you can identify decision-makers and engage across multiple channels, boosting your chances of a response. 

How ALF Insight Supercharges Your Sales Strategy 

While ALF – the lead generation platform - took a back seat during the event, the team were very much involved in the planning—and our platform is the perfect companion to put everything attendees learned into action. 

Here’s how ALF Insight can help you apply the skills from ALF Academy: 

✅ Stay Ahead with Real-Time Insights: 
Use ALF Insight to track new business triggers like agency reviews, brand appointments, and marketing budget shifts. Combined with Debra’s prospecting techniques, you’ll know exactly who to contact and when. 

✅ Smarter Outreach with Targeted Data: 
Training taught the importance of multi-touchpoint outreach—and ALF makes it easy. With access to over 40,000 decision-makers and detailed contact information, you can combine email, LinkedIn, and phone strategies effectively. 

✅ Personalised Messaging that Cuts Through the Noise: 
In 2025, attention spans are shrinking - less than 9 seconds, in fact. ALF Insight helps you craft hyper-relevant outreach by providing detailed company profiles and advertising spend data, so you can make an impact faster. 

By combining expert-led training with ALF Insight’s industry-leading data, you’ll be equipped to: 

• Identify the right opportunities faster 
• Reach key decision-makers with precision 
• Cut through the noise with smarter, multi-touchpoint outreach 
• Win more clients with data-backed strategies 

Register Your Interest for the next ALF Academy Training 

Book a demo with ALF Insight to see how the platform can help you be the best salesperson, with informed pitches and proposals, targeted prospecting and confidence in closing.