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How To Sell When Nobody Is Buying | Subscribe to this Blog |
June 27, 2009
Sales 2.0 strategies and Social Media are changing the sales profession and enabling more effective selling — further, all of the tools, services, and processes are new and for the most part, left unexplored. David Lakhani’s new book, How To Sell When Nobody’s Buying, takes a look at how you can succeed in what I call the New Sales Economy.
These tools, services, processes, and techniques are so new that when you talk about them most people just think you’re crazy or stupid — they couldn’t be more wrong!
Did you know…..
- Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to using social media to generate more sales leads
- That you can use your own personal website and blog to increase your visibility and gain more trust from your customers and prospects
- Most CSO’s, VP of sales, sales managers, and sales reps have no idea about these new techniques because they’ve just been developed
David’s book will help you to gain a better understanding of the changes taking place in the sales profession and how you can position yourself to crush it — I highly recommend reading the book!
Make sure to pickup a copy of How To Sell When Nobody’s Buying and to subscribe to the New Sales Economy blog for more Sales 2.0 resources to dominate in the New Sales Economy.
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How Twitter Will Change The Way We Live | Subscribe to this Blog |
June 17, 2009
The June edition of Time Magazaine has a fascinating article on how Twitter is changing the way we live and interact with each other. In my opinion, as social networking evolves, companies and sales reps will have to adapt to stay ahead of the pack and at the top of their game.
But, hey, don’t take my word for it!
Excerpt:
“Twitter users have begun to find a route around that limitation by employing Twitter as a pointing device instead of a communications channel: sharing links to longer articles, discussions, posts, videos — anything that lives behind a URL. Websites that once saw their traffic dominated by Google search queries are seeing a growing number of new visitors coming from “passed links” at social networks like Twitter and Facebook. This is what the naysayers fail to understand: it’s just as easy to use Twitter to spread the word about a brilliant 10,000-word New Yorker article as it is to spread the word about your Lucky Charms habit.”
“Put those three elements together — social networks, live searching and link-sharing — and you have a cocktail that poses what may amount to the most interesting alternative to Google’s near monopoly in searching. At its heart, Google’s system is built around the slow, anonymous accumulation of authority: pages rise to the top of Google’s search results according to, in part, how many links point to them, which tends to favor older pages that have had time to build an audience. That’s a fantastic solution for finding high-quality needles in the immense, spam-plagued haystack that is the contemporary Web. But it’s not a particularly useful solution for finding out what people are saying right now, the in-the-moment conversation that industry pioneer John Battelle calls the “super fresh” Web.”
Make sure to checkout the full Time Magazine article here — it’s a must read!
What are your thoughts about Twitter? Do you see it evolving into a sales tool, a place to prospect, or is it just a waste of time?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Is Sales 2.0 The New Socialism? | Subscribe to this Blog |
June 11, 2009
The changes that online sharing, cooperation, collaboration, and collectivism are bringing to society and the sales profession is a favorite subject of mine. A recent Wired Magazine article dove into how the networked world resembles aspects of socialism — just not in the way you think of it.
Below are a couple excerpts from the article and my take on how this will affect the sales profession.
Excerpt:
“I recognize that the word socialism is bound to make many readers twitch. It carries tremendous cultural baggage, as do the related terms communal, communitarian, and collective. I use socialism because technically it is the best word to indicate a range of technologies that rely for their power on social interactions. Broadly, collective action is what Web sites and Net-connected apps generate when they harness input from the global audience. Of course, there’s rhetorical danger in lumping so many types of organization under such an inflammatory heading. But there are no unsoiled terms available, so we might as well redeem this one.”
The amount of information available online is mind-boggling — in this information lies tremendous opportunity if it can just be made actionable. To make this digital information actionable and useful to the sales rep it requires sharing it and creating a collective place where the information can be accessed. Companies like InsideView, Jigsaw, and MyWay Interactive rely on a business model that requires its users to share information to gain the collective knowledge of others — expect to see more collaboration, sharing of contacts and company specific information moving forward as it enables more effective selling.
Excerpt:
“But there is one way in which socialism is the wrong word for what is happening: It is not an ideology. It demands no rigid creed. Rather, it is a spectrum of attitudes, techniques, and tools that promote collaboration, sharing, aggregation, coordination, ad hocracy, and a host of other newly enabled types of social cooperation. It is a design frontier and a particularly fertile space for innovation. Consider Craigslist. Just classified ads, right? But the site amplified the handy community swap board to reach a regional audience, enhanced it with pictures and real-time updates, and suddenly became a national treasure. Operating without state funding or control, connecting citizens directly to citizens, this mostly free marketplace achieves social good at an efficiency that would stagger any government or traditional corporation. Sure, it undermines the business model of newspapers, but at the same time it makes an indisputable case that the sharing model is a viable alternative to both profit-seeking corporations and tax-supported civic institutions.”
I guarantee that the sharing of information will make you a better sales rep — the forums that sharing can be applied to is virtually unlimited. On a small scale think internal company social networks that you can access for competitive information on how to beat your competitors. On a larger scale think of companies that are developing applications that allow you to share contacts and basic personal information — think SalesNexus, Jigsaw, Insideview, Linkedin and Facebook. How long is it until somebody develops an application that shares company specific information across partners and the channel? Not long — these are already in the works. The information gathered from many will be shared and accessed for the greater good through new and innovative applications that can be accessed through your CRM. Amazing stuff!
Definitely go checkout the full article: The New Socialism: Global Collectivist Society Is Coming Online.
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Sales 2.0 Interview | Rand Schulman CMO InsideView | Subscribe to this Blog |
May 25, 2009
In this post I interview Rand Schulman, CMO of Insideview who is considered by many to be a visionary in the field of new marketing. Rand shares how Sales 2.0 is changing the sales industry and how InsideView is revolutionizing the sales game by enabling sales reps to make sense of all the digital info floating around the web so they can sell more effectively.
CL: There’s a lot of buzz surrounding Sales 2.0 and also many skeptics – what does Sales 2.0 mean to you and how can it help sales reps make more money?
RS: In short, Sales 2.0 is transforming selling from an art to a science. Productivity-enhancing technologies like InsideView’s Sales Intelligence application, SalesView, are facilitating this transition because they offer sales professionals the ability to measure their performance and gather data unlike ever before.
Sales 2.0 technologies also allow for a vastly increased level of collaboration and alignment between sales teams and customers, prospective clients, as well as their marketing counterparts. The increased collaboration comes from the ease and speed with which you can receive and share information through Web 2.0 technology.
In today’s Sales 2.0 world, salespeople just have better tools than they used to. As a result, they develop improved processes, which help them pursue richer opportunities, and collaborate more efficiently. The end result is acceleration across the board – with better technology and more intelligent processes, you close more sales faster. We’re basically in the process of going from “human” speed to “Internet” speed. Buckle up!
CL: As the CMO of Insideview how does your team use Sales 2.0 to connect, create more opportunities and increase your business?
RS: Our sales intelligence application, SalesView, is a Sales 2.0 solution, a really good one. So naturally we use it in our own sales and marketing efforts - which range from getting in touch with the companies using CRM technologies, the companies which make CRM technologies and the companies that are a part of the general enterprise solution space. So in short, we have a lot of leads and prospects across a lot of different sectors to work with, so having the most current snapshot of prospective clients is imperative – and that is a service that SalesView provides very well.
CL: I think Insideview is one of the most exciting Sales 2.0 companies. What is the most exciting aspect of Insideview to you?
RS: First off, thank you and we agree. One of the most exciting parts of being at InsideView to me is knowing that we are on the forefront of bringing together sales, content and technology in a way that has never been done before. We are really helping sales people make use of the dizzying amount of information available to them on the Web, and that is a great feeling. Information overload is a common problem because of the viral nature and extent of the Web. We’re excited about developing a solution that takes the ‘overload’ out of the research and lead generation process for sales people. For example, we just recently added a ‘Buzz Tab’ to SalesView, which integrates information from Twitter, Google Blog Search and Compete.com Web Statistics. So now when people are working in their CRM application they can have all of this highly current information directly at their finger tips, instead of having to go out and search for it.
CL: Insideview coined the term socialprise. Can you describe what the term socialprise means and how its changing the world and the sales profession.
RS: We coined the term socialprise when we first launched our Sales Intelligence tool, SalesView, in March 2007, to describe the new relationship between social media and enterprise technology that SalesView made possible. SalesView is specifically designed to fuse social data with enterprise-grade search and intelligence capabilities, which is a combination that had not previously existed and so there was a need for a new word to describe it. What’s really interesting is that there were zero results when we entered the term ‘socialprise’ into Google before the launch of SalesView and now thousands of hits come up when you search on it. Socialprise is now being used in far more situations than simply to describe SalesView, which I think is happening because it is a concrete example of the evolution that we are seeing in sales technology, or as we call it ‘Sales 2.0.’ To your latter question, socialprise is a prime example of how technology and social media are fundamentally changing the way sales organizations operate and the numerous new possibilities that are opening up.
CL: How does the Insideview team use your blog to drive traffic to your website and leads into your sales pipeline?
RS: We use the InsideView blog to provide very current news on important events and issues happening across the Sales 2.0 space. It’s one of many ways that we look to connect with people who are interested in our world - we also use Twitter and LinkedIn, host webinars and create videos that discuss Sales 2.0 and our products. All of these things are done with the purpose of connecting with continually more people and engaging and educating those that are interested to learn more about InsideView and Sales 2.0. All of our social media activities also help enrich our understanding of the Sales 2.0 space, whether its through blog comments, twitter responses, etc. Overall, our blog has been a great way to extend the conversation about Sales 2.0 and what InsideView is bringing to the space and increase the amount of people that we are engaging with on a daily basis about these subjects.
CL: What makes Insideview a must have for sales reps and sales organizations across the globe?
RS: With the amount of information exploding across the social Web, there needs to be a solution that brings it all back to a point of relevancy and action for a sales organization. Sales reps should be getting to know their leads and prospects, but with a starting picture that connects the dots for them. Without a service like SalesView that delivers contextual, relevant research results, you’re stuck spending way too much time Googling and getting lost in the sea of unhelpful links that is much of the Internet.
CL: There is an unimaginable amount of information available on the web – how does Insideview help sales reps make sense of this information and make it actionable?
RS: You’re spot-on here, and we see the information as an asset. Our technology takes that information from across the social Web - whether it’s behind a “walled garden” or aggregated in a proprietary way or it’s user-generated (Facebook and LinkedIn) - and pops it right into a salesperson’s existing view in their CRM application. So with SalesView, if you’re looking at a contact’s record, you’ll also be looking at that contact’s ’social’ profile, and in a way that connects the dots specifically for your purpose - whether that’s a news tidbit that’s relevant to your outreach, or the fact that that person got a promotion. The action comes when the call is made and you’re prepared to talk to that person at the right time and with the right background research.
CL: What are some of your favorite social networks and how do you use them to connect?
RS: We are very active on Twitter and LinkedIn and use both sites to foster conversations that are meaningful to our business and our customers. Both sites frequently provide great opportunities to engage with communities that are interested in Sales 2.0, whether we are responding to thoughtful discussion topics posted by others or beginning our own conversations.
CL: What do you think the sales profession will look like 5 – 10 years from now and how can Insideview help sales reps succeed?
RS: The salesperson, as with most professions, is becoming increasingly technologically sophisticated. The tools available to sales teams today to do their jobs are far more powerful in terms of their ability to collect information and the speed with which they do that. It all comes down to relevance though, just because you can get a ton of information does not necessarily make that a good thing – it needs to be useful. That is where InsideView comes in, we help salespeople filter information so that they only get what is most relevant and actionable to their business. Currently, InsideView’s technology is probably a little ahead of the curve, not all salespeople are utilizing the social Web the way that they should be to increase leads, but in the future I think we will see this type of Sales Intelligence become a pretty standard part of the research and lead generation process. Which is obviously exciting for us.
CL: What do you say to those who think Sales 2.0 is a fad and not for real?
RS: Was Web 2.0 a fad? Sales 2.0 is largely connected to the emergence of Web 2.0 technologies and the opportunities that these technologies allow for increased engagement, research, communication, and analytics measurement, among many other things. It’s quite clear that the Web is moving quickly toward a more sophisticated interactive experience and that will affect the way the sales profession operates. Sales 2.0 is the current way to describe how the profession is being impacted by the advent of technological change, the only thing temporary about it is that change will continue to happen on the Web and thus in sales and so maybe we will need to use a new term to describe that progress like…wait for it….Sales 3.0!
Thanks Rand!
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Use Google Alerts to Increase Selling Opportunities | Subscribe to this Blog |
April 30, 2009
Everyone is familiar with Google, but are you familiar with Google Alerts? If you’re not, you’re missing out on a really easy way to have customer engagement and selling opportunities delivered right to your e-mail or RSS reader.
What is Google Alerts?
Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.
Here is how to easily set a Google Alert up for your accounts or prospective accounts.
1.) Go to the Google Alerts web page.
2.) Go to the create a Google Alert box at the right of the web page & enter the account name you want, select comprehensive, and delivered to feed. If you prefer to have the Google Alert delivered by e-mail I would select once a day, or once a week for delivery. Otherwise, your inbox will get bombarded with e-mails all day.
3.) Now Google will automatically deliver news stories, blog posts and other potentially relevant useful pieces of information about your customer directly to you. You can use this information to stay up to date and aware of potential selling opportunities.
Now go set up some Google Alerts and let the power of the web help you to sell more!
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Sales 2.0 Interview | Anneke Seley CEO PhoneWorks | Subscribe to this Blog |
April 12, 2009
In this post I interview Anneke Seley, a thought leader in Sales 2.0, founder of OracleDirect, author, and CEO of PhoneWorks. Anneke was using Sales 2.0 strategies back in the late 1980’s while she was building OracleDirect, so she has unique insight into using Sales 2.0 to create revenue. In this interview she shares how Sales 2.0 has reshaped the sales profession, where the sales profession may be heading, and how you can position yourself to succeed in the New Sales Economy.
CL: What does Sales 2.0 mean to you and why is it important for everyone in the sales profession to understand it?
AS: Sales 2.0 is a more effective and efficient way of selling – for BOTH the buyer and the seller – that is enabled by Web. 2.0 and advanced technology. It is important for everyone in the sales profession – executives as well as reps - to understand it because the traditional ways of selling are not working any more. This is because of changing customer preferences and economic conditions, a shift in power from sales reps to customers, and customer demand for more socially responsible and respectful selling.
CL: Is Sales 2.0 just for sales managers? How can it help an individual sales rep to create more opportunities and close more business?
AS: Sales 2.0 is for everyone that communicates with buyers as well as their management. Because it requires a culture shift, a different way of thinking of sales, and potentially organizational changes, executive buy-in is a pre-requisite for best results. Individual sales reps can benefit from Sales 2.0 by changing their mindset from “how do I make my number this quarter?” to “how do I help my customers make their numbers this quarter?” Those that follow a sales process that is mapped to the way their customers buy, build long-term, collaborative relationships, and embrace technology that engages their customers and makes it easier for them to buy will come out the winners.
CL: You were responsible for building Oracle’s inside sales division in the late 1980’s. What were some of the major challenges you faced?
AS: There was a lot of resistance from field sales reps and managers. They didn’t believe buyers of powerful, B2B software would engage with inside sales reps using the phone –let alone buy from them. These were pre-Internet days, so we didn’t have Web or e-mail communications at first; we used faxes to communicate visual information quickly! At the end of the first year, we proved that inside sales was an effective channel for many of our customers. We not only generated millions of dollars in incremental revenue at the highest profit margin in the sales organization – we also delivered a consistent pipeline of high-value, qualified opportunities every quarter to the field.
CL: Where do you believe the sales profession is heading in the next 5 – 10 years and how can sales reps get ready?
AS: The sales profession is still evolving. What constitutes Sales 2.0 today will be different in the next 5-10 years because of continued changes in customers, markets, and technology. For example, social media is now the communications media of choice for many people in their personal lives, now that we are all inundated with e-mail and phone calls. In the near future, this may have an impact on how buyers will prefer to research and purchase products or communicate in business. Consumers are demanding greater degrees of corporate social responsibility from their vendors and are looking to do business with those companies with initiatives such as green business practices. Sales reps can get ready by watching mainstream trends, staying open, and not relying on the traditional ways of selling, even if those approaches have brought them success before.
CL: What will happen to the sales reps who don’t see the value in Sales 2.0?
AS: Those sales reps will eventually become obsolete. Depending on their market and their customers, this might not happen right away, but change is ultimately inevitable. Sales reps adopting Sales 2.0 now will enjoy both job security and larger commission payments. ?
CL: Your book highlights four companies and how they’re using Sales 2.0 to create competitive advantages. What can sales managers and sales reps learn from these case studies?
AS: It’s always nice to have examples of how Sales 2.0 practices – or any new business initiatives - work in the real world. Sales managers and reps can learn how the four companies got started with Sales 2.0, what challenges they faced – because it isn’t easy to change the way a company sells – and what results they achieved.
CL: How do you use Sales 2.0 & Social Media to create awareness and drive business for Phone Works?
AS: We practice what we preach at Phone Works by using Sales 2.0 strategy, process, people and technology in our own selling approach. Here are some examples of how we practice Sales 2.0 for our own sales and marketing efforts. (I will expand on our use of Social Media in the next question.)
- We are a virtual company that depends largely on the phone and Web to communicate both internally as well as with prospects and customers.
- We are currently testing new sales approaches that involve designing and creating new projects and deliverables with our prospects and customers.
- We are checking in with our clients and extended community of sales executives and sharing ideas and Sales 2.0 successes.
- We test Sales 2.0 technologies on an ongoing basis that address an identified business objective of our own or our clients’ and measure the before and after results.
- We use blogs and social media to communicate and share best practices internally. We are investigating different ways to accomplish this with customers by finding out their preferences.
CL: What are your favorite social networks and why do you use them?
AS: I am currently experimenting with LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. I initially resisted joining these communities. But then I started getting invitations from people I respected on LinkedIn, my smartest friends in marketing urged me to join Twitter, and a Venture Capitalist friend told me I should have a Facebook page if I didn’t want to be left behind. I use ping.fm to automate updates – typically notifications of new blog posts or announcements of upcoming events – to all three networks. I’ve “met” some really savvy people online via Twitter (e.g. Chad Levitt!) by writing about Sales 2.0 and live tweeting some sessions at the last Sales 2.0 conference. I was able to connect with many members of Sales 2.0 community F2F during the conference, all because we were following each other’s tweets. I am speaking to some of those connections today about business partnerships.
By engaging with other members of my Sales 2.0 Community group on LinkedIn, I recently found a new customer. As for Facebook, I was introduced and connected to a friend of a friend who is now a prospect for Phone Works consulting.
“I am using these social networks because I suspect that in time, there will be measurable, tangible business results associated with using social networks.”
And if there isn’t, following my Sales 2.0 philosophy, I will try some other new ways to connect!
CL: Thanks Anneke!
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Anneke Seley began testing and proving early Sales 2.0 practices in the 1980’s as the founder of OracleDirect, Oracle’s revolutionary inside sales division. For the last eighteen years, she and her team at Phone Works LLC (www.phoneworks.com) have been honing and perfecting those practices in their consulting work with over 300 Phone Works clients. Phone Works is a sales strategy and implementation consultancy that specializes in helping companies achieve predictable, measurable, and sustainable sales growth, using Sales 2.0 principles, and incorporating phone and Web selling into their sales models Anneke is the coauthor of a new book, Sales 2.0: Improve Business Results Using Innovative Sales Practices and Technology, published by John Wiley & Sons. For more information on Sales 2.0 or to read Anneke’s blog, see www.sales20book.com. Follow her on Twitter @annekeseley.
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Use Twitter Search To Increase Selling Opportunities | Subscribe to this Blog |
March 31, 2009
This post will take a look at how you can use Twitter Search to make sense of and filter the millions of tweets that pass through Twitter each day. With this information you will be able to target more selling opportunities and have them delivered to your RSS reader or email, just like with a Google Alert.
If you’re asking yourself why you need to learn how to use Twitter Search, you’re asking the wrong question. Nonetheless, the answer is simple. You need to learn because Twitter has over 6 million users and is growing everyday — Twitter is a marketplace that can drive potential buyers to your online content.
The potential of Twitter Search is massive. Check out what Gary Vaynerchuk has to say about Twitter Search in this short video clip.
Pretty interesting!
Follow these simple steps to set up an alert for any search term/keyword you want using Twitter Search.
1.) Go to the Twitter Search website.
2.) Enter the search term/keyword you want in the open field and click search.
3.) Your Twitter Search results will appear. Now click on the feed for this query icon at the right of your screen.
4.) Add to the RSS reader of your choice (I like Google Reader).
That’s it!
Now go set up some search terms for the companies you sell to, or buzzwords in your industry and start creating more opportunities for yourself!
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Is Twitter Really That Stupid? | Subscribe to this Blog |
March 29, 2009
Is Twitter an effective sales tool? There’s been some blog posts all over the web from both sides of the argument. Checkout the following 2 links to get up to speed.
- Twitter: Friend or Foe of Sales by Anneke Seley, CEO Phoneworks
- Not Digging on Twitter by Garth Moulton, VP of Community at Jigsaw
Garth issues a challenge to close a 1 million dollar deal using Twitter — he doesn’t think it’s possible. But, with anything it depends on your perspective.
Sure, the PO may not come across in a tweet. But, is it too far fetched to live in a world where a customer may engage your company’s webinar, Youtube video, blog, vlog or facebook page from a tweet on Twitter?
What if the webinar the customer attended, lead to engagement with a sales rep and a deal worth 1 million dollars? Would that count? It sure would — unless you don’t like getting paid.
I like getting paid.
Here is a useful diagram for some of the uses of Twitter courtesy of 360 Degrees Digital Influence blog.
Do you think Twitter is a useful sales tool or is Twitter really that stupid?
Share your comments below.
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Don’t Become A Sales Dinosaur: Interview with Jill Konrath | Subscribe to this Blog |
March 12, 2009
In this post I interview Jill Konrath, author of the award winning Selling to Big Companies book, successful sales rep, speaker, and thought leader in B2B sales. Jill shares her thoughts on how to be successful in the New Sales Economy, how she uses her blog as an inbound marketing tool to drive more sales, and her thoughts on becoming a sales dinosaur and how you can avoid becoming one.
Q: How have you seen the sales profession change since you started your career?
A: The biggest changes I’ve seen have been with the buyers. They’re overwhelmed and stressed out. Each year, they’re expected to do more with fewer resources and in shorter time frames. The last thing buyers want to do is meet with someone who is going to eat up their valuable time. Prior to the internet, they needed a salesperson to learn about products or services that could help them run their business better. Now, all that information and more is available online, making a visit from a seller unnecessary.
Unless salespeople adapt to the changing buyer’s needs, they’ll be extinct. That means they have to be business-focused, not product centric. It means they have to be idea people who are constantly helping customers achieve their goals, as opposed to product-pushing peddlers. It also means they need to invest in themselves, so that they become the ultimate differentiator.
Q: As the author of Selling to Big Companies and the Selling to Big Companies blog, you rely on spreading your ideas. How do you use social media to create more opportunities and get the word out?
A: Blogging, combined with my e-newsletter which has 20,000+ subscribers, has been my biggest way of establishing thought leadership in my market space. My goal is to become ubiquitous. Right now, my blog is syndicated by a number of other sites. I’ve also done a ton of webinars in the past few years. These are typically sponsored by an organization that’s selling to the same people I’m trying to reach, so it’s a real win-win to have my expertise marketed to their database.
I’m also experimenting with several other social media vehicles right now. I have a Facebook page. I set up a Ning community for women sales experts. I have two LinkedIn groups too. I’m learning what it takes to lead a “Tribe.” I’m using Twitter as a way to deliver snippits of information and to share resources.
I’ve done a number of podcasts – but for other people to post on their website. I want to do my own, but there’s only so much time in the day. I’m also gearing up to do lots more videos so I can have a bigger presence on YouTube. I even did a Internet TV program a few weeks ago.
Although most think I’m pretty savvy when it comes to all this, I’m a total technophobe. I just listen to what my 30-year old friends tell me to do – and then do it.
Q: When did you start the Selling to Big Companies blog and how does it help stimulate qualified leads for your services?
A: I started blogging 4 years ago. Since it’s only one of my many thought leadership initiatives, it’s difficult to determine which of my corporate clients have come through that door.
What I can tell you is that anybody who looks at my blog is convinced that I know my stuff! They can read my articles, listen to podcasts, sign up for some of my free webinars. It’s a great way to test my expertise before hiring me.
Q: What do you believe are some of the biggest opportunities that Sales 2.0 offers sales reps? How can sales reps begin to take advantage of Sales 2.0?
A: Sales 2.0 technologies make me drool – literally. From the moment I saw Jigsaw five years ago, I was hooked. The sheer amount of information that’s available today is amazing. Savvy sellers can leverage Sales 2.0 to get themselves in front of the right people at the right time with the right message – ultimately shortening their sales cycles, creating demand and differentiating themselves from competitors.
Here’s what sellers can do to get started.
- For finding names, researching individuals, making connections, I love LinkedIn, Jigsaw, ZoomInfo, Netprospex, & Hoovers. I recently discovered Xobni too and was really impressed.
- To leverage business intelligence, my favorites today are InsideView – which alerts you to user-selected trigger events; Genius – which allows you to know if a prospect opened your email, read it, forwarded to others and more.
- To increase sales productivity, sellers can also use GoToMeeting or Webex to initiate conversations, demonstrate services, review proposals and more.
Q: What are your favorite social networks and do you use them?
A: I’m on Facebook and part of a few Ning communities, but for the most part I don’t have a lot of time to be social!
“And then there will be sales dinosaurs, those sellers who think that sales is still a numbers game and that it’s all about making a good pitch.”
Q: What do you think the sales industry will look like 10 years from now and what should sales reps be doing to get ready?
A: Right now, a huge challenge facing sellers is their inability to get their foot in the door. No one answers the phone. All calls roll to voicemail and no one calls them back. This will continue. But smart companies will implement strong thought leadership programs that attract “seekers” into their world – and database. They will be able to intelligently nurture these seekers until they need to speak to a salesperson.
In many cases, these qualified leads will be handled by sophisticated inside salespeople who know how to build relationships and close deals without ever leaving their office. Buyers will appreciate it and be totally comfortable doing business this way.
There will also be sales consultants who help customers uncover and unravel the difficult internal challenges that prevent them from moving ahead with any major change initiative. These sellers will be savvy business people who have great expertise that adds significant value to the decision process.
And then there will be sales dinosaurs, those sellers who think that sales is still a numbers game and that it’s all about making a good pitch. In ten years, most of them will be extinct but you’ll always find a few companies who send their people out to “get the sale” without the slightest bit of understanding in terms of what it takes.
Q: What is the most important thing you believe sales reps should do to be able to compete in the New Sales Economy?
A: Be smart about sales. Each contact you have with a prospective client should be treated as the most important meeting in the world. That’s why it’s imperative to do your homework in researching the company and the individuals. It’s the price of admission.
But, you also need to leverage the information you learn in terms of creating customer-focused messaging, insightful questions, provocative statements, and spot-on presentations. Plan your meetings in advance, then review what you’ve created from the customer’s perspective. If it’s not relevant or tied to an urgent priority, you’re wasting everyone’s time. Plus, you’re killing your credibility.
My final word: THINK!
Thanks for the great insight and advice Jill!
Make sure to subscribe to the Sales 2.0 blog here on SalesGravy.com for all the latest Sales 2.0 tips and interviews with thought leaders in Sales 2.0! You can also check me out on the New Sales Economy blog and connect with me on Twitter @ChadALevitt.
—–
Jill Konrath, a leading-edge sales strategist and business advisor, is a popular speaker at annual sales meetings and association events. She helps sellers crack into corporate accounts, speed up their sales cycle and win big contracts.
She’s the author of the instant sales classic, Selling to Big Companies, an Amazon Top 25 sales book for 3 years running. Most recently, Fortune magazine selected it as one of eight “must read” sales books, along with classics such as How to Win Friends & Influence People and Getting to Yes.
As a thought leader in the selling and marketing arena, Jill also publishes an industry-leading newsletter and hosts an award-winning blog. In 2007, she launched the Sales SheBang conference for women in sales.
Jill has written hundreds of articles on sales strategies and is frequently quoted in top business media. She’s appeared in Entrepreneur, New York Times, Business Journal, Selling Power, Sales & Marketing Management as well as countless online publications and radio shows.
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